Main Restorations Software Audio/Jukebox/MP3 Everything Else Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements Monitor/Video GroovyMAME Merit/JVL Touchscreen Meet Up Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing Woodworking Software Support Forums Consoles Project Arcade Reviews
Automated Projects Artwork Frontend Support Forums Pinball Forum Discussion Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board controls.dat Linux Miscellaneous Arcade Wiki Discussion Old Archives
Lightguns Arcade1Up Try the site in https mode Site News

Unread posts | New Replies | Recent posts | Rules | Chatroom | Wiki | File Repository | RSS | Submit news

  

Author Topic: 80's driving game  (Read 55938 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #80 on: March 07, 2014, 03:37:48 am »
Thanks for the positive comments!
I got agree the rain is pretty cool. hopefully you have it showing up the floor too.
I'll see if I can get some kind of effect for that.

Im more than willing to make the sprites for the car crashing ala OutRun as well.
I'm working on a method to add artwork separated from the code- so you can make your own sprites and test them directly in the game. Once I have the crash-flip animation worked out I'll post the dimensions etc.
Perhaps you can create a different cars so players can select between different models? I've added the current car sprites for reference.

Can I get the logo and some other artwork? I use hyperspin and i like having themes for my games. Even if its still in alpha/beta.
Logo attached!

baritonomarchetto

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 805
  • Last login:Yesterday at 02:42:27 am
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #81 on: March 07, 2014, 08:43:19 am »
Being a (scalemodel) Lamborghini countach owner, wouldn't it be easier for you to put a  (scalemodel)  crash test dummy inside your countach and crash it, then pixellate the "flying" car shots? Well, you need a good camera for that, but ...  ;D

(just kidding  :lol)
« Last Edit: March 07, 2014, 08:45:39 am by baritonomarchetto »

BadMouth

  • Moderator
  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #82 on: March 07, 2014, 08:56:47 am »
If anyone working on sprites wants the outrun ones as a guide, here is a sheet of them for the genesis version:
https://www.spriters-resource.com/genesis_32x_scd/outrun/sheet/25458/
F40 https://www.spriters-resource.com/genesis_32x_scd/turbooutrun/sheet/36254/

I couldn't find them for the original, but Reassembler made a tool to view them when he made Cannonball:
http://reassembler.blogspot.com/2012/11/sega-system-16-sprite-viewer.html

While looking for those, I came across this interesting idea for Outrun Nights..
http://boingboing.net/2013/01/17/tell-us-about-the-games-you-al.html


BadMouth

  • Moderator
  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #83 on: March 07, 2014, 09:12:27 am »
Found this.  Link to the pic works, but link to the page doesn't so I don't know who to credit.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/shadowlink001/mercadiesspritesheets.gif
Could work as a guide for larger sprites.

Malenko

  • KNEEL BEFORE ZODlenko!
  • Trade Count: (+58)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13999
  • Last login:March 26, 2024, 07:29:48 pm
  • Have you played with my GingerBalls?
    • forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,142404.msg1475162.html
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #84 on: March 07, 2014, 09:33:54 am »
Found this.  Link to the pic works, but link to the page doesn't so I don't know who to credit.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/shadowlink001/mercadiesspritesheets.gif
Could work as a guide for larger sprites.

Thats GT Racing for SNES. I know because of the Supra :)
If you're replying to a troll you are part of the problem.
I also need to follow this advice. Ignore or report, don't reply.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #85 on: March 07, 2014, 01:19:58 pm »
Ok if we are pulling sprites out of games, there is an oddball tg-16 knight rider game called "Knight Rider Special"  The sprites are around the same resolution as maybe rad-racer, but it's KITT and therefore awesome. 

Oh and Rad Racer.  ;)

Need a 70's era trans-am as well.  For the bandit of course.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #86 on: March 07, 2014, 01:45:59 pm »
Ok I finally got a chance to play this for a few minutes today.  I've got a couple of suggestions that should be easy to implement.  First off, you might want to add a horn.  It takes next to no coding (play a sound when this button is pressed) and horns are fun.  Also something that rad racer used to do and is a really nice gimmick is the ability to coast in when time runs out.  Instead of slamming on the breaks when time ran out it would just decelerate you very gradually.  So sometimes if you were close, you could coast to the next checkpoint. 

Keep up the good work man. 

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #87 on: March 07, 2014, 02:31:38 pm »

Ok I finally got a chance to play this for a few minutes today.  I've got a couple of suggestions that should be easy to implement.  First off, you might want to add a horn.  It takes next to no coding (play a sound when this button is pressed) and horns are fun.  Also something that rad racer used to do and is a really nice gimmick is the ability to coast in when time runs out.  Instead of slamming on the breaks when time ran out it would just decelerate you very gradually.  So sometimes if you were close, you could coast to the next checkpoint. 

Keep up the good work man.
Thanks :-) yes a horn will be easy enough!

What you describe (coasting) is already implemented, if you run out of time the car decelerates if you then cross the checkpoint you "get back in the game". (You may have encountered it where it was not working: in the demo I simply load the track 4 times, then it loops but the startline does not trigger the 'checkpoint').
I might make the deceleration more gradually.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #88 on: March 07, 2014, 04:37:56 pm »
Well it doesn't halt to a stop, but it doesn't exactly coast either.  Unless this is an improvement not in the build you released.  On Rad Racer you could coast almost a mile if you were going at top speed when the timer ran out.  I'm sure there's some nerdy formula out there to calculate coast from a given speed.  Just a suggestion though.

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #89 on: March 07, 2014, 06:05:39 pm »
Well it doesn't halt to a stop, but it doesn't exactly coast either.  Unless this is an improvement not in the build you released.  On Rad Racer you could coast almost a mile if you were going at top speed when the timer ran out.  I'm sure there's some nerdy formula out there to calculate coast from a given speed.  Just a suggestion though.
I'll check RadRacer and see if I can find youtube videos of it. It's the kind of suggestions I like- so keep 'm coming :-)

Malenko

  • KNEEL BEFORE ZODlenko!
  • Trade Count: (+58)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13999
  • Last login:March 26, 2024, 07:29:48 pm
  • Have you played with my GingerBalls?
    • forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,142404.msg1475162.html
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #90 on: March 07, 2014, 06:54:35 pm »
I agree with his assessment. It should feel more like the gas pedal is disabled, and less like the brake pedal is engaged.
If you're replying to a troll you are part of the problem.
I also need to follow this advice. Ignore or report, don't reply.

yotsuya

  • Trade Count: (+21)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19955
  • Last login:Yesterday at 10:19:17 pm
  • 2014 UCA Winner, 2014, 2015, 2016 ZapCon Winner
    • forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,137636.msg1420628.html
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #91 on: March 07, 2014, 07:29:26 pm »
Just wanted to chime in with some love. Great job!
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #92 on: March 07, 2014, 08:12:08 pm »
Well it doesn't halt to a stop, but it doesn't exactly coast either.  Unless this is an improvement not in the build you released.  On Rad Racer you could coast almost a mile if you were going at top speed when the timer ran out.  I'm sure there's some nerdy formula out there to calculate coast from a given speed.  Just a suggestion though.
I'll check RadRacer and see if I can find youtube videos of it. It's the kind of suggestions I like- so keep 'm coming :-)

You should download it and play a few rounds.  It was meant as a competitor to outrun and in most instances it fell short, but it had a few features like this that really made it stand out.  It also gave you the ability to change the song while driving (hint hint). 

pbj

  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 10871
  • Last login:Today at 09:00:13 am
  • Obey.
    • The Chris Burke Band
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #93 on: March 07, 2014, 10:05:11 pm »
The mile long coasts were one of the reasons I disliked Rad Racer

Different strokes

Le Chuck

  • Saint, make a poll!
  • Wiki Contributor
  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5509
  • Last login:March 26, 2024, 08:00:17 pm
  • <insert personal text here>
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #94 on: March 07, 2014, 11:12:51 pm »
The mile long coasts were one of the reasons I disliked Rad Racer

Different strokes

I like the coasts too, but I found that if I had to coast a CP I wasn't long for the world and was usually dead by the next CP. Six of one, half a dozen of the other IMO. 

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #95 on: March 08, 2014, 04:01:56 am »
Well it's only good for the final leg.  One of the things that is incredibly frustrating about outrun is sometimes you'll be at the goal, can literally see the finish line and run out of time a few feet from it.  Coasting solves this problem.

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #96 on: March 08, 2014, 01:56:03 pm »
I have a new update of the game. In the .ini file you can adjust the "coastfactor" which basically is a multiplier to the decelleration once it it timeover. A factor of 1.0 means the decelleration is equal to the no-gas decelleration during the race, a factor of 0.0 means the car decellerates really really slow. I'm curious what you feel is the optimal value.
I also added a horn (configure the key in the ini file as well).

But best of all, I have included the track editor. It is a crude editor but it gets the job done (there might be bugs in the layout editor). You can save your track files and test them in the game. Currently it only supports art that is already in the game but it should give you an impression of what the racegame can achieve so far. Also I'm looking for tracks to include in the game so if you have a fun track, feel free to share!
Keep in mind that the track-snow and track-dutch files must remain in place (the title sequence currently preselects them).
For tracks there are two things to keep in mind: the height of the start and finish should both be zero. Thus the sum of all height changes should equal zero in the end. The other thing: the race timer is fixed on 60 at start and 40 at each checkpoint which roughtly equals 2000 - 2200 sections.

I'll post a quick rundown of how the editor works later. But I think you can figure most out by loading the dutch and snow tracks.
Controls for the editor are mouse and mousewheel to move between sections (use the leftshift+mousewheel to move in 10 sections at a time). Pageup and Pagedown zoom in and out.

Download it from my dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yivaovqzncqnl6i/The80sRacer.zip

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #97 on: March 08, 2014, 02:34:51 pm »
The layout editor works as follows:
Use mousewheel to move up and down the track. Holding the left shift while scrolling the mousewheel you can move faster.

You can add segments by clicking the "New Segm." or "Quick Segm." buttons. The New Segment button provides a dialog with the following options:
Lead-in the number of segments that "ease in" the turns or trackwidth values
Hold the number of segments to hold a turn or width
Lead-out the number of segments that "ease in" the turns or trackwidth values
Curve The curve value- ranging from -6 to +6. A curve value of 0 means straight, negative is a left and positive a right turn.
Height The height change reached over the number of sections. Positive means up, negative down.
Width How wide the road will be. 0.5 means a thin road. Values above 1 up to 2 make the road split.
Lanes A visual effect only. How many lanes does the road have.
The "Edit Segm." button produces the dialog for the segment hilighted in red.

You can add scenary by using the "New Scenary" button. The dialog has the following options:
List of sprites The sprite to be used. You can select multiple sprites, and the engine will select a random sprite from the selection.
Minoffset and Maxoffset The range between the sprites should be displayed. 0.00 is the center of the road -1.00 or +1.00 are the road edges. You can set a range and the engine will place sprites random between those ranges. The checkbox aligns both sliders.
Start and End the segment element IDs that start and end the sprites.
Interval how many segments should be skipped between sprites. For example a road sign can be repeated every 10 segments. While you might want a small forest at every segment with an interval of 1.
Elevation used for tunnellike structures. I don't have many graphics for that yet, but it's in there.
Stretched used for ground texture-like sprites- such as the tulips in the dutch level.
Mirror options Select if you want to mirror (for example a turnright sign used in a left turn) or if you want variation pick random (for example the cows, they are oriented randomly).

The weather dialogs work similar.
Start and End much like the roadside sprites.
Leadin/outstart and end the weather effect gradually.
Amount the number of particles per section. A value of 50 is okay for snow, 75 is probably enough for rain. (the drawing distance is 300 sections; thus with 50 snowflakes per section, you'll see plenty of snowflakes).
An icon depicting snow or rain on the track shows where the weather is located.

Then there are the colors:
You can define palettes. Some colors have a far and a near value; you can set the color at the horizon (far) and at the camera (near). Some values have alternating colors (the road, rumble strips, grass).
The Fog value works like this: the near value is the distance where the colors will be clear. The far value is the distance where the colors will be faded. This can be used to produce a fog or night effect.

The "P. Change" means palette change. You can add a palette transition at point on the track. Pick a palette you have defined and the index of the section on the track (by default the cursor position is shown). The time 30 means 3 seconds for the transition to take place. note that the palette changes are by palette name; if you delete the palette the change will produce a fault in the game.



Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #98 on: March 09, 2014, 02:12:32 pm »
I tried the new version.  Horn and Coast work great.  I prefer about .75 btw.  I'm not sure if it was a glitch or if I was just barely under the line, but I intentionally let the timer run down and then coasted to the line for a test and even though my car was on the line when the coast ran out, I still got a game over.  Again this is iffy so if I get time I'll try to test some more.

Also I think I found an oddball bug.  It seems like the view button doesn't work the first time unless you let off the gas.  I'm using a 360 controller and every time I have to stop initially to change views.  After that it works fine. 

Keep up the good work man. 

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #99 on: March 11, 2014, 06:23:23 am »
Ah, the viewpoint wasn't correctly initialized for the 360 controller. I also found a bug in the steering controls when using the controller (I mostly test using the keyboard).

I have a few more improvement in the pipeline. However- I'm having a crunch time at work so I probably won't be able to work on the game this week   :'(

Has anyone tried the layout editor yet?
« Last Edit: March 11, 2014, 08:12:46 am by Felsir »

BadMouth

  • Moderator
  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #100 on: March 11, 2014, 01:17:20 pm »
Has anyone tried the layout editor yet?

I haven't since my original pre-beta testing.  I'd like to make an entire track, but it will be weeks before I find the time.  :-\

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #101 on: March 11, 2014, 01:49:31 pm »
Yeah I had the same problem.  I opened it up... fiddled with it a little, but doing a whole track would be a massive time sink.   

Malenko

  • KNEEL BEFORE ZODlenko!
  • Trade Count: (+58)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13999
  • Last login:March 26, 2024, 07:29:48 pm
  • Have you played with my GingerBalls?
    • forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,142404.msg1475162.html
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #102 on: March 11, 2014, 02:31:33 pm »
Im working on one. Hopefully swapping assets will be easy to do if you decide to keep the track and use it for a diff level :p
If you're replying to a troll you are part of the problem.
I also need to follow this advice. Ignore or report, don't reply.

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #103 on: March 12, 2014, 05:59:01 am »
Switching scenary shouldn't be a big issue- either by a search-and-replace of spritenames in the XML or by picking different sprites via the editor.
Looking forward to the track!

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #104 on: March 13, 2014, 05:49:40 am »
I've made a quick update especialy intended for people with driving controls. Since I don't have a steeringwheel controller I'll have to do some testing and rely on your input.
So this update has some debug info for me displayed below the framerate counter. I'd like to learn what values change if you turn the wheel and hit the acellerator/brake pedals. I didn't have time for major improvements yet, but this info will help a lot later on. Note that I'm less interested in the values itself, but what axis (LeftX, LeftY, RightX and RightY) are linked to what controls.

This is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yivaovqzncqnl6i/The80sRacer.zip

Check the ini file. It has an option to enable/disable the steeringwheel debug info and a setting to configure the directInput device ID. 1-4 are probably reserved to the 360 controllers, the API documentation mentions 5-8 being reserved for directInput devices.

Also I think I found an oddball bug.  It seems like the view button doesn't work the first time unless you let off the gas.  I'm using a 360 controller and every time I have to stop initially to change views.  After that it works fine.
This should also be fixed, along with better support for the 360 controller while driving the game.

If any of you want to be so kind and test this with a steering wheel, it would be much appreciated!

tron84

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 209
  • Last login:November 15, 2017, 06:45:56 am
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #105 on: March 13, 2014, 05:47:12 pm »
I've made a quick update especialy intended for people with driving controls. Since I don't have a steeringwheel controller I'll have to do some testing and rely on your input.
So this update has some debug info for me displayed below the framerate counter. I'd like to learn what values change if you turn the wheel and hit the acellerator/brake pedals. I didn't have time for major improvements yet, but this info will help a lot later on. Note that I'm less interested in the values itself, but what axis (LeftX, LeftY, RightX and RightY) are linked to what controls.

This is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yivaovqzncqnl6i/The80sRacer.zip

Check the ini file. It has an option to enable/disable the steeringwheel debug info and a setting to configure the directInput device ID. 1-4 are probably reserved to the 360 controllers, the API documentation mentions 5-8 being reserved for directInput devices.


If any of you want to be so kind and test this with a steering wheel, it would be much appreciated!
First off great work, the video looks great.  :applaud: Luv the golden age racers.
I just DL this & hooked up a Thrustmaster F430 FFB wheel.
It recognized it. I had to put the pedals in combined mode, for both to work.  In separate mode, just the brakes worked.

The steering is on the LX axis, both left & right.
The pedals are on the LY axis, gas and brake.

Now, I could not get the start mapped or the gears. I tried to edit the ini file, nothing. So I was not able to get it started/race even thou I could see the wheel & pedals values moving it the window.

Hope this helps.

edit=sp
« Last Edit: March 14, 2014, 12:46:36 am by tron84 »

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #106 on: March 14, 2014, 04:13:19 am »
First off great work, the video looks great.  :applaud: Luv the golden age racers.
I just DL this & hooked up a Thrustmaster F430 FFB wheel.
It recognized it. I had to put the pedals in combined mode, for both to work.  In separate mode, just the brakes worked.

The steering is on the LX axis, both left & right.
The pedals are on the LY axis, gas and brake.

Now, I could not get the start mapped or the gears. I tried to edit the ini file, nothing. So I was not able to get it started/race even thou I could see the wheel & pedals values moving it the window.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. I haven't hooked up the steering wheel controls at all (you can play the game via keyboard or a Xbox360 controller). Because I wasn't certain what device and which axis are used on a steeringwheel, I needed to figure that out first :-) Probably somewhere next week when I have time to program, I'll implement the steeringwheel controls for testing the race segment.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #107 on: March 14, 2014, 08:14:55 am »
It's not universal, so you can't just hook it up.  You'll have to allow the user to reconfigure. 

The wheel is always the x axis, but as for the pedals and shifter... well.  Sometimes the pedals are combined on the Y axis, sometimes they are split over y and z.  Sometimes there is a clutch and the pedals are on rx, ry, and rz.  Some of the more complex setups have the pedals show up as a whole different device, ect.  That doesn't even bring the shifter, which is sometimes analog, into the equation. 

What you've got are good default values, but I'm just saying... a steering wheel is a non-standard device, so mapping isn't universal.
« Last Edit: March 14, 2014, 10:55:01 am by Howard_Casto »

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #108 on: March 14, 2014, 09:36:00 am »
It's not universal, so you can't just hook it up.  You'll have to allow the user to reconfigure. 

The wheel is always the x axis, but as for the pedals and shifter... well.  Sometimes the pedals are combined on the Y axis, sometimes they are split over y and z.  Sometimes there is a shifter and the pedals are on rx, ry, and rz.  Some of the more complex setups have the pedals show up as a whole different device, ect.  That doesn't even bring the shifter, which is sometimes analog, into the equation. 

What you've got are good default values, but I'm just saying... a steering wheel is a non-standard device, so mapping isn't universal.
Sounds like a small nightmare ...  :dizzy: I'll see what I can do... Thanks for the headsup.

BadMouth

  • Moderator
  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #109 on: March 14, 2014, 10:27:15 am »
Not the best solution, but for now people can probably use x360ce to emulate the xbox360 controller.
Any configuring can be done in the x360ce app.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #110 on: March 14, 2014, 10:56:38 am »
It's not universal, so you can't just hook it up.  You'll have to allow the user to reconfigure. 

The wheel is always the x axis, but as for the pedals and shifter... well.  Sometimes the pedals are combined on the Y axis, sometimes they are split over y and z.  Sometimes there is a shifter and the pedals are on rx, ry, and rz.  Some of the more complex setups have the pedals show up as a whole different device, ect.  That doesn't even bring the shifter, which is sometimes analog, into the equation. 

What you've got are good default values, but I'm just saying... a steering wheel is a non-standard device, so mapping isn't universal.
Sounds like a small nightmare ...  :dizzy: I'll see what I can do... Thanks for the headsup.

It is.  People wonder why I haven't released any of my Outrun 2k6 hacks yet.... the main reason is input configuration.  There are similar issues with mamehooker as well, only on the force-feedback end of things. ;)

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #111 on: March 16, 2014, 02:50:49 pm »
I've made an update. It should support the steering wheel for steering/accelerate/brake - I haven't mapped any buttons yet. Also for a steeringwheel I should implement some calibration settings later. The accelerate pedal should also function as a 'start' or 'confirm' action. You can pick music/tracks using the wheel too.

Further, I did some minor improvements and started to work on gamemodes (not yet visible in this build- mostly 'stuff under the hood'). I also added a title sequence  ;D
Get the latest build here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yivaovqzncqnl6i/The80sRacer.zip

Preview of the title sequence:


There are a lot of things on my "to-do" list, that aren't yet implemented - but still idea's and suggestions are welcomed.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2014, 02:54:30 pm by Felsir »

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #112 on: March 24, 2014, 05:31:38 am »
A new version is available here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yivaovqzncqnl6i/The80sRacer.zip

This version has the basic game with 3 areas with 2 tracks per area. The tracks are experimental; it takes a lot of time to create tracks that are both fun and challenging... so tracks are very much subject to change. Still not sure how to tackle this so testing and ideas are welcomed! Laptimes are about ~45 seconds so I now add 45 seconds per checkpoint.

What is new?
- Title sequence, with highscores and laptimes
- At the end of the race a "enter your name" screen. Use the key you configured for the 'carhorn' to enter letters.
- Better support for xbox360 controls
- Better support for a steeringwheel (can someone test this?)
- Tracks are loaded in one continous loop with transitions between areas.

What is planned (short term- stuff I want to get in first so the game is playable):
- More player car animations.
- Car crash animation (outrun style flip, smaller animation when just bumping into another car or scenary at low speed).
- Start and Finish animations
- Laptime mode (race a specific track for 3 laps for best time).
- Traffic graphics (generic cars, trucks to populate the roads).
- Better traffic behaviour of opponents (this version they're just "drones").
- More scenary: rockside walls, tunnels, etc.
- Interactive trackside objects (traffic-cones bumping out of the way, tumbleweed, stuff like that).
- More soundeffects (interface bleeps, amosphere sounds).

Long term plans:
- Car upgrades (much like in Turbo Outrun, after 3 areas completed or something).
- Car selection (pick your ride from a selection of cars)
- Opponent AI to race against in laptime mode.
- Policecars chasing you/setting up roadblocks
- Custom music selection (put your own music in the game)
- Track gimmics- for example a speeding train
- Local multiplayer
- Global highscores
- Improved trackeditor and ability to race those custom tracks separate from the main game.
- Mamehooker support

Looking forward to hear comments/suggestions!
« Last Edit: March 24, 2014, 05:36:34 am by Felsir »

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #113 on: March 24, 2014, 05:25:45 pm »
Everything seems to work really well.  It feels like a actual game now. 

I've got a question/suggestion.  Are cliffs and walls possible?   

The reason I ask is around here (and most of Appalachia) we have a lot of twisty two lane roads that snake around the mountains.  The area for the roads are basically cut into the side of the mountain, so you've got a rock wall on one side and a cliff on the other.  I've never really seen that done in a racing game, at least not a whole stage and it seems like it would make a good final track.... if you go off the road you either run into a wall or fall off a cliff... either way you are screwed.   

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #114 on: March 24, 2014, 05:46:07 pm »
I'm actually working on wall graphics now. Cliff is something I want to do, I'll have to think what changes the drawing sequence need for that (I know Outrunners simply draws only one side of the road- but it makes the road look like a floating ribbon).

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #115 on: March 24, 2014, 05:58:46 pm »
I think you'd have to do it like a wall but up-side down if that makes any sense.  Draw a buttload of slope graphics one after another right at the edge of the road, similar to how outrun does those arch walls on that one stage, only draw them before you render the road so they would be underneath looking like the road is supported by them. 

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #116 on: March 25, 2014, 03:47:31 am »
I think you'd have to do it like a wall but up-side down if that makes any sense.  Draw a buttload of slope graphics one after another right at the edge of the road, similar to how outrun does those arch walls on that one stage,
In my prototype I did exactly that; but for a more convincing effect the sprites need to be stretched all the way down (otherwise the rocks and the road 'float' in the far distance) much like how the sea and tulip fields are stretched horizontally. I also need to draw a rockface when the road becomes back 'normal' again (bad ascii art incoming!):
Code: [Select]
XX| |XX  <- full road
--+ +--   <- rock face
  | |XX <-- cliff
  | |XX <- cliff
--+ +-- <- rock face (invisible because we approach from the section below)
XX| |XX <--full road


Quote
only draw them before you render the road so they would be underneath looking like the road is supported by them.
Yeah, at the moment I draw the road first, front to back so I can calculate the top of the hills for cutting off sprites. This is the part I need to rethink; probably do a "dry run" of the road graphic without actually drawing it; then draw the sprites that go underneath the road, then draw the road using the data from the dry run.
The reason I don't draw sprites and road per section is that the road is acutally filled vertices and switching between shaders (road<->sprites) messes up the spritebatches the GPU likes so much. So I want to draw the sprites in one big batch and all vertices in another batch.

But again it is a really nice effect so I'm probably going to refactor some of my road-drawing code :-)
It also would make interesting scenary: tunnels, overhanging rocks stuff like that.

This is a test I did earlier with the "wall" graphics:
« Last Edit: March 25, 2014, 04:08:20 am by Felsir »

Boomslang

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1063
  • Last login:January 01, 2024, 08:20:43 pm
  • I want to build my own arcade controls!
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #117 on: March 25, 2014, 04:58:11 am »
any force feedback planned for future?

Felsir

  • Wiki Master
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 875
  • Last login:September 28, 2022, 01:21:47 pm
  • Creating cab artwork
    • Felsir's World
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #118 on: March 25, 2014, 05:07:51 am »
any force feedback planned for future?
I have it on my list- but I don't have a forcefeedback device myself so it's a bit lower on the priority list.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: 80's driving game
« Reply #119 on: March 25, 2014, 03:45:11 pm »
I'm starting to get the hang of FF finally.  If you have the capacity to read them via XNA (it's not hard, I can show you how in DX at least) effect files are the way to go.  Then if users don't like the effect or want to change a bunch of stuff they can supply their own. 

Most of it could be handled via mamehooker, but in all honesty FF is better handled at the game level if at all possible just to ease the complexity of the user's setup.  We do it that way with emulators because emulator devs are all gung ho about cross-platform portability and FF is almost exclusively a windows thing. 

Your video is set to private, so we can't see it.  ;)

From your description though it sounds like Microsoft still doesn't get that we'd like to draw 2d and 3d stuff interchangeably.... been struggling with that issue since dx8.