S2 Alpha Patch Q

[Scawen]

Hello Racers!

First... THANK YOU to all those who contributed (content and testing) to the recent series of Test Patches, as we worked through the new language support system and all the complications it involved. It's now easy to type correctly into LFS, in many more languages, including Russian, Greek and Japanese Katakana! :)

There are five new translations as well, and several improvements and fixes. All the changes since Patch P2 are all listed below.

New language support :

Several updates allowing new translations and new character sets...

6 new codepages in addition to Latin-1 :
- Cyrillic, Greek, Central Europe, Turkish, Baltic, Japanese (Katakana)

5 new translations :
Russian, Estonian, Serbian, Greek, Polish

Automatic codepage selection, when changing keyboard in Windows
New text entry system, handles multiple codepages and colours
User can select code page manually, if required (press CTRL)
Text colours - CTRL + 0 to 7 : change colour / CTRL + 8 : default
Can use a comma instead of a full stop when entering a number
New ^9 code - restore original colour without changing codepage
Autocross editor distance measure display is now translatable
CTRL in text input box : click down arrow to show characters

Other updates :

Pit stop required (yes or OK=done) is now shown in the F12 menu
Avoiding invalid key beep on Scroll Lock, Num Lock and Pause
Faster text draw by using fewer, bigger textures (less swapping)
SHIFT+O now enters options from setup screen (same as in game)
Join screen shows selected player and gives access to options
"Corrupted NameReply" error message removed from List of Games
New /out command - ignored by LFS but seen by InSim programs
Controller buttons can be assigned to text keys CTRL+F9-F12

Fixes :

FIX : Wrong fuel amount transferred to new player when taking over car
FIX : Faulty online host sometimes causing LFS to hang in List of Games
FIX : Some missing characters added to Latin 1 code page
FIX : "Race Ends : 1" message shown wrongly in garage
FIX : KNW filenames depended on selected language
FIX : Some changes to the text in braking lessons
FIX : Numeric keypad 0,1,2,7,8,9,-,/ keys now work correctly in game
FIX : Loss of racing line rubber : "Path info changed" message
FIX : Text about upload of 56k modem - in fact 33.6 kbits/sec
FIX : Holding SHIFT+X from in-game put LFS into a strange state
FIX : Repeated message "Could not load colours - using default"
FIX : Crash if track changed when user was in select car screen
FIX : No mid-race join option now only active if 2 cars in race
FIX : Last key pressed in text box could activate its function
FIX : TAB and SHIFT+TAB should now show all cars and not crash
FIX : Page Up and Page Down keys generated " and ! characters
FIX : Small numerical error in foot-pounds and bar units
FIX : Third decimal place of message text size was not saved
FIX : Max length player name with a full stop would be corrupted
FIX : Various bugs and crashes when using nogfx / invisible host
FIX : Some problems with kick/ban and sharing of ambiguous names

Download : (Download to LFS folder, right click, "extract to here")

http://www.liveforspeed.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_S2_ALPHA_PATCH_Q.zip

Dedicated host : (For hosts only)

http://www.liveforspeed.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_S2_DEDI_Q.zip

NOTE :

This is a compatible patch, that means it can connect to all versions of LFS back as far as 0.5P. There are no physics updates. We know that a lot of people are waiting for them, but we always keep physics updates, track and car changes, multiplayer changes, to a single patch, because each time we do that, the online community is divided and the hotlaps must all be deleted. That's why we don't release single physics updates here and there. The important physics updates are the next thing on the list!

Hope you enjoy the Patch Q updates!

Have fun! :D

[GianniC]

Thank you very much Devs !
You're talking about deleting hotlaps, do you have any idea with what cars there will be psy updates ? Any chance that we might get to know later on ? Since I don't have much time I don't really feel like doing hotlaps now to see them deleted in a month (or any time given).

Good patch, having fun already :thumb:

[Vendetta]

Awesome! Thanks scawen!!

[axus]

:thumb: Great! LFS better than ever before! :D

[AtomAnt]

Just like an early Xmas present....Thanks Devs :cyclops:
Da myopic Ant

[Tooby]

Thanx for you dedicated work.:thumb:

[Primoz]

Woohoo, new patch! You guys seem to put out a lot of them lately :) :thumb:

[Bob Smith]

Going to update the main site then? It still says P2. :)

[silent_wind]

cool !

im really looking forward a physics update, espcially for tires...and it's really good to know that's gonna be your next priority!! keep up the good work guys!

thx and be sure that you have my support !

[markredden]

Thank you :)

[ButterTyres]

Nice one! :thumb:

[KiDCoDEa]

Thanks for a very nifty and well implemented multiple codepage typing system, along with easier coloring system.:laola:
Other fixes and updates also welcomed. :thumb:
Now lets get on to the juicy things...:smileypul

[hrtburnout]

:thumb:

[noemfie]

Thanks !!!

[Fordman]

Cheers SC. :thumb:

[Mc21]

Thanks alot.

1 Question, will you start working on editing the cars?

[mrbogeyman]

Thanks chaps, good work! :thumb:
I very much appreciate the help that members of these forums have given the devs to help them with these language packs. Even though it has no relevance to me, it should allow an even broader range of people to come online and race.

Also glad to see another 'to do' knocked off the big 'to do' list :D

I'm looking forward to the physics updates :D Hopefully they will have a significant impact on handling/grip.

Good work!

@GianniC: I suspect that a physics patch will not be car specific, but will cover the entire range i.e. all the tyre physics - the slip/grip angle that people have mentioned. I think all the cars are updated anyway, bar the RB4 graphically?

[axus]

Don't know about you guys but this patch has made my FPS in game go up by 25-30!

I'm using a 9600xt. It's probably down to the new text.

Yes - I just picked that up - I was wondering why LFS runs so much smoother lately. I guess its down to the new text. I'm getting 100fps @ 1024x768 (no AF or AA) on a 5200 FX (Athlon 1800+, 512MB RAM for those who are interested)! That's way more than I get on any other game or sim.

[the_angry_angel]

:up: Nice work, as always guys :)

[Poolek]

Good work, thanks :thumb:

[kx_mole]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Thanks Scawen

[Nighthawk]

Great work Scawen! :thumb:

Thank you for that Patch!
:huepfenic

[deggis]

Yes - I just picked that up - I was wondering why LFS runs so much smoother lately. I guess its down to the new text. I'm getting 100fps @ 1024x768 (no AF or AA) on a 5200 FX (Athlon 1800+, 512MB RAM for those who are interested)! That's way more than I get on any other game or sim.
Turn on some FSAA/AF because it looks like you can afford them. It looks so much better with them. My PC is already a bit low-end too (AXP2200/1DDR/9500Pro) but I'm still running it with 4xFSAA and 4xAF on 1024x768. FPS is 30-60, mostly 50-60 which is enough. 30 frames usually in the start and in the first corner. :) FSAA/AF doesn't have that significant difference, without them it still isn't that smooth in the beginning of the race because the physics are the heavy part not the graphics.

Actually with FSAA and AF on it looks smoother because FPS doesn't go all the time up and down (from 30 to 80) like it did before turning them on. :)

[Matrixi]

Thank you for this patch :thumb:

Cheers

[nesrulz]

Thank You for Q Patch :thumb: :headbang: :spin:

[TRM.13]

There are no physics updates.The important physics updates are the next thing on the list!


I don't want to be boring, but can you list the most important future physic changes or updates? :hidesbehi

[NONo443]

:smileypulNice work S :D:D:)


-The Knowster, NONo443

[mrbogeyman]

by the way, you might notice a FPS increase because...

i use the Nvidia GFX profiler for LFS, so when you update to patch Q your EXE gets overwritten, thus your LFS settings change. I need to reset my AA and AF settings back upto what they were before, or at least re-select the EXE file.

just a thought anyway, you guys might be getting a genuine increase for another reason :)

[axus]

I had no AA or AF previously. Now I can run them and still get the same frame rates or keep them off and go 20-30 more than before. I think this text thing affects low end graphics cards more then high end ones, which is always good.

[dmcs]

Do I need patches A-P to put on Q?
If so, where do I find the other patches?

[Blues]

Do I need patches A-P to put on Q?
If so, where do I find the other patches?
No, just Q will be fine

[B2B@300]

Thx Scawen :smileypul your efforts are much appreciated :D
Damn! it's like LFS is a living organism :tilt: it just keeps growing and growing :hyper:
Forgive my exubrence.. its early morning here :dopey:

[Breizh]

Nose up cars look goofy, it's going to be nice to have that fixed.

[rich uk]

cheers hunnybunny, :)

[dmcs]

It's installed now. Now when I go to "Display List of Games", it self switches to windowed mode. I've restart the application and it still does this. Any ideas? Is this a setting I can update?

[Honey]

[sarcastic mode on]
thanks a lot!!!!!!!!!! the new wonderful chat it's so amazing...now i can chat in japanese while i'm racing!!!!! :D
[sarcastic mode off]

the "funniest" thing is that chinese was left out...but they are the most numerous people... :(

[Slartibartfast]

So... P12 a few days ago. Q today. Scawen posting all over the forums...


I'm beginning to think they're twins. Or there is a clone... or something.

Great news all the way around. Thanks for all the hard work. :D

[mrodgers]

It's installed now. Now when I go to "Display List of Games", it self switches to windowed mode. I've restart the application and it still does this. Any ideas? Is this a setting I can update?
DMCS, there should be an option saying something to the effect of "windowed mode while connecting (yes/no)" in the connection screen. Default was "yes" if I recall. Just change to "no".

[_-ALUCARD-_]

CMX viewer will be updated to work with patch Q ???

because since tests patchs i have to put viewer in a other folder, because if i put cmx in my lfs folder i can't start it, he said "ERROR: could not start font"

[KiDCoDEa]

thats probably because u overwrote the updated lfs font in \data\abc with older viewer font.
just unpack patch Q and it will work fine.
lfsviewer works fine here and so does newest lfs.

[winchester]

Thanks for the update.

[Krane]

the "funniest" thing is that chinese was left out...but they are the most numerous people... :(If LFS would be changed to be able to write chinese it would(will?) take a lot longer than it took now. It would need about complete rewrite of everything relating to text and involves thousands of lines of code. http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=1848&highlight=unicode

The "funniest" thing is this:
Finland's population 5,223,442
china's population 1,306,313,812

Finland's share of LFS racers 3.9%
china's share of LFS racers dunno, they all fit in the "other 4.0%" category

http://www.lfsworld.net/?win=racer_search&whichTab=stats&abc=6


@Scawen, can you elaborate what does "New ^9 code - restore original colour without changing codepage" do? I tested that, but only found it typed the text "^9". Also why is the color/codepage selector hidden? IMO it should be shown always, waayy too much "oh cool I can do this too" stuff hidden already in LFS which you discover only by pressing each and every button in LFS UI or scrummaging through every forum post :razz:

[StanleyCarter]

Great work devs!

Malaysian LFS players are happy!

Thanks for the new patch!

[B2B@300]

the "funniest" thing is that chinese was left out...but they are the most numerous people... :(

To implememnt chinese characters would have taken much longer (like 10x as long) I'm sure he will do it though if you really want :D but then you'll have to wait awhile for your beloved physics updates :scratchch

[Lible]

Thank you! You should add something like ingame Newsbox , so guys who don`t check forum (or site) can know that New Patch is released or it is week to OLFSL event.

[JamesF1]

Thankyooooooooou Scawen :D

[B2B@300]

Thank you! You should add something like ingame Newsbox , so guys who don`t check forum (or site) can know that New Patch is released or it is week to OLFSL event.

As soon as you go online you can see there's a new patch, because on the left hand side of the servers list you will see several servers running Q :tilt: but yes maybe its a good idea for when incompatible patches are released :)

[D34N0]

Thank you Scawen. :thumb:

[Pablo.CZ]

Please update main site not only with Q patch, but full Q version too. It will help starters, which often download only main file..

[Scawen]

the "funniest" thing is that chinese was left out...but they are the most numerous people... :(As two people said here before me, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Kanji contain thousands of letters, so it's a different task, which is best left until the future, when there's no-one left using older versions of Windows, and we all have a later version of DirectX, because Unicode and so on, is supported better with Windows XP.

The only reason we could do a Japanese codepage, is because Japanese has a special text called "Katakana" which is something like an alphabet, containing letters like "KA" and "RO". It's useful for writing words when the Kanji character is not known (because in Kanji, which is based on Chinese writing, each character means a word, and you can't just figure out how to write a word just by hearing it - you need to know the Kanji).

So all Japanese people are familiar with Katakana, it's useful for chat and looks cool, even though in LFS they can't write full Kanji.

[Scawen]

Please update main site not only with Q patch, but full Q version too. It will help starters, which often download only main file..That's the plan. We are just allowing 24 hours since yesterday, as a final test. We don't want to update the full version if you guys found a major bug.

[Vykos69]

Thank you very much Devs !
You're talking about deleting hotlaps, do you have any idea with what cars there will be psy updates ? Any chance that we might get to know later on ? Since I don't have much time I don't really feel like doing hotlaps now to see them deleted in a month (or any time given).

Good patch, having fun already :thumb:

All cars will profit from the updates, cause all cars work with the same physics engine, and when that one gets updated... ;) So all Hotlaps will be useless then ;)

[Primoz]

LFS viewer still doesn't work, at least not for me. Still the old 'Can't load font' error. It's easy to put it in another folder, but then i'd have to copy all the skins... I don't like that. :shrug:

[JJ72]

The "funniest" thing is this:
Finland's population 5,223,442
china's population 1,306,313,812

Finland's share of LFS racers 3.9%
china's share of LFS racers dunno, they all fit in the "other 4.0%" category


Which makes it a HUGE potential market isn't it? No doubt chinese lack the heritage of motorracing but in a decade it's going to catch up, as more cars are imported and motoring racing gets more popular. I know some chinese sim-racers and one of the problem they have when participating in such a community is the language, however that isn't solely because of the language used in the game. The fact that most resource online about LFS is in english also contributes to this result.

I do agree chineses support has to wait after many thing else, the general english standard might one day be improved as well, however it's more a cultural belonging kind of thing on what language that you use, if you make chinese available in LFS, than that'll be one giantic advantage.

p.s. But isn't India going to overtake China as being the most populated country soon?:D

[Webflat]

OOOOHHHH.

I´m very unhappy after starting LFS with the new patch Q. After years of playing lfs :) , now it doesn´t start. :Looking_a :shrug: :Looking_a .

Look at pics:

PLZ HELP ME!

EDIT:
Rumble in the Jungle :) . I renamed the LFS.exe on my desktop. My fault, soz!!! Didn´t understand that, but now it works. :):):)

[XRRoy]

good job Scawen, nice that more people can enjoy LFS in their own language now:thumb:


Looking forward to the next update(s):smileypul

[WIGGA]

Nice thanks!

[avih]

OOOOHHHH.

I´m very unhappy after starting LFS with the new patch Q. After years of playing lfs :) , now it doesn´t start. :Looking_a :shrug: :Looking_a .

Look at pics:

PLZ HELP ME!

EDIT:
Rumble in the Jungle :) . I renamed the LFS.exe on my desktop. My fault, soz!!! Didn´t understand that, but now it works. :):):)


Maybe you didn't keep the zip directory structure when unzipping? If you're using winzip, there should be a checkbox that does that. If you don't check it then you'll get all the files in the root dir where you extracted them, instead of a directory structure. Give it another go.

[Honey]

As two people said here before me, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Kanji contain thousands of letters, so it's a different task, which is best left until the future, when there's no-one left using older versions of Windows, and we all have a later version of DirectX, because Unicode and so on, is supported better with Windows XP.

The only reason we could do a Japanese codepage, is because Japanese has a special text called "Katakana" which is something like an alphabet, containing letters like "KA" and "RO". It's useful for writing words when the Kanji character is not known (because in Kanji, which is based on Chinese writing, each character means a word, and you can't just figure out how to write a word just by hearing it - you need to know the Kanji).

So all Japanese people are familiar with Katakana, it's useful for chat and looks cool, even though in LFS they can't write full Kanji.
first of all thank for replying to a such sarcastic (mine) post, i understand chinese would have implied unicode and you probably remember i am one of those who thinks that for a race sim language suport is the very last thing, but apart from my opinion, my consideration was:"if language support is important to gain more customers allover around the world, why not target to the most numerous country?".
so my real question is (actually against my whishes...), if codepage took so much time, why not target at the big goal "unicode"? i think that with the latest patch you rewrote almost all parts of code that implies text, so while you are fresh with that issue, would still require a lot of time including unicode?

cheers ;)

[Hyperactive]

From the Q patch readme.txt:
Unlocking the full version :
----------------------------
When you first run this S2 version, you will only have access to the
same content that is available in the DEMO : 3 cars and 1 track area.

You need an S1 or S2 license to unlock additional content and features.

When I patched my S2 P2 with the new Q patch I didn't need to unlock anything...

[STROBE]

so my real question is (actually against my whishes...), if codepage took so much time, why not target at the big goal "unicode"? i think that with the latest patch you rewrote almost all parts of code that implies text, so while you are fresh with that issue, would still require a lot of time including unicode?
A perfectly valid point in terms of the logic, but ssshhh! The rest of us are looking forward to the physics/aero updates! ;)

Thanks Scawen for S2Q. :thumb:

[axus]

From the Q patch readme.txt:


When I patched my S2 P2 with the new Q patch I didn't need to unlock anything...

You had previously unlocked it, correct? When you simply install a patch, no new unlocking is required. If you install a fresh copy of LFS then you would need to.

@Honey - I'm sure that Scawen want to do some more fascinating stuff for a bit like physics (any excuse to skip the unicode implementation for now :x)

[Honey]

A perfectly valid point in terms of the logic, but ssshhh! The rest of us are looking forward to the physics/aero updates! ;)

Thanks Scawen for S2Q. :thumb:
indeed as i said elsewhere my whishes are different:
1) tire phisics
2) collision engine
3) aero bugfix (only the "high nose" fix)
4) suspension improvement5) better damage model
6) better aero phisics
...
99999999999) language support

so thanks god patch Q is out, let's "patiently" wait for the next phisic patch...i'm just wondering what things will be patched.


my point was, better to wait now to finish language support rather than making happen again in the future that while we are waiting for a "most wanted" thing, Scawen will make joke to use by working at unicode :D

[Scawen]

...if codepage took so much time, why not target at the big goal "unicode"? i think that with the latest patch you rewrote almost all parts of code that implies text, so while you are fresh with that issue, would still require a lot of time including unicode?

cheers ;)It's a totally different and much, much larger project to go to unicode. We still use the same basic font drawing system for this version - it now has around twice as many characters. It's not possible to include Chinese on pre-rendered font textures, so i'd have to write a large character caching system, or switch to a later version of Direct X that can draw them live, very fast. We'd also have to go to XP only, for the unicode support it offers, ruling out a large percentage of all current LFS players.

Also, all text buffers in the game and every packet that handles text, would need to be rewritten with some careful thought in each case. It's many thousands of lines of code and new functions that will need to be updated and tested.

So basically, it's not the time. I guess the right time will be in a few years from now, when no-one uses the old versions of Windows, and all graphics hardware supports later versions of DirectX.

[Honey]

@Honey - I'm sure that Scawen want to do some more fascinating stuff for a bit like physics (any excuse to skip the unicode implementation for now :x)

i also have the feeling that he had some kind of trauma with unicode when he was a kid :D

[qba_m]

Thanks for patch, I really hope there will be a progess raport with info at the main site (about other game aspects, like physics etc. - if anything like that has been updated) :)
PS sorry for OT, but how can I change "demo racer" to "S2 licensed" under my nick?

[Honey]

It's a totally different and much, much larger project to go to unicode. We still use the same basic font drawing system for this version - it now has around twice as many characters. It's not possible to include Chinese on pre-rendered font textures, so i'd have to write a large character caching system, or switch to a later version of Direct X that can draw them live, very fast. We'd also have to go to XP only, for the unicode support it offers, ruling out a large percentage of all current LFS players.

Also, all text buffers in the game and every packet that handles text, would need to be rewritten with some careful thought in each case. It's many thousands of lines of code and new functions that will need to be updated and tested.

So basically, it's not the time. I guess the right time will be in a few years from now, when no-one uses the old versions of Windows, and all graphics hardware supports later versions of DirectX.
thanks for explaining all aspects...so coding is not the only issue, OS, graphic card, net packets, etc. things that you cannot control obvoiusly.
well i have to say "fortunately"...may i ask you if there is any chance that we can beta test phisics patches (only for offline use), like it happened for the Q-patch?

cheers :)

[Honey]

Thanks for patch, I really hope there will be a progess raport with info at the main site (about other game aspects, like physics etc. - if anything like that has been updated) :)
PS sorry for OT, but how can I change "demo racer" to "S2 licensed" under my nick?
it will automatically update when you will buy the S2 license. ;)

[Huru-aito]

PS sorry for OT, but how can I change "demo racer" to "S2 licensed" under my nick?

It shows the license status of your username, you can't change it by yourself other than buying the license(s). If you are licensed but with another username It'd be nice if you'd use the licensed one here as well.

[Kuba_m]

Thanks, yes I'm licenssed S1 since 22.10.2003 and S2 since 05.10.2005 :) I didn't know that I have the same username at the forum :)

[Skorpion]

:yipee::woohoo:That´s good Patch Q Thanks Devs

[Tumpeloinen]

Thanks for the patch. :thumb:

I think it's time for me to get back playing S2.. Last time I played when S2 was released. :Looking_a

[MitchBomcanhao]

Yes - I just picked that up - I was wondering why LFS runs so much smoother lately. I guess its down to the new text. I'm getting 100fps @ 1024x768 (no AF or AA) on a 5200 FX (Athlon 1800+, 512MB RAM for those who are interested)! That's way more than I get on any other game or sim.

crap... my computer must be wrong :P
i got around 85fps with 1280x1024 on Xp2000+, 512 ram, ati 9700 128mb
i used to get more...

recently i mostly get around 40 to 60fps with AA, and playing against AI makes it suffer even more (15/25fps). it wasn't the case a few versions ago... it used to run much smoother.

[axus]

crap... my computer must be wrong :P
i got around 85fps with 1280x1024 on Xp2000+, 512 ram, ati 9700 128mb
i used to get more...

recently i mostly get around 40 to 60fps with AA, and playing against AI makes it suffer even more (15/25fps). it wasn't the case a few versions ago... it used to run much smoother.

Check for spywear and things like that. Do you run a firewall, anti-virus protection etc etc? Have you installed any new applications recently?

[joen]

:thumb:Thanks Good work :)

[paceman]

I just installed Patch Q and now I get an error message during program start "warning: created default codepage" and the menu words are defective (special letters (german) appear as a sqare) :-( dont know what to do...

[Scawen]

I just installed Patch Q and now I get an error message during program start "warning: created default codepage" and the menu words are defective (special letters (german)) appear as a sqare. :-( dont know what to do...You have installed the patch wrongly, for some reason it has not used the directory structure in the zip, so the abc.abc file has not ended up in the right place.

You need to make sure an option like "preserve directory structure" or "use folders" or something, is switched on. If you don't have WinZip, i would recommend that as it's better than the standard XP unzipper.

[Warper]

Jeah, i finally can prove, that scawen will still work on LFS in a few years :)

So basically, it's not the time. I guess the right time will be in a few years from now, when no-one uses the old versions of Windows, and all graphics hardware supports later versions of DirectX.

EDIT: I forgot to say thank you. Really sad, that physic improvements are incompatible patches, and so we won't have Q1, Q2 and so on :)

[paceman]

Oh yeah I see. Now it works. Thanks for the very fast reply and help!

[ebola]

thanks Scawen very much appreciated.

[bobvanvliet]

My everlasting gratitude for pumping these things out at such a pace and in the weekend no less! :thumb: :)

[Kolzig]

Thanks scawen, nice early christmas present. :)

[-YR-BDINGU]

excellent, now you guys can get to physics :)

[KeiichiRX7]

As two people said here before me, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Kanji contain thousands of letters, so it's a different task, which is best left until the future, when there's no-one left using older versions of Windows, and we all have a later version of DirectX, because Unicode and so on, is supported better with Windows XP.

The only reason we could do a Japanese codepage, is because Japanese has a special text called "Katakana" which is something like an alphabet, containing letters like "KA" and "RO". It's useful for writing words when the Kanji character is not known (because in Kanji, which is based on Chinese writing, each character means a word, and you can't just figure out how to write a word just by hearing it - you need to know the Kanji).

So all Japanese people are familiar with Katakana, it's useful for chat and looks cool, even though in LFS they can't write full Kanji.
Technically incorrect but in the correct spirit. Katakana are actually used for spelling things out that are borrowed from OTHER languages. Hiragana are used for spelling things out in Japanese.

Took japanese in highschool, then went off to join the navy and promptly forgot most of what i learned. However yeah, youve got the character sets backward. not a huge thing, youre just going to have to swap the Katakana with hiragana. Words that would have been in Katakana can be spelled out in Romanji (Roman letters like ours).

Edit:the menu options are probably still fine, but that ability to type properly in japanese will still be lacking

[Lucasinio]

Ive installed the patch, but i try and load the game, and it cant open the HEL_DEFAULT.JPG...any help


EDIT: DONT WORRY...SORTED

[wheeler]

Thanks scawen, nice early christmas present. :)

I was expecting another xmas gift from Scawen his year :) (a new car?)

[axus]

(a new car?)

Those come from Eric... my uneducated guess is that the rally pack is in the making. Not sure if it will come Christmas or Easter. At this rate Scawen will hurl out more patches before the year is out. :D :thumb:

[ult1mate X64]

Hey guys is there a way to setup the aa and af without going into the Catalyst Panel, maybe oneday the dev's could also put that option in the game:D .

and thanks dev's for the update cant wait for the next one :thumb: .

[dmcs]

DMCS, there should be an option saying something to the effect of "windowed mode while connecting (yes/no)" in the connection screen. Default was "yes" if I recall. Just change to "no".

Yep, right in front of my eyes:smileypul Just had to put my glasses on. :tilt: Thanks for the assist!

[Hankstar]

Thanks Scawen & Co.! :nod:

[Sternendaal]

Nice! :nod:

[three_jump]

Good job as usual :nod:
Nice to have the new Language support which will help to spread LFS all over the world.

3j

[Vendetta]

For christmas i think we should all donate money to the devs for their hard work ;) Could the devs put a donate button somewhere on the official site or LFS world?

[_-ALUCARD-_]

i don't know why but with this patch i have fps problems,

i don't have changes any settings, all the same than with p5 patch i was before.

when i play that's all normal, about 60-80 fps in race, but they shut down to 18-20, like if the fps limiter is actived, but he isn't, and after 1 min or more fps come back normals, and after they shut down on more time, and always the same.

i've tried to change my AA AF settings but that's change notting.

please help :shrug:

[Racer Y]

.....Chinese on pre-rendered font textures....
...So basically, it's not the time. I guess the right time will be in a few years from now, when no-one uses the old versions of Windows, and all graphics hardware supports later versions of DirectX.

..... pre-rendered font textures....

Uhhh... Why is it a "texture" instead of a character?
Man, I hope I can ask this correctly...
What I mean is when you see writing (text characters) on the screen you're actually seeing an image of those characters pasted on objects?

Oh thanks for the update :)

[MitchBomcanhao]

Check for spywear and things like that. Do you run a firewall, anti-virus protection etc etc? Have you installed any new applications recently?

my computer is kept quite clean, firewall is on ouside router, no garbage stuff gets in here... it just seems to lack the performance

[Don]

Those come from Eric... my uneducated guess is that the rally pack is in the making. Not sure if it will come Christmas or Easter. At this rate Scawen will hurl out more patches before the year is out. :D :thumb:
i think that s2 final version has bigger priority than rallypack

[Scawen]

..... pre-rendered font textures....

Uhhh... Why is it a "texture" instead of a character?
Man, I hope I can ask this correctly...
What I mean is when you see writing (text characters) on the screen you're actually seeing an image of those characters pasted on objects?

Oh thanks for the update :)Every character you see in LFS is two triangles, forming a rectangle, and the texture on those triangles is a texture with transparency. That is the font texture. All characters are rendered onto the font textures when LFS starts up.

[axus]

i think that s2 final version has bigger priority than rallypack

I'm pretty sure the models are quite polished for S2 final by now - so my _guess_ would be that Eric is making new ones.

[AndroidXP]

Every character you see in LFS is two triangles, forming a rectangle, and the texture on those triangles is a texture with transparency. That is the font texture. All characters are rendered onto the font textures when LFS starts up.
:nod:

And surprisingly drawing lots of text can make the experience quite choppy. You mostly notice it when the menus are active - then the fps are waaay lower because of all that text and transparency. You might think that just drawing some text is fast, but really, it isn't.

[turbo-janek]

Good job :) Thanks Scawen!!

[bbman]

Every character you see in LFS is two triangles, forming a rectangle, and the texture on those triangles is a texture with transparency. That is the font texture. All characters are rendered onto the font textures when LFS starts up.
And you can watch that working if letters (mostly names) are drawn in front of smoke... :D

[deggis]

i think that s2 final version has bigger priority than rallypack
What rumours are there about the rallypack anyways? Any official or half-official info? I think it would be just waste of resources. LFS should concentrate on racing not rallying. Let's leave rallying for RBR. :)

[Slartibartfast]

Anyone else get this? Or know how to get it?

I installed Q and went straight to an online server. Went to the pits, picked my setup, hit the track, and sitting in my stall I was sort of forced to notice the suspension view, just like the one in the pits, taking up the entire right half of my screen. Top to bottom. Looked around in options for a while, no button. Hit every F key and probably most of my letter keys and Shift and CTRL and letter keys. Nothing. The suspension view was still there. In the garage and out, left the server and returned. Still the suspension view covering half my screen. I left the server, went to replay, nothing. Mo more suspension view. Went back to the track, it was still gone.

What button is it? I really want to see the suspension during replays.

[Vendetta]

Anyone else get this? Or know how to get it?

I installed Q and went straight to an online server. Went to the pits, picked my setup, hit the track, and sitting in my stall I was sort of forced to notice the suspension view, just like the one in the pits, taking up the entire right half of my screen. Top to bottom. Looked around in options for a while, no button. Hit every F key and probably most of my letter keys and Shift and CTRL and letter keys. Nothing. The suspension view was still there. In the garage and out, left the server and returned. Still the suspension view covering half my screen. I left the server, went to replay, nothing.

What button is it? I really want to see the suspension during replays.

Press shift+L :)

[L(Oo)ney]

Im too slow.. ;)

[highbridge]

I found bug by using Japanese keyboard.
Can not enter to text box by pressing T key.
This problem occurred only when using Japanese text conversion(IME).

- Enter text box by pressing T key.
- Enter Japanese conversion mode by "Kanji" key.
- Input Katakana by Roman character.
- Convert to Katakana by pressing F8 key.
- Displayed Katakana after pressing enter key.
- Re-enter to text box.
But can not display text box by pressing T key...
Can not display text box forever after problem occurred.

But working well by P4 patch.
This problem is occurred on P5-P12 and Q patch.

[Slartibartfast]

Press shift+L :)
LOL Thanks

Then looking at the print out on my desk, which I looked at that night, here it is right here. "suspension cross-section." :razz:

[Racer Y]

Hi.
This might be a bug for the host patch.
I was on a server earlier. I think it was GM motorsports or something like that.
I 'm not sure which version the server was using......
but anyways.... when you started the rasce, you could see the cars in the mini map at the start, but not "on the track" and the other drivers experience
this too... and in the mini map, it would show me as pulling waaaay far away from the pack at the start, yet in being in 8th or 9th place and no one else on the track.LOL it reminded me of that old twilight zone episode where the astronauts landed on an intergalatic graveyard.
I couldn't see ANY of the other people, yet they showed on the mini map as clustered at the starting line. and I think that effect was the same for everyone else on that particular server. Also, we could still chat to one another.
Also, on the DIGI server I got the BSOD one time trying to log off. That
event was probably my fault since my rocket scientist ass some how
managed open LFS up twice by accident. After a restart, everything was
and is fine AFAIK.
But that weird "twilight zone" effect might warrant looking into as it didn't just happen to me but everyone else that was on that server. :)
Maybe a bug in the host - server patch?

[Racer Y]

I might hqave posted this to the above thread... but I didn't know....
is the reason you pre-render the text charaqcters onto two triangles instead of one big rectangle because of fractions and ANSI text?
Exampe: ±, ☺, °, •, etc?

[AndroidXP]

That's because in the gaming world every object is made of triangles. And two triangles is the only way to get a square :)

The reason behind this is that between three points the area is always flat. If you had rectangles as a base you could position the four points in a way that would make the surface look bent, which would only cause troubles.

[Mauni]

Hey guys is there a way to setup the aa and af without going into the Catalyst Panel, maybe oneday the dev's could also put that option in the game:D .

and thanks dev's for the update cant wait for the next one :thumb: .

I use program called RadLinker if I want a certain game to have different AA/AF settings. Handy little program, which leaves no processes running backround.

Thanks for patch Devs :)

[Turb0]

Nice work!!! But i had trouble selecting a car and then leaveing an online server

[traxxion]

Nice work!!! But i had trouble selecting a car and then leaveing an online server

I think you'll have to be a little more specific to make that post useful... ;) What kind of trouble, and what does leaving a server have to do with selecting a car?

[Scawen]

I found bug by using Japanese keyboard.
Can not enter to text box by pressing T key.
This problem occurred only when using Japanese text conversion(IME).

- Enter text box by pressing T key.
- Enter Japanese conversion mode by "Kanji" key.
- Input Katakana by Roman character.
- Convert to Katakana by pressing F8 key.
- Displayed Katakana after pressing enter key.
- Re-enter to text box.
But can not display text box by pressing T key...
Can not display text box forever after problem occurred.

But working well by P4 patch.
This problem is occurred on P5-P12 and Q patch.Oh, that is a pity because this whole section of code was inspired by the Japanese input! Sorry but i can't do anything to fix it now because Q is the official patch, not a test patch (the patches with a number are test patches... we release official patches when we think there are no more bugs - and everyone gets the official patch). Now i have to go and work on other things.

How to fix the problem without me making a change...

Technically, you need to send a WM_KEYDOWN message to LFS with the value VK_T (same as ASCII for 'T'). And that's what opens the text box.

Maybe a programmer can make an external program that sends the WM_KEYDOWN message to LFS.

I am surprised that it doesn't work - we had this problem at one point with Russian and Greek keyboards, when it was translating their keypress into a Russian or Greek character. But the problem was solved, by using the plain WM_KEYDOWN message instead of the translated WM_CHAR message. It must be that the Japanese IME somehow stops the WM_KEYDOWN message from being sent to LFS.

[Scawen]

Just to explain in English, instead of programmer language... :)

I can think of two ways round the problem :

1) Somehow, assign a T keypress to another key or button not used in normal typing.

2) Use an external program to detect a keypress and send a T keypress to LFS.

[tristancliffe]

Presumably this is on the list of things to fix for the next patch (R), right?

[Scawen]

Tristan, that post is just spam, please keep up to your usual higher standards. :scratchch

For example, it would have been more useful, to post something like a keyboard mapping program, that you have tested on a Japanese IME. :)

[tristancliffe]

Well, actually, I was just asking so that people would know it was a temporary fix they need, or a more permanent fix. Then if you'd had said "No, because of the way it is at the moment, I won't be able to fix this until we get round to another big language update" or "Yes, don't worry I'll get it fixed for the next round of test/official patches".

P.S. The best I could find, bearing in mind I don't have foreign characters installed, and therefore have no understanding of the problems at stake, is this (http://www.usna.edu/LangStudy/international_keyboards.html) and Allchars (http://allchars.zwolnet.com/)

[Scawen]

Well, actually, I was just asking so that people would know it was a temporary fix they need, or a more permanent fix. Then if you'd had said "No, because of the way it is at the moment, I won't be able to fix this until we get round to another big language update" or "Yes, don't worry I'll get it fixed for the next round of test/official patches".I guess, if i had a clue how to solve the problem, i might have said something.

As it is, i'm nowhere near that stage. I've just woken up and discovered some bad news about the Japanese input, where the *solution* to the Russian and Greek problem, has apparently, some weeks ago, caused a *problem* with the Japanese version. So, i've already said all i can say, which is : "I can't fix it any time soon, the official patch is out now, and let's try to figure out a way round the problem".

So, given the current situation, where we are just trying to pick up the pieces, i don't really want to be asked what's on my list for the next patch, whose release date and content are totally unknown. Hope you see what i mean. :)

[KiDCoDEa]

they had 7 test patches to report the bug and only do it when it goes live and official under Q. :shrug:

[Ped7g]

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=113187

Firefox had the same problem at some stage, it looks like the IME is "eating" some keypresses.

But it may be of course completely unrelated.

(I did some IME input text box into one MP game cca. 1 year ago, but I can't recall such problems... than again, I did most testing with korean keyboard, which looks unaffected. I used japanese IME only occasionally and I was working on some (messy!) example from DX9 SDK)

[Lible]

Critical update :razz:

[wheeler]

For example, it would have been more useful, to post something like a keyboard mapping program, that you have tested on a Japanese IME. :)

hey! who's the programmer here? If Scawen wants the forum posters to solve technical problems for him maybe he just assigns them to us, I start implementing DirectX 9 effects like smoke and debris :D

On topic: I think you can't address every possible issue with every release, there will be always small fixes around but maybe just as small fix in the R branch will do.

[Honey]

i'm not sure if understood weel the japanese problem, but following Scawen suggestion while reading this post i made a very small program to quick fix it.

it is an application that resides into the tray of the windows taskbar (right click to exit or suspend/activate it), it does only the following thing: when you press CRTL+SHIFT+0 (<- this is the zero key, it is not an O like otello), it sends the T keystroke to the focused application, if needed i can dynamically activate it only for LFS but let's first see if it works... :)

PS i do not have the Q patch installed, so i can't reproduce it

[highbridge]

Oh, that is a pity because this whole section of code was inspired by the Japanese input! Sorry but i can't do anything to fix it now because Q is the official patch, not a test patch (the patches with a number are test patches... we release official patches when we think there are no more bugs - and everyone gets the official patch). Now i have to go and work on other things.

How to fix the problem without me making a change...

Technically, you need to send a WM_KEYDOWN message to LFS with the value VK_T (same as ASCII for 'T'). And that's what opens the text box.

Maybe a programmer can make an external program that sends the WM_KEYDOWN message to LFS.

I am surprised that it doesn't work - we had this problem at one point with Russian and Greek keyboards, when it was translating their keypress into a Russian or Greek character. But the problem was solved, by using the plain WM_KEYDOWN message instead of the translated WM_CHAR message. It must be that the Japanese IME somehow stops the WM_KEYDOWN message from being sent to LFS.

I have checked WM_KEYDOWN and VK_T values.
Press Japanese conversion key: E5(Hex)
Press T key: 54(Hex)

Is this information useful?
Sorry I'm not Windows programmer.:pillepall

[B2B@300]

I have checked WM_KEYDOWN and VK_T values.
Press Japanese conversion key: E5(Hex)
Press T key: 54(Hex)

Is this information useful?
Sorry I'm not Windows programmer.:pillepall
It may or ,may not be useful.. but it sure would have been more useful several weeks ago :tilt: poor old Scawen has been working under false assumptions since P5.. and that must be frustrating..

Lets all just take a lesson from this though and when we see a bug in a test patch report it ASAP (not just use the last working one and say nothing :)) so that Scawen has acurate information to work from, he is relying on us that choose to "try" the test patches to report problems in a timely manner (I'm guilty here to, so I'm not blaming.. I often think ah someone else will report it or they probably know :p) if we don't do this he will be programming under false assumptions which will just make the process more dificult..

I hope you can find a solution Highbridge, did you try the program Honey made it sounds promising..

[Rooibos]

About the correspondence of the problem of a Japanese keyboard.

The katakana is normally displayed when the following operating procedures are executed, and
it seems that T key can be operated afterwards.

(1) T key is pushed (The text box is displayed).
(2)The kanji key is pushed (Enter the conversion mode of Japan).
(3) The katakana is input by the Roman alphabet.
(4) After it converts it into the katakana pushing the F8 key, 'Enter' is pushed (The katakana is displayed to the text box).
(5)The kanji key is pushed again. (For release. )
(6)'Enter' is pushed. (The katakana character is fixed and display it. )

However, the procedure for becoming a problem here is an operation of (5).
T key doesn't react through all eternity afterwards when this operation (5) is omitted, and (6) is executed ('Enter' is pushed).
(In this case, if LFS.exe is not reactivated, do not operate. )


The bug occurs when the point that becomes a problem has changed the order of
operating (5) and (6).

Operational sequence
1.2.3.4.5.6 Ok
1.2.3.4.6.5 bug


Do it become help of something corrected?
Please correct it if it is possible to correct it easily.

[detail]

@ Scawen: here is the Russian version of LFS keys file. Please, include it in the future patches.

It is a UTF-8 TXT file. It is readable by WinXP Notepad.

[thelleha]

I guess I have to get my desktop computer working again, to test patch Q. It only runs in safe-mode, and crash whenever I use my keyboard.
Edit: That is whenever runing my computer, not related to LFS at all. (end edit)
What rumours are there about the rallypack anyways? Any official or half-official info? I think it would be just waste of resources. LFS should concentrate on racing not rallying. Let's leave rallying for RBR. :) I dont see the big differece in racing rallycross and rallying, except in rallycross you go round the same track several times, and rallying you do several course from A to B, also while rallying you mainly race against the clock, and compare the different times after the race.

I know there are a few different rules for cars enering a competition, but it's still driving a car on gavel, tarmark, and/or other surfaces. I think rally in LFS can wait for S3 or even a later stage. I would rather welcome more weather i LFS, like rain/snow/ice, and a fewe tires to cope with that.

I guess RBR = Richard Burns Rally, yes it's great! Also Xpand Rally is great! I bought gForce6 only because of them a year ago or so, while LFS stil was at S1, my old gForce2 was enough for LFS. But RBR needed som harware feature, and XR just needed more powerfull hardware.

[detail]

Don't worry, guys, Scawen needs to spend quite a few time on rally, it won't take time from weather. It's up to Eric to make proper tracks.

[kleinerroemer]

you can no ban a player from the demo server ;(
/ban PLAYER 1
wil not work!

[Misko]

Yes, I was on a demo server today and admin was trying to ban someone with coloured name. He tried few times and instead of command being applied it just appeared as a chat message from him in red colour: /ban <someone>. That someone's name's colours were original (last character was red I think), only /ban was in red. Not sure if that is a bug or admin's mistake. :)

[GianniC]

All cars will profit from the updates, cause all cars work with the same physics engine, and when that one gets updated... ;) So all Hotlaps will be useless then ;)

All ?
Like all all ?
:Looking_a

So, given the current situation, where we are just trying to pick up the pieces, i don't really want to be asked what's on my list for the next patch, whose release date and content are totally unknown. Hope you see what i mean.
Yeah get it... What's next on the list ? :p
(kitchen to do list ;))

[anttt69]

good work my FPS has increased 10 -12 fps

magic!:thumb:

[KiDCoDEa]

magic indeed :D

[axus]

Yeah get it... What's next on the list ? :p
(kitchen to do list ;))

The Birthday Party! (http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=3376)

[Renku]

Well, I went from P1 to Q and did few FPS tests with both versions, I used LFS Benchmark replay but my own graphics settings (most of them are max):
Frames: 3833 - Time: 103889ms - Avg: 36.895 - Min: 23 - Max: 56 P1
Frames: 3825 - Time: 103647ms - Avg: 36.904 - Min: 23 - Max: 56 P1
Frames: 4085 - Time: 103616ms - Avg: 39.424 - Min: 25 - Max: 61 Q
Frames: 4081 - Time: 103538ms - Avg: 39.415 - Min: 24 - Max: 60 Q
The option to paint the text in licence plate is cool :banana:.
Overall: good job :thumb:.


Edit: OT, sry :D . Just did another FPS test with LFS Benchmark replay:
Frames: 5861 - Time: 109606ms - Avg: 53.473 - Min: 38 - Max: 65 H:bannana_g.

Edit2: Yes, I could paint the licence plate text in P1 too. Why did I not know this before? Maybe because lot of others didn't know it too:sadbanana.

[bbman]

The option to paint the text in licence plate is cool :banana:.
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I painted the text on the license plate already in P2... ;)

[_--NZ--_[HUN]]

sorry to disappoint you, but I painted it in S1....

[Vykos69]

All ?
Like all all ?
:Looking_a


Yes, what happens if you change speed of light in reality? Everything would be different. So all Hotlaps will be useless cause they have been done on an older physics engine. Change engine = ALL cars behave different. ;)

[Hyperactive]

EDIT: I can see things that don't exist.

[--==Gogo==--]

Anybody recognized that the "Connecting to Server" Screen is now in a Window and not in Fullscreen anymore? All other LfS Screens are Fullscreen. Just this one is not.

Well, I don't care so much because it doesn't cause any troubles. Just wondering if it's only me...

If this question was already answered in this thread... Well, then do it again please! ;)

[Don]

Anybody recognized that the "Connecting to Server" Screen is now in a Window and not in Fullscreen anymore? All other LfS Screens are Fullscreen. Just this one is not.

Well, I don't care so much because it doesn't cause any troubles. Just wondering if it's only me...

If this question was already answered in this thread... Well, then do it again please! ;)
...in every patch (maybe not in test patches) it changes to windowed mode when you are getting servers list. to turn this off, go to multiplayer->window while connecting? [yes/no]

[XRRoy]

...in every patch (maybe not in test patches) it changes to windowed mode when you are getting servers list. to turn this off, go to multiplayer->window while connecting? [yes/no]
i like it that it is the way it is. Because if i update my lfs the firewall says the program has changed and then i have to give it new rights, wich is easy because lfs is in windowed mode then:smileypul

[CHR20000]

erhm, yeah, good job, more fps, less "BUG: tooo much physics stuff on track" is displayed, wheel worx proper again (maybe this is caused by w2k), english n german language work excellent...
y the colouring button 4 text changed, i wondered, why ^1! didnt give a red ! till i read it somewhere...found out yesterday, it worx with mouse, too :D

gonna :x now !

[Frags]

Yes, what happens if you change speed of light in reality? Everything would be different. So all Hotlaps will be useless cause they have been done on an older physics engine. Change engine = ALL cars behave different. ;)

Will there be a time, when it is "safe" to upload HL's then ?
Even efter the next major physics update ?

[tristancliffe]

Yes, then S2 goes final. That means there will only be a physics patch if some huge flaw is noticed, a big bug is found, or a hacker takes advantage of a loophole in the physics engine. But this is unlikely, so that era could be considered, like much of S1 was, a physics plateau.

But during Alpha stage, I think the devs should pay no attention to the players and release patches as and when. But thats just me, and I know the devs think differently, so I'll take it their way.

[mrbogeyman]

IIRC S2 is meant to be nearly complete physics for that racing that is available at the moment.

Other physics for things such as wet racing will be in S3 i think.
Was the main plan for S3 not just to increase content and features rather than physics?

[ajp71]

Thanks for the patch, but I have a problem, (this may sound stupid :)) when I go to the F12 menu the up/down arrow highlights different things like it has always done, but when I use the left/right arrows it won't let me chnage anything, I know this is probably blindingly obvious but I can't see whats wrong?

[Tweaker]

Make sure your Keyboard controls (have to switch to it from Wheel controls) in the game are using LEFT/RIGHT for Keyboard steering? If so, you have to unbind the left/right steering in keyboard controls, then switch back to Wheel, should work then. If not, I dunno :shrug:

[ajp71]

Thanks :)

[tristancliffe]

Shift+Arrows can force it to work..

Just had a weird bug - posted this, then it showed about 20 posts saying the same thing from me. So I started deleting, deleted 2, and they all went :S

Hopefully no one can still see the millions of posts it tried to do. If you can, it wasn't an intentional thing!

[ajp71]

LOL you spam the forum enough anyway :D

[jaimi]

I got bored reading this but ahs any one notices a few characters ahve dissapeared, i.e. "é" is one that has seem to have vanished now all i get is a green box (or what ever colour the name that has that charadter is).

just noticed

[Scawen]

That shouldn't be the case, if you installed the patch properly.

In the data\abc folder, the abc.abc file should have this date : 25 November 2005

If you do have the correct file, in the right place, then we need to know what you deb.log file says, approximately 20 lines down. As you are Scottish, we would expect it to have a line "kb : Latin 1"

If you do have the correct kb and the abc file is the correct date, then it should work ok.

Anyway, how did you type the character é? The only way i can type it is with ALT+130 on the numpad.

[the_angry_angel]

ALT GR + e should create é.

[Scawen]

ALT GR + e should create é.Yes. I confirm that works too. In notepad, forum and LFS with UK keyboard.

[jaimi]

if i knew that i have been doing, "Ctrl+Alt+e", well that should save me a keypress.

Alls fine now with the "é" but i could not say from before.

[GoodspeedF1R]

nice work thax! :thumb:

[EestiMaikel]

i can't get to work,this text shows up ---Could not open file : Data\skins\HEL_DEFAULT.jpg


sorry i dont speak english very much:S:D

[Scawen]

This patch is 2 years old.

I think it would be a better idea to get a new full version from www.lfs.net downloads section.

I'll close this old thread now.