Although I ultimately took down the dSRC forums (mainly for security purposes really as I wasn't keeping Xenforo updated).. https://ds-autos.digiserv.net/ is still up and about since early 2005 IIRC.

That said, I rebuilt it recently just for shits n giggles, so now dockerised, built and deployed via a CI/CD pipeline... though I kept the original design despite using modern tech stack (was harder to do that than it would have been to redesign in a modern design!)

And the Neuropol font on Don's site was "legendary" back in the day!


Cheers..

Ian

I do too tbh mate.. had to make a few compromises with spec (lost auto-dimming mirror and heated seats, cruise-control) but gained sports chrono pack (comes with dynamic ECU and switchable sports exhaust) and upgraded BOSE sound system.. both of which are actually far more useful than either of the others.

The dark atlas grey looks different colours/shades in different lights.. not _quite_ pearlescent, but heading in that direction.. and also a black interior rather than ocean blue (although apparently a "premium colour", is definitely not as nice and looked more dated than black).

Other than already getting a puncture in the front wheel (non-repairable, typically!), it's all round a better car.

Takes some getting used to having virtually no weight in the front compared to the V8 I had in the AMG.. but despite being slower, a lot more fun to drive (especially being full manual).


Cheers..

Ian

Bought this ~2 months ago..



1.5 weeks later.. after being hit from behind when parked outside my house and pushed into the back of my better-half's motor.. it looked like this..



Insurer wrote it off with ~£7.5k worth of labour and ~£22k worth of parts, though they valued it at £3k more than I paid for it (not a bad profit!).. now got this one as a replacement ~2 weeks ago... hoping this one lasts! =D ..





Cheers..

Ian

Last edited by Ian.H, Wed, 6 Oct 2021 12:41.

Sold my trusty G25 last summer.. bought by a fella on ebay living in Australia for his Dad who lived 2 miles from me.

3 kids now (24, 15 and 9).. Ash (24) not living here.. makes me feel really old! Unfortunately, neither of my younger lads have gone the sim racing route.. both prefer to absolutely kick my arse in the likes of Fortnite (I'm really bad, but both of them are really good!).. but there's still time

Spend most of my virtual track time in ACC now with upgraded wheel and the likes (only replaced my aging box that I used to run LFS on at xmas).

The man/boy cave for us to play in...



Kids certainly have it better than I did.. I struggled with tapes and rubber keys.. both kids boxes are i9 10900K and 2070supers.. but at least no more "it's lagging Dad!"

Miss the S1 days with the massively close races I had with dodo.ger that got me hooked in all of this.



Cheers..

Ian

Quote from Nadeo4441 :

The most shocking are the UF1/UFR interiors. How can a "finished" game have this as main content? An average 3D designer could throw that together in a day or two.

I've been critical of the graphics over the years.. but IMO, yes, the car itself needs an overhaul, but assuming it's based on (and certainly looks like it) a classic Austin/Rover Mini.. unless you put a custom dash panel in, there's nothing more than a shelf and either a central speedo (with small temp and fuel gauges) or a 2 or 3 clock system infront of the steering column mounted in what looks like a black plastic shoe box.

Back on-topic for the thread itself.. as far as all of these track graphical updates go.. I think they've come a long way and are pretty impressive



Cheers..

Ian

After 3 years, the Range Rover Sport finally embarked on its last journey with me to make way to moving back into a German brand... this time, Mercedes.

I picked up a lovely example.. 63-plate E63 AMG S Estate.. 25,000 miles, most options, including the Dynamic Multicontour front seats with massage feature.

Loving this motor.. still pretty luxurious inside (probably moreso than the Range Rover) and a damn sight faster with 577bhp and 590lb ft torque.

Looked at black originally as dark colours detail very nicely, but figured it'd just look like a fast herse, so went for the Designo Diamond White Bright (pearl white) instead.











Cheers..

Ian

Quote from SimulatorRental.com :

I see a link to models of the cars, however that site links to .EXE files which I am not about to download from a site I am not familiar with. Especially when the file does not need to be, or gain anything from, being in an .exe file.

Hi SR.com... these were built back in the day when downloading .exe files wasn't seen as quite "such a risk" so to speak.

I can understand your concern in today's era, but please feel free to grab them. They're simply self-extracting 7-zip archives, so you can download them and unpack them manually if you'd prefer

They were done this way originally waaay back in the day primarily due to simplicity as many people would have / did ask "where do I put..........?" etc etc.

The packs have been downloaded a shitload of times over the many years they've been available (since 2004/5 I think?). Most of the renders on this site I'd say originated from my packs.. and many on this forum can vouch for their "validity"

Doing a search on these forums for 'ds-autos' will show a rough idea of usage and the likes.



Cheers..

Ian

Last edited by Ian.H, Fri, 7 Jul 2017 06:46.

PDO == PHP Data Objects.

It's basically an abstraction to access multiple databases in the same fashion... so it takes modules, eg: pdo_mysql for accessing MySQL / Maria DBs, pdo_pgsql for accessing PostGreSQL DBs etc, but the code _you_ right then doesn't change. Makes it great if you wish down the line perhaps to decide that you want to use PostGreSQL instead of MySQL for example.

As for HTTPS.. self-signed is fine for local dev access.. but with LetsEncrypt being free and so simple to configure, as long as you have the access for it one way or another, it saves the additional "load this unsafe site" clicks in your browser =)

It's a long time since I've gone looking for PHP tutorials (I started back in v4.0x days 14 or so years ago) but there's definitely a lot around. If you focus on anything >=5.6 you should be pretty good. There were _some_ breaking changes between 5.x and 7.x but touch wood so far, even sites I coded back in 2003/4, the only changes I needed to make to get them up and running in 7.1 was swapping out mysql_* calls.

End of the day, have fun and explore. There's a lot of pros and cons of PHP and a _lot_ of political arguments on the interwebz about the language.. but personally I enjoy using the language.



Cheers..

Ian

The mysql_* functions (and related module) have been deprecated for ages and finally removed in 7.x.

It sounds like you're using some real dated tutorials perhaps to learn from?

I'd go the PDO route personally for database stuff.

As for "do I need HTTPS?".. no, you don't _need_ it, but seeing as LetsEncrypt will issue free SSL certificates and the way everyone thinks they need to snoop on everyone's internet habits, enabling HTTPS is most definitely a plus.. and with HTTP/2 you'll often find it actually quicker these days than plain 'ol HTTP/1.1 =)



Cheers..

Ian

Here's smove's backgrounds:

smove's LFS backgrounds

Last edited by Ian.H, Fri, 20 Oct 2017 12:50.

If you email them to me, I'll upload them to my cloud server as a mirror like I did for Lynce's Fern Bay textures.. they'll be available "forever" =)

[email protected]



Cheers..

Ian


EDIT: Fixed typo in email address.. fat finger syndrome!

Last edited by Ian.H, Wed, 5 Oct 2016 21:26.

Been a loooooong time since I did any skinning... but here's Steve Neal's 1969 BSCC Mini Cooper for the UFR

2048x2048 uploaded to LFSW.



Cheers..

Ian

Last edited by Ian.H, Tue, 2 Aug 2016 23:35.

Glad it's found =)

Silly question, was it taken with or without keys? When I had my Mk2 Focus RS (and even now still all according), they're disappearing without keys because the EU in their hour of wisdom "protecting us" from dealer monopolies stated that key codes need to be stored in the ECU.. and people were simply getting blank keys and coding them on people's driveways via the ODB port and driving off.

I believe VW / Audi suffered the same issues as Ford in this respect.. so just curious =)



Cheers..

Ian

Quote from cargame.nl :

I don't care. At least they would show up online.

Ahh I see.. so now you don't care about other products, as long as they appear online.. quite ironic

Quote from cargame.nl :

What you are basically say is; make LFS free and see who is going to chip in a dime. Maybe some 50 pounds can be made. Sigh.

Please cite where I said that? My current account says I've spent £84 towards LFS.. I obviously have no problem with it being a paid product at all. You're flapping and getting your knickers in a twist, but that's ok

Quote from cargame.nl :

Nothing complicated about having central servers. The functionality is already there. Every license category gets one free server to start with and it's double win.

Nothing at all, until those servers disappear, either through technology glitches, ops screwing up, or the devs shutting shop (this has been proven multiple times with other software houses).

Quote from cargame.nl :

You don't really care. OK. Already was thinking that.

You're right to a degree.. no, I don't.. much like I'm sure none of the devs care too much if I happen to become unemployed tomorrow.. it doesn't affect each other's lives.

Quote from cargame.nl :

So it all of a sudden is socially accepted that people act like thieves when people say.. Hmm OK you cannot buy it.. Ooohh, so sorry for you... It's OK to steal. No problem! This is how wrong cultures are being made.

Except if they're making LFS look pretty by designing skins with cracked software

Quote from cargame.nl :

Turkey here is just an example, this behavior is widespread and is spreading like a virus all over the continent(s). With help from social media and Youtube which wasn't that active a few years back.

But hey, what if I say that I go the illegal path as well and support this kind of behavior too? It's a small step to go the dark path. Maybe thats needed to make a statement pppffff...

Pretty sure no one would give a flying.......... You think too much of yourself



Cheers..

Ian

I guess my main reasoning for the no max length is that once you bcrypt the password, the resulting length is constant, regardless of actual password length (heck, even if you were insane and just used bog standard MD5 hashing, the result is constant, though perish the thought of MD5!).

I can kind of understand with regards to game packet sizes though, and 48 bytes as you say, is probably far more than most would ever dream of using (I think one of my local council's sites required no more than 10 chars, and no special chars.. WTF!? ).



Cheers..

Ian

There should _never_ be a MAX length for a password! There's simply no reason for this to happen. If there is, then the system has been designed insecurely from the outset. Just saying.. as I recently found this to be an issue with certain big companies that should know better and definitely makes you wonder what format the password would have been stored in (I never created an account there in the end due to this).

Love keepass though, have used it for years.. and I save the kdbx file within my ownCloud client sync dir so I can share it across various devices (not quite as easy with my iPhone however as I have to add the file via iTunes, but the MiniKeePass app on there works nicely too, even if a bit more effort is involved to use it).


Cheers..

Ian

How many of our wonderful skinners, and renderers do you think really _paid_ for Photoshop and 3DS Max (and VRay / Brazil)? I'm pretty sure you could probably use at most, both hands to count them.

I looked at the download numbers for some of my free programs I've written. LFS Player Hacker has been downloaded over 24,000 times. If I'd sold that for £1 a pop, do you think I'd have made £24k? very unlikely.. _maybe_ £50.. the rest would have shared it around / cracked it or simply not bothered.. 1 less person using a cracked piece of software doesn't equal one more legit purchase, by any stretch of the imagination.

If you write software for a living, you learn to understand this.. as the devs have done I'm sure. You can't prevent it (anyone really believing you can is simply delusional), but if you accept that it's going to happen and you do what you feel is adequate in making it harder for Joe SixPack to do it, then you're likely to have a few more strands of hair at a later point in life than if you stressed and fretted about every person that might be using a hookey copy of your software.

The devs themselves are obviously happy with the legit:cracked ratio (OK, maybe not _happy_ per-se, but understand and can tolerate it) else there would be other measures in place or they would pack up their bags and go home.

If you make software protection _too_ complex, then it's only the legitimate users who will suffer.. this has been proven multiple times with big houses / publishers, like Ubisoft etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning any of it.. but unless you have a vested financial interest in LFS itself, I really wouldn't continue losing sleep over it.



Cheers..

Ian

This just screams of "elitism".

Maybe the likes of Dygear etc should start charging licensed players too to use prism.. would be a bad thing to offer something for free to people?

I know a _lot_ has changed in the community since I fell upon LFS.. but "back in the day", people used to help others for the pure fun of it.. there wasn't this "elitist" attitude.

Demo is just that, a demonstration of the capabilities. This model, obviously works for the devs, if it didn't, they would have changed it already.

Much like piracy.. someone using a crack for a piece of software _doesn't_ mean that's a lost customer / revenue.. as many of the people using the crack wouldn't buy the software anyway. Like the demo.. limiting it _doesn't_ mean that all of a sudden, the devs will have an influx of new revenue.. quite then opposite more than likely.

Micro$oft started by giving its stuff away.. it then established it's name and products in the industry and look where it is now (we'll leave the personal feelings of M$ out of the equation for now as they're irrelevant).. but by releasing a demo like they have if nothing else, gets their name out there.



Cheers..

Ian

Not used these as yet, but the quality and detail looks great! Definitely a job well done =D

I hate links disappearing.. so here's another mirror I've just added for both 2048 and 4096 versions:

https://cloud.2up.io/index.php/s/NsIxC4NEFhnm7hK?path=%2FTextures%2FRevolution%20Pack



Cheers..

Ian

Last edited by Ian.H, Fri, 20 Oct 2017 12:48.

Can't remember the last time I fired up LFS and tbh, didn't think I would again.. but life changes and some things are thrown your way to make you reconsider what makes life tick.. so wondered what had changed within LFS over the past few years (granted content-wise, not much and I have no interest in the VR side of things).. but after grabbing my wheel back off my eldest.. I plugged it in and was pleasantly surprised.

There's still imperfections, but it's a lot better than I remembered from last time.. whilst Rockingham is OK.. the newly improved Westhill (only ran a few tests on National thus far) is great!

The new dedi host improvements over "back in the day" are cool too. Took longer to apt-get install wine on one of my Debian boxes and add the port forwarding on the Draytek router than it did to get it working (much simpler than days gone by).

The AI are still a bit rough, but much improved too.. although getting them to stop hitting the brakes really hard when you pass them within close proximity would be welcomed (yes, I like to play offline games sometimes).

Anyways.. looks like a few of us old dSRC members might be returning for some fun in the near future



Cheers..

Ian

$foo->bar is still acceptable:



Cheers..

Ian

The reason I got into detailing 5 years or so ago was due to my E46 convertible being keyed from end to end... I think I paid about £400 for the polisher, polishes and some pads and tried it myself. I couldn't get it out completely (I always now go by if you can feel the edge of a scratch with your nail, you're unlikely to remove it entirely) but I managed to "hide" it to the point that you needed to know it was there to see anything.

There's no excuse for the broken track rod et al. I don't even know why they didn't check to see what gear it was in.. pretty sure they would have for a manual (or is it a case of needing to put your foot on the brake before you can release park on the older RRs? I've only driven the newer ones but it's something I'd try before dragging it anyway!). I assume the valance was damaged via the strap too as it tightened and lifted upwards? Hope you manage to get them to pay out.. a shame it always seems to be the customer that gets screwed over

Apparently the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is having multiple companies quaking a bit as it sways more towards the side of the customer.. might be worth keeping in your Bat Belt™ if the "investigation" goes on too long (it covers services supplied as well as goods AFAIK).

The fella that owns the RRS is certainly more laid back than I. He's more annoyed / frustrated at the inconvenience than the £2.5k damage to the RRS and whatever cost to the wall. I think I'd have put the fella's head through the rest of the wall personally! Totally agree through.. manual, auto.. irrespective, they all have a brake pedal... an auto far bigger than manual so why you'd fail to be able to hit that is beyond me! Not sure the "that'll buff out" answer would quite work on that one, no matter how good the detailer thinks he is



Cheers..

Ian

The scratch should buff out? or at least enough to pretty much hide it.. doesn't make it OK though.

That said, it, it could be worse (thanks to a detailer who'd never driven an auto before!).



Cheers..

Ian

Love these motors... so we bought yet another one



1992 Rover Mini Sprite 1275cc.. grp6 arches (soon to be replaced with grp7s), 8Jx13" AlleyCat alloys with 195/45/13 Dunlop tyres.. some sports twin pipe centre exit backbox (about to be replaced this week with a 3-branch manifold and full RC40 exhaust (single box, no cat ).

Needs some TLC.. but not bad for £2.5k. Engine will soon come out for a rebuild and bored to 1380cc set up with a high-lift cam kit, roller-tip rockers and a twin webber 40 carb setup.



Cheers..

Ian

Quote from Keling :

What's inside that Flintstones vehicle? Is it electronic or internal combustion? Any photos?

There's an electric motor under the rear, albeit not very powerful apparently, but although the axle drives actual real wheels, what you actually see and what it rolls on is just fibreglass, so as you can imagine, quite easily damaged.

I don't have any pics of the inside as such or underneath, but if it's still here in the morning when I get up (can't remember what time my next door neighbour said he was on the road with it), I'll try and get some "interior" and underneath shots.

Should have batmobiles (new one and the classic from the 80s) here around Easter Sunday and a bit later in the year, James Bond's DB5



Cheers..

Ian