Topics

In an old post it was stated that GPB supports reflection maps. Could you confirm the format for this shader? Is it just a grayscale image or a more complex structure?

I have experimented with a gray scale image assuming; towards black = lower reflection, towards white = higher reflection and gray=mean but i am not convinced of the result.

Thank you

I am finding my major (99%) reason for 'cores' is when the bike is running on the track edge join. Often the error is a visible crack between track edge and the scenery but sometimes it just seems to be where the white boundary lines do not sit well on the track surface - possibly the main track geometry fault is just very small in this region.

Could the detection routine be made more tolerant of poor track geometry?

This effects a lot of tracks even the default Victoria

If you just scale a paint texture (keeping ^2) to get a bigger or smaller paint area will this new texture apply to the existing UV map OK?

Just curious, i know it works with other games and i was just pondering an easy way of stress testing model texture size vs FPS

Could you create a file similar in concept to a .pnt but containing new .edf files for bike parts?

This would allow wheels, exhausts, screens, tyres, forks and maybe even the 1P cockpit to better represent the specific variants ridden by different teams and riders.

Thank you

Would it possible to add .shd files to the .pnt file?

This would allow a painter to adjust shininess, reflection and bump maps to make the most of their paint scheme.

Particularly i am thinking of the ability to make paints appear either flat or metallic and to make items like exhausts look better when you change the paint from metallic to carbon.

Thank you

Had some discussion with DD and i am very confused.

As i understood it direct lean OFF places the virtual rider in control of the bike and he rides the bike for you based on the limits of the physics model and your steer vector request.

Direct lean 100% overrides the virtual rider steer input and allows you to input whatever you like directly as a steer vector, the physics responding to this possibly exaggerated input.

The bike handling/physics response is very different between these 2 extremes.

I do not want to discuss the merits of each, but what is the 'correct' model for the bike control? I seem to remember from the very early alpha(1?) that direct lean was not an option so i assumed 0% direct lean with full virtual rider control is the full simulation mode. DD assures me that 100% direct lean is the full simulation mode.

Very, very confused as i can only ever see the physics bikes dynamic response being a compromise to satisfy the controller mode at the moment.

Help.....
h106frp

Is it possible to declare more that one LCD texture (w_texture) in the gfx.cfg file?

I would like to create separate displays for gear position and lap time

Thank you

Remembered some comments in a thread somewhere and though i would experiment.

Normally run a lot of direct lean 70% and noticed a lot of wobble vibration testing a bike when lifting it back to vertical (wobble 30 + the small oscillations you can detect through the rumble), Dropping direct lean to 20% and the transition to vertical is smooth without what i assume is the v rider fighting the transition, does make the bike seem sluggish though.

So it does seem that if you are using direct lean it does fight the bike physics with some unpleasant results 

Been trying to fix what i thought was a texture issue but appears to be effected by anti alias setting.

AA was at 8, switched AA to 16 and everything is OK, switch back to 8 or lower and problem persists.

With 8 AA, when i zoom out a few small textured areas disappear along where model/UV edges would be and are replace with the bulk background color.  The problem is symmetrical on the model and appears in both showroom and track. Other skins appear unaffected by the problem. Checked texture and model and i cannot see anything odd so i guess it is the edf normal mapping interacting with the AA setting and colors.

Anybody else encountered anything similar?

At 8AA back  of seat unit 3 section of texture missing both sides on silver and blue graphic


Zoom in and all is OK

Also noted at the same time, before i experimented with AA i was having a problem with the grey displaying consistently across different textures with it appearing to be be very shiny for some textures (checked shader script - no issues). Nothing changed apart from switching settings for AA back and forth and now it appears OK - weird and wasted a lot of time.

Just checked in game and i have observed that adjusting the rear ride height away from the default value causes the rear tyre to hover above the track surface as if the rear suspension is not compensating for the elevated mounting position correctly. Checked with both default and mod bikes.

Probably well known by some but i stumbled across it and thought it might be some use to DD or others with sound experiments

in the sfx.cfg file

found this quote in a random PB guide 'mindistance is the distance under which volume is the max.'

So for the default Mura and Varese this value is;
   scl = engine.scl
   min_distance = 16

So i assume if you are within 16m of any bike(s) including your own you get the engine sound channel at full volume

- anybody know the typical starting grid spacing? I guess this is why your bike is only as loud as the ones around you as they are all within the minimum sphere. It would seem more sensible to reduce this value and adjust the sample volumes such that the proximity of other bikes becomes more progressive over shorter distances

edit:
If this is any reference then you will get a lot of max volumes - Malaysia MGP

Would it be possible to improve the raindrop animation on the windshield for wet weather 1P riding?

Ideally it would be nice to have the droplets streak across the screen at the the bike speed increases.

At a minimum it would be nice to see the existing droplet respond correctly to speed changes and not just hang, obeying gravity even at 150mph. I would have though that as the raindrop has an animation cycle going from droplet to fade it might also be possible to rotate the basic texture from the vertical depending on the distance from the bike centreline to indicate the aerodynamic forces acting on the screen/raindrop.

At the moment the raindrops dilute the sense of speed/simulation/immersion as they just sit on the windshield defying the forces that should be acting upon them.

Improved weather animation may also benefit TTB where the weather will need a more dynamic component (wet/dry on the same lap) to be realistic.

Thanks

@PiBoso

In the only example i have found for the correct use the converter (plugin) it uses a script export_script.ini to append the component bike parts to the bike.edf with keys for each part used later in referencing the model parts in the .hrc and gfx.cfg file.

In the standalone converter how do i emulate this behavior to correctly construct the bike.edf files? I cannot see any append options or ability to run a similar script.

Is it even possible to build a correctly constructed bike file using the standalone converter or is it only possible using the plug-in?

A simple yes/no to the last question will save me a lot of wasted time

Thank you

When i started my model i was advised to just use standalone single edf files without scenes and this seems to have worked OK for the model.

I have constructed a standalone LOD edf file and i now seem to have a problem. In game the model geometry layers change OK when zooming in and out but the textures are all messed up on the LOD layer and seem to have the correct textures randomly applied to the various model components.

To resolve, i have tried so far;
Placing the same main model in the 3 LOD layers - works OK as far as i can tell with  no visible problem
Placing the LOD layer in the main layer - works OK, LOD model appears to be correctly defined
Tried naming the LOD layers using file= rather than scene= in the .hrc LOD declaration file - GPB will not load past the splash screen and eventually cores
Tried making the LOD a single 3D object with a named part and declaring name= in the .hrc file - Still get the texture map corruption

The LOD layer is the same model with all the small details removed and reference the same texture and shaders during compilation with fbx2edf

I am sure i have seen at least one MOD bike done this way where i noted a LOD layer edf in the directory but i cannot locate it now

I am guessing it a model declaration syntax issue at the moment

Thanks


edit:
Meanwhile i am going to learn about scenes in Blender  Nothing is ever as simple as it seems at first but having had a play with the free roam camera the LODs are not only important for in game riders but also to reduce streaming load for DD, It appears that i can easily reduce the model graphical load by 30% with each LOD

......Might be on to something    It seems you cannot directly reference the same material texture name with another LOD without creating problems. Making a copy of the model with different material reference names (same actual sorce texture file though) and object/mesh names and it appears to work correctly. I will experiment a bit more later on. I wonder if the LOD textures are expected to be scaled (to reduce size) and renamed .....

Hello PB,
Could you briefly explain the parameters for the clutch/slipper please?

   Clutch
   {
      MaxTorque = 490
      Mapping = 2
      DeadZone = 0.04
      Slipper = 1
      RampAngle
      {
         range = 30, 5, 45
         setting = 1
      }
      MaxSlip
      {
         range = 0.5, 0.1, 1.0
         setting = 2
      }
   }

It does look as if rampangle and maxslip are intended to be garage adjustable, would this be implemented in the future?

Thank you

Trying to create the shadow model for the chassis;

Followed the guide and created a model with no textures linked (surfaces still have UV co-ords, just no texture as per normal) and painted base white in default material color. Check in fbx viewer and only model and base material color are present. 

Compiles OK in fbx2edf as a shadow model

Linking the file to the game causes all bike shadows to disappear even the front wheel which is currently a separate default shadow.

Does the model need a particular object structure (single object possibly) ? currently i am just using a simplified version of the main chassis model with a number of object parts.

Thanks

Just for anyone who wanted to know what the typical curve looks like, the effect of oil heights on front suspension. Wish the garage screen would generate plots like this for the actual set up;

Is it possible to animate the front chain drive sprocket ?

Thanks

Is it possible to add support for animation of the gauges (rpm, speed etc) in third person view?  This would look great in replays especially the 'tank cam' view.

Thanks

Using the showroom to check paints and model it would be nice to be able to move the light source across and along the bike to change the shadowed side.

Thanks