MX Simulator

jlv wrote:

mxer164 wrote:Where would you find the erode settings. I can't seem to find them.

Online erode has to be enabled on the server. I'll be posting an updated server shortly.

Noble500ljam wrote:when i install and browse for a different folder, my next button is unable to be clicked. any ideas??

You have to select a folder where version 1.11 is already installed. If the installed doesn't see a zzzz.saf file in the folder you choose the next button will be disabled.

Persson29 wrote:My game keeps crashing when i have run a few minutes, anyone knoows what it is?

Are you getting any error messages?

Jlv. For the top on how to turn erode on is there any way to turn it on in single player or would it just be for servers?

mxer164 wrote:Jlv. For the top on how to turn erode on is there any way to turn it on in single player or would it just be for servers?

For single player you've always been able to turn it on by adding --erode 40 to the command line options.

Thank you very much Jlv! Much appreciated! Cheers!

Noble500ljam wrote:when i install and browse for a different folder, my next button is unable to be clicked. any ideas??

You have to select a folder where version 1.11 is already installed. If the installed doesn't see a zzzz.saf file in the folder you choose the next button will be disabled.

the zzzz.saf file is in the folder but i still can't click next

JLV, will you confirm or deny that server erode setting can use a decimal? Such as server, erode 1.5. Thanks

JLV, is it a possibility to have a separate decal for erode? You could then have a darker color decal to see the ruts easier?

Something that should be on top of your list to fix JLV is peoples games are crashing by just touching in corners now. No idea why it's happening but Isiah dickersons game crashed tonight in the 250 Main. Unless it's a new hidden feature where your motor can blow up

Lnxa wrote:Something that should be on top of your list to fix JLV is peoples games are crashing by just touching in corners now. No idea why it's happening but Isiah dickersons game crashed tonight in the 250 Main. Unless it's a new hidden feature where your motor can blow up

Yeah thats one of the main reasons i dont use this update, if i was him id run the latest snapshot as you can still get into servers etc

So we started to think about a solution to improve erode visibility with Stephen and Ruben.
And we got an idea, not sure if it's possible to do or not, but we think it deserve to be shared here.

The primary point of our thoughs : there's not enough shadows rendered by the game.
Even without erode in previous years, we always had to add terrain shadows to the overlays to make things visible in game on mx tracks, and play with darker/lighter decals on sx tracks.

Our idea :
a file like shading.ppm which is full white at the start of the race and updates on erode
let's call it " shading-eroded.ppm "
On this file we'll see the shadows of eroded stuffs only.
This file would be the only one to update = no more perf issue
The shading.ppm would show the shadows of the "base" disp map only and not update anymore when running erode
The shading-eroded.ppm would show the shadows of "eroded stuff" only and update automatically when running erode
AND
an other file where we could set the "power" of the shadows for each .ppm files separately
just a basic txt file :
shading.ppm=1
shading-eroded.ppm=1
1 would be default shadows, more than 1 = more shadows, less than 1 = less shadows


Again it's just an idea and i really have no idea if it's possible to code or not...

barrington314 wrote:JLV, will you confirm or deny that server erode setting can use a decimal? Such as server, erode 1.5. Thanks

It does support non-integer erode settings. Should be accurate to about a thousandth.

ROSE822 wrote:

Lnxa wrote:Something that should be on top of your list to fix JLV is peoples games are crashing by just touching in corners now. No idea why it's happening but Isiah dickersons game crashed tonight in the 250 Main. Unless it's a new hidden feature where your motor can blow up :lol:

Yeah thats one of the main reasons i dont use this update, if i was him id run the latest snapshot as you can still get into servers etc

The only thing that changed between the last snapshot and 1.12 was the version number. Whatever bug it is I think it's been there for a long time since I haven't made any collision changes lately. I'll go over the collision code and see if I can find anything funny.

M@xTizZz wrote:So we started to think about a solution to improve erode visibility with Stephen and Ruben.
And we got an idea, not sure if it's possible to do or not, but we think it deserve to be shared here.

The primary point of our thoughs : there's not enough shadows rendered by the game.
Even without erode in previous years, we always had to add terrain shadows to the overlays to make things visible in game on mx tracks, and play with darker/lighter decals on sx tracks.

Our idea :
a file like shading.ppm which is full white at the start of the race and updates on erode
let's call it " shading-eroded.ppm "
On this file we'll see the shadows of eroded stuffs only.
This file would be the only one to update = no more perf issue
The shading.ppm would show the shadows of the "base" disp map only and not update anymore when running erode
The shading-eroded.ppm would show the shadows of "eroded stuff" only and update automatically when running erode
AND
an other file where we could set the "power" of the shadows for each .ppm files separately
just a basic txt file :
shading.ppm=1
shading-eroded.ppm=1
1 would be default shadows, more than 1 = more shadows, less than 1 = less shadows


Again it's just an idea and i really have no idea if it's possible to code or not...

If I understand you correctly, "shadows.pgm" is a little like that. No color though. And it only blocks direct light.

I'm thinking about adding ambient occlusion to the terrain shading calculation. Probably the best way to make ruts stand out.

the way the shadows.pgm file is working should make the job, starting with a full white/grey map, and updating shadows of eroded stuffs by adding some black shades.
Hard part is, it have to update only the shadows created when eroding the track. Otherwise it will add more shadows everywhere on the map...
2nd problem is, it will probably add more perf issue cause one more file will be updated live (atm there's only the terrain.png and the shading.ppm files if i'm correct?)

On the other hand, is it possible to add a feature to control the force of shadows (other than by changing sun placement or color) ?
Like a sun_intensity/sun_brightness in the lighting file.

jlv wrote:

M@xTizZz wrote:So we started to think about a solution to improve erode visibility with Stephen and Ruben.
And we got an idea, not sure if it's possible to do or not, but we think it deserve to be shared here.

The primary point of our thoughs : there's not enough shadows rendered by the game.
Even without erode in previous years, we always had to add terrain shadows to the overlays to make things visible in game on mx tracks, and play with darker/lighter decals on sx tracks.

Our idea :
a file like shading.ppm which is full white at the start of the race and updates on erode
let's call it " shading-eroded.ppm "
On this file we'll see the shadows of eroded stuffs only.
This file would be the only one to update = no more perf issue
The shading.ppm would show the shadows of the "base" disp map only and not update anymore when running erode
The shading-eroded.ppm would show the shadows of "eroded stuff" only and update automatically when running erode
AND
an other file where we could set the "power" of the shadows for each .ppm files separately
just a basic txt file :
shading.ppm=1
shading-eroded.ppm=1
1 would be default shadows, more than 1 = more shadows, less than 1 = less shadows


Again it's just an idea and i really have no idea if it's possible to code or not...

If I understand you correctly, "shadows.pgm" is a little like that. No color though. And it only blocks direct light.

I'm thinking about adding ambient occlusion to the terrain shading calculation. Probably the best way to make ruts stand out.

Ever since online erode came out, I've been thinking that some kind of tire-mark visual would be very helpful, as well as nice aesthetically. This would be in addition to any shading as a result of the deformed terrain. I'm not sure the best way to do it—thousands of small decals following all the bikes around sounds like a performance killer. Maybe something like the above mentioned "shading-eroded.ppm" except where the bikes draw a low opacity dark line? In effect, you will be able to see where bikes are going/what lines are forming before the actual terrain deformation builds up to the point where it is clearly visible on it's own. A dark line is more simplistic than real life, so maybe not the ideal solution, but IRL it's pretty easy to see where other bikes have gone in dirt without having dug a significant rut.


Other MX games do this to good effect. Reflex was over exaggerated, but it was very clear were other bikes had gone.


Supercross lays down tread-marks which is much nicer.


Even with significantly sized built-in ruts and bumps, in this game I find it necessary to manually increase their visibility using textures. Below are crops from my overlay, rut/bump multiply layer, and shading.ppm from Monster Mountain. The darkened areas on the overlay are not shadows, but the actual low spots from the disp map.


If this kind of visibility enhancement could be incorporated into erode, it would help significantly.

M@xTizZz wrote:On the other hand, is it possible to add a feature to control the force of shadows (other than by changing sun placement or color) ?
Like a sun_intensity/sun_brightness in the lighting file.

The closer to white your sun color is, the brighter it is. If you set the sun to pure white it's quite excessively bright. You can also increase contrast by using a darker ambient light color. I don't personally like the look, but I've seen some track makers use a very bright sun and black or near black ambient to create really obvious shading. JGMX's Greef Compound comes to mind.

I can't seem to get erode to work in my server. I do "server,erode xx" but it won't apply. I've tried requesting restarts, disconnecting and reconnecting, but it doesnt work

Lnxa wrote:Something that should be on top of your list to fix JLV is peoples games are crashing by just touching in corners now. No idea why it's happening but Isiah dickersons game crashed tonight in the 250 Main. Unless it's a new hidden feature where your motor can blow up

When it crashes does it say "Application mx.exe has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware."? Because lately my games been crashing and after it says that in my settings column