1087 Beta Patch Releasd!

[jrowland96]

Just as an FYI, ISI has released the latest rFactor patch to 1087. They said most of the changes are for the Stock Cars rules/mod. They're not hosting it at the official rFactor site, but rather at www.rfstockcars.com site. I guess the Lienz track and cars update will be released separately, hopefully next week.

For those of you running dual rFactor installs (1081, and 1070 for VORS), you might want to update your 1081 to 1087.

Just curious, but I thought the 1081 (and now 1087) weren't "stock car mods" per se, but rather the stock car rules to have the game handle NASCAR type rules, pitting, etc.? One of the other posts on Stock Cars said that ISI had a stock car mod, and that Stock Car Evolution (SCE at rfstockcars.com) was more or less a "competing mod" that wasn't as good? It seems like ISI is working with the people doing the SCE mod, and especially if they're hosting their official patch at their site? I'm confused I guess! lol

[davidan]

I would be very skeptical of this and would not download it until you hear something from ISI on their site at www.rfactor.net. Here is why, I just read this on the rfstockcars site
-----

This is the rFactor Patch v1.087 install in Zip file format only. It should include all of the files needed to upgrade your install to v1.087. This package did NOT come from ISI as it was done by www.rfstockcars.com - We recommend that you make a backup of your current install prior to using this package. This package can be used very easily for dedicated server installs or people who have a problem with the EXE version recognizing their original install.

NOTE: This zipped version was not released by ISI and will not be supported by them. It has been done by www.rfstockcars.com only as a service.

[davidan]

Also as I understand it, the mod for Stock Car Racing that ISI is releasing, is completely seperate from Stock Car Evolution and was authored by ISI and theuspits (another mod group). The stock car evolution guys are not involved with it as I understand it. I could be wrong, but I see them as competing efforts, and I would go with the one that ISI is endorsing and releasing on their own (with help from the pits).

[jrowland96]

OK, here is waht I've figured out. This IS an "official beta" release by ISI (kind of oxymoron... official beta lol).

ISI's "official patch" is only released in an .exe form. The rfstockcars guys thought it would be good to have it released in zip format as well, as this makes it easier to install on servers. The got the go ahead to put the patch in ZIP format, but the ZIP isn't officially supported by ISI, but the EXE is. ISI is using rfstockcars.com as the primary hosting location for the download, and will eventually mirror it on the official rfactor website.

[HenryHudson]

From The US Pits:

You can use this link to download the 'OFFICIAL' ISI .exe without having to register at the SCE site...

http://www.thepits.us/board/viewtopic.php?t=4283

Henry

[Rob Lowe]

How do I install this patch to my NascarRfactor file. It starts to go direct to my Rfactor file?

[davidan]

Rob, drop it in the same folder as your main NASCAR install of rFActor and it should update it that way.

[Rob Lowe]

I loaded it up and it works but I get an error. The sim loads but the cars are all screwed up.

[TimCollier]

Here's a list of stuff it does....


Gameplay
--------
- Implemented Private Qualifying.
- Added support for double-file restarts. Double-file restarts can be enabled with an RFM entry (in the DefaultScoring section) "DoubleFileRestarts=1". RFM entry can be overridden with PLR file entry "Double File Override".
- Added support for lucky dog rule. Lucky dog rule can be enabled with an RFM entry (in the DefaultScoring section) "LuckyDog=<1-3>". Value 1 implements it for ovals only, 2 for road courses only, and 3 for both. RFM entry "LuckyDogLapsLeft" specifies how laps much be left in the race to apply the lucky dog rule - default is 10. PLR file entry "Lucky Dog Override" can be used to override RFM entry.
- Added pit timer using message center.
- Optimized and updated the vehicle labels to show yellow for the vehicle you should be following on rolling starts or full-course yellows.
- Added more nationalities (most without flags).
- Vehicle label now used over safety car (which is useful for indicating if a driver is supposed to be following it).
- Fixed/improved double file restarts. Added "DoubleFileRestarts" entry to NSCRS06.rfm file, which now indicates whether restarts are double file and how many laps left there needs to be to apply it.
- Added direct access controls for the HUD MFD pages, which are unmapped by default. They should interact sensibly with the existing HUD MFD controls.

Graphics
--------
- Fixed broken Steering Wheel PLR file entry.
- Added steering wheel option in UI.
- Now using head-tracking movement in cockpit to affect mirror direction. To disable this effect, add 4 to the PLR file option "Moving Rearview".
- Fixed a shadow updating bug with TimeAcceleration=None.
- Possible fix for custom helmet skin problem in multiplayer.
- Seat position now stored per-vehicle, but only for owned vehicles.

Tracks and Vehicles
-------------------
- Jacksonville superspeedway.
- Stock cars.
- Removed most unnecessary scoring overrides in existing track GDB files (such as "QualifyDay=Saturday") and made sure the correct defaults were in the RFM file. Overrides should only be used when necessary (to create a night event, for example, or to change the pitlane speed limit on small tight tracks).

Artificial Intelligence
-----------------------
- AI can attempt to "learn" a track (by learn I mean, better follow the path). To enable turn on Autocalibrate AI Mode="1" in .plr file. Enter a track in Test Day with a single AI. The AI will take off and talk to you in chat and tell you how he's doing. Typeing "status" tells you how he's doing and "finish" will make him end next lap.
- AI's upon Init now look recursively up from the *.veh directory for a trackname.ini file that modifies the speed and position of every waypoint on the main track.
- Improved AI behavior when rolling to standing starts on banks. If all else fails will teleport to their locations.
- Improved AI pit behavior, should no longer slow down for cars heading into pits
- Fixed "Safety car always drives 10 meters off road/crashes into walls" bug
- Improved calculation of AI max cornering speed.

Physics
-------
- New TBC entry to define rim properties.
- Improvement to vehicle sliding-down-hill problem.
- Added ability to have non-linear grip drop-off with wear. See "WearGrip" value in Form_Tires.tbc for more info.
- Fixed a minor HAT file bug that could actually improve performance slightly.

Input Devices
-------------
- Added controller.ini option "FFB steer force grip function" that controls how quickly you lose steering force as the front grip decreases. Lower values will reduce the effect where all force is lost when understeering. Note that previously hardcoded default was 1.0, but new default is 0.55 which will change the feel somewhat.

Multiplayer
-----------
- Fixed Race Starting Time on client Race Settings tab.
- Added multiplayer.ini option "Fast Rolling Starts" for the dedicated server to skip the formation lap of rolling starts (just like non-dedicated servers can do with the Space key).
- Added Chat Lobby to matchmaker.
- Added rFNetworkManager chat to NetCommUtilPlugin.dll.
- Removed IRCPlugin.dll.
- Added chat coloring for lobby chat.
- Removed IRC server option from multiplayer.ini.
- Added option to multiplayer.ini to allow/disallow auto joining to lobby chat server.
- Fixed "sort by rfm" button.
- Fixed server list problem of that cause the game to join a server that was not selected.
- Added inactive command to lobby chat server and client. Unless a lobby chat window is visible you will not receive any messages and the clients name will be gray in the roster.
- Removed some more unnecessary vehicle graphics initialization from the dedicated server.
- Fixed it so you can maximize dedicated server replays.

Results File
------------
- Added Mod filename and Season to the results XML file.
- Added a little bit more information to the results XML line regarding contact - it now includes what or who the contact was with.


Modding/Miscellaneous
---------------------
- Allow for vehicles to have a series of categories in VEH file, and display a full tree in option.
- Category in .VEH should look like this: Category="Hammer,Sledge,10 lb."
- Added HDV entries to configure the pit menu and the time required to perform pitstop operations. New options are available for which tires to change, what tire compounds are allowed, tire pressures, spring rubbers, wedge, radiator, track bar, fender flare, and more damage repair. See the FormulaIS.hdv file for an example.
- Added configurable yellow flag and penalty rules (available through RFM or GDB entries).
- Added RFM option for when yellow is called. "FreezeOrder" where 0=race to the line and 1=track order gets frozen immediately.
- Added alternate timing for "Max Framerate" player file option due to reports it wasn't working well on some machines. Negating the target framerate will cause the game to use an alternate timing mechanism which is more accurate but uses more CPU.
- Changed code to allow caution light and safety car light animations (must use new animation type "skip frame 0", where frame 0 is off).
- Fixed tracedyn.txt to report possibly useful results with trace=3.
- Eliminated redundant and useless PLR file entries: CURNT and RPLAY settings no longer exist; PRACT, QUICK and GPRIX all share the QUICK setting; and CHAMP info is stored in the CCH files.
- Enabled variable-distanced safety car trigger locations to enable smooth safety laps on unconventionally shaped tracks . In AIW file, look for "SafetyCarReleaseDist=".
- Added ability to control practice/qual/warmup starting times through player file entries without editing an RFM. Included are options for random start times (either 24-hours or only daylight hours).
- Changed practice/qual/warmup configurable durations (in the multiplayer.ini file) to allow 1-minute increments up to 10 minutes.
- Added RFM and/or PLR file "Parc Ferme" settings, a.k.a. "Covered Car" which prevent changing most or all garage settings between qualifying and the race. Also included are RFM options for how the new Parc Ferme options apply to fuel levels and used tires.
- Changed player file option "Fixed Free Settings" to "Free Settings", which is now applicable to both fixed setups and parc ferme setups.
- Modders, please check updated RFM files for all new rules.
- Changed player file value "Blue Flags" to "BlueFlags" with the default value of 7 which now means to take the RFM value "BlueFlags=<0-6>". If player file value is 7 and no value is found in the RFM, the default behavior is 3: show blue flags for vehicles within 0.5 seconds and penalize if receiver doesn't move over in a reasonable amount of time.
- Added pitbox re-skinning (instance and material on track should be named "PITBOX01" to "PITBOX52", vehicle skin should be the same as the default skin with "pitbox" appended).
- Fixed a possible server crash when a full-course yellow is pending and the safety car doesn't have time to pull out of ******* on this lap.
- New terrain data file (TDF) entries allow special road or collision sounds. For example, adding the line "InsideRoad=Secondary\specialroad" under a [FEEDBACK] entry will play an interior sound (the specified WAV file under the GameData/Sounds directory) when driving over that type of road. "OutsideRoad", "InsideColl", and "OutsideColl" can also be used. While you can use each of these multiple times within the TDF file, only one sound file per type can be used currently. In other words, only four unique 'special' sounds can be specified at this time.
- Fixed ambient sound locator so crowd and other noises should now be possible.

Known Issues
------------
- AI doesn't always follow the correct vehicle during cautions, and doesn't always obey lucky dog or double file restart rules.
- Full-course yellows don't happen unless vehicles are stopped on track, regardless of 'Safety Car Threshold' player file setting. New option will be introduced in the future.
- No admin commands to correct scoring errors yet.
- More accurate drafting needed, and more configurable.
- Passing before s/f line isn't legal at all, not even on outside. Need configurable options for this rule.
- Commentary/spotter not implemented yet.
- Need option to force specific upgrades on some vehicles at certain tracks.
- No easy way to hold people at pit exit if the train is going by, although we do add them to the end of the line (doesn't seem to always work properly, though).

[TimCollier]

By the way, if you want a reason to NOT support Stock Car Evolution, here's one...

The folks at SCE would like to announce a unique opportunity for you, the sim racer, to be a part of something special. We have been generously offered a special gift of a SuperSpeedway track which utilizes Rfactor and the SCE mod to their fullest potential!! This track is now up for donation purchase at EBAY to help us cover the cost of new, hi-rez, 3D models!! The winning bidder will have the track specially branded to their corporate desire, team name, or organization. It will then be packaged and sent up for download from the SCE's website "Certified Tracks" location. This track will also be distributed with future SCE releases as well.

As a special bonus, we will be donating 10% of the total proceeds to the Victory Junction Gang Charity organization, further spreading the generosity of this wonderful community.

The track went for $510.00 on eBay!!! What? Only giving 10% to Victory Junction? What is up with that?

BTW, a league purchased it to put their name on...and the track was designed by none other than Joel Ladanyi