Forum Postings 2000 March

collected and (very little) formatted by addie walti


Threads

The start of a thread is on top right below the title

More 0xd0
can't plant trees
Complex Objects
Scenery Distances
Offset to Startinglight Object

Scrubland problems
problem with jameditor (bad colour palette)
Banking help

end of file


Index

More 0xd0


Posted by Jason Hope from 207.253.222.12:

i need the values to place in this command for the left fence and left bank. Both are flashing at the moment. For left the fence, i used a value of 1 for a2 and a3 as Bob C has suggested, and for the left bank, I used 2048 as also suggested. The track segment is 2 units long, so i placed one command. The scenry does not stop flashing. I go on to add another command for both, this time placed in offset 2 of the segment. FYI, the corner is a hairpin.

Jason Hope


Posted by Bob Culver from 4.54.170.151:

Is the corner a left or a right corner? Assuming that you are dealing with a right corner, you need to look at the length of the scenery ribbon, not just the track segment. For a left fence, start with an 0xd0 command with X,0,0; with X starting at 0 ranging all the way to the length of the ribbon. I have some fences that took 10 or more 0xd0 commands to cure. It seems as if the 0xd0 only cures "outside" ribbons that are streched or twisted. I have a nagging inside turn (really just after the turn) flashing fence that I have not been able to cure with the 0xd0 command. This seems to be caused by a steep elevation drop, although I am not totally certain. You might also experiment by adding an 0xc3 command. I have added this to 0xd0's (where they ended up causing another ribbon to flash) and it was successful.


Posted by Bob Culver from 4.54.170.151:

Sorry Jason, I meant X,1,1

Posted by Bob Culver from 4.4.160.71:

OK Jason, try X,32,0 with a series of commands with X ranging from 0 to the length of your ribbon. I successfully used that sequence to cure the left fence. I went back to others that were corrected using X,0,0 and used 32 for A2, and it seems to work better. The previous command would fail if the car got too far off line. Thanks Addie!

Posted by Fat Rat from 207.194.18.134:

Hi All

Good timing I was just about to email Bob for all info in this,
Loc codes fences , verges??? ribbons etc ,
The flashing it self also is effected by how far off line & at what speed too.
and don't forget some of the old fashion ways ,
Fences & heights . small ts lengths ,
Ribbons raise ,lower, pull in , push out etc,
IE changing the angles of the planes or panels
Addie you've been taking notes ?? as usual .

CU
Les

Posted by Jason Hope from 207.253.110.102:

thanks for the info bob. I really needed help on this one. Uhmm, the corner is a really tight right hander, like i said earlier, a hairpin.

When you say x,0,0, the x refers to what exactly? I just need clarification. Does it mean offset into the track sector?


Posted by Bob Culver from 171.72.5.251:

The 0xd0 command has three variables. A1 is the offset value (0 being the beginning of the TS); A2 and A3 define location and some other function. In some cases the location value seems to work using A2, and in some A3. For your left fence I recommend X for A1 (X being the offset number), 32 for A2 and 0 for A3. You will end up having a series of 0xd0 commands to cure your flashing ribbon.

0,32,0
1,32,0
2,32,0
3,32,0

Or in some cases with larger radius turns, the offset value will step at greater increments

0,32,0
5,32,0
10,32,0
15,32,0

The mystery is getting close to being solved, and this command does work, I just don't think we have all the answers yet.



Index

can't plant trees

Posted by Jason Hope from 207.253.110.175:

hello,

well, i have inserted a jam that has trees in it. NOw when i go to insert the trees in the track, it happens without a hitch. Even in the jam preview, the tree is shown. Now, in the game it isn't.

that's all
Jason

Posted by addie from 194.191.82.13:

have a close look at the properties of the original gp2-trees with the latest jameditor of mal ross. there you see “scaling-info”-node, “scaling-factor”. i guess in your texture this factor is 0 !? in original trees its 41 most of the time. make it 82 to have double size trees, etc.

i hope its useful info
addie


Index

Complex Objects

Posted by Rob Huffer from 202.137.80.194:

Les,

I remember you talking about complex objects a while ago. Are these similar to some of the party tents in the original Adelaide Circuit? (i.e if you insert the tent you also get four or so trees.) If so how do you make a complex object so that you have several trees.

Regards

Rob.

P.S. I think I posted an oopsy. Please forgive my club hands.

Posted by Fat Rat from 207.194.18.75:

Hi Rob

Caught me on the right day ,
Yes right , there are 4 types of objects ,

1 a straight Gpo object
2 a straight ID2 ( single) object ( Object def ) does not require a GPO file .
3 a complex object a gpo that groups a ?number of ID2 grouped . requires a GPO file
4 a GPO plus object, a standard GPO with ?number of ID2 objects , Like the tent in adle.

First I started with the complex object , Tree Group of 8 from Estrol and jerez ,
These just call 8 ID2 , move them how ever you want , but they must be ID2 textures, and requires a GPO file
Now I've just been placing the Adle , tent plus 3 ID2s .
These are just a gpo ( like any other) plus another 5 or 6 extra points , but only 3 call Id2's . you can arrange the 3 points anyway you like . Cars parked outside the tent ,
I was just looking for a small size tent gpo , when i found the adle tent plus .
There are a few more of these GPO plus objects , have seen them long time ago when I was editing GPOs .
I remember a few of the good houses have a few extra points ( cmd 80 ) in the texture section ,is what your looking for here , Mostly trees , and again these plus points have to be ID2 textures .
These are real useful overcoming the old ( no 2 objects ) at the same place on the track .
i've found that these complex objects , only occupy the 1 place where it is originaly placed ,
IE. the group can be 50-60 TS in length , But you can palce other objects ( of all types) anywhere along the track , where the rest of the complex object continues , from 01 - 60 .
If you place a large GPO type , you can't place anything untill your past the space the object occupies,
And with the GPO plus objects, it's much the same ,it seems you have complete freedom on where you can place these ( objects ) anywhere , It can occcupy " the same place on the track"
But it has to be an ID2 texture
Now how to create these extra points and or create other ID2 textures , I have no Idea .
I don't think the apps are there yet .
Ive used all the Id2 texture ids I can think of , these would be , stock GP2 numbering and staying away from Id's like wheels ,cars , crew , pitprop , ETc .
So Ive stuck to the IDs on , Mcospec , D&Ftrees , Clumps 1&2 .
With a little preplanning , there are alot of advantages in useing these objects

HAve Fun
Les



Posted by addie from 194.191.82.13:

only last weekend i made me an “id1=5 object” from the scratch. this is what i did:

with jameditor of mal ross:
-i imported some new custom texture and gave it an id 256 (323 in my case), but also noted its difference to 256 (67 in my case; 323 - 256 gives 67)
-in jam-tree “opened” the texture and looked out for node “scaling info”. there you see “scale factor”. set it to 41 (as with original tree-textures) or any other factor (20 in my case; for having the object half-sized)

with TE
-prepared an “object definition” with id1=5; id2=myid-256 (67 in my case). height =some hundreds (depends on scaled size of texture; look at original trees for reference)
-placed the 0x80 along the track and enjoyed

addie


Index

Scenery Distances

Posted by John Whatley from 210.8.232.3:

Is there any relationship between the units for scenery structures and actual distances. I'm presently working on a track from a map and part of the circuit goes around and over a small lake which I want put in. The problem is I can't seem to get it work. Any suggestions greatly recieved.

John


Posted by addie from 194.191.82.13:

the scale between the two units is not yet really known.
but working with the latest version of the TE (1.9.1) gave me the idea, the scenery distances in the track-view are downsized to half or less. e.g. if the distance to the lake looks like x=2000 on the map in the TE, in fact you will have to set it to about x=1000 or less, to have it correct in the game.
the relations are hard to figure out for sure, so you will have to try ...

addie


Index

Offset to Startinglight Object

(the thread is cut)

Posted by addie from 194.191.82.13:

sure you can export/import the starting light object.
you just have to also adapt the “offset to starting light object” in the "track sections" in the "track config"-section in the track-tree then.

Posted by John Verheijen from 212.64.25.123:

Also when you changed the starting light?
Can you then also adapt the offset, and how do you do it then?

Posted by addie from 194.191.82.13:

1st
yes, as far as exporting / importing custom objects work in particular.

2nd
for determining the new offset you need to do some hexeditor work (reading only).
(now scary people be warned, its gonna be pretty technical!)

do this (step by step)
-make a save backup of your track (BEFORE importing the custom object)!

-after having imported the new starting light, check it immediately whether it really shows up on the track. of course it wont work as a starting light yet, but it had to show up anyway. if it is messed up somehow, there is no need to further dig the subject, isnt it ?

-if it did show up, grab flashlight, emergency set, security ropes and pocket calculator, we intend to go DEEP into it now :) i assume you recognize a hex-number and you know the basics about dealing with a hexeditor.

-go to “internal object”-section in tracktree and note the number in square brackets next to the new starting light object. (if you dont know which number i mean, check e.g. the original monaco track f1ct04.dat, there the starting light has number 57 )

-multiply this number by 4 and add 4128 (hex 0x1020). with our monaco-example you should get 4356 (hex 0x1104).

-now open the trackfile with a hexeditor and lookout for the address according the result of the above calculations and note the four bytes starting at this address. in our example (original monaco) you go to address 4356 (hex 0x1104) and there you see the following 4 bytes: 0xb4, 0x91, 0x00 and 0x00 (hex figures).

-those four bytes have to be interpreted as a 4 bytes value now, which means we have to reorder them. actually we have to write them reversed. in our example we get 0x000091b4 (hex). et voila ! this is our number !

-in the TE we just have to enter this value yet, after recalculating it to a decimal number. our example: the decimal interpretation of 0x91b4 is 37300.

-go to the “offset to starting light object” in the "track sections" in the "track config"-section in the tracktree and replace the old number by our new one.

now i hope i did not make any typo. its already bad enough when written down correctly :)

happy digging
addie


Posted by Mikael Olsson from 195.67.244.100:

What's in a cc-line that can make a track lock up in the game?

Just finished the first layout of the cc-line and was about to check
it out in the game and the game froze.
There's nothing unusual in the cc-line. No zero lengths, no special commands etc.

I tried to remove the cc-line and the track worked.

Anyone's got tips?


Posted by David Richards from 202.12.71.11:

Too many curved CC/Pit sections?

Could be the problem

Posted by Malcolm Mitchell from 195.99.56.62:

I had that happen once, but isn't there a max amount of
cc-line sections? I'd check that, because I managed to
use less sections, and it worked fine after that.

Cheers,
Malcolm Mitchell


Posted by Mikael Olsson from 195.67.245.91:

I've used 86 cc-sections with Silverstone as base.

Is there a limit of sections you can use with different tracks?


Posted by
Olivier S. from 195.238.6.108:

I think there is something about the number of pit lane curves + the number of driving line curves that must not exceed a fixed number (80 ?), but not sure...

Maybe you should checkout this...

Filou


Posted by Malcolm Mitchell from 193.113.185.137:

That's it: the amount of curved CC and Pit sections,
not the amount of CC sections. Btw, I think it's
under 70, not 80.

I think you'll find a test in the sanity check, Mikael, if
it doesn't fail it, it's obviously not that.

Cheers,
Malcolm Mitchell


Index

Scrubland problems

Posted by Nic Prins from 216.252.147.71:

Has anyone else ever experienced a problem on a track where between the single colour background scrubland and the horizon jam there is a grey strip? Any ideas how to remove it? This is an inherited problem from a track I am updating so I've no idea at which point the problem was created.

Thanks,
Nic

Posted by addie from 194.191.82.13:

make a similar texture as your scrubland -texture and give it id116. this id is the default id for a “sub-horizon” texture. credits for discovering this go to les danyluk aka fat rat.

if you want to read the full story, please go to my page, http://www.asit.ch/~addie/index.html, follow forum-posting collections, january 2000 issue and look out for black-horizon threads (more than one)

i hope its useful

Posted by Fat Rat from 207.194.18.143:

Hi Nic & Addie

There are the 2 , subhorizons, Scrublands "underworlds" See other post.

To watch for , both at the horizon , but a sinlge index color showing , especailly grey , to me would indicate a missing texture ID and or low detail color . .
And I'am finding other drawing problems , with other things flashing or streaking across different parts of a track . I had\have a white band that , flashes , kind of remapps it self across what looked like the horizon ,
Actuall this was ( thanx Addie ) a white based ad mapped to a fence , which seems to jump the whole outside fence of a hairpin .
As it is just about to be out of viewing range Plus the movement of the car angle to the area where the ad is mapped , But I also have another now With a Gray bands that , flash or streams or fills in some empty spaces on the track , Only in cam views and as they move .
Always whatch for the backside or underside of a ribbon , sometimes when you think it's a drawing glitch , it's really the backside or underside of a ribbon from a different part of the track
Just a few general things to look for

CU Les


Posted by Nic Prins from 131.181.127.33:

Thanks Addie, Les
The problem was indeed a missing 116 texture. One of the previous authors of the Suzuka 98 track that I have given a new layout and cc-line, removed the monaco22 jam file which has the 116 texture in it. Creating a little texture with the same no-texture colour indices as the id 32 texture solved the problem. Now all I have to do is make the CCs about a half second a lap faster and the track should be right. The Silverstone 99 track which I am making similar changes to also has the same horizon problem, so that's another one solved already.

Thanks again,
Nic




Posted by Fat Rat from 207.194.18.143:

Hi All saw a very interesting post over on alphaF1 gp2 forum by Yannik ,

List a break down of offset byte info on the Gp2 dat file formats ,

Alot I can reconize , but there are a few that makes me drool .

Like lines like :
XXAF = byte of 3d triangle
word1 = distance of the end of the left wall from the track
word2 = distance of the end of the right wall from the track

XXB8 = indication byte : there is a wall
word4 = thickness of wall
word5 = x coordinate of the upside of right wall
word6 = y coordinate of the upside of the left wall
word7 = z coordinate of the underside of the right wall
word8 = x coordinate of the underside of the left wall
word9 = y coordinate of the underside of the left wall
word10 = z coordinate of the underside of the left wall
word11 = x coordinate of the underside of the right wall
word12 = z coordinate of right wall
word13 = x coordinate of the upside of the right wall
word14 = height of the right wall
word15 = ?

and

kind of underground
-------------------
the underground starts at byte 00BC (hex)
(16 bytes long)

Byte 1 :length from the begin of the underground
Byte 2 :BC
Byte 3 :identification 1
Byte 4 :00
byte 5 :length of underground in metres
byte 6 :00
byte 7 :identification 2
byte 8 :00
byte 9 :repeating value
byte 10 :00
byte 11 :zoom factor (default = 10)
byte 12 :00
byte 13 :? end
byte 14 :00
byte 15 :type underground , grip
byte 16 :00

Makes me very interested ? anyone else

CU Les


Index

problem with jameditor (bad colour palette)

Posted by Nick from 142.169.148.235:

I made a bitmap file and I was trying to export this graphic to a jam file with jameditor but I received the message:bad colour palette,try a different one.Is there anyone who can help me?

Posted by Fat Rat from 207.194.18.27:

Hi Nick

Quite common , there should be a .pal file in your JE folder , or take a stock jam .
Take one that has the highest # of colors ,save that .pal file ,
Now when doing bmps for use in jams , make sure your import one of these GP2 jam pal , into the bmp .

Then this error mess. will go away
CU Les




Index

Banking help

Posted by David Richards from 202.12.71.6:

I have two tracks that have bumpy banking. Is there someone who can hammer out the bumps?

Thanks in advance.


Posted by Bob P from 24.67.94.91:

Dave, I think the trick to smoothing out the banking is the transition length. The steeper the banking the longer the transition should be. Give that a try, or make the banks less steep.


Posted by David Richards from 202.12.71.6:

Thanks - will try that.

One of the tracks has a mysterious pothole or something that knocks your front spoiler off too, so would need help on that one.


Posted by David Richards from 202.12.71.6:

Thanks bob - problem sorted!!!






Index

end of list