rFactor for PC

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:52 pm

I installed it and took my first few laps today. I am mid 1:22's every lap, so I'm off the pace again and still out of control. I might skip tonight's race and try to hook up again next week.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:00 am

Well, I had a short race! The lag problems I had a while ago struck again, and after 2 laps I parked it before I caused a wreck.

Did a full scan of my PC and did find a trojan, so that was most likely the culprit. Having it blasting away at my bandwidth is not condusive to smooth online play! I've been scanning my PC like a nut now, hopefully I got it after using 4 different scanners. Any more problems though and it's fdisk city for me.

It doesn't explain why Ventrillo wasn't working though. I could hear everyone, but no one could hear me, very strange. At any rate, I blew away all of my Creative drivers and am just using XP's default settings for my sound. Looks like it is working OK, but I'll test online tonight while I practice for the next race. Yesterday morning I jumped in a quick race and it ran fine.

I did at least stay logged in so I could save the replay. Most of the end of the race I spent watching Cory's car, with it's trail of smoke coming out of it. I was wondering if it was going to hold together long enough to make the finish.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:55 am

Gurantsu wrote:Did a full scan of my PC and did find a trojan, so that was most likely the culprit. Having it blasting away at my bandwidth is not condusive to smooth online play! I've been scanning my PC like a nut now, hopefully I got it after using 4 different scanners. Any more problems though and it's fdisk city for me.

Fdisk? I didn't know anyone who still used that. Are you still running Win98?

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:53 am

Nope, XP. But I can't quite let go of DOS! I always fdisk before I rebuild a drive, old habits die hard I suppose.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:30 pm

Gurantsu wrote:Nope, XP. But I can't quite let go of DOS! I always fdisk before I rebuild a drive, old habits die hard I suppose.

Yeah but if you're using XP it's got all of the format and partition stuff built into the installer. Why don't you just use those? Unless you're changing from like FAT 16 drives, there's no reason to use FDISK anymore.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:01 pm

Like I said, old habits.

I've decided that I'm going to do it this week sometime, I'm not going to wait for another goof up. My 98 computer will now be my internet PC, and my main one with XP will be used for games only.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:08 am

Last night I blew my drive away and reloaded XP. Was able to get Ventrillo up and running (talked to Cory a bit, did you get a new wheel?), and ran some practice at Sardian for Saturdays race. Everything ran great (it's amazing how much a reinstall can help... even though I hate to do them!)

I'm running mid :37's at the moment at Sardian. I read that Joel and the boys were at :35 (and will probably go lower

) so I've got some more work to do. As usual though I try to keep a nice stable car, especially at this track since I get the feeling that there will be a lot of bumping and grinding.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:43 am

no new wheel, just trying to mess with my DFP. I think I have it set up all goofy, and I am not sure the FFB is right on it. Not saying it is hampering me at all, but it could be.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 1:09 pm

I thought it felt goofy myself at first, until I got the advice to turn the feedback strength to -100 (thats negative 100). Now everything feels about right.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 8:33 am

Well, an interesting race at Sardian on Saturday to say the least. I took out one of the leaders with an incredibly bone-headed move on lap 17. Looking at the replay, I have no idea what I could have been thinking to pull out like I did. Got totally t-boned my Mike Sumney, bending the heck out of the whole left side of my car. Still, I got back to the pits and struggled through the rest of the race, finishing 8th. It's a shame, not only for Mike, but because I was racing hard with Benny, and I bet could have eventually taken him (he gets a bit aggressive around other cars and a couple mistakes may have let me get by).

I'll miss the next race at Toban since I'll be freezing my butt off at a paintball game over the weekend. (I'm sure Mike will appreciate that!) There will be a couple new guys at that race, Joel figured that would be a better starting place for them than Sardian, and I certianly agree.

Nice job Cory as usual, still holding down 2nd in points.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:00 am

Thanks, I had a podium prety much wrapped up, just made some bone head mistakes also DOH! Oh well, 4th, its a top 5 and more points. I won't be there this weekend either, have a Halloween party to go to

I'd rather be racing. Crappy part is that I have some Saturday night shift coming up at work, so unless I take off or trade I will be missing ATLEAST 2 more races and they will be back to back weeks!

Grant, OT, but are you liking GTL? Are you still playing GTR? I was thinking, if the wife lets me buy them from DC, I might get in on that GTR endurance league that runs on Joels server.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:22 pm

Yes on both counts. In fact, the only games installed on my PC at the moment are rFactor, GTR, and GTL.

I spent a little time yesterday running a Corvette C5 at Donnington in GTR. I think that is still my favorite racing game at the moment, because of the variety of tracks I have, and the fact that it really runs very well on my PC. I've had no problems the few times I've taken it online, but many people have complained about them, so I'm sure they are there. I was thinking of looking into the GTR league also, do they have a web page? Depends when they run their races though, as they will have to be after my daughter goes to sleep (and during the week would be best).

GTL is very cool. After my initial excitement, it lost a bit of luster because I couldn't drive the Mini's to save my life. But the more I drove them, the more they "clicked", and I'm now having a blast with them. The thing I like about it is that it really makes you learn how to drive the proper line and also drive to each cars strengths. No doubt it will make me a better overall driver, and you can't beat the retro 70's music and graphics (and the cars sound fantastic). I'm still tweaking graphics, as there are occasional FPS drops. Nothing that is a game killer by any means, but I am a stickler for smooth frame rates so I'll keep playing with it. Strange thing is that the replays are smoother than the racing, so I wonder if it's just that the PC is calculating the AI's movements and that eats up a lot of processing time.

I also read that a final version of the Hungaroring for rFactor has been released. I'll have to grab it and try it out.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:59 pm

The Official rFactor Update v1040 is now available at

http://www.rfactor.net/

Please note: Before installing any update, we recommend you revert any original files that you modified to the prior version.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:21 pm

The Readme from the patch:

What’s New in v1.040?

Welcome to the first update for rFactor. When executed, the update program will first search the current directory for version 1.020. If it locates a valid copy, it will update the appropriate files while making a backup copy in the rFactor\Support\Backup directory. You will find an update log file in the support directory as well. If the out-of-date version is not present in the current directory, the update program will search the registry for the install location and proceed from there.

Graphics:

· Significantly reduced video memory usage in several components of the graphics engine.

· Improved shadow performance for Max shadow detail level.

· Added a new .PLR file option called Low Detail UI, which will force DXT compression on the UI art to reduce memory usage by about 75%. There are compression artifacts when using this, but most people wont notice. Set to On by default for the lowest level machine.

· Added a black background to the frame rate counter, so it can actually be read.

· Added an FOV option in the graphics section.

· Prevented garage LOD multiplier in player file from being set to zero, which caused problems.

· Fixed bug where only steering wheel of opponents would appear.

· Added triple-rearview to swingman mode.

· Fixed the rF Config to properly handle multiple video cards.

· Added a full-time Video Mem Gizmo, which reports pct video mem available, as well as current auto-texture reduction level, and instantaneous resource allocs. All done up in bright shiny colors.

· Fixed a couple issues where the Visible Vehicles setting was not working properly. Increased the bias towards showing vehicles in front. Added a player file value “Extra Visible Vehicles” which controls how many vehicles to display in non-driving situations.

· Modified weather to use only static ambient shadows at night, and to use a much faster skydome coloring method.

· Added a PLR file setting to allow 'rearviews in swingman' mode.

· Improved FSAA support from rF Config.

· Improved 16-bit support, so in 16-bit video modes, all textures are either dxtn or 16-bit.

· Added timescale option of "None" which will make the time-of-day stand still. The advantage of this is that static shadows never need to be updated, perhaps increasing framerate. Note that if you were previously using the setting "Use Race %", then you will need to re-check the option in the UI. Known issue: sorry, this does not appear to work well at the moment.

· Fixed screenshot bugs in windowed and multi-monitor modes.

Tracks and Vehicles:

· Updated Sardian Heights mas file to fix incorrect signage bug.

· Fixed shadows on windows bug on Rhez.

· The names of the AI upgrade lists for Trainer had to be updated to match the vehicle filter tokens. This affected the upgrades.ini file and all the trainer VEH files.

· Reduced intensity of lights on Orchard Lake tracks.

· Added Sardian Long.

· More Sardian changes. New, higher res maps for buildings, arena dome, tunnel.

· Updated some LOD distances on Sardian Long.

Artificial Intelligence:

· Fixed an AI tire pressure issue which resulted in a significant top speed discrepancy, especially with Advanced Trainers on the Orchard Lake Oval.

· Improved AI passing code both on straights and in corners.

· Improved mixed class AI driving.

· Improved AI handling of on-track wrecks.

· Fixed AI breaking yellow flag speed to enter pits.

· Reduced tendency for AI to rear end player.

· Fixed AI pulling offline (and slowing down) when human rides their tail.

· Reduced AI start chaos.

· Implemented a more consistent (for different car types) AI passing algorithm.

· Completely removed AI blocking humans.

Gameplay:

· Increased tolerances for positioning on formation lap starts, and added a check to ignore disco'd clients. Also added a failsafe that if everyone is stopped for awhile it will try to correct anybody who is off and then start the countdown timer.

· A couple improvements to the basic garage sliders: limited brake balance changes and more evenly spaced gearing.

· Fixed a garage UI bug where the acceleration, top speed, and gear graph info could be misreported.

· Added starting time and time scale to season create page, so you don't have to drive open wheel cars at night.

· Changed following message (for caution laps, etc.) to use driver name rather than vehicle description. Also fixed one case where that message should have been shown but was not. Added yellow flag display for full-course yellows.

· Fixed an issue where the pitcrew would sometimes get ready even if the player was clearly on the last lap of the race.

· Stopped automatically returning player to the monitor when player pitted in non-race sessions.

· Applied credits when restarting a race if the first race was completed (i.e. official).

· Fixed bug where running timed season races would result in no points being awarded. Related to this, one must complete 60% of the leader's number of laps to get points, assuming equal cars. There is an adjustment based on the relative power-to-weight ratios for class racing, and the final value is always rounded down. For modders, the base percentage can be adjusted by an RFM value "Min Lap Percentage".

· Reset damage display upon race restart.

· Fixed track display when switching between Season and Test/Race (it was sometimes wrong).

· Reset vehicle upgrades to those currently installed when leaving the Vehicles page.

· Fixed right-side tire temps.

· Added player file option "Auto-change Opponent List" which is on by default and will reset the single-player opponent list filter everytime you change cars. In short, this will automatically choose opponents whose cars are very similar to your own (same type and class).

· Fixed HUD MFD cycling - now it will only display the screens as configured in the plr file.

· Fixed an issue where the onscreen driving aids display would initialize wrong if no aids were being used.

· Added "Blue Flags" option to the player file which controls whether they are shown, whether people can be penalized for ignoring them, and how close the following vehicle needs to be to trigger them. Note that the new default setting significantly reduces the following distance needed compared to the original release, and that penalties are still active. Also added a warning before handing out a stop/go penalty.

· Changed race results format to be very similar to RaceCast XML format so the same parser can be used for either one.

· Drag'n'drop now works with SVM files into multiple folders. The visual effects now show up correctly regardless of screen resolution, and dropping the SVM on the folder it is already in no longer deletes that SVM.

· Added support for additional nationalities, but without the flag graphics.

· Fixed a minor issue where the sound would stick on in some situations when restarting a single-player race.

· Now keeping track of control (AI or player) used and driving aids used every lap. This info is reported in the race results.

· Added new Steering Help level "Full" which basically takes over steering completely if input is kept in the center. By default, it comes with a 2% mass penalty to avoid it being considered a "cheat".

Input Devices:

· Made a change so people with both paddle shifters and h-shifters to use the paddle shifter if the h-shifter stays in neutral.

· Added optional analog input filter. It's off by default because it could introduce a small amount of controller lag depending on the settings and your framerate. See the options "Analog Control Filter" and "Filter Samples" in the controller.ini file for more info.

· Added controller.ini option "Keyboard Layout Override" which may be used to improve support for some keyboard layouts. If you are experiencing issues, please try the value "1" and see if that helps.

· Added two possible workarounds for situations where people lose their force feedback. One is a controller.ini value "Reset FFB Time" which will automatically reset the force feedback every X seconds. The other is a new controller mapping "Reset FFB" which can be used to manually reset the force feedback.

· Added a new force feedback parameter in the controller.ini file "FFB steer force grip factor". Its default has been changed from the previously hardcoded value.

· Added optional detection of accidental double-shifts (for noisy paddles). The default value for the new player file option "Repeat Shifts" is off.

Replay:

· Fixed special effects when outputting movies from Replay Fridge.

· Fixed a bug where temporary replay files would get left behind and then never cleaned up. Running the new executable will clean up the old files.

· Fixed a replay issue from multiplayer races where disco'd drivers would appear to sit in the middle of the track for the entire race.

· Added player file option "Record To Memory" which will write replay info to memory rather than disk, in hopes of eliminating stuttering on some machines. Memory usage could be significant for longer races, though, so this option is at your own risk.

· Added various info to the Replay Fridge - driver name, laptimes, speed, etc. One mysterious addition is the "Vehicle Upgrade Code" which is a compressed representation of the upgrades installed on the vehicle - it's mostly useful if you simply want to compare whether two cars have identical upgrades.

· Updated new Miles filters to include Audio Thief for capturing audio during replay exports.

Multiplayer:

· Used download rating to estimate the number of servers we can grab for the join list. This is in addition to the current player value, so it is the max of the two values.

· Added dedicated server administrators with basic functionality:

· Only works if admin password is specified. Only one admin allowed.

· Become administrator by chatting "/admin <password" and relinquish it by exiting or chatting "/admin".

· Several different functionalities specified in multiplayer.ini option which concern whether non-administrators can call votes and when.

· Administrator can advance sessions, add AI, etc. by using the normal call voting UI buttons, or by typing chat commands.

· Full list of current chat commands:

· /vote yes // same as pressing button

· /vote no // same as pressing button

· /ping // same as pressing button

· /callvote nextsession // proceeds to next session (practice to qual, for example)

· /callvote nextrace // proceeds to next event in dedicated server track list

· /callvote event <name> // proceeds to given event (such as "24 Hours of Toban" or "Mills Special Event")

· /callvote restartrace // restarts the race

· /callvote restartweekend // goes back to practice

· /callvote addai // adds 1 AI

· /callvote add5ai // adds 5 AI

· /callvote kick <name> // kick specified player out of race

· /callvote ban <name> // bans specified player from server

· /admin <password> // take over administrator (wrong or no password = stop being administrator)

· /editgrid <pos> <name> // admin command to move the specified player to the given position on the grid - note that you should do the grid from first to last or you may fail to achieve the expected results

· /set upload <kbps> // change upload speed (works on own machine only, administrator can't change server's upload at this time)

· /set download <kbps> // change download speed (same as above)

· /set nagle <0 or 1> // can only be done on server - specifies whether questionable Nagle TCP algorithm is used

· /set warp <0.1 - 3.0> // in future, will affect voicechat. The warp connotation comes from the period of time to take in between sending each voice packet. 1.0 is the default.

· Fixed issue where network throttling could slightly overestimate the amount of data it could send to each client (only significant with small numbers of clients).

· Took downforce into account when extrapolating vehicles (should keep Formula IS cars from appearing to catch air over crests in multiplayer) and smoothed out the ground detection code (to reduce instant jumps over curbs).

· Reduced default practice/qual/warmup times in multiplayer so we could get to race once in awhile.

· Added an audible warning for when a multiplayer game goes to the race session. Also restores game if minimized. Player file options "Net Race Warning" controls what sound is played and whether it will restore.

· Added a vote to load a specific circuit/event by chatting "/callvote event <event_name>", where event_name is the specific event for a track, such as Sardian Heights 250. Server's multiplayer.ini option specifies whether users can call this vote and whether they can call a vote for an event that isn't in the current server list. Administrators can always call this vote.

· Added administrator command for editing the grid. See full list of chat commands for more info.

· Started running collision on remote vehicles to prevent them from penetrating walls. The default is to only do this for nearby vehicles (within 200 meters). Since collision-detection can be CPU-intensive, you can turn it off by setting "Remote Vehicle Collision" to 0.0 in the multiplayer.ini file. Alternately, you can have it run on every vehicle by setting it to a large number (10000.0+). By default, the dedicated server will not run it at all (which may look less than perfect in replays) unless the multiplayer.ini value is set to 10000.0+.

· Fixed Multiplayer join select box issue with game names taking up 2 lines when game name includes '|'.

· Fixed an issue where non-dedicated servers couldn't create games with vehicle filters that only accepted non-base vehicle classes such as GP1 or MType.

· Fixed a crash when cars leave the game.

· Vehicles no longer exit the race session when a client quits or disconnects. Instead they are switched over to AI control and parked in the garage. This was done for a variety of reasons: 1) it makes scoring and results reporting easier and more accurate, 2) some people reported hiccups when unloading vehicles, and 3) it allows for future support of clients re-joining if disconnect was accidental.

· Fixed an issue where network throttling could cause tire smoke or other effects from remote vehicles to get left on for a long time.

· Added RFM catagory to multiplayer game selecter and allowed you to sort by RFM.

· Added gizmos to call votes for booting/banning players.

· Fixed "+maxplayers" command-line option to work with the dedicated server.

· Fixed an issue where if you created a non-dedicated server without going to the Opponent List page, it would use the current vehicle filter rather than the multiplayer vehicle filter.

· Fixed an issue where sometimes incorrect vehicles (not matching the vehicle filter) would show up while joining or creating a multiplayer game.

· Changed auto-joining code to work better with passworded games.

· Fixed possible client crash when server changes session.

· Added RaceCast version to the server info displayed. An unfortunate side effect is that people running the original version of rFactor will see an incorrect game version number for servers running the updated version.

· Stopped automatically exiting the game when leaving a multiplayer game that was created or joined through RaceCast (or other external tool).

· Optimized a search performed for waypoints when extrapolating multiplayer positions. This may improve both server and client performance in multiplayer games.

· Made a few more minor dedicated server optimizations.

Modding/Miscellaneous:

· New player file variable to control the realism of the AI tire slip model (or override in TBC file), resulting in more accurate scrub in the corners (again, most noticeable with Trainers on Ovals).

· Fixed an issue where using extended ASCII characters for the installation directory could result in people being unable to join multiplayer games.

· Fixed dual processor timing issues by forcing game to only run on one processor. It can be overridden by using "+fullproc" in the command line, since Microsoft has now announced a fix for dual processors which is available only with Windows XP SP2.

· Expanded trace capabilities for better detection of the location of realtime crashes and networking action. Command-line option "trace=3" will create a new file "tracedyn.txt", and "+logtime" will add a time value to each line of the regular "trace.txt" output.

· Added command-line "+nosound" option to disable all sounds and music for testing purposes.

· Added more stock car GDB rules regarding dampers: everything from MinFrontSlowBump to MaxRearFastRebound.

· Fixed bug where running timed season races would result in no points being awarded. Related to this, one must complete 60% of the leader's number of laps to get points, assuming equal cars. There is an adjustment based on the relative power-to-weight ratios for class racing, and the final value is always rounded down. For modders, the base percentage can be adjusted by an RFM value "Min Lap Percentage".

· Changed CCH files to regular text format rather than encrypted.

· Added new HDV section which can assign extra mass (as a fraction of the total mass) for each driving aid and level used. This should only be used to add masses for vehicles that do not actually come with the given driving aid in real life. In other words, legal TC should not be penalized with this extra mass. Mass fractions are limited to the range 0.00 - 0.10, and are attached the same way fuel is.

· Added new TDF entry "HATFilterMethod=<method #>" which controls how the HAT database is filtered (and should be put near the top of the file). By default (method #0), different terrains are not "smoothed" together, which is the desired functionality for roads with intentionally sharp curbs on the side. Method #1 smooths all legal terrains together, and all non-legal terrains together. Finally, method #2 smooths all terrains with the same "FilterID" together. To use this method, the entry "FilterID=<x>" should be added to every terrain, where x is a number from 0 to 254.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:43 am

Wow, a TON of very good fixes here. It covers every issue I've seen so far and then some.

Makes me wish I was racing this weekend! (Although, if I'm getting the flu like I think I am, I may be online afterall.)

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:41 pm

The official ISI rFactor development tools have been released:

http://rfactor.net/index.php?page=news

11.10.05 - rFactor Development Tools Available

The next round of rFactor tools is now available. They can be found at http://www.autosimsport.com/rfactor/rFToolsPublic.rar

You can discuss these tools in the AutoSimSport forum.

Because of the wide range of possible modifications and vast complexity of possible changes, ISI can not offer technical or other support in these areas. ISI can not be responsible for any events leading up to these changes or the result thereof. Use of these tools and changes to your original product are done at your own risk. Make sure to make a backup of the original rFactor directory and most of all, have fun!

What this should mean is more high quality tracks and mods for rFactor, as opposed to partial conversions from F1 Challenge 1999-2002.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:50 am

Cool. I'm amazed at what some guys have done so far without them. I can't imagine what they'll be doing now!

Lets hope somebody does a Daytona Prototype mod...

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 4:30 pm

The US Pits have also released tutorials for using the tools for track building, vehicle and physics modeling, etc.

http://www.thepits.us/board/viewtopic.php?t=1006

Granatofan · Post by **Granatofan** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:17 pm

Don,

Is your server still up? I finally built a rig to run this game and I'm interested in running some laps with you if you are still playing online. I looked on racecast and in the game, but didn't see a DSP server.

Thanks,

Ted

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:23 pm

It is not up right now, but I can get it back up and running at any time. I am still interested in getting a league or at least some kind of "pick-up" racing going with rFactor. I will set the server back up tonight.

Granatofan · Post by **Granatofan** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:36 pm

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll look for it tonight. Even if you can't get enough for a league I'd still be interested. Your original nite of Tuesdays works good for me.

Ted

Granatofan · Post by **Granatofan** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 7:03 pm

Don,

Did you ever put the server back up? No pressure cause I know its a tough weekend, but if you did I don't see it and wondering what I might be doing wrong.

Thanks,

Ted