AIs update for RainFX and some other changes (Patreon)

Rain is still being finalized (sorry about even its rewrite taking so long), but there are already some changes for another preview build which might be worth testing. And now I’m going to try my best to get the public release out as soon as possible, with all the changes that have been made.

Updated AI

AIs got a lot more tweaks to try and get it to act better in rainy conditions. First and foremost, they adapt a lot better to changes in grip now, no longer starting to suddenly brake the moment they get into a puddle. Depending on chosen level and aggression, they might also try to drive a bit more bravely (but with low level and a lot of aggression they might not even make it into a corner). Also, to get them to drive safer AIs will change their trajectory during the rain, trying to stay away from dangerous curbs and taking a safer route (you can use CSP Debug app to view those alternative splines). There is an experimental option for them to try and drive around puddles specifically as well, but it seems to slow them down more with all the extra steering, so that is something that might need further improvements. They would also downshift less and try to increase the distance to the car in front just to be extra safe. And, of course, tyres selection logic has been rewritten, so that AIs would avoid unnecessary visits to pits and choose tyres more appropriately.

However, despite all these changes sometimes AIs might still slow down too much, still investigating their behavior and the ways to improve it.

New soft lock

With all those problems trying to get hardware steering lock to work on different steering wheels I’ve decided to try a different route, so I’ve added an alternative that is a lot more accessible now. Available in FFB Tweaks section is a new option for an alternative soft lock implementation that should work on all steering wheels (although some of them might require some settings tweaks). Taking into account wheel speed and with a smooth boundary, it should be a lot less bouncy. And, just in case, a simple Lua script can be used to add custom FFB postprocessing, including alternative soft lock implementations for steering wheels that work differently.

Content Manager update

Apart from CSP, I’ve also made some progress integrating Content Manager and Custom Shaders Patch further. CSP installation has been reworked to be a lot more stable, both for regular CSP builds and for preview ones dragged into CM. URLs to some of CSP previews (like this one) can be passed to CM directly for a faster and more automatic install — and it’ll also save the build so you can always roll back from or to it later. Weather selection in Quick Drive has been reworked as well, now allowing users to choose a WeatherFX controller and configure ones with settings (such as built-in Live weather controller). And, apart from that, the New Modes section in CSP settings is gone: now all those extra modes are integrated directly to the Quick Drive section as well.

Another small change is that now extended physics checkbox works for cars with unpacked data as well, and is available by default, please consider using it if you haven’t tried it yet.

Photo mode & post-processing

If you like taking screenshots, there are now a few extra things that might be helpful. First of all, I figured out a way to get into YEBIS and add custom tone mapping functions, such as ACES, or the one created by Gran Turismo developers, and more. Those functions determine how to convert an HDR image to be displayed on a regular LDR monitor — which is a surprisingly tricky task with no one-and-only solution. You can access them in the built-in PP filter editor, and if there isn’t any you find suitable, post-processing filters and WeatherFX implementations can define their own shader for a unique tone mapping solution.

Photo app has been updated as well. Now it allows you to change color grading on the fly (also, with this update you can use .CUBE files for color grading as well), change near clip plane to hide obstructing geometry for zoomed in shots and alter vignette parameter live. Depth of Field slider moved into a lens tab (ex-CPL tab), and if you’re using accumulation DOF (in Nice Screenshots settings), Photo app will use a custom DOF shader for a more accurate preview. Also, if you’re familiar with Tilt-Shift lenses, I’ve tried to add a basic simulation of those, so you can both shift the viewport and, more importantly, rotate the focus plane any way you want for some unique-looking shots (it’s most known feature is making those pictures where things appear as miniatures, but you can also use it to get more of the scene in focus, for example). And automatic white balance has been updated to behave more accurately.

And as another small addition, with the new built-in CSP Debug app (as a replacement to the old Python app with a similar name) you can change time, date and weather conditions in replays.

Apps update

With a new “Tidy AC apps” option in the GUI module CSP will regroup apps and fix the naming of some of them. It would also hide the original Render Stats app and replace it with a new one, which was updated to be a better replacement, now showing physics and FMOD times and late frames, with its interface being redesigned and extended. It also got a new feature suggesting possible optimization tweaks for settings that can be applied live. Oh, and CSP can apply some changes in “video.ini” live as well, with a new “View & Video Settings” app allowing you to edit them in-game.

Voice chat

That part took a lot more time than I anticipated, but now CSP has a built-in Mumble client with proper integration, automatically connecting to a Mumble server specified in server config, showing talking users in-game with icons and some in-game UI. It can also play audio with AC’s FMOD engine (so both doppler and echo effects could work if 3D audio has been selected in server settings). More details about the new system are coming soon.

Other changes

Here is the full list of changes and fixes (including changes in Content Manager) since the previous preview build, but here are some other highlights:

• For people using VR there is now an option to boost spatial audio and increase stereo effect. Also, for those using VR and steaming there is a stabilizer option for VR mirroring, smoothing out head motion.
• If you’re using a DualShock/DualSense gamepad, with this update it should work even without disabling controller integration in Steam (CSP will try to rush and block Steam from integrating it first). Also, if you started the game without waking the controller up, it should be able to detect the controller afterwards (but that option currently might still need to have that integration disabled). DualSense haptic feedback now works as intended as well (previously it was ignoring the settings).
• Showroom mode works more similar to CM showroom, starting windowed and remembering its position and size on the screen. Also, AC can be used to generate car previews using all the rendering features of CSP with preview presets from CM (simply switch to using new CSP renderer in showroom settings in CM). Now you can get the previews of all those encrypted cars to look the way you prefer.
• Players can select a custom model from a repository of verified models which would load automatically for other users online (unless other users disabled this feature). Repository at the moment is empty, but it might be a good option for the future. And it's another small step to changing models and resources without restarting the process.
• If you’re using a curved monitor, there is a new post-processing filter to get the reprojection just right (make sure to configure its settings after selecting it in the Graphics Adjustments module). With triple screen setup it might be a bit tricky to set though (ideally you would need to fit triple configuration to better overlap with curved configuration).

As always, thank you very much for your support! Next thing on the list is to finalize voice chat, fix other remaining issues and whatever issues that might arrive in these updates and then push towards the public update.

(By the way, to install the new preview build, you can download the attached file, but, better yet, try the updated Content Manager and click this link after installing it. It should pick the build and remember it in the list of available versions.)