Outrun 2 FXT 2.5 Released!

[shakeheartbreak]

Network play on fxt is still iffy.  I'm concentrating on getting the new custom stages integrated and perhaps working on the force feedback a little more first.  Network play will probably be the last thing I attempt to fix as it's a pain in the butt having to manipulate multiple computers.

Got it and understood.  And just to remind you that I for one would be more than willing to sign up to a Patreon if it'd help you and I'm sure others would too.

(And to be clear that's completely irrespective of whatever you fix next, network play or otherwise).

[zerosaber75]

Hello, I just caught wind of this mod and I am liking it so far but a couple of things I want to ask/point out:

1. How do I get the uncensored Clarissa graphics enabled? I am using the v2.5 Beta on the Dragon Kings link and I do not see it changed from the censored one after installing it.

2. Where is the arcade texture packs that was mentioned in the v2.4 thread? I do not see it anywhere and the config tool doesn't even lists texture packs at all in the v2.5 unless I am missing something.

3. I am not getting vibration feedback whatsoever using an Xbox One controller (Model 1708) using a generic Bluetooth dongle even though it lists as an XInput controller in most other games I play on my PC. Is there any possibility this could be looked into?

That said I am liking this mod so far, thank you for making this. I hope we can some day get an updated HD GUI mod to go with this to maybe remake the menus/HUD in higher resolutions.

Edit: I also noticed that Clarissa's character model is also censored in the OutRun 2 SP mode of Coast 2 Coast, whereas in the regular Coast 2 Coast modes she's not censored, so is there a way to de-censor her model too in OutRun 2 SP mode?

[Howard_Casto]

I did have a texture mod to de-censor the model somewhat, but it left a rather large hole in her torso that you could see in the endings, so I took it out.  Unfortunately the two models are animated differently, so swapping them out doesn't work.  If anyone can figure out the model format it might be fixable.  The texture packs are around here somewhere.... fxt is a mess atm and I'd like to do a release but my personal life is kind of imploding, so I never seem to find the time. 

[shakeheartbreak]

I did have a texture mod to de-censor the model somewhat, but it left a rather large hole in her torso that you could see in the endings, so I took it out.  Unfortunately the two models are animated differently, so swapping them out doesn't work.  If anyone can figure out the model format it might be fixable.  The texture packs are around here somewhere.... fxt is a mess atm and I'd like to do a release but my personal life is kind of imploding, so I never seem to find the time.

As much as some of us are fiendishly hungry for your latest work (you know who you are!) I'm sure I speak for all of us in saying that we'd never want it to be at the expense of your personal life or anything similar.

Are the files you mean included in these texture packs?

https://www.mediafire.com/file/l3rklbvtuuz8c0b/texmods.zip/file

If so (or of course even if not), point me to some specific files that make good samples and I'll start asking around.  I know a few ideas of places and people to try.  We're here to help.

[Jib]

Hello, I've recently gotten introduced to the Outrun 2 community and I have a load of respect for people who create mods to make this game even better than how it originally was. However, I have a problem I can't for the life of me figure out. In the regular version of Outrun 2006 when I plug in a Dualshock 4 with DS4 it works perfectly, but when I run Outrun 2 FXT, I can drive, brake, change gear, but I can't move the car. The analog stick works perfectly fine in the menus but it won't work when driving. If it wouldn't be a problem could someone help me out with this? Thanks! And sorry for the inconvenience.

[Howard_Casto]

You might have wheel override turned on.  You don't need that for a gamepad. 

[Jib]

It works now, thank you very much.

[shakeheartbreak]

Hope everyone is safe and well in these very strange times!  For anyone who doesn't read EDGE magazine and/or isn't in the UK, here are some scans from a regular feature they run called "Collected Works."

They take a seminal developer and briefly walk down memory lane through some of their biggest titles, recollecting tales of their development.  The April 2020 issue featured none other than Yu Suzuki.

These particular scans focus on Hang On and Out Run - and the latter in particular certainly doesn't cover the kind of story I'd have expected him to tell about the game!

Hope someone finds them interesting

[buttersoft]

An interesting read, cheers for sharing!

[baritonomarchetto]

Thanks for sharing!

[Azaxs]

Hi

First off thank you for this amazing project =)

I have one problem the game runs far to fast even with setting Throttle to 100. Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this issue? The original exe runs just fine just the FXT runs far to fast.

TIA =)

Azaxs

[MrThunderwing]

Hope everyone is safe and well in these very strange times!  For anyone who doesn't read EDGE magazine and/or isn't in the UK, here are some scans from a regular feature they run called "Collected Works."

They take a seminal developer and briefly walk down memory lane through some of their biggest titles, recollecting tales of their development.  The April 2020 issue featured none other than Yu Suzuki.

These particular scans focus on Hang On and Out Run - and the latter in particular certainly doesn't cover the kind of story I'd have expected him to tell about the game!

Hope someone finds them interesting

Thanks for sharing these!

[Jt82]

Great work on this whole mod for a fantastic game. It all looks brilliant.

I haven't been able to get it working though so was wondering if it is still being supported and help given?

I have installed 2.5 and followed all the instructions but here are some of the issues i have.

1. There was no files in the drop down menu for the texture packs. Reading back i see that someone suggested installing 2.4 so i did this and the texture packs appeared. However, i dont see a difference in the game. It still all looks like the stock game so i dont know if its is installed or not.
2. When launching the game it stays in windowed mode. Then when ticking the full screen box and exiting, if i go back into settings it is unchecked again.
3. The music doesnt play during a race, only in the select music menu.
4. I am trying to use a wheel/pedals setup but the pedals dont work. After doing the config i can only set either the accel or brake as they seem to be on the same axis. Is there a way around this? Brake is pretty important in this game.
5. I downloaded the new intro video but have no idea where to put it. I did put it in with the other videos but it doesnt play. Just the original startup video.

If anyone can help with any of these issues i would appreciate it, thanks.

edit.
after a full re-install the game wont load at all now. Says issue with creating Direct3D device?
edit 2.
another re-install has got some new results.
1.copied the files from the 2.4 install to the 2.5 install.
2.now launches in full screen although curser is visible in bottom right of screen. box is still ticked to say it is windowed mode. Unticking makes no difference.
3.music is fine now.
4.went back into the in game settings and found the brake/accel option rather than the individual options that i was trying to set before. now works fine. although had to set the brake to another axis as there is no option to remove the assignment, only change it.
5.found the post that explains where to put this and is now working fine.

Im not convinced the correct .exe is loading when i select OR2FXT.exe.

[Jt82]

Reading through the FXT Readme i see that it says if there are issues that it could be because of an improperly installed dx8vb.dll file.
How do i 'properly' install this file? I have it in the game folder.

When i run the game the de-bug menu is not selectable. The icon of the program running is the same as the original game icon rather than the OR2FXT.exe icon.

I have installed and re-installed the game 4 times. Nothing from the FXTConfig seems to do anything to the game.

[Jt82]

So new info that might help someone figure out what is wrong.

When i start the game with my wheel not plugged in it starts FXT no problem. If i then plug in the wheel i cant use the wheel in game.
If i start the game with the wheel plugged in then FXT doesnt start and the original game starts.

Any help appreciated.

[shakeheartbreak]

So new info that might help someone figure out what is wrong.

When i start the game with my wheel not plugged in it starts FXT no problem. If i then plug in the wheel i cant use the wheel in game.
If i start the game with the wheel plugged in then FXT doesnt start and the original game starts.

Any help appreciated.

I'm not an expert here, as I couldn't get a wheel properly working myself either - but in terms of the smaller issues..

A) Have you tried running OR2FXT.exe in Administrator mode?  And also the FXTCONFIG.exe in Admin mode the first time?
B) Just to make sure, you definitely have installed the texture packs using FXTCONFIG, right?

Hope this sparks off something for other people who might know more, too!

[Jt82]

Yes i ran everything in admin mode first. Ive tried to run without too, no difference.
I tried it in another pc and it seems to work so it must be a setting on the pc i originally installed on.

On the new pc though i dont have music in the game. I think ive read about this somewhere so i'll have a quick look through.
Seems like this isn't going to be supported so i'll pretty much muddle my way through and see what i can get to work. Dont know how long i'll try though. Seems like another project that people need in-depth pc knowledge just to get working. Shame.
Thanks for the reply.

[Usernamedrop]

I've made a follow on video to the 'Which Version of Outrun 2 is the Best?', I uploaded earlier in the year detailing a few of the things that have changed in the time since, like Howard's Custom Course app, (plus a few additions I wanted to make to the Outrun 30th Anniversary video I made back in 2016)

Hello!

- First off, huge thanks to you Howard for your FXT mod, I've been using it for years now after I purchased the PC version for it (yes in that order;) and just upgraded seamlessly to 2.5.
Quick question: is it possible to use rumble for the xbox one controller as well? I only get your mod working with my 360 controller ànd unplugging the xbox one controller. Having it in crashes the mod, not the game btw.

- I don't know if this is the place to reply to Mr Thunderwing's deeply appreciated comparison videos (I've checked them all!) but I hope this kind of nitpicking might interest everyone in this thread.
After seeing the video and playing around with TeknoParrot's arcade version (with current fixes) myself I finally noticed another graphical difference that has felt quite substantial for me (apologies if this has been stated elsewhere): the difference in shadows underneath the car. The arcade version has one permanent black shadow besides the dynamic one, while C2C only has the dynamic shadow, often resulting in a `floating`effect of the car when the dynamic shadow only stretches out directly in front of the car. A small comparison: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ye64nf28g_cq4AqXSpGtIRQs5lIlEOTz?usp=sharing

This goes for traffic as well: the arcade version has both (albeit lower res) shadows popping in, while C2C only has the static shadow directly underneath the cars. In the comparison video I could tell Online Arcade had a seemingly lighter grade of static shadow underneath the car. Bloom effects also reflect off off traffic in the arcade version, while the effect is entirely missing in C2C. An a complete detail freak end: the tires seem more black and shiny, as well as having larger tyre threads in the arcade version.

On a sidenote, this video (even if i don't know its authenticity) sure has the blinding sun effects the emulated SPDX version has as well:

They sure seemed to have dumped a whole fat folder of post effects in the bin somewhere. Who knows someone might dig them up, the way the bloom and lens flare effects were found ><
Mr Thunderwing mentions in the video "the pc version had the exhaust burst effect when changing gears, where has it gone"? Could you elaborate on that? Was the effect previously present in the PC version of C2C? If so, might the FXT mod intervene with it?

Anyway thanks for the great stuff, i"ll play this game until i'm dead.
Oh and Howard if you ever could swap out Clarissa's outfit from Heart Attack to Outrun Mode I'd be grateful until I lose my eyesight. A very unlikely fix as I understand, since it's a different character model. But I wouldn't mind the hole in her stomach even <<

[Howard_Casto]

This is just a guess because I have no other explanation, but I believe that updated graphics drivers along with new versions of directx and windows in general, have broken some of the effects in the game.  Like he said, the tail pipe pops worked, now they don't and I don't have a clue why.  It isn't related to my mod as they no longer work in the stock version of the game either.  That could be what happened to the car shadow or it could be they didn't have time to implement it. 

Something I've noticed on my brand new video card is that newer cards let you tweak the saturation and play with shader settings a bit and you can get things looking closer to the arcade that way.  I haven't had time to play with it yet. 

I can do the model mod via breaking the texture that covers her up and while it looks fine in game  it looks terrible for the endings... it's not a small hole unfortunately. 

[isamu]

Great discussion guys and good detective finding usernamedrop.

Howard I've been meaning to ask you....

Do you suppose it may be possible to hack and mod the arcade version of OutRun 2SP DX, and make a similar stage editor to the game when we play it in TeknoParrot?

[MrThunderwing]

I found out another interesting Outrun 2 fact recently, that I wasn't previously aware of, courtesy of YouTuber Noobsaibot21 (Isamu, you'll probably recognise that name, I think you two used to shoot the breeze over on the GameFAQs forum, many, many years back). He pointed out that the Ferrari Testarossa in the original arcade Chihiro version of Outrun 2 had a very different look to the one we ended up in Outrun 2 on the Xbox and all the subsequent home and arcade version of the game. He also mentioned that the only other place this Testrossa was seen was in the demo version of  Xbox Outrun 2, but only as a rival car. You can see the original Testarossa design here running in the Beta Chihiro version of Outrun 2 running in CXBXR:

I wonder why they ended up changing it? It'd be interesting if Howard, or anyone else for that matter, discovers this original design hidden away somewhere in the PC version of Coast 2 Coast's code.

[isamu]

Wow.....I never knew that. Very interesting indeed. I kinda like the look of that Ferrari from the original version. Be nice if Howard discovered the car buried somewhere deep in the OR2 PC files.

[Howard_Casto]

I think I can shed some light on that one although I can't confirm 100% if this is the case.  When Outrun 2 began production, they didn't have the Ferrari license so they created a look-alike car with just enough things changed, as they did on the original games.  Once they teamed up with Ferrari, the Ferrari team themselves created a brand new car based upon the Ferrari the old games were "inspired" by.  It was actually a big deal, bringing back a designer from the 80's or something, but it's been a few years since I last read the article and I'm not a car guy so it's already left my memory, sorry.  Of course this partnership actually lead to a lot of restrictions, like the cars couldn't be damaged, they couldn't do the classic "roll over and fall out" animation and most notably, Sega would have to continually renew the license to keep the game in circulation, which is why it's so hard to find now.  Imho they should have stuck with their own design and ran with it. 

As for the models it definitely isn't in the pc version.  If it's in anything I'd say it might still be in the xbox retail version of Outrun 2.... lots of junk in there.   

One of the great pleasures of working on this project is all the interesting behind the scenes stuff I've learned over the years.  I honestly think a vigilant person could write a decent sized book  about the Outrun 2 games. 

[MrThunderwing]

That's really interesting. For a second I thought you meant the original 1986 Outrun had inspired the creation of an actual, real life Testarossa until my idiot brain realised that the production of the real life car stopped in 1996 

That's cool though that the Ferrari designers were inspired by the 1986 game and wanted to pay homage to it. The whole licensing thing is indeed a massive ball ache when it comes to digital only games that are suddenly no longer available (and the more restrictive elements you mentioned, Howard, like the not including the crash and flip), but I honestly think the game wouldn't be the same without the official Ferrari license, even if it doesn't affect gameplay and is a purely cosmetic addition. I dunno what it is, it just seems to me to give the game that little bit of extra prestige and legitimacy than having something like a load of made up Pher-rar-E's or something like that. Plus, I liked unlocking all those weird little Ferrari trinkets you got for completing the missions.

I'd love to see a book dedicated to Outrun 2. As well as all the stuff that's known, I bet S0L from Sumo's got some interesting behind the scenes stories. In fact, that's just reminded me that I stumbled across an interesting article awhile back about the development of the Xbox game. It's well worth a read.
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2020/05/feature_outrun_2_on_xbox_-_how_sumo_digital_helped_bring_segas_classic_home?fbclid=IwAR34RvF-0B-UfOpGDw22Q7RNioJ5bJGgPDbBgac1pX2337VFxtmlDRpUHes

[Usernamedrop]

Thanks for the fantastic reply's!
Tim Rogers from -mostly himself- https://www.patreon.com/actionbutton recently started a succesful patreon. Outrun 2 is one of his all time favorite games and included in the list of in-depth reviews he'll eventually do. He stated he'd do interviews with devs for his videos once the world opens up. Might be as close as we get to that book for now, i will give this thread a heads up once he makes that video and i should give him a heads up about this thread!

About the graphics:
I quickly looked for the oldest videos i could find of C2C PC on youtube and the tail pipe pops sure are present, though i could not discern any other shadows than the current dynamic one.
For tweaking bloom and colours https://reshade.me/ does the trick with in game sliders you can adjust to your liking.
Nvidia inspector has more detailed driver options. I have only used it for performance issues on other games, but it *might* be worth having a look at for finding those exhaust pops?
Nothing new for most probably, but i thought i'd mention it, some examples of the above right here (and a still of the tiny tyre thread as a bonus;) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aLwN7jFSKvZ6Ivx0YbFgqvuPZK9vJ4fQ?usp=sharing

Another fun effect i noticed at the start of the stage is the car shifting its weight from left to right after the burnout. Only visible because of the missing tyre smoke in the TeknoParrot emulation, but probably present in every version. Oh and is there a way to flash your direction indicators in C2C PC besides the fixed Horn?

Personally i'd still like to have access to the alternate Clarissa outfit in game, the pony and headband from Heart Attack look so much better to me than the straight hair in Outrun Mode (displaying the 00's height of fashion:/).
Is this still possible Howard or did you remove it entirely? I downloaded the texture pack reposted by you in this thread.

The Ferrari license sure means trouble and the dearly departed Online Arcade edition i wish i owned as its biggest victim, as well as any future release probably... But i must say the Ferrari brand adds infinite appeal and flair to the game for me - owner of a Ferrari F40... scale model as a kid - as well as turning the game into the most chill, least violent power fantasy in the industry. Whenever i show the game to anyone who doesn't game - lil kids or big adults alike - they see those gorgeous car models right before they see 'real Ferrari's' drift to insanity.

[Howard_Casto]

Personally i'd still like to have access to the alternate Clarissa outfit in game, the pony and headband from Heart Attack look so much better to me than the straight hair in Outrun Mode (displaying the 00's height of fashion:/).
Is this still possible Howard or did you remove it entirely? I downloaded the texture pack reposted by you in this thread.

Heh you are a bit confused.  Those are different girls, not alternate fashions.  You race with one for outrun and another for heart attack.  There's even a third in 2006 challenges.  I still haven't found a reliable way to swap out passengers.  I did manage to change the drivers in 2006 mode but it was a bit buggy.  It's included in the mod. 

[MrThunderwing]

The different Testarossa model's on the back of the original Xbox Outrun 2 box. All these years I've owned the game and never noticed before...

[Usernamedrop]

Fantastic find; especially after all those comparison videos. ^^
I have the Xbox version with the audio cd underway as well.

About the Clarissa mod i should’ve been more clear: they are different character models with dito animations indeed but i wouldn’t mind having access to all kind of possible Frankenstein or costume swaps despite the glitches. ^^

[loolou78]

Hello,

I am on Windows 10 and when I install FXT 2.5 in the game folder and after running the config exe in admin mode, The game won't launch and gives an error message about not being able to create Direct3D device.

Jt82 seems to have had the same problem but solved it by reinstalling the game and the tool, I tried re-installing everything several times but I still had the same error. Can anyone help me ?

Thanks.

[Howard_Casto]

Sounds like you haven't installed directx4vb.  There's a download on my site. 

[loolou78]

Tried installing directx4vb from your website, still had the error.

But after disabling anti-aliasing, It finally works.

[Howard_Casto]

You are probably using a high resolution then.  For whatever reason the game won't run in high res with all the bells and whistles turned on.  It's a bug in the game itself and I'm not sure why it does that with some video cards. 

[loolou78]

I am running in 1080p, not that high.

But I think I found the problem, I am playing on a laptop which has both an integrated Intel Graphics card and an Nvidia one. By default, the game was using the integrated graphics and wouldn't work with anti-aliasing for some reason. But after forcing it to use Nvidia from the Nvidia control panel, anti-aliasing works now.

[Noobsaibot21]

The different Testarossa model's on the back of the original Xbox Outrun 2 box. All these years I've owned the game and never noticed before...

Don't forget the USA box art for Outrun 2 on Xbox...

[lightgunlozza]

Hiya,

Wonder if you can help. I've done everything in the readme and followed it to a T (ran fxtconfig as admin etc). The config menu comes up fine but then when I try to open OR2FXT.exe, nothing happens. I get a blue symbol come up in my sys tray (screenshot attached) but when I move my mouse over it, it disappears and nothing loads. Any ideas?

[Plesbien]

I'm new to this so I'm sorry if this is a beginner question, but I haven't found anything by searching. I recently got the Logitech G29 and H Shifter and have it working with Assetto, but I'm having trouble getting it to work with O2FXT. The mod itself seems to work fine, but controls are wrong - steering works, but the gears are in the wrong positions, and the accelerator doesn't work.

Does anyone have a G29 setup that they could show me the controls for? Alternatively, is there a tool that lets me know what axes correspond to which pedal and etc?

[DoDonPachi]

Thank you Howard for this wonderful mod which plays beautifully with my Driving Force GT and brings back a lot of great arcade memories!

I'm new to this so I'm sorry if this is a beginner question, but I haven't found anything by searching. I recently got the Logitech G29 and H Shifter and have it working with Assetto, but I'm having trouble getting it to work with O2FXT. The mod itself seems to work fine, but controls are wrong - steering works, but the gears are in the wrong positions, and the accelerator doesn't work.

Does anyone have a G29 setup that they could show me the controls for? Alternatively, is there a tool that lets me know what axes correspond to which pedal and etc?

Have you customised your control in the in-game menu? Using a Driving Force GT my pedals wouldn't work until I mapped them in game. If you're having issues with constant scrolling through the menu then re-map the 'Menu U/D' to something different (I read it defaults to the clutch which I don't have on this wheel).

Also in FXT config make sure you have:

• Force Feedback - Enabled
• Wheel Override - Enabled

Everything else can be off.

Another issue I had was with my 144hz monitor, the game clock is locked at 60fps so you'll have to limit your refresh rate.

[supernono]

hello Howard_Casto

may be you can help me, i'm looking for the English sound files for the "check point" sound
i want to use it in the french version

[MrThunderwing]

A question for Mr. Thunderwing (or anyone else playing Outrun 2 networked..)

I've seen your videos on YouTube:




And I'd like to know, is an Xbox setup still the best for networked play?  Or is one of the many wonderful things that Howard's FXT mod has been able to do is also improved the networked position?  Maybe not but his mod is so good that overall it's still the best experience?

(This probably justifies a new thread, but you could argue it relates to FXT 2.5 and I also want to keep this thread alive so Howard knows how much we value his work)

Thanks in advance!

I was having a search back through some of the racing threads as I was trying to remember which one contained those scans from Edge Magazine with the Yu Suzuki interview (this very thread funnily enough and they were uploaded by yourself) and I came across this question you asked me, that I never actually responded to. Only 9 months late, but better late than never...

For me, the Xbox link is far superior to the PC. The games stay synced properly and the position of your opponent on your screen always generally feels accurate. I’ve linked 2 original Xbox’s and a 360 before and this was still the case. The PC version will de-sync after a few stages, the LAN will still be in 2P mode, but each players timer will countdown differently, your opponent’s car will disappear and reappear in front and behind you, sometimes it’ll just totally disappear, effectively turning the LAN into 2 separate 1 player games. Because the timers are out of sync, one player might get a timeover, whilst the other gets to keep playing. I tried a 3 way PC link one time and all these issues were magnified tenfold.

[Plesbien]

I came back to this after taking a break for a while out of frustration. On paper everything seems fine, but the pedals still don't work when I'm in-game; instead it acts like the throttle is being held fully down, and nothing I do to the clutch, brake or throttle has any effect. On the flipside, if I launch OR2006C2C.EXE instead, the pedals work but steering doesn't. Force feedback works fine, so it seems like the FXT stuff is at least partly working. If I toggle pedal override, it doesn't seem to do anything to change the situation. Here's my control setup: