rFactor Track Conversion - F1 2010 Codemasters BIC Endurance Configuration

I stopped everything when I got my copy of Codemaster's F1 2010... Not because its the best F1 game ever but because of the possibilities it was going to offer me...

So from my last blog which was from November 9 up to today, I have been working day and night converting tracks and basically also learning how to do it. Tough task but I saw in an rfactor league forum in where a modder proudly said that it only took him 2 days to do it so that inspired me. I can also proudly say now that I to can convert those tracks not in a 2 day span though, but I guess a week as I have learned a lot from consolidating textures, correcting mipmap levels, smoothing groups, reducing vertices, LOD assigning, object tagging, etc.

I guess that's all the rants I can give out after a month of converting as needless to say, I guess this specific entry of mine has been updated quite so often... Anyway, on to the track...

So here's the thing, I was able to convert the track (Bahrain International Circuit - Endurance Configuration) in all its purity but when it got down to racing on it, it was horse crap. FPS was either 1 or stops, so that's when all my work started. Now, after researching and understanding how the gmotor works, this track on a test day can run more than a 100 FPS and 60 to 70 FPS minimum on a race day.

So here are some of the interesting things I did on the track and also some noteables:

• Flattened some of the significant rumble strips as AI's tend to flip over when driven on
• Decreased the number of objects on the track as to increase FPS for better racing
• Since I am focused mostly on offline racing, I placed also my signature Individual Pit Slot format
• AIW and Cam files created from scratch (ofcourse)

I would like to say also that I respect all the modders out there and also the game developers as without them, we wouldn't have a game to play plus great enhancements. So, I say to all who would download this track, this is just a conversion and due to fps issues, other objects of the track comes from prominent track creations.

Okay, with that out of the way, here are some preview pics and below is the download link.

rFactor AIW Editing - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit

Back with another AIW editing and this time we visit the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. This track I used is from the WCP mod group in where they have updated it for I think 2 seasons now from 2009 to 2010. Basically here is what I touched upon on this circuit:

Individual pit slots for all cars

- As usual, I will be doing this for all my tracks but this one was a bit tricky when I updated it. The garage can only fit 2 cars meaning the space is not that big to have two pit slots. So the pit slots where spread out accordingly to ensure no incidents of bumping will happen.

Overall fast, inside and outside paths reviewed

- When I downloaded the file, it had some few kinks here and there but overall it was good. So I took out some of the things I noticed that bothered me when I drove on the track.

rFactor Misc - How to make use of the Individual Pit Slots

Individual Pit Slots are my solution for AI's crashing to each other in the pit lane. Playing rFactor for around 3 to 4 years now, I haven't seen any workaround to this issue aside from giving the AI's there own pit slots. But in doing this, you have to make sure the pit lane has ample driving space to accommodate the resolution.

Also since you are individualizing the pits, that means you have to individualize the garage as well. So to do this, you have to edit the following files:

RFM File

- In the RFM file, all the way to the bottom, you will see the line called "PitGroupOrder". This dictates how many cars is in one team and their corresponding order in the pit lane. Since we are going to individualize the pits for each car, this is what we need to do:

PitGroupOrder
{
PitGroup = 1, Group1

...

}

rFactor Misc - Starting Grid Editing (Part 1)

, I have been looking for a grid editor for rFactor but basically aside from the Grid Editor program coming from rFactorcentral.com there isn't any. So I went ahead and tried to find out on my own on how I can control the starting grid. I started with the quick race option and here is how I was able to customize my grid:

1. Locate for the "GDB" file of the track/circuit you will customize the grid.

• The "GDB" file is located in the locations folder of your rFactor game and inside of the track folder.

2. Inside the track "GDB" file, locate for the "Qualifying" event.

• The "Qualifying" event shows you the starting grid for that specific track if the "Selected Season" option is chosen.
• If there is no "Qualifying" event lines in your "GDB" file, basically you can create your own.
• The "Qualifying" event lines usually is located almost at the last or bottom part of the GDB file.
• If you are to create the "Qualifying" event lines, make sure to follow the format below (as shown on the picture below) or you can try to locate for the "Orchard_Lake_RC GDB File" (There is a format of the "Qualifying" event lines that you can copy there).

3. Edit the "Qualifying" event line to get your desired grid.

• You can edit the grid by basically arranging the names under the "Qualifying" event lines

4. Make sure to also have the "PitStopStrategies" event under the "Qualifying" event lines to make the grid customization work.

• You have to also make sure the all the names in the "Qualifying" event are also located in the "PitStopStrategies" event

5. Once all the editing is done under the "Qualifying" and "PitStopStrategies" events, make sure to edit your "Settings" in rFactor under "Rules" to the option "Selected Season".

• Choosing the option "Selected Season" will follow all events placed under the "GDB" file.

Also, If you are using a player name, meaning your name is a unique one which is not one of the drivers name in your mod, then you can add that in the "Qualifying" event line and place yourself in the desired starting position. Also make sure to place your name as well under the "PitStopStrategies" events line to make it work.

If you have questions about the steps, please don't hesitate to hit the comments.

In part 2, we will talk about how you can customize the grid in "Championship" mode which is a bit more complicated than this one.

rFactor AIW Editing - BIC Endurance Configuration

Hello peeps!

This will be the start of my modding adventure again and I will be starting with the AIW of the Bahrain International Circuit Endurance Configuration. This layout was used by F1 this year which next year will be returned to its old layout (might be a good thing anyway for them). Anyway, here are some details about the AIW I am implementing for this track:

Individual pit slots for all cars

I have been doing this for mostly all the mods I have been playing since I have been seeing crazy pit lane issues with driver teammates taking out each other. So as a resolution for that, each car has its own pit slot and garage. Well, in order for this to work for your mod, basically there are a lot of editing to be done (from the RFM file all the way up to the VEH file). I guess I'll make a blog on how to do these for beginners use.