There is a lot to unpack with this update so here's a bullet point list to look at.
- the behind the scenes is almost exclusively in directx9 and on the video card now. This means big FPS boost and more steady FPS. I won't get too technical on this but basically almost everything you see in the game when playing has been rewritten to work on the video card instead of the CPU, which are poorly designed to handle video card tasks (hence the dreadful fps drops with fancy trucks
- the game now has a semi proper lighting. It is still based on the original MTM2 sun position but it actually gives out real shadows for most trucks, objects etc.
- trucks have real reflections now! Like... real real, not that fake reflections TRI came up with
- physics and visuals fully decoupled. there were a few more things I had to decouple from the previous beta. None gameplay important though.
- FPS at some point in my tests shot up through the roof. But I added so many features it came back down to earth. Fortunately, all these features can be turned on and off, to suit your fps desire.
- 2560x1440 native resolution finally works. the menu is a bit blurry because I need to fully redesign it and I was lazy, so I just upscaled it (and the menu redesign is the worst part of working on this, lol)
- fixed drag staging for short trucks. Boogey Van WILL make it to the line.
- cleaned up the graphic section with options that make more sense
- added advanced graphics where you can turn on advanced shadows for those beauty shots. (also, generally good idea to select the highest shadow quality if your FPS allows it.
- when selecting a drag race it automatically selects 1 opponent in the computer opponents (you can still change it). also forces 1 lap.
- water reflections actually reflect most stuff now without completely destroying your computer.
- tiretracks leave skidmarks on groundboxes instead of under.
- when hitting F4, it switches between proper window mode and full screen. It won't go to software renderer anymore. Also fixed crashes related to alt-tabbing the game.
- you can run snow without blowing up your computer! Can you imagine that????? Actually, try out all the weather systems. They have each gotten love and running Alpine's Crazy tracks at night is pretty cool.
- THE STUPID BLACK TRUCK ON DRIVER SCREEN FIXED
- ENVMAP crash fixed
and a bunch of other stuff that I will try to remember.
Anyway, things to note:
- The game menu now has a Advanced Graphics option where I will put in most of the new features I will bring in. Right now you have the advanced shadows in there which enables the real time shadows. If you can (and your FPS doesn't tank) preferably to use the highest shadow quality value you can in the combo box.
- The other options that had extensive work are the Water Reflections (previously known as reflections) and Truck Reflections. I would say, other than porting the game code to DX9, the majority of the work went into these 3 options. They are actually at a relatively advanced state for an old directx9 game so you might get good FPS or not so good FPS. On my system, which is beefy, I'm running 100fps solid no matter the trucks but I haven't been able to test on other systems. Luckily, all these 3 options can be enabled or disabled individually without affecting the other one. So if you need extra FPS, you can play around with whatever options work best for you (probably toggling the water reflections off). If you toggle all of these off, the game will revert to the original look where you had these options off to begin with. The old Shadows still works but it is redundant to have it on if you are running with advanced shadows.
- occasional crashes in when picking a rumble in offline mode. still have to figure this one
- occasional crashes with instant replay. That menu is the death of me.
- The menu itself still needs an overhaul but will get there
- Cockpits still not working.
Special note to truck makers:
- The reflections are activated exclusively by SHINY textures. Obviously any current trucks will look a bit funny because the shiny textures also extend to the bed of the truck and underneath, so those reflect too when they shouldn't. However, any new trucks from this moment onward, if you divide your trucks with the right textures, you can achieve pretty cool looks. So anything that is not shiny texture will not reflect.
- feel free to experiment as much as you can with higher vertices and more 256x256 resolution textures. There is going to be a limit where at some point the FPS will take a hit... But i don't know where that limit is yet.
Special instructions for everyone:
- since a lot of these new features have not been fully tested, please let me know whenever you see something weird. Be it a missing texture, a crash, textures flicking in the distance, near the camera or anywhere. Basically anything that looks off compared to how the game used to run before, please let me know, the track and the trucks. In my testing I have already run into some special scenarios where the game was flipping out but it is hard to test with so many trucks/tracks around.
- The terrain right next to a groundbox will give an excessively dark shadow right now. I am aware of it... I am not sure how best to fix it yet, but we will see.
Happy Trucking (download has been fixed, won't crash again)
http://www.mtm2.com/~mtmg/misc/Beta0.46.zip
