Racer

[Ruud]

Welcome to RaceDepartment.
As RSC has been offline for quite a while, RaceDepartment has been gracious enough to host a temporary Racer forum.

To kick it off, here is Racer v0.8.0. Warning: all things are set to target relatively high-end graphics card. nVidia 7950+ somewhat. Onboard cards will not do.

The download is at http://www.racer.nl/download/racer080.zip (42Mb).
If you have an ATI card, Cg shaders may not work due to a bug in Cg 2.1. Try the patched racer.exe from http://www.racer.nl/download/racer081a_patch.zip (1Mb).

Hope you can enjoy it!
Ruud

The patch (really a preview of v0.8.1, so interesting for nVidia users as well) changes these, although no data files are included you can check out some things already:
- Added envmap.live_track.sides_per_frame to set update count of live envmap
- Car.ini camera<n>.view variables were read, but never used. Removed loading them, they are (and were) obsolete.
- LOD (level of detail) for objects is now adjusted to take into account the camera FOV (normal FOV=50).
- Split fullscreen_shaders directory into LDR and HDR variants (data/renderer/fullscreen_shaders_hdr and _ldr).
- Added car.ini engine.idle_method to avoid throttle being slightly open all the time. See http://www.racer.nl/tutorial/engine.htm
- Now enforcing engine.stall_rpm to be at least 100 rpm less than idle_rpm to enable the new idle_method 1.
- Added engine.braking_torque_curve to specify a curve for the engine braking instead of the linear parameters.
(the Lambo now uses such a curve for demonstration)
- Modified smoke particles to have no velocity. Also increased the brightness somewhat.
- Bloom map was 16-bit, now 8-bit.
- Added car.ini audio.skid audioset based on skid amount (around 0..2). This allows subtle scrub sounds before
going to screeching & screaming.
- Added 'gearwhine_off' audioset for gearwhine under deceleration circumstances.
- Fuel consumption was based on engine output torque, added internal friction (engine braking torque) in fuel use calculations.
- Renamed racer.ini variable 'collision.report_car_trk' to 'collision.report_car_track_collision'
- Added car.ini's reboundstop_len and reboundstop_k for much the same as a bumpstop, only to prevent wheels falling through susp<n>.maxlen
see http://www.racer.nl/tutorial/suspensions.htm#reboundstops
- susp<n>.restlen no longer needs to be smaller than maxlen. It ignored precompression that way.
- Added fuel.rof to overrule the fuel grams/liter parameter. Normally it's around 700 for regular petrol.
- Added views.ini 'invert' field (0/1) which inverts the variable (like 'factor' which multiplies it)

The list of changes since v0.7.3:

- Bugfix: OpenGL3.0 drivers would crash Racer due to a mistake in getting some extension function pointers.
- Bugfix: track's with special.ini gfx.time below 1000 (10am) were not interpreted correctly.
- Bugfix: turning on projected lights no longer kills some 3D dials
- Heavily modified Cg shaders. Also added a lot more. See http://racer.nl/tutorial/gpushader.htm
- Projected lights used alphafunc, which made lights on semi-transparent object pixely.
- Added car.ini's model_reverse_l/r models for true rear lights. This should do away with the views.ini hack to add reverse lights.
- Modified live track envmapping to not do all sides every frame. Lots faster.
- Removed dbg_stats tree in racer.ini (it was obsolete).
- Added 'clouds' script command for Cg-shaded skies, added 'clouds' uniform float parameter for Cg shaders (0..1).
- Also added 'clouds' in a track's special.ini (env.clouds)
- Added resolution.vsync to sync to display frequency or not (0=max fps, 1=sync, >1=set interval)
- Added moving helmet (+pilot body) model option in car.ini. See http://www.racer.nl/tutorial/helmet.htm
- Raised the number of possible flares for each car to 20 (was 10)
- Simple (single-polygon) shadows for car views without a body model are now turned off.
- Removed 'fx.sky_enable' option. The sky is always on.
- Removed 'gfx.reflections' option. Was/is obsolete.
- Added graphics.show_names to be able to indicate driver names floating above cars.
- Added mirrors.texture.fbo setting to render into an offscreen framebuffer object (faster)
- Added mirrors.texture.fbo_samples setting to enable anti-aliasing of the mirror.
- Added HDR rendering basics (renderer.hdr.enable=1). Uses data/renderer/shaders_hdr directory if enabled, shaders_ldr otherwise.
- Added Bloom rendering for HDR mode (renderer.bloom.enable=1).
- Split data/renderer/shaders directory in two: shaders_ldr and shaders_hdr. HDR is the way to go. LDR will be deprecated.
- Added ini.auto_lights setting (0/1) to determine with time-of-day controls a car's light automatically
- Added shader 'reflect' material property for reflective Cg shaders (in the same line as diffuse, ambient, specular etc).
Use this in conjunction with [dyn_]shader_reflective_v/f.cg for example.
- Added car.shd/track.shd 'motion_blur' variable to turn off motion blur velocity map generation for certain shaders (wheels mostly).
- Added auto-exposure settings for HDR rendering (racer.ini:renderer.auto_exposure.*)
- Added fx.sun.auto_time_of_day to track real current (PC) time for the time of day in Racer
- Added fx.sun.fast_time_factor to set time speed. Normally 0 for no time change, 1 for realtime, >1=faster than realtime
- Added fueltank in cars. See data/cars/default/car.ini (fuel.* settings). Currently in alpha. No fuel means no throttle.
- Added fuel view variables for views.ini files (for cars). See http://www.racer.nl/tutorial/fuel.htm for details.
- Added formatting option for views.ini; 'float_1' displays a value with 1 decimal (for example: 123.4).
- Added 'sample_hold' option for view elements to get slow-updating dials (mostly useful for digital dashboards)
- Added fx.sun.flare option to remove sun flare. It doesn't match with the Cg sun position.

 

[Tiberius]

Would be great if the moving generics were working again. I did all the mechanical stuff on the Capri, even down to modelled macpherson struts and coils on the front, brakedisc backplates etc. Of course, all that looks wrong at the moment as soon as you turn the wheels a bit. Support for making major mechanical parts moveable (suspensions, live axle/leaf springs, steering linkage etc) would be great.

Same idea with the D-Type and the Zakspeed, both race cars with separate lightweight chassis...I''d like to model virtually everything and kill some with LODs to ease the framerates when you move away from the car. Generic models (non movable) are great for doing LODs and changing small parts of a model - on the Capri it goes from 50k polies close up to under 2k from 150 meters away, that's one helluva cut and you can barely notice it on the visuals. BUT, we're limited to 10 generic models - sounds plenty but once you start adding bumper and spoiler models etc...having 16 or 20 would be great. I think when I last put the Capri into rFactor, I used 15 models or so and that worked nicely, having a few more in Racer would help.

 

[GizmoPower]

lol. Where are you from Gizmo?

Have you tried increasing the wheel rate? A soft tire will compress under load, but the .dof model is not compressed. If you set the wheel rate very high then maybe the wheels stay more on the ground. Just a thought.

I´m from Kristiansand.
Yes, I have experimented a bit with tire rate (It´s now about 1200000). I will keep on experimenting with stuff when I have time.

 

[Knut Omdal Tveito]

I recently tried GPlegends. I just love to see how the suspension works through the corners. I would really like to have that in Racer I agree with the number allowed Tiberius. Wouldnt take too long too use up 10 models. Hope we see it in upcoming versions

 

[Tiberius]

LOL! Takker is tanx in Norwegian....

I remember reading you where experimenting on B707. Sounds fun! :dance2:
Did it leave the ground at all?

Hehehe yeah, the 707. That was a loooong time ago . I managed using wheels for spinning turbines, and it 'drove' fine while on the ground. Yeah it flew but don't bet on landing again..pretty explosive stuff once you got airbourne

Actually would be good to see how it looked with cg now, would make the polished alloy bits look great. But if I touched it again, it'd be as a static prop, scenery object for the airfield type track I was always gonna make. Throw in a really weathered paint job and a few disused hangars and lots of trees and scrub, and cracked concrete aprons and taxiways to drive on, could make a good track..

If you want to have some fun with it, let me know and I'll see if I've still got it anywhere, no guarantee it'll work now though

 

[GizmoPower]

Hehehe yeah, the 707. That was a loooong time ago . I managed using wheels for spinning turbines, and it 'drove' fine while on the ground. Yeah it flew but don't bet on landing again..pretty explosive stuff once you got airbourne

Actually would be good to see how it looked with cg now, would make the polished alloy bits look great. But if I touched it again, it'd be as a static prop, scenery object for the airfield type track I was always gonna make. Throw in a really weathered paint job and a few disused hangars and lots of trees and scrub, and cracked concrete aprons and taxiways to drive on, could make a good track..

If you want to have some fun with it, let me know and I'll see if I've still got it anywhere, no guarantee it'll work now though

Serious? I´d loove to take it for a spinn (flight)!!

 

[2o6]

Imho you should start modelling real cars, maybe making concepts is not your thing?(no offence)

Why? Because it doesn't look like everyone else's?

 

[foxo]

And it doesn't look accurate either.

 

[Harey]

Why? Because it doesn't look like everyone else's?

I think what Foxo is saying is you should model a real car to get a feel for how a car should be modeled(not that there is one correct way to do it), theres nothing wrong with your model, its just so low poly that it kinda shows. I would suggest you at least give modeling a real car a shot first, not trying to be mean or anything though.

 

[Harey]

Ok have been working a little bit on the mini lately, I'll admit not a ton, just a little bit though. got the basic body done, just need to put in the trim, lights, and glass, and bumpers, really. Have also started on my first track, though I'm not going to work too hard on it just yet, anyways its a lot to model. so here's some quick pics...



and just to give you an idea of the track I'm working on....

 

[foxo]

Thanks for making it clear Harey.

 

[curtiswwe]

Racer version 0.7 works, 0.8 crashes before the whole thing even starts and 0.8.2 goes to the menu loads, but then crashes as soon as 3d is displayed.

GPU: ATi Radeon 3870
CPU: Intel Dual Core E5200

My QLOG (0.8.2) reads:

Sun Jun 14 10:29:21 (INFO): [noqapp/2864] --- application start ---
Sun Jun 14 10:29:21 (INFO): [noqapp/2864] 2 processor(s); setting affinity to 0x1
Sun Jun 14 10:29:21 (INFO): [racer/2864] Racer version: 0.8.2 (Apr 24 2009/14:29:50)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:21 (INFO): [racer/2864] WorldRenderer: you have an ATI graphics card (ATI Technologies Inc.). Working around some long-term bugs.
Sun Jun 14 10:29:21 (INFO): [racer/2864] MaxSwapGroups 0, maxSwapBarriers 0
Sun Jun 14 10:29:21 (WARN): [racer/2864] DFrameLock:BindSwapBarrier() failed
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (INFO): [racer/2864] Audio: setting speakermode to 2 (stereo, system default is stereo)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] QSample:Load(); can't load 'data/audio/heavy_imp_1.wav': File not found.
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] RAudioSample: Can't load sample 'data/audio/heavy_imp_1.wav'
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] QSample:Load(); can't load 'data/audio/heavy_imp_2.wav': File not found.
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] RAudioSample: Can't load sample 'data/audio/heavy_imp_2.wav'
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] QSample:Load(); can't load 'data/audio/heavy_imp_3.wav': File not found.
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] RAudioSample: Can't load sample 'data/audio/heavy_imp_3.wav'
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] QSample:Load(); can't load 'data/audio/heavy_imp_4.wav': File not found.
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] RAudioSample: Can't load sample 'data/audio/heavy_imp_4.wav'
Sun Jun 14 10:29:22 (WARN): [racer/2864] DFBOTexture: your hardware only supports 8 samples; reducing requested 16
Sun Jun 14 10:29:24 (INFO): [racer/2864] Loading track 'carlswood_nt'
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (INFO): [racer/2864] QNClient:Connect() attempt to 127.0.0.1:25000
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (INFO): [racer/2864] QNClient: connected to server (our clientID=71)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] DGPUShaderManager:MakeObject(dyn_standard_bump_reflect_v.cg): can't create CG vertex shader program
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] DGPUShaderManager: [data/renderer/shaders_ldr/dyn_standard_bump_reflect_v.cg] CG ERROR : "The compile returned an error."
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] data/renderer/shaders_ldr/dyn_standard_bump_reflect_v.cg(64) : warning C7011: implicit cast from "float4" to "float3"
data/renderer/shaders_ldr/dyn_standard_bump_reflect_v.cg(68) : warning C7011: implicit cast from "float4" to "float3"
data/renderer/shaders_ldr/dyn_standard_bump_reflect_v.cg(32) : error C5109: variable "R" domain conflicts with semantics "ATTR"
data/renderer/shaders_ldr/dyn_standard_bump_reflect_v.cg(33) : error C5109: variable "I" domain conflicts with semantics "ATTR"
data/renderer/shaders_ldr/dyn_standard_bump_reflect_v.cg(33) : error C5041: cannot locate suitable resource to bind parameter "I"
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (ERR ): [racer/2864] Exiting on compile error.
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'data/images/rain01.tga' still around with 1 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'data/images/snow.tga' still around with 1 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'standard_v.cg' still around with 2 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'standard_burn_f.cg' still around with 2 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'standard_vc_v.cg' still around with 23 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'standard_vc_f.cg' still around with 23 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'sky_v.cg' still around with 1 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'sky_f.cg' still around with 1 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'animate_test_v.cg' still around with 4 reference(s)
Sun Jun 14 10:29:25 (WARN): [racer/2864] QObjMgr: object 'standard_f.cg' still around with 4 reference(s)

What's wrong with this?

 

[glyn]

Void

Hi guys, running racer on an intel iMac. Took this shot just past the pits turnoff. There is nothing there and the road ahead floats as if it's a bridge, if you drive off it you actually fall off.

 

[Harey]

Hi guys, running racer on an intel iMac. Took this shot just past the pits turnoff. There is nothing there and the road ahead floats as if it's a bridge, if you drive off it you actually fall off.

parts of it are still incomplete, expect to see things like that in a Beta release :wink2:

 

[2o6]

I appreciate the advice, but I really don't care. I want to get this model done it's my first model ever and was originally for the HHC.


I really don't want to do a real car. I have no desire to do one.......

 

[boomer541]

Noticed that RSC is coming back tried to log in but it crashed MS IE.

 

[GizmoPower]

Working on the go-kart section. It just takes time to get the elevation changes to look right.

I'm also working on a six mile long track that is taking a bit of time also.

Glad everyone likes this great track!

Way to go Boomer!
It´s a great track by FSR, wich will get even better with the work you are doing Boomer!
Tanx!

 

[GizmoPower]

Tanx Boomer! I will PM you but it requiers 15 post! Nearly there!

 

[camsinny]

...That'll teach me not to clear my cache.

But I managed to log in. Just get the same message. "Give us a few minutes."
Hmmm...not sure about that. The themes took about 2 months to 'convert'...

Using Chrome btw.

 

[Ruggero]

hi, just downed the Racer software, but it doesn't work (also the DLL files)
after just trying the quick race, it loads and at the end of the loading the window closes. My Graphic card is a ATI hd3650 Does it have to do with that? and will it ever work?

thanks

 

[GizmoPower]

Working fine here, only the server is at the moment VERY busy! Huge traffic! They are working on it!

From RSC:

Wow!
You guys are generating so much traffic that even our new, improved, more-stable server is having issues. We're working on a solution right now... but some features may be disabled until the re-launch 'boom' has died down a little. Stay tuned!