Just FYI

This isn't updated or checked at all anymore. The information on here is old and probably has some mistakes. I've been meaning to do something new for a while, but haven't done so yet. Anyway this is here as is, and I apologise if anything is inaccurate. Enjoy!

rF1 to rF2 Engine Conversion V0.96.2

I've just updated the Engine Conversion tool to V0.96.2. Only one thing has changed from the previous version, which is the way idling is implemented. Some cars I was working on had stalling problems after the idle logic wasn't correctly transferred, but that's fixed now.

Download

Converting engines from rF1 to rF2 & Download

Here we are again, and some things have changed. The whole process has been simplified a lot, a bunch of unnecessary parameters removed, and a few additional features are in. At this point, for most people, it'll only be a few clicks to get a basic rF2 engine in place. Also, it's up for download. So, here you go!

Converting rF1 engines to rF2

Sure, rFactor 2 can work fine with rF1 engines. But the improvements can't be implicitly applied. By directly copying your engine from rF1 to rF2, you aren't getting the benefit of the new throttle model. More information needs to be added to get the most out of it, and I'm hoping I've just made that easier.

I've spent the recent couple of weeks working on a small program to make converting rF1 engines over to the rF2 throttle model an easy task. At this stage, I'd say you can put an rF1 engine in the program and get an rF2 engine out in less than a minute. And the engine you get out of it is ready to drive immediately in rF2! (Though you may still need to pack it away in a .mas file, if that's how you're organizing it).

TGM tires, and ply placement

Truth be told, my last post on the rF2 tire model a while ago was written in frustration. Looking back on it, I do stand by everything I said, but I'm back to trying to work with it. I have absolutely no in engine results yet, but I have got some nice findings in the construction. Notably in the ply distribution.

Suspension design - Applying to rFactor

Suspension design's a deceptive thing. There's some very basic principals at work, but some of them don't really show unless you're looking for them. At a first glance, the PM files in rFactor look pretty simple, and I'd say they are very simple (though I'll be going over them anyway just to make sure everything's clear).

I'll try to quickly go over the main details to keep in mind during suspension details. This is written primarily for use with rFactor. I think the functionality is pretty much the same in GTR2, GTL, GSC, Race 07, etc. and to some extent, rF2 aswell, but there may be some differences I haven't mentioned here.

rFactor 2 and the new tire model - First impressions

It's generally accepted that one of the most important elements (if not, the most important element) in any racing sim is the tire simulation. People often say the ultimate performance of a car comes down to what's going on with the contact patches in each corner, which is what makes simulating them well so important.

I can't deny that in terms of technical comprehensiveness, the tire model in rFactor 2 is much more comprehensive than it is in rFactor 1. And I have learned a lot from it, it's been fascinating to work with. But it seems inappropriate for modders.

Modelling tires in rFactor

This is an idea I've been throwing around in my head lately, whereby characteristics are designed for individual tire compounds, and then transferred to different tire sizes.

Parameters in the TBC file like Heating and WearRate maintain what the average is around the full circumference of the tire. The heating parameter controls the effect of rolling and friction on the average temperature all the way around the tire, and the same applies to wear rate.

But tires of different measurements will have different surface areas. More rubber mass on the tire, more mass to heat up, and more mass to shave off when wearing the tire down. So, a larger tire of our compound will wear down slower and heat up slower than a tire of the same compound but smaller size, right?

Cover systems in video games

Cover systems are typically met with mixed responses. The video games industry seems to love them, while audiences meet them with mixed feelings. Chances are if you've played an action game lately, you'll have played one where there's a context sensitive button to hide behind some object. A lot of people seem to find it frustrating, asking whether it was worth having in the first place. I personally think so, and to see why, we need to take a broader look!

Suspension Diagrams - Workings

I'm gonna discuss how my Suspension Diagram program works in this post. Brace yourself for maths!

Suspension diagrams

In my venture to learn more about vehicle dynamics, and apply that knowledge to racing simulators, I found the need for some fairly intimate analysis of the cars. The characteristics of the suspension are affected by a lot of things. For instance, in an Endurance Series DBR9, the default front spring rate of 245n/mm translates to a 'wheel rate' of 133n/mm when measured at the wheel. This is due to various factors in the suspension geometry. I figured this would be helpful to understand on a car-by-car basis, so I'm working on a program to draw diagrams of the suspension geometry on these cars. Read on for more info.

Alien Swarm & Formations

I think I've been playing too much Alien Swarm. Since it's release 2-3 days ago, I've got 22 hours of gameplay, according to Steam. Doing my best to get all the achievements. Note the progress through the campaign on insane difficulty, which has proven to be the most enjoyable thing I've done in the game so far. It certainly isn't easy though, we've had to be really strict with our strategies. Which hopefully will help anyone else who's trying to do the same thing.

Moar smod

So yeah, my obsession with Smod carries on. Lemon remains my on-again-off-again project, as it has for the past year and a half, so I estimate it'll be released some time late '09 lol
That's not all I've been doing though. Got a bunch of other custom weapons working right now. First up, an M4. Four versions of it, one vanilla, one with an acog, one with a suppressor, one with both acog and suppressor. Custom sounds, working world model, no ironsights besides on the acogs because they're meant to fit into HL2.
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Next up, BRII. Two versions, vanilla and scope. Uses that fancy subviewcam stuff. Huge thanks to veteran_gamer for helping me get that working. Most bizarre solution ever, gotta admit, all I had to do to stop it from crashing was add the weapon to override_class.txt, having it replace something else. God knows why, but it worked.
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Next up, one I like to call the pwnzerfaust. It's a lot of fun... Watch this! *BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM* Did you see that? No, of course not, because the instant it started firing, everything was swallowed by a BIG FIREY CLOUD OF DEATH!
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And last, a work in progress... One for any No Country for Old Men fans, the only one without a working world model, casings ejecting, etc. (but that stuff's coming soon)... Shotgun inspired by the one Anton Chigur uses.
pic4u
Also, anyone who wants to complain about the ironsights, incorrect mirroring, etc. can shove their suggestions up their butts 'cause I'm not interested. *glares at Smod Tactical forum*