CarWorks - a different approach to car making

[Daniel3D]

Plans for a track explorer / sorter / manager are there.
Track viewers are there but they mostly require selection of a single track. But expansion of that is possible. I've asked CAS if he could make something in combination with the track analysis that bliss has.

[afullo]

No problem!  Enough time has passed and now, virtually everybody is using 64 bit OSs. It's a relief to only have to distribute one GNU/Linux binary

That was also a version-related difference: .so5 binary was required even for 64-bit Ubuntu 18.04. But, as said, it is time to update that release, since it will be not supported anymore after April 2023; furthermore, flavors such as Kubuntu still guarantee updates for only three years rather than five, so their 18.04 has been already outdated for a year...

[dreadnaut]

I look at these hundreds of track files and I want to see everyone, but I have to load one by one at Bliss to see clearly the track path.

As a shortcut, you could use the track viewer on Duplode's Southern Cross website. Drag and drop a track over the "Browse..." button, and you'll get a preview of the track. It sort-of works with replays too, but things are misaligned... maybe it's a small fix

[Cas]

Yes, this has been mentioned before.... a track browser... or even a car browser. It really would come in handy. You can use my graphic engine R5E to view a track in 3D freely. It's not perfect, but it works. For 2D, I figure I could create something quick. I'll see what I can do

[Cas]

Alright. I have a new update of CarWorks. This is version 1.1. Here are some of the new things:

[1.1] - Released 6 August 2022
New features:
    * Added a manual that can be viewed from within the program like
      in Bliss (2022-08-03)
    * Torque values can now be entered directly by pressing Enter or
      the space bar while selecting a point with the mouse or arrow
      keys in the physical parameters section (2022-08-05)
    * Scaling with Ctrl+S in 3D editing mode is now official and looks
      more natural (2022-08-05)
    * Ctrl+D can now be used in the Dash Manager speed-o-meter
      configuration to toggle digital mode or completely disable the
      speed-o-meter. The system properly recognises this (2022-08-05)
    * The speed or RPM value for the current spoke is now displayed
      in Dash Manager to aid in calibrating the instruments over the
      graphics (2022-08-05)
Fixed bugs:
    * Moving the needle centre of instruments with C was not working
      properly. Eliminated this and instead, the needle centre can now
      be selected and moved with the mouse and arrow keys like other
      spokes (2022-08-03)
    * Car project files where not being shown when browsing by file.
      Fixed (2022-08-04)

I've been trying to upload it to Race For Kicks, but I'm having problems with that. In the meantime, I've uploaded the Zip file to the first post of this thread, so you can get it

[Cas]

Fixed a couple more bugs:

    * Wheel position detection with Ctrl+B was causing cars to crash.
      This problem had started when the car shape was mirrored because
      it was being shown inverted. Solved now by reordering the
      wheels, which broke wheel generation, but that has been solved
      too in the same way (2022-08-08)
    * Auto-shade was not working well also since the shape was
      mirrored because the normal range had changed.
      Fixed (2022-08-09)

Updating attachment at the top of this thread

[Daniel3D]

Fixed a couple more bugs:

    * Wheel position detection with Ctrl+B was causing cars to crash.
      This problem had started when the car shape was mirrored because
      it was being shown inverted. Solved now by reordering the
      wheels, which broke wheel generation, but that has been solved
      too in the same way (2022-08-08)
    * Auto-shade was not working well also since the shape was
      mirrored because the normal range had changed.
      Fixed (2022-08-09)

Updating attachment at the top of this thread

i have a car that is invested with this bug.
is it possible to fix it without having to repaint it (again)?

[Cas]

If polygons are oriented in the wrong direction, a fix is to flip the car shape in one dimension, like Ctrl+S and then -1x. Of course, this will also cause the car shape to be mirrored, but if the car is symmetric, it shouldn't be a problem.

In reality, this shouldn't be this way. I should make CarWorks reorder the vertices if you flip the car in a single dimension so that culling is still good, but it's a way to exploit the bugs to get over other bugs.

Polygons in Stunts follow the right hand rule. Vertices are sorted so the primary side faces the normal. If the polygon is one-sided, only this side should be rendered. If it's two-sided, it doesn't matter.

As regards wheels. CarWorks is still displaying problems originated from the flipping bug correction. When I get to fix this, the wheels can just be regenerated. In the mean time, you can do this (not nice, I know): export your car shape to OBJ; then, load another car shape, one that's working well; next, reload your OBJ, which will cause it to replace the other car, but the wheels to be preserved; finally, adjust the wheels without doing Ctrl+G. If you want to ensure the Ctrl+B information is properly kept too, that will require the RES file to also be imported, which will mean you'll have to reconfigure a lot more, so this is not a perfect fix.

I'm working on this

[alanrotoi]

I downloaded it of course, but didn't have the time of testing it properly. I'll comment you about the little I saw.

[Cas]

There are some issue with the wheels and collision generation and possibly with the orientation of polygons. I want to rewrite all that part. On the other hand, the Dash Manager has been greatly improved