26 replies to this topic

[MECH]

Hi All,

I've been working on the Stratos Mod lately. The goal is to make the mod more accessible to people.
Right now the mod tends to crash if you use 7 or more cars. Depending on your system you even need to lower that number to 5. All in all a bit of a shame since that means it isn't used by many people.

Beta, meaning when time permits there will be updates/improvements...
(in plain language, don't pester me with; why is this skin still looking crappy? or i don't like it. You have a choice: use it, don't use it or provide your own textures )

This file is an option to solve that. After you have applied this fix the mod will only use the 1st slot which is the brabham. All the original skins are copied to this slot so the original cars are still there.

Warning: do not use another driver then the 1st slot. If you (and others online) use the other slots the effect will diminish depending on how many extra slots you use. Only the 1st slot is optimalised.

What's been done so far:

Stratos (brabham):
1. The brabham slot has been optimized so the car has ai mapping.
2. The drivRx.ini is extended to 19 drivers.
3. Martin Hunt [maddog] helped out creating some ai skins. Mostly meant as placeholders. Eventually those might get some improved skins but don't depend on me for that so feel free to contribute
4. The brabham slot has been stripped of redundant files as much as possible. All the sub 3do's have been stripped from redundant poly's. Polygons have been merged as well.
5. Online drivers and skins have been added. Again just some basic skins with numbers so you can distinguish who's who online.
6. The suspension has been removed. It was hardly visible and had clipping issues. This also helped stripping down the model further.
7. face now has ai mapping (lface.mip is the base file used by all drivers but can be changed)
8. Nose without headlights as an option folder added
9. Silver/Gold wheels as an option folder added
10. Added near distant lods for left and right door sections. Rest of the model is still in progress.
11. Created a new lod (level of detail) 3do which increases fps on further distant
12. Changed the distant switch in the main car 3do to kick in earlier. This should help fps raise quickly when the grid is spreading

With this setup i was able to have 19 cars on machwerk without a crash. Depending on your system you at least will be able to have some more cars on the grid

Installation:
0. Install the Stratos mod if you haven't already and make sure it runs with 5 ai drivers.
1. Make a backup of the drivRX.ini and copy the one from the zip in your Grand Prix Legends folder.
- The one in the zip files only has Stratos drivers using the 1st slot.
2. Make a backup of your brabham folder in the CarsRX folder and copy the one from the zip in.
3. Do not use any other than the 1st slots (brabham) as the player car. If you use another slot a 2nd Stratos car will be loaded and will hurt fps. (The reason you now can have more cars is because i only used 1 slot

Should you still have a ctd then the only alternative is reducing the number of ai drivers.
Most likely you should be able to race the mod but it depends on your pc specifications how large the number of ai drivers can be set.

Thx to:
1. Martin Hunt [maddog] for the additional skins and gathering people to test the files online.
2. Paul Skingly for giving permission to improve the Stratos mod.
3. Bob [Royale] for creating the Renault Alpine A110 (not ready yet)
4. Ginetto for providing better fitting tires.
5. Stefan Roess and Stefano for providing images and other background info.
6. Online & Offline testers: Axel Koch, Colin Craig, Ginetto, Grizzlourse, Stefan Roess, Nicolas Vanriesenbeck, Bob Whitwell

Attached Files

•  Brabham-Lancia Stratos.zip   4.81MB   300 downloads
•  GPLRally-19cars-Machwerk.JPG   138.95K   201 downloads
•  Stratos-no-headlights.JPG   88.36K   235 downloads
•  GPLRally-Timo-makkinen.JPG   96.53K   229 downloads
•  Stratos-Alpine.JPG   45.98K   179 downloads

Edited by MECH, Dec 08 2012 - 04:21 AM.

[ezechiel47]

Many thanks, Martin.
A great addon for one of my favorite mod !


Ez

[Sid]

Thanks a million Martin. A very nice surprise  

Regards
Sid

[svenvangent]

   thanks

[Burnsy865]

Thanks Martin  

[Alan Davies]

Thanks, can't wait to try it.
4 minute download seems an awful long time

[Alan Davies]

I just had some great racing at Monza Junior with a full grid . Nice skins .
Small snag though; I installed the no nose lights and all the other cars have no lights but the driver car still has them!!

[maddog]

Hi Alan,

It sounds as though, you've selected one of the other 6 cars, to drive.  You'll find the green Chronograph ( Brabham ), now matches the Ai, with their lights removed.  It's also the one which will produce the best framerates, especially online.  It's amazing what MECH has achieved!

[MECH]

Alan Davies, on Mar 18 2012 - 04:37 AM, said:

I just had some great racing at Monza Junior with a full grid . Nice skins .
Small snag though; I installed the no nose lights and all the other cars have no lights but the driver car still has them!!

I think you haven't selected the proper slot as driver. You need to choose the green chronograph car. Right now you are driving with 2 different slots. The ai drive with the optimised and you drive with a not optimised slot. Your carskin and the fact that you have headlights should make that evident

or what maddog said

Edited by MECH, Mar 18 2012 - 07:09 AM.

[Alan Davies]

Thanks MECH and Maddog,
Selected the "Chronograph" and the lights are gone in most views but I get the "elf" skin   (not a problem for me but maybe for others). In cockpit view the nose light fittings are still visible.  I know the answer; we need a cockpit/dashboard expert to create a hi res interior.  Here's hoping!
Well done now have good racing with a full grid with these little rockets

[DHosein]

Brilliant! New Stratos updates!

Will download and give them a go.

Was wondering.. any chance of sneaking the 'all personal bests saved to player.ini' patch that all other mods now take for granted?

[MECH]

Alan Davies, on Mar 19 2012 - 12:39 PM, said:

In cockpit view the nose light fittings are still visible.  I know the answer; we need a cockpit/dashboard expert to create a hi res interior.  Here's hoping!

Thx for mentioning it.
I totally forgot about the in cockpit view headlights  
That will be fixed in a next update

[MECH]

DHosein, on Mar 19 2012 - 12:49 PM, said:

Brilliant! New Stratos updates!

Will download and give them a go.

Was wondering.. any chance of sneaking the 'all personal bests saved to player.ini' patch that all other mods now take for granted?

That might be an option when we add the Alpine.
It would need new physics for that slot so would require a more extensive fix.

[svenvangent]

And now a Strato's rally Rank      
Oooo yes , and in this new Ranking ..... Machwerk and Gyral   i'm dreaming .

Edited by svenvangent, Mar 19 2012 - 01:04 PM.

[Stefan Roess]

Thx guys!

Btw this a nice track (ok the graphics are dated, but it has a gravel section with jumps) I used for offline tests:


Live For Speed Rallycross Track
http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=LFSRX

Edited by Stefan Roess, Mar 20 2012 - 04:42 AM.