rec.autos.simulators

Joe from ISI just posted this in another thread.

--
David G Fisher

We wish to thank the Internet community who provided constructive feedback
on the original MP Test version 0.650.  Due to this feedback, a number of
issues have been addressed or improved:

- The original MP Test would not run on some machines due to some
misconfigured security software.  This problem should be eliminated.
- The "headless" dedicated server previously required Direct3D and
DirectInput.  We believe this issue has been addressed but welcome feedback
from users with different machine configurations.
- There seemed to be an unusual amount of disconnects coupled with enormous
lag.  We have eliminated a large amount of unnecessary networking overhead
and ask for feedback on whether the situation has been improved.
- Matchmaking has been improved.
- Visual warping has been reduced significantly.

We *highly* recommend creating a new player for version 0.720, because
several important defaults have changed.

Note that we have defaulted the "Announce Game" parameter to off.  If you
would really like to host a game over the Internet, you should go to the
Multiplayer settings and enable this parameter.  If you just want a
single-player experience, please turn the option off.

Please do not exceed your true connection type because it will ruin your
experience and possibly others if you are the host.  Currently our
"Cable/DSL" setting assumes a 256-kbps upload connection, which is not the
case for all Cable/DSL users.  We highly recommend using the ISDN setting in
this case.  We plan to improve the connection options in the future, but
please bear with us during this MP Test.

Finally, a few new things to play with that are not related to multiplayer:

- Camera spectator mode: Pressing the End key will switch you to the nearest
trackside camera with mouse-look enabled.  Unlike the past, you will remain
at this camera even while vehicles disappear off into the distance.
Pressing the End key again will switch you to other trackside cameras.
Pressing other camera keys will return you to the previous camera behaviors.
- Rolling and formation/standing starts have been improved significantly.
- A temporary red box will be displayed for finding your grid location (for
formation/standing starts) and pit location.
- Please remember that if you do not like the names above the cars, the
default Tab key will turn them off.

The rest of this readme file is essentially the same as in version 0.650:

About the Game:

The rFactor public multiplayer test (MP Test) is intended to help us test
rFactor thoroughly under real-world Internet conditions.  It is not intended
to represent final graphics, physics, sound, modding capabilities, or
anything else.  There are several outstanding known issues which will be
listed later in this readme file.

There is one track and three cars available to the user.  Modding is
discouraged because formats may change.  We have disabled everything EXCEPT
multiplayer, so there is no single player, career, or replay modes.  Night
driving and any sort of weather has been disabled.

What needs to be tested in multiplayer?  Everything - matchmaking,
connecting, dedicated and non-dedicated servers, voting, AIs in multiplayer,
performance with low bandwidth and/or high latency connections, in-car chat,
etc.  If you feel up to it, you can try tweaking your multiplayer.ini file
and report which settings work best under what circumstances.  The more
precise the feedback, the better the multiplayer will eventually be.

Note: To run the dedicated server, you need to run the executable with a
command-line option of "+dedicated".  To do this, create a shortcut to the
game executable "rFactor MP Test.exe" where you installed the game.  We
suggest that you re-name this shortcut "rFactor Dedicated Server.exe" for
easy identification.  Then edit the Properties of that shortcut and add
"+dedicated" to the Target to read "rFactor Dedicated Server.exe" +dedicated

Features:

- Rules to simulate different types of racing: standing starts, formation
laps, rolling starts, racing by time or laps or both, local or full-course
yellows depending on the severity of the accident, etc.
- Time Of Day (TOD), with beautiful transitions from day to dusk to night to
dawn.  This feature is partially disabled in the MP Test.
- Head physics,***pit vibrations, detailed bump modelling, and seat
adjustments all give the user a better sense of speed and control.
- Multiplayer AI, dedicated server with advanced functionality, matchmaking,
plug-in interface, and downloading cars/tracks/replays from server (disabled
in MP test).
- Replay Fridge replay system allows AVI creation with effects defined
through plug-ins.  This feature is disabled in the MP Test.
- Brand new upgrade system which will used extensively in career mode and
will allow modders to add some bling-bling to their creations.

Known Graphics Limitations:

- Shader source code is not exposed;
- DX9 render path disabled;
- Live cube mapping disabled;
- Night and wet driving disabled;
- Time-of-day limited to 8:00am to 5:00pm;
- Moving shadow receivers disabled;
- Object reflections disabled;

work?

Andre