Quote from Evolution_R :

Next week - a full progress report!

Oops!

A few fixes and updates in Test Patch U4:

Graphics:

Car shadows now use anisotropic filtering to reduce shimmering

Views:

FIX: Filtered view went wrong with low filter time + replay speedup

Misc:

FIX: Issues with driver names ending with caret character
FIX: Driver names ending with a lead byte could corrupt text
FIX: Replays from old Westhill before 2015 now marked as obsolete


Download:

https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/93185

works fine here

testing this weekend

I noticed a translation error for the Deutsch/German translation file. The string "3a_smallall" should be "Alle" (all) and not "Beide" (both).

@Scawen: Perhaps you can add a "simple" extension for LAN multiplayer by supporting hostnames for connection instead only IP addresses?

Quote from MagicFr :

testing this weekend

Thanks. I've noticed a bug - when your car is sideways or upside-down, you will find in VR that moving left/right/up/down has the wrong effect. Also the mirror views are messed up in that case. The more sideways, the worse the effect.

I've fixed it in my version and hope to release another minor test patch tomorrow.

Quote from Pasci :

I noticed a translation error for the Deutsch/German translation file. The string "3a_smallall" should be "Alle" (all) and not "Beide" (both).

Thanks, maybe I'll change this myself if a translator doesn't notice it.

Quote from Pasci :

@Scawen: Perhaps you can add a "simple" extension for LAN multiplayer by supporting hostnames for connection instead only IP addresses?

I think what I can do is show on the host screen, the local IP address(es) so it's easier to know what to type in on the guests. Would that help, so you don't need to run cmd and type ipconfig? I've done that in the development version already so can probably copy it over.

Quote from Scawen :

I think what I can do is show on the host screen, the local IP address(es) so it's easier to know what to type in on the guests. Would that help, so you don't need to run cmd and type ipconfig? I've done that in the development version already so can probably copy it over.

Thanks for the suggestion

Unfortunately, that does not help. The IP address of the host (dedicated host), I already know. It's just easier to enter a host name than an IP address. It is pure comfort. :-) I use an internal DNS server/service, which would simply resolve the input of a name.

But as already mentioned, this is a pure comfort feature. If it had been easy to implement, I would be happy. Otherwise no problem. Displaying the local IP address might be helpful anyway to others?

Quote from Scawen :

I think what I can do is show on the host screen, the local IP address(es) so it's easier to know what to type in on the guests. Would that help, so you don't need to run cmd and type ipconfig? I've done that in the development version already so can probably copy it over.

Actually for my use it would be a nice quality of life improvement

@Scawen: I'm sorry for the off-topic question: You mentioned somewhere what your next tasks will be: finishing lighting/shadow system, updating physics, improve network code

I'm assuming that a sound engine update (car engine sound) is planned sometime, too? What are your plans? Technical stereo sound is enough for me (I use a headset anyway). Compared to other sims the car sounds terrible. But that is probably not new. :-)

We need High quality shadow.

Quote from Pasci :

I noticed a translation error for the Deutsch/German translation file. The string "3a_smallall" should be "Alle" (all) and not "Beide" (both).

I've updated that, but probably won't list it in the U5 patch notes. Please can you check it looks correct in context when the patch is released?

Quote from nacim :

Actually for my use it would be a nice quality of life improvement

I've done the IP display.

About alowing to connect locally using hostname (Pasci's request) I could do without any extra complication right now as I'm still working on things in the development version. Even though it's probably easy.

Quote from Pasci :

@Scawen: I'm sorry for the off-topic question: You mentioned somewhere what your next tasks will be: finishing lighting/shadow system, updating physics, improve network code

I'm assuming that a sound engine update (car engine sound) is planned sometime, too? What are your plans? Technical stereo sound is enough for me (I use a headset anyway). Compared to other sims the car sounds terrible. But that is probably not new. :-)

Well this is something I just don't want in my head at the moment at all. Any sound improvements would be a several weeks/months project and the current sound quality doesn't prevent us releasing the new graphical improvements.

If any translators are here, I've added a couple of lines to the translation:

Local IP address
Local IP addresses

Thanks!

Quote from Scawen :

I've updated that, but probably won't list it in the U5 patch notes. Please can you check it looks correct in context when the patch is released?

Of course - I will do.

Quote from Scawen :

About alowing to connect locally using hostname (Pasci's request) I could do without any extra complication right now as I'm still working on things in the development version. Even though it's probably easy.

Great! Thanks - I will test this too.

Quote from Scawen :

Well this is something I just don't want in my head at the moment at all. Any sound improvements would be a several weeks/months project and the current sound quality doesn't prevent us releasing the new graphical improvements.

OK - Thanks for your statement

I am always impressed by your broad and deep knowledge of the various topics. Accordingly, I think it's great that you actively respond to suggestions and implement them (if in a meaningful context). Many, many thanks

About the local hostname, I looked into it anyway because I like the idea.

I've implemented it now, as a sort of "undocumented feature".

It only allows up to 15 characters for the hostname. Is that enough? Otherwise I'll need to start checking all the places that field is used.

How it works is this:

For the text entered in "Host IP address" on "Join Specific Host" screen, it checks to see if it contains a character other than 0-9 or '.' and in that case it guesses it is a hostname rather than an IP address. So it calls the "gethostbyname" sockets function to get the IP address from the name. If it finds the name then it checks if it's a local IP address as usual.


EDIT: By the way, I am talking about the "host name" of the local computer, not the host name (server name) specified in LFS. Without any use of master server, the only available name to connect locally is the local name of your computer as seen on your local network.

Test Patch U5:

VR:

FIX: Head tracking / mirrors wrong if car leaned with horizon lock

LAN:

Easier to set up LAN race: local IP address is shown on host screen
You can enter the local network computer name instead of IP address

Misc:

FIX: Rare manual shift at high speed to 1st/rev during auto shift
Most translations updated - thank you translators!

Download:

https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/93185

I think that gear shift bug is fixed now.

It was described by racerss recently here
And by imthebestracerthereis in 2012
And mentioned by Wizard DK here

I think the bug has been around for a very long time. If the situation is caught and avoided, a red message appears on your screen "Avoided GEAR_REVERSE" or "Avoided GEAR_FIRST".

It's hard to make it happen because you need to do a gear shift at the exact moment the auto-shift will do a shift.

Looks like shifting works now. Auto shifted perfectly from 2>3 while pressing shift down and "Avoided GEAR_REVERSE" appeared.

EDIT: After messing with the gears in FXO, I noticed that when auto-shift goes from 3rd to 4th gear and you manually shift to 5th, it keeps shifting between 4th and 5th gear untill the RPM is high enough to hold 5th gear. Tested with all cars with [hard track] or [default] setups and only cars doing this are RB4, FXO and XRT.

Hostname: Works like a charm - Thank you!
Translation German: Now it makes sense. Thank you

New strings in german:
Local IP address: Lokale IP-Adresse
Local IP addresses: Lokale IP-Adressen

But there are more (when starting local server):
Local host name: Lokaler Hostname
Address: Adresse

Quote from Scawen :

Easier to set up LAN race: local IP address is shown on host screen
You can enter the local network computer name instead of IP address

Tested both, works perfectly, thanks!

BTW, I playing with the car shader, and I'm getting really limited by the 64 arithmetic instructions of shader model 2.0. Would it be possible to compile in shader model 3.0 and fallback to 2.0 if compilation failed?
I don't even know if the fallback is necessary, because looking at Steam hardware survey, 98.78% of GPUs are compatible with Shader Model 3.0 and up, as the first SM 3.0 cards arrived in 2004.

Thanks for the testing!

Quote from nacim :

Would it be possible to compile in shader model 3.0 and fallback to 2.0 if compilation failed?

Unfortunately it's not so simple because some things in SM2 don't work in SM3. For example the fog must be done differently. And I have a vague memory about some issue with the 2D interface shaders too. And it needs some special handling for certain types of error (so the whole program doesn't become unusable each time there is an error in a shader). I know this because I changed to SM3 and dealt with the issues in the development version. I'm not keen to spend time working on the old shaders at the moment.

Quote from Scawen :

...I know this because I changed to SM3 and dealt with the issues in the development version. I'm not keen to spend time working on the old shaders at the moment.

This development version sounds like a new game when you will release it
Some would have sold it as a new game

No issue with U5

Quote from Pasci :

But there are more (when starting local server):
Local host name: Lokaler Hostname
Address: Adresse

I've removed these two (in my version) now that it seems to work.

I've added a new message to the translation. It can be displayed to the user in a dialog:

Computer name was not found

I reinstalled version T because i get in U+ always a strange "Generating" message at the same place where the fps displayed.

I think that is when the layout objects are updated. It would depend on which server you were on, if the layout was being changed that could come up. There could be a split second hang while that message is displayed (when the meshes are sent to the graphics card).

If the server InSim has been coded correctly, that should only come up when the updating is finished, not every frame.

I don't think anything has changed since version T so you would still get that message. I think it depends on the server you are connected to rather than your version.