LFS Companion 0.51 Alpha

• Adds pit radio messages from your pit crew giving you information about the race around you.
  
• Adds backfire sounds to cars.
  
• Adds a relay so you can get multiple insim & outguage applications working together
  
• Produces post-race statistical reports for use in web format, ideal for leagues
  
• Produces live timing information for commentators
  
• Produces live timing information for STCC & 360 league qualification
  
• Allows some editing of the XRT car stats in single player with LFS 0.5 U20

Example of stats output: Race Stats

Changes Since v0.51 Alpha

• Miscellaneous Bug fixes
  
• Pro Qualifying Mode

Changes Since v0.5 Alpha

• Stats: Added lap by lap positional chart (templates adjusted to include link)
  
• Bug: 360 Series Qualifying timing included the outlap
  
• Bug: Mouse clicks where not always registering correctly in sub menus
  
• Bug: When cancelling opening of offset file menu mode should be returned to the previous menu
  
• Stats: Bar chart showing individual driver lap times in a graphics format

Changes Since v0.41 Alpha

• Now supports races up to 1000 laps (previously 99)
  
• Relay Bug - Relayed applications sending the command to close down insim now get intercepted and discarded
  
• No longer reports "cannot load fart file" if you remove unwanted backfire .wav files
  
• Live Timing Data
  
• Live Timing - STCC
  
• Live Timing - 360
  
• Configure Path to LFS by dragging .exe into LFSC window
  
• "Launch LFS" button to start game with insim config all done automatically
  
• Number Pad hooks to reconfigure the radio on the fly
  
• Driver voice when requesting/stopping radio information types
  
• More messages culled at race start
  
• Pit spotter (relay) no longer breaks on race restarts
  
• No longer gives black screen when using LFS in fullscreen mode
  
• Bug - Players with erroneous ^ codes at the end of their name no longer crash the program
  
• Support for password protected insim application
  
• Tuning Bay - some basic editing of the XRT

Changes Planned
Items in blue are done and will be in the next release.

• Bug: LFS reports a font error on Dutch installs when launched from LFSC.
  
• Feature - Races held over a number of hours needs support
  
• Add wrecker report button (Barricade link) to the main menu
  
• OWRL Tracker support on stats page
  
• Track Map & Bouncing Dots on LapByLap stats pages
  
• Proper Final Results Stats Page
  
• Pit Spotter alternative built into radio mod
  
• More Mid-race distance to go messages
  
• Post-race messages
  
• Surround Sound Backfires
  
• Backfires on other cars
  
• Backfire profiling (using engine revs)
  
• Crowd Noise
  
• Strategy Management into radio mod, instructing range of fuel
  
• Cull Laps to go messages in the first 40% of the race
  
• Improve alternative insim packet types for wider relay compatability
  
• Consider restructuring of MCI(NLP) data struct to prevent position overlap issue
  
• Consider realtime calculation of car placement to prevent position overlap issue
  
• Use lap+split info to calculate positions on autocross track
  
• Excessive bass notes on other cars for drifting/cops n robbers
  
• Default relay configs for other mods for automatic configuration with drag & drop
  
• Cop Siren with on/off keyboard control
  
• Indicator Tick Sound
  
• Bug - backfires & Fuel reports still given on pit screen.
  
• Fuel reports as <2 when viewing other cars
  
• Radio mod for qualifying mode
  
• Automate support in the relay for applications using both insim+outguage
  
• Find offsets for Tuning Bay to work with dedicated server to allow tweeked cars on multiplayer
  
• Design new interface for Tuning Bay with slider bars to set values
  
• Include support for more values in the Tuning Bay
  
• Include support to load/save car profiles in Tuning Bay
  
• Include support for XFG + XRG cars in Tuning Bay
  
• Include support for editing car classes in Tuning Bay

Download

• v0.514b Full Version (4.61mb)

Setup Guide

• Extract zip to a new folder, retaining the directory structure
  
• Launch LFS-Companion
  
• Drag LFS.exe into LFS-Companion window
  
• Click Launch LFS
  
• Use number pad "0" and "." to config volume and number pad numbers to configure radio messages (Numlock must be on)

I recommend locking LFSC to give radio messages to yourself, do this by driving a lap and then returning to LFSC, goto the config screen and turn off auto player detection to lock it to the currently selected player, then save the config. Ocassionally LFSC can get confused with it's auto detection and give incorrect messages, or none at all.

Website & Instruction Manual

• Becky Rose . Com

This website has a few typo's still The download page referrs to the next version and so currently does not work (download from this thread instead). The VisionExtreme software referred too is also not on the site yet (because I forgot).

Dam Becky this looks interesting, can't wait to see how this develops in the future.

sweeeeeeeeet Keep up the awsome work

right then, this is one i will REALLY try to get working"

just found the XRT stats bit by accident

well i put it in my snazzy LFS script (so that i dont need to run tons of apps, i just run one .bat and momo leds and pitspotter start, then LFS appears), but i get "memory access violation"

EDIT - ANY Script trying to launch this makes the program give this error

Current Script (Works, but i have to start LFSC first manually)

When i try:

it gives me the error - what can i do???

I tried connecting to companion's relay and got the message "relayed client desires MSS .. ", and i guess companion doesn't respond to my app any further since it sees this as a problem? If this is the case, i don't think you need to drop/not respond to the connection. For my app, missing MSS packets would still allow a whole lot of functionality, nothing breaks because of MSO, some stuff just won't get triggered.

NLP vs MCI might be a real problem, but i think you could allow apps wanting MSS.

Companion [should] continues to broadcast to incompatable applications, it's just that some features may not work and it announces the incompatability.

I'm going nuts with insim relays/proxies/gateways.

My app couldn't connect to Companion, to connect it sends the ISI packet, a VER request and waits for the VER response, which never arrived. Companion works fine thru my relay though.

It's incredible how complicated this simple thing is, for example,

• dedilink -> my relay: ok.
  
• dedilink -> racemanager gateway: fails.
  
• dedilink -> my relay -> racemanager gateway: ok.
  
• lfsworld insim relay -> my relay: fails.
  

Since it doesn't work with lfsworld it's obviously broken, but it works so well in other situations. :tired:

Anyway, </offtopic>. The bits of Companion 0.5 i've tried so far have worked really well and your list of features is starting to look scary.

I'm still new to LSF, so maybe im doing something wrong.
I downloaded and extracted LFS Companion 0.5 Alpha.
I start LFSC, then drag and drop lfs.exe on the LFS Companion window.
I click Launch LFS and then I get an error: Could not load font.
When I click it I go back to the LFS Companion screen.
What am I missing?

Quote from Becky Rose :

This might work


@echo off
cd LFS-Companion
start LFS-Companion.exe
cd ..
start LFSmomoLeds.exe
start LFSspotter.exe
start LFS.exe /insim=49999
Exit


thank you! it works great!

Quote :

click Launch LFS and then I get an error: Could not load font.

This is an LFS error message and does not appear related to LFSC as far as I can figure out. Does LFS give this error when not using LFSC? If so, please post in the technical problems section. If not then I can only assume something is messed up with your Windows or LFS install. You could try creating a fresh LFS install folder.

Quote :

to connect it sends the ISI packet, a VER request and waits for the VER response, which never arrived.

I can't see a reason for this to fail, although I will look into the VER packet so I can be sure.

Does the relay page show your outbound port when it sends the ISI packet? What happens if you strip off the version check?

One thing to try also, make sure the text "Launch LFS" has gone before starting your application so that LFSC is talking to LFS before you try to connect. Perhaps your app wants to resend the VER packet if it doesnt hear anything for 5 seconds or so?

No, LFS works fine when I start it by clicking the exe.
I did some extra reading, and it works when I enter /insim=49999.
I reinstalled Windows only a month ago due to a HDD crash.
I'm running XP pro Dutch, SP2. Maybe we Dutch miss a font

Maybe it was something else I installed for LFS. Since im a noob, I downloaded and installed everything LFS related that I could get my hands on...

At least you're up and running anyway Even though you appear to have to enter the insim by hand.

Dont do that! "Even Jensen Button is faster" made me laugh and miss a turn!

Quote from Becky Rose :

That is something i'd like to do pretty soon, so lets start thinking about what controls to have, any expansions on this (all on number pad)

- volume down
+ volume up
Enter position
* lock radio to this car
/ radio on/off
1 fuel reports on/off
2 lap reports on/off
3 split time reports on/off
4 position reports on/off
5 ahead behind gain reports on/off
6 pit stop reporting on/off
7 identify car on/off

Maybe include this in your starting post for those, like me, who started with 0.5 Alpha

[edit: nm.. seems that you are working on that, not implemented yet it seems. Would be nice tho...]

Hi Becky ,

Really great job so far , just one very small thing I noticed , when I have to exit LFS for some odd reason (like forgot to plug in the wheel) after I launched lfs with this app , the launch buton is gone , so one has to exit lfs companion and start that again as well .

Keep up the great work

Quote :

edit: nm.. seems that you are working on that, not implemented yet it seems. Would be nice tho...]

It's in, but the numlock light must be on, when the numlock light is off you can edit rollbar settings in some cars with the same keys. The keys that are used are slightly diffrent as 2 saves an mpr replay. I also need to move key one because that votes, so the key bindings will all change when I shunt them along probably in the next release.

Quote :

when I have to exit LFS for some odd reason (like forgot to plug in the wheel) after I launched lfs with this app , the launch buton is gone

You need to quit LFSC when this happens because it wont re-establish the link to LFS, this is more complex then just putting in a button unfortunately, but is something that will get addressed further down the road .

is there a way to re-assign the keys as use some of the keys for controlling XMPlay (that is when i use it which isnt much while driving)

Great job, Becky
But (there is always a "but"): Adjusting things in the Tuning Bay is a pain. Would be possible to put at least an alternative way of entering data in? Like shift+click opens a little window in which you can enter the new value.
I want to adjust the Sound raspyness, just like in good old S1 times

I get the same error as Riffey, english Win XP pro, sp2.. LFS works fine otherwise, so it's not his system

Also, I seem to have to enter the /insim=49999 every time I start LFS. Entering it once doesn't seem to correct the error..

Quote :

get the same error as Riffey, english Win XP pro, sp2.. LFS works fine otherwise, so it's not his system

It could be his system, seeing as your both Dutch. The error is generated by LFS, and I dont have a Dutch install of Windows, so I dont know what to suggest to fix it or find the problem. I can suggest an alternative though which is to make a shortcut to your LFS which has the /insim=49999 on it (like the install instructions for the previous version).

Quote :

is there a way to re-assign the keys

Not at the moment, I might consider it further on.

Quote :

Adjusting things in the Tuning Bay is a pain.

The tuning bay is brand new and as such there's a lot to do to it still, I will be making a brand new interface for it with slider bars in the future, and adding a lot more stuff to edit (and many more engine sound effects, as you're interested!)

Work fine for me good work m8