MTM2 Beta Patch 0.45 - First Steps Towards DX9

[Fila]

You need to have Patch 0.41/0.42 and 0.43 installed. You DO NOT need to have 0.44.
For convenience, I'm leaving the 0.43 thread as a sticky for now, to make searching easier.
https://forum.mtm2.com/viewtopic.php?t=7319

Alright...this is like a halfway step to achieving independence... I mean DX9. It's there and it's working but it isn't doing all the heavy lifting just yet. So the updates in this version:

- DX9 now handles the rendering. You need to have the TRID3D9.DLL in the mtm2 folder in order to be able to select Direct3D 9. The renderer does the rendering but doesn't do much of the math. So this is a halfway step. It is able to take the game and render it and already it is speeding things up but the heavy lifting is still done by the MTM2 engine itself, which is the bottleneck when it comes to performance. This would be the next logical step. (also please read at the bottom of the page about known issues)
- The physics have been fully decoupled. They work at 25fps, the trucks zoom around and the visual rendering is done at a pleasing... whatever fps you have. No lagging unless the game lags when too many textures going about (it still happens but far less).
- The drags now render the white lines correctly in hardware mode, so you don't have to prepaint the tracks. Obviously not very compatible with tracks that were already made but hey... gives you an excuse to try Traxx 1.6
- Also in regards to drags, the short trucks such as Boogey Van have been fixed and will now align at the start correctly.
- Remember, SONIC trucks still need tweaking and they may or may not do a good job depending on the track.
- Camera has been fixed when using (water) reflections, it doesn't have that laggy feeling anymore. And it mostly holds up at good fps.
- When selecting a drag, the game automatically selects only 1 opponent so that it doesn't crash the track. Also defaults to 1 lap. Every time you click on a drag, it selects a random opponents (but you can still choose one from the computer opponents screen).

Limitations - Broken things

- truck shows up as black when you first start the game. will then fix itself after you run a race. will hopefully fix this at some point but has been hard to find the culprit
- please copy monster.exe, trid3d9.dll in the root folder and monster.ini in the system folder. It's not mandatory to copy monster.ini but you then have to open it up and set maxD3DTextures=2048 to help fight off the lag from HD trucks.
- the bulk of the math is still done by the engine as it still has software mode running. The reality of the situation is that once DX9 is fully up and running, Software Mode has to be done away with in order to deal with the lag spikes for good. There's just no way around it.
- Even though the 2560 x 1440 resolution is up there, it is not working yet. Have to figure out what is wrong.
- Only use Direct3D 9 and only Direct3D resolutions. Use 3dfx at your own risk. This too will slowly be phased out.
- Make sure you don't have any of the dgvoodoo .dlls in the MTM2 folder as they will intercept and act as a middleman.
- Cockpit still not set up :p
- While there is an immediate performance improvement from DX9, it is not doing the heavy lifting yet so running 120 distance with HD trucks on model/texture heavy tracks can still lead to lag spikes.
- Snow still murders the FPS like crazy. You have to reduce the view distance.
- DO NOT USE truck reflections. Bug has not been worked on yet and it will still crash the game.

http://www.mtm2.com/~mtmg/misc/Beta0.45.zip

[Kmaster]

Excellent! This is a major step forward in bringing mtm2 into new technologies and platforms.

[Ford-chan]

The pod.ini file has now sealed itself locked from PodIt as a result of this patch, what should I do to rectify it? As I've already tried things from deleting and adding PodIt back into the MTM2 folder with no success.

[Fila]

Huh?

You have mtm installed in C:\Program Files\ ?

[Ford-chan]

Ok, I've tried again with Cowpod this time round, it's working again, so for whatever reason, the patch seems to be giving the middle finger towards PodIt, to where it no longer wants to cooperate with the pod.ini file any longer.

I wonder if it's something to do with PodIt still functioning with addon pods before overwriting the old files with the new ones from the patch? Considering how the new "Monster.INI" file will just reset everything I've had running in the game to where I have to change things back to how they were previously.

[Ford-chan]

And now Cowpod for whatever reason is telling me "Unknown pod limit is 30 pods" despite the game with it's new patch can take in twice that amount. Something that I've never had it telling me before.

UPDATE: After so many times of me running around like a headless chicken with pod mounting programs not cooperating, I finally got PodIt working again, it just needs to be run under such conditions with "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)" and "Run the program as administrator". From that point onward, it should start working again!

[Fila]

Gotta use this cowpod

https://mtm2.com/~mtmg/cowpod/index.shtml

[Ford-chan]

Meh... I'll consider it if I have to install the game again with Kmaster's method, since MTM2's installer is absolute rubbish on modern PCs, as it does nothing but continuously crash and freeze during the process, and not to mention the missing Compatibility tab on Win11 which is needed to run the installer under the Win98 comp mode.

Anyway, with all these problems out of the way, let's start talking about this patch...

I've been waiting for this moment my whole 9 years of my life now, to a point where I thought to myself "Am I really forced to go to the Beam and Rigs route if nothing happens till then?" Well, now that's history, and I can honestly say... The smile on my face couldn't be anymore wider than what it is now! <3

Everything from being able to run all 8 high detail addon trucks on certain tracks like Californiacation with little to no lag whatsoever, seeing the drag lines drawn on the ground for the first time, the decoupling of the FPS to where driving feels more natural and realistic, and the AI isn't as crap as it used to be (even though I can still beat them easily, but lose on certain occasions ), everything else I can think of at this point, there's a lot more to be discovered, and I can't thank you ever more enough!

So tell us, Fila... How did you end up pulling it off after all this time of suffering? Was it you and Kmaster behind the scenes using some AI program to work out was goes on with the code? It would beneficial for Striker to continue working on TerminalFury with that method in mind, heck, last stream of his I was watching, he even pitched the idea of potentially acquiring the source code for MTM1 at some stage.

And if that wasn't enough, this all happens to be taking place on the 30th anniversary of the Monster Truck Madness franchise as a whole, couldn't have asked for a more appropriate to happen!

[Jpez1432]

Hey Fila, I started working on Traxx2.1 based off of my Traxx2 on my github page. I only rewrote the whole rendering engine in modern OpenGL and decided to quit the project after seeing all KMaster has done as there is no need. I am posting a link below to a project on my google drive, its 18mb or so and simply loads and views tracks but you might be able to take a look and make something happen with MTM beta patch.

EDIT, Google drive only previews the assets folder, if you download it it really has 3 folders in the root and no files so i don't know why google drive preview doesn't display correctly.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YU1Bs9 ... sp=sharing

hopefully it helps, or KMaster with his projects. Keep on truckin'

[Kmaster]

All fila's work, I only helped giving him some pointers regarding agentic AI tools.

And well, if by "my method" you mean just copying all cd files (except setup and videos) and renaming monster.ex_ to monster.exe then you're right. the installer is 16-bit i think? (or was it mtm1s?) anyway after that you go to cowpod -> registry -> install patch -> you're ready to go.

and JPez don't quit right away! most of my projects are open source if you want to help or have a look.

and hey you're right, MTM anniversary is coming! i'll bring the booze

[Ford-chan]

All fila's work, I only helped giving him some pointers regarding agentic AI tools.

It's funny, considering how some of the pros and cons there is with AI, for e.g... Using it to replace skilled labour (con) then better uses, determining how codes work (pro), regardless of what James Cameron warned us about it in the past, not everything with AI is doomsday.

In saying that, after all this time, all it took was for AI to save this project from vaporware!

[monsterextremo]

Just a quick note, hall of fame is broken for me, it crashes when i try to see that screen

[Kmaster]

All fila's work, I only helped giving him some pointers regarding agentic AI tools.

It's funny, considering how some of the pros and cons there is with AI, for e.g... Using it to replace skilled labour (con) then better uses, determining how codes work (pro), regardless of what James Cameron warned us about it in the past, not everything with AI is doomsday.

As a dev myself, I realize there's a good chance I could be out of a job within the next five years. But there's not much we can do about it, the genie is already out of the bottle. In the meantime, working on these projects helps me improve my generative AI skills and stay ahead of the curve.

Just a quick note, hall of fame is broken for me, it crashes when i try to see that screen

• I had no issues going into the hall of fame screen in 1920x1080 d3d9.
• Also, the only truck I could see correctly textured in the garage was my small tires "Porsche 917 Kurzheck" (which I just noticed never uploaded to mtm2.com. probably I wasn't happy with the tire pos)
  Porsche917.rar
  here it is if you want to test it. it has a single 256p texture and single 64p for tires.
• With the 2048 d3d textures config in monster.ini up & down town beta finally runs smoothly, no lag spikes, but it crashes if I race with computer opponents.

[Ford-chan]

Gotta use this cowpod

https://mtm2.com/~mtmg/cowpod/index.shtml

No good, even with that version of Cowpod, it's still having a whinge at me for having more than 30 pods in. >:(

I'm pretty sure it's something to do with Cowpod running under Backwards Compatibility, to where the program thinks it's still in it's infancy, therefore the 30 pod cap limit is still functioning. The problem is, and I've talked about it before on the "Cowpod" thread last year, I can't run it on just pure Win11 settings since both the program and the pod.ini file are struggling to find a pathway with each other, even more so when it keeps asking me that "The pod.ini file does not exist, would you like to create it now?" despite the pod.ini file being there to begin with.

Supposedly the fix for this, is to change the attribute with the MTM2 folder by going into "Properties" then untick the "Read-only" box for it to work, but for some reason, doing so, opening the MTM2 folder, then going back to the folder Properties, only to find that the "Read-only" box has ticked itself back on without my consent. I cannot for the life of me force the bloody thing to stop it!

And if you're wondering why I've stopped with PodIt, it's because that program is also having a whinge at me for, not 30, but more than 99 pods in.

I'm just about ready to give up on pod mounting programs as a whole until a new one is developed for both with this patch, Win11 in mind, and no pod limit cap built in, cause certain things with MTM2 on Win11 is just nothing but a pure
dysfunctional nightmare right now. And I don't really like ranting too much here, before people start seeing me as a grumpy old man that just came out of a trailer park.

[Fila]

Ooooooo I looked into it now. In cowpod you used to be able to register the game with windows so then it would know it is patched. I don't think it can do that anymore on Win11.

Honestly, putting out a new pod mounting program with AI is very easy. I'll add a note about it.

[Fila]

So tell us, Fila... How did you end up pulling it off after all this time of suffering? Was it you and Kmaster behind the scenes using some AI program to work out was goes on with the code? It would beneficial for Striker to continue working on TerminalFury with that method in mind, heck, last stream of his I was watching, he even pitched the idea of potentially acquiring the source code for MTM1 at some stage.

And if that wasn't enough, this all happens to be taking place on the 30th anniversary of the Monster Truck Madness franchise as a whole, couldn't have asked for a more appropriate to happen!

Haha, like Kmaster said. He actually didn't do anything EXCEPT give me a bit of a push and say "go on, do it. you know you want to... here's some semi-instructions. good luck! And yes I think it would help Striker too.

[Fila]

Hey Fila, I started working on Traxx2.1 based off of my Traxx2 on my github page. I only rewrote the whole rendering engine in modern OpenGL and decided to quit the project after seeing all KMaster has done as there is no need. I am posting a link below to a project on my google drive, its 18mb or so and simply loads and views tracks but you might be able to take a look and make something happen with MTM beta patch.

EDIT, Google drive only previews the assets folder, if you download it it really has 3 folders in the root and no files so i don't know why google drive preview doesn't display correctly.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YU1Bs9 ... sp=sharing

hopefully it helps, or KMaster with his projects. Keep on truckin'

Thanks. I'll download it!

[Fila]

And well, if by "my method" you mean just copying all cd files (except setup and videos) and renaming monster.ex_ to monster.exe then you're right. the installer is 16-bit i think? (or was it mtm1s?) anyway after that you go to cowpod -> registry -> install patch -> you're ready to go.

i wanted to suggest that but I don't think the registry works anymore on Win11. At least on my end cowpod has that greyed out.

[Fila]

All fila's work, I only helped giving him some pointers regarding agentic AI tools.

It's funny, considering how some of the pros and cons there is with AI, for e.g... Using it to replace skilled labour (con) then better uses, determining how codes work (pro), regardless of what James Cameron warned us about it in the past, not everything with AI is doomsday.

In saying that, after all this time, all it took was for AI to save this project from vaporware!

Tbf it is not all doomsday but there will be bad stuff up ahead for general human population.

And yes without the AI i would have never been able to do this anytime soon. The rewrite was SIGNIFICANT. And I've done it in 2 days O_O It also helped me track the dern black truck bug that I would have never ever figured it out because the code to fix it was in the assembly language file and that code is just complete gibberish. But even with AI it took me almost 2 days to find the bug and focused only on finding it.

[Fila]

Just a quick note, hall of fame is broken for me, it crashes when i try to see that screen

What resolution you running? Just wanna rule that out first in case I forgot something related to it.