A popular place for benchmarks

Dunsfold Aerodrome, version 0.0.2, converted from Mike Cantwell's Top Gear Test Track 1.1 for rFactor.

Dunsfold Aerodrome 0.0.2 (13MB)

This track is very accurate compared to the real thing (disregarding the complete smoothness), so it should be good as a benchmark tool for developers.
Wikipedia: Power Lap times
I didn't make this track to be driven in multiplayer, but instead it's supposed to be a developer's tool. You are free to drive it in multiplayer if you like, but I haven't taken any anti-corner-cutting measures.

Originally I wanted to make my own version of this track, including both the Suzuki Liana and the Chevrolet Lacetti, but I've come to the point where I see that I don't have the time compared to other more interesting projects. I don't know if I'm going to develop this any further. There's also an "Dunsfold Outside Loop" track in this plugin - the terrain mesh was there, so it took me just 30 minutes to make it. Not that there's much use for it, but maybe some of you want to drive it anyway.

Known bugs:
- Due to the +/-80m roadtype limit, you'll reach the outside edge if you go wide at the exit of Chicago, and the corner guide there only displays green, not red.
- Hammerhead doesn't display the first corner guide pointing left, only the next corner guide pointing to the right.
- AI is not implemented. It will not follow the racing line, just complete the lap in the center of the road.
- The buildings were lost in translation.
- Tire stacks and corner signs are just models, so they don't have any collision box. Yes, I know it's boring... maybe I'll fix it in the next release.

The redplug name is too long. Take a few characters off it - I suggest the "C14ru5-" prefix - and it works.

Track looks good but seems pretty much impossible to navigate right now. Bouncing off the invisible walls is VERY frustrating; to me much more so than the old non-scenery version.

Oops! Thanks, it's fixed now.

As for the invisible walls, I agree, but it seems that with every new solution to it, another problem appears.

C14ru5 wrote:As for the invisible walls, I agree, but it seems that with every new solution to it, another problem appears.

It the plethora of roads and junctions and all the distracting (but nice) texture detail in those areas. I'm driving towards the junction thinking literally "wtf?" and by the time I figure out what I'm looking at, I've overshot and hit an invisible wall.

You know how in some public buildings they use a system of colour-coded lines painted on the floor to help you navigate? How about that? A subtle but visible red line on the tarmac guides us through the first loop. Then in a "safe area" it transitions into a yellow line that guides us through the second loop. As we approach the junctions we can concentrate on following the coloured line we are already driving on, ignoring all other distractions.

This would require a few different road textures but nothing too crazy.

Alpha 2 released, download link in the first post.

- New, larger overview with color guides. No "lines painted on the floor", but good enough?
- Disabled lighting for the signs, improves legibility and warning factor
- Increased start line offset from 0.1m to 1m so no cars (?) trigger the lap timer during countdown
- Fixed respawn position at the Hammerhead, respawning at Chicago may still leave you disoriented

Code:

1:35.0 - Volvo S60 R

this was the time for the Volvo S60 R. In a non perfect lap I made 1:25'77...

Houston we have a problem...

10 seconds? That's a lot!

First of all, no need to panic. Your car is probably not the only one that's too fast. I bet the built-in ones are faster by an even larger percentage.

I have some time to kill, so I'll go ahead and gather some times for various cars...

DonaemouS wrote:Houston we have a problem...

Which is less real though. The track, the car, or Redline? Don't forget that gravity is a little less in Redline which will improve your lap time a bit.

On the outside grass run-off at Chicago I think its still acting like road. But I guess that could be where the track and the model don't line up perfectly.

slowDan wrote:On the outside grass run-off at Chicago I think its still acting like road. But I guess that could be where the track and the model don't line up perfectly.

I know. In Alpha 1, bits of surfaceType 1 went onto the runway during that very long interpolated road segment. So I set all the outer surfaceType values to 3 for that roadtype. (Better to have grip in places where you shouldn't, than for it to be bumpy and slippery in places where it shouldn't.)



Here's a quick summary of the lap time differences between a number of Redline cars that I've driven versus their Stig-driven counterparts:

0-1 seconds faster: 2 cars
2-3 seconds faster: 10 cars
4-5 seconds faster: 8 cars
6-7 seconds faster: 9 cars
8-10 seconds faster: 2 cars

The specific car names have been anonymized, as some might be offended otherwise.

The good news is that there seems to be a cluster of cars 2-3 seconds off their Stig time, so hopefully that means that the track can be trusted? I feel confident that the layout and track size is very close, but I don't know how much the lack of elevation changes or bumpyness affects the lap time.

I have made some plans for further development:
- Drop the "outside loop"
- Make a "strict" version which is a 12m wide track that follows the racing line, with roadcones marking where the edges are. Rename the current track to "open".
- Use a tire skid marks texture to mark the braking points and racing line though corners, making the track easier to navigate.

Here's a nice onboard lap that shows the bumpiness of the track and also that I need to make the turn radius bigger at Chicago (that should maybe increase lap times by a second or so).



Also, here's a video that shows both the camber of the road and that the road before the first corner goes over a small crest. Right now I'm not planning to implement any of those features, though.