LFS Development Discussion

[[TC-R] Sam]

Why are you surprised? It is LFS after all.

[GT4tube]

Just Scawen Things.

[kudlateli]

Shame, we want better LFS!

[◄Chuck►]

scawen Wrote:I can't do it for this coming official version because I hope to release it very soon and get back to the tyre physics.

I guess we all know what tyre physics mean. I think we know it since 2007

[Borja]

Well , he always is backing to tyre physics,... cant he focus on them only?

Atleast , we can see some progress.

[[TC] Howlin]

He probably spends a day on them after each patch, gets nowhere and gets annoyed with it so just goes and makes some other shite.

[[TC]►BP◄]

I'd rather tiny progress than no progress at all.

[[TC]►Ras◄]

Nice horn command suggestion Chuck. Hope Scawen put it on his list. Would be a nice way to select the horn you want.

[Dracula]

Is he ever actually 'at' the tyre physics?
Everything I read from him is 'I have to do this but then I'll get back to them' lol

[Borja]

Quote:Test Patch 0.6P7 is now available: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/89703

Changes from 0.6P6 to 0.6P7 :

Mirrors :

Mirror adjustment and other view settings change with driver side
Reduced mirror up/down adjustment range to 20 degrees each way

Graphics :

Car shadow is now drawn when you are in an internal view

Fixes :

Mirror views could become corrupted when the car was damaged
Extreme adjustment of one mirror could corrupt other mirror views
Added checks to avoid a crash in LFS after a graphics driver error

Misc :

More translation updates - thank you translators

[Borja]

Quote:Test Patch P8, hopefully the final test patch before the full version...
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/89703

Changes from 0.6P7 to 0.6P8 :

Mirrors :

Increased resolution of mirror texture
Accurate view frustum for object culling in mirrors
Increased virtual mirror width from 0.3 to 0.333

Graphics :

Improved lighting on tyres and drivers - noticeable in dark places
Smoothed downward ambient lighting colour to avoid flickering

Misc :

New text command /horn X to set horn type (X = 1 to 5)

Fixes :

Your own car's shadow was not visible in the mirrors

---

Interesting tool that can change the horn by cmd

[[TC]»Pete«]

The new shadows look decent and /horn= will make horn changers simpler.

---

Here's a preview of the new softer shadows which are a great improvement over the old ones.

Spoiler (Click to View)

[[TC]►Bez◄]

Scawen Wrote:OK, thanks for the feedback.
Another test patch was needed : 0.6P9
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/89703

Changes from 0.6P8 to 0.6P9 :

Mirrors :

Mirror offset sliders only shown if a car has an interior mirror

Graphics :

Improved detection of nearby objects that should be shadowed

Fixes :

Unassigned controls regained default key or button on restart

[[TC-R] Renegade]

Scawen Wrote:Hello Racers!

Today we are pleased to announce a new update with graphical improvements, better controller support and more.

The main graphical update is a new system to simulate the mirrors realistically. Each mirror's image is drawn from a separate reflected location, so the interior mirror looks out through the rear window and you can see the sides of your car in the side mirrors. In VR and other 3D modes, a full stereoscopic image is generated for each mirror.

The lighting system for cars has been improved and your own car's shadow is now visible from internal views.

Multiple controller support is simpler to use and you can now easily select a single controller from a list of connected devices. Steering wheel rotation is automatically limited to the correct angle for your selected car.

In "Free view" mode there is a new "walk" option that allows you to wander around in the environment with the view point maintained at eye level. This was designed to help with our development because of the unique view it gives, specially when used in VR mode.

Read all about the update and how to install it on the 0.6Q information page.

- LFS Developers

[Borja]

Scawen Wrote:Yeah, we all know I need to get back on the tyre physics. I've started looking into that today, reading a few things, thinking how to start tackling the problems, seeing where I'm at, coming up with a plan of attack.

I think it's a case of coming in from two directions. One, looking in the code, making some notes, removing any code which is based on false assumptions, then coming up with good models to replace it. Two, at the same time, reading up on the elements that need to be modelled better. Plenty of testing all the way and extracting data to compare with real world data, and making sure everything scales nicely...

I will not try to aim for perfection. Far from it, the aim is to produce something that feels better to drive than the old tyre model for the sake of online racing. It will be a closer match with the behaviour of real world tyres, and will be based on reasonable assumptions and approximations, that can be improved upon in the future.


About the 0.6Q update. 3D mirrors were on my list for a long time. 2D mirrors really look quite bad in VR, as if there were LCD screens where your mirrors should be. Totally wrong. One day it just came to me how to do them. A half day experiment proved to me that the concept would work. As usual I thought it would all be done in a few days, but in fact was more like six weeks, with all the complications that came up and trying not to lose too much frame rate. I'm really happy with the result and LFS graphics came on a small step for everyone.

GamerMuscle has made a video featuring the new mirrors in LFS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKBNfJFNkUY

[SO•Yukine]

Quote:I'm not making any test patch plans at the moment.

Right now I am working on the carcass simulation. Then I'll be working on the tread simulation. That's all I know for now.

https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/1912380#post1912380

[Borja]

Scawen;1912392 Wrote:We have always been interested in eventually releasing track and vehicle editors and we still hope to do so. But the idea has always beem to "finish" LFS first, and that means S3 license with some more default content and with updated tyre physics. For example, there is no point letting community members loose on developing cars, when the tyre physics would be changed significantly at some point.


I am interested to do this and it would be possible after the tyre physics is released. It is particularly difficult to do at the moment while there are two entirely separate branches of Live for Speed. It's a big task and not something I'd like to do twice.

Scawen;1912396 Wrote:I guess you are joking but, to make it quite clear anyway, I have to go through all cars reworking them after the tyre physics change. Basically giving them more realistic settings and design considerations to suit the more realistic physics.

The point is that if community made cars are available, it would be extremely difficult to rework 10,000 cars to remove all the bodges they have included to get around the flaws in the old physics.

There are so many reasons not to release community editors for an unfinished piece of software, I hope I don't need to explain it any more!

That is apart from the fact that updating editors and providing download services, compatibility checking, approval systems and so on will be many months of work, and as I keep saying, I don't want any more delays to the tyre physics.

Scawen;1912399 Wrote:No discussion here, I've told you what I am doing. Tyre physics. I've just got back to them. I've not going to drop tyre physics now, in order to spend the next year building public track and car editors for some unfinished software. Hope that's clear.

[SO•Audiojack]

I like what I'm reading.

[[TC]►BP◄]

He does seem kinda serious about it this time. That said, he's been working on the tyre physics for donkeys years (on and off..) and no progress yet. Going to stay positive though.

[◄Chuck►]

Bringing back the handbrake for the MRT would be step forward