rec.autos.simulators

well, i only try with the keyboard because i'm at work , and i can''t
even get the car to move.

I can rev up/down the engine with Q, but when i geared up the car
stalled.

The rear wheels act strangely it's seems they oscilate ... but i'm not
sure maybe they roll very fast.

So the only thing i can say about the physics is that i think the
engine has not enough inertia.. i'mean do the engine should take more
time to get back to low rev when i release the throttle ?

I have some "issues" at or near zero velocity, I hope to solve them soon by
using the Relaxation Length method.  However, I have added a forward impulse
near zero when the thottle is pressed (just to get it going), it should
actually move.  Try engaging gear straight away and then acclerating and
holding the accelerator.

I think this might be the same "near zero" problems with slipratio.

Ok, noted down, i'll get to it!

Thanks for trying it, I can assure you it doesnt feel too bad once you get
it moving!! :)

Al l the best,
Ash
http://www.siroccoracing.com

I tried every thing i have in mind, even hold accelerator and change
gear lot of time, i also try to press quickly the accelerator, the car
dont move :(

For sure i didn't crash in any wall ;o)

It seems to work here fine, and at home :/

what you could try (although its a little bit of a pain).  Set the starting
position of the car a little off the ground. i.e. : -

- change the file ./demo014/Cars/Lmp/car.ini
- change startposy = 0 to startposy = 10

This should make the car move forward a little when it bounces and stop the
velocity from being zero.

I will try and implement the relaxation stuff tonight, although I am feeling
a bit under the weather at the minute :(

All the best,
Ash
http://www.siroccoracing.com

Nice, very nice... car is a lot more controlable. Getting more feedback as
well, but predicting when the limit is going to be overstepped is still
fairly hard. That said, once lost it's quite easy to power spin it back
facing the right way.

The car indeed doesn't launch immediately, is sort of sits there, loads up
it's suspension and, after maybe a second it breaks the rear tyres loose and
starts moving, the wheels eventually "catching" up with road speed in a very
GPL like manner (quite cool). Excessive coasting hhas been resolved as well.

You're getting there Ash. As before, I remain to be very impressed. Perhaps
a dunb question from an ignoramus sim user (rather than sim coder): wouldn't
it be easier to implement a (digital) clutch/engine stall and have the user
deal with stuff like launching the car, blipping downshifts, etc... to begin
with, moving on to implementing driving aids at a later stage? Similar to
the development of real cars where the very first models relied on the user
and his passenger/mechanic to control all aspects of the vehicle/engine,
with more and more things getting automated as things progressed.

Jan.
=---

i re-tried today and know its working without modification ...

i'll retry later with a sterring wheel for some feeback ;o)

cheer,

Hurrraaaaay! :)

I worked a little on the relaxatioin stuff last night, but in my dazed state
I used the "SlipAngle equation" to calculate the SlipRatio (I only realised
this morning, DOH!).  I should fix it in 10 mins tonight (hopefully) and
this should let it take off from rest a little more easily.

Let me know how you get on with the wheel :)

All the best,
Ash
http://www.siroccoracing.com

Hi Jan,

Whoops, missed this one! :)

I think that predicting the limit will be made easier with the aid of tyre
squeal and perhaps a little practice.  I find I can throw it round fairly
easily now as I have been driving it quite a bit (as you can imagine!).  I
even stuck a 600HP engine in that monster last night and didnt spin *too*
often :).  I had the aid of some pseudo-downforce to aid my travels though
:)  (not in the demo)

My launch control isnt exactly perfect is it? Well if F1 teams need 2
seasons I think i am doing alright <g>.  I am working on the "relaxation

0.  Still having a few probs, but i'll sort it :).

Anything that is GPL-like is nice to see, its a great benchmark :).

I have been thinking about how I can implement the clutch, so it feels ok
(on the way home on the train), I think I have figured something out, I will
try it out after the relaxation length stuff.

Thanks for your kind words and suggestions, they are always welcome.  I
removed a few "for a car with no...." statements :)
I am becoming even more e***d, its starting to come together a little.

All the best,
Ash
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

I find all this home brew development very exciting and interesting. I may
be an eternal optimist, but the way things are going now I see us arriving
at being independant on corporations for our sim fix within a decade. ;-)

Anyhow... forgot to ask: is it possible to swap the gear up/down controls
when using a wheel? -If not now, could you include the option in future
releases?

Thanks,

Jan.
=---

I would love to do this full time, but I cannot justify it to myself until I
am at a much later stage (maybe 2-3 years?)

Not a problem - edit the txt file ./data/joystick.dat

ChangeDown = 1
ChangeUp = 0

....if you simply want to swap them this should do the trick: -

ChangeDown = 0
ChangeUp = 1

Unfortunately, if you need to calibrate again it will wipe the current
file - but at least there is split axis right? :)  I will redo the whole
calibration thing to make it a little more robust when I get a minute.  I
also need to add multiple controllers for my shiny new act labs pedals :)

Thanks again for the kind words

Ash
http://www.siroccoracing.com