Today's patch introduces countless changes to LOTUS. We explicitly recommend to backup you current work before. Should you run into problems, please use our support forum. Should you encounter improvements, we are looking forward to your feedback. Now, have a lot of fun reading and downloading! :)
1. Vehicle filters
It is now possible to set up a lot of basic informations for vehicles as a content developer - manufacturer, preferred area of operation, operator or technical information. The corresponding lists can be found in the ContentTool, tab "Manufacturer, description, ...", if you loaded a vehicle.
In the current state, those lists are meant to be extended. If you miss a special entry for your project, please tell us right here in the forum and we will add it later.
As a player, however, you can filter through any of your installed vehicles. It is mandatory to choose a LOTUS module and a vehicle type. But if you refine the filter further is up to you. :)
We think that with increasing amount of different vehicles in LOTUS the necessity for filters will come up. This is why we wish to encourage every vehicle builder to set up the filters for their projects so they can be found with the filter for ever. :)
2. 64bit
In this patch we added an experimental version of 64bit LOTUS and the final 64bit version of the ContentTool. Please have a look and report bugs, if you find some.
With 64bit LOTUS all scripts have to be recompiled in the ContentTool, for vehicles and scenery objects as well. To work with 64bit LOTUS, the scripts have to be created with the 64bit ContenTool! It creates from now on always the 32bit script and the 64bit, as well. The applications Compiler32/64.exe are used by the tool to do so.
Objects and vehicles that have not been compiled with 64bit ContentTool will be marked in the Logfile and will not work with 64bit LOTUS.
64bit LOTUS will not cause a performance improvement on itself, but big maps should no longer cause problems upon loading or switching back to the main menu.
One of the pitfalls that we encountered during 64bit implementation was our inputs API, which handles all the inputs from the player (mouse, keybord, controller), since there is no 64bit version of it. But this library is essential to LOTUS for a perfect and complete game controller support as well as force feedback functions. So in case you need controller support with the 64bit LOTUS, a 32bit input application is launched by LOTUS that handles the controller input and passes it to LOTUS. Should you encounter problems with that system (your antivirus beefs, your game controller does not work, ...) please report to us!
3. Performance improvement?
During January we took some time to improve the performance in LOTUS. Besides some changes that are hard to explain, we introduced a new graphics option, which you can use to set up the maximum object visibility.
According to this, objects with higher distance are not shown. As always, we provided some option presets for you, but best is if you check out the new options on your own and find a good point between visibility distance and the performance on your PC.
Invisible objects do not execute scripts per default, since those are in crowd very performance relevant! But object creators will find a new option in the ContentTool, which you should deal with. Traffic lights or signals for example can be seen very far. For this purpose, a new SimStep_LOD procedure has been added, that will be executed (if implemented) every time, the object is above the player set viewing distance and below the creator set lighting distance. Only above lighting distance the object, its scripts and lights will be completely shut down.
For special objects, like the ones who have sound sources (e.g. bell towers), instead of a light distance an option can be set, that the object should always execute the LOD-script. This way it can be heard, even if it is hidden.
To cut a long story short: The new options enable you more settings to refine the maximum performance out of your PC. We hope you like it! :)
4. Patch feature overview
- Simulation: Maximum object distance added to improve performance
- Simulation: Whole vehicle filter GUI added - the map- and entry point specific functions are not yet added!
- Simulation: Check boxes "Per Pixel lighting" are temporarily disabled
- Simulation: If building night textures have a black alpha channel, the night texture is disabled (instead of being controled by the street light variable)
- Simulation: Additional logfile entries upon loading a map
- Simulation: Empty option files are ignored and recreated instead of crashing the apps
- Simulation: Containers with the same name in different folders do no longer overwrite each other
- Simulation: Configuring game controller axles is now more easy due to a damping
- Simulation: GUI: Missing scrollbars added to further combo boxes
- Simulation - Bugfix: Street lights that use "NightVar" work again properly
- Simulation: Error message, if the workshop item list can not be created
- Simulation/ContentTool: 64bit support added!
- Simulation/ContentTool: DXT5 textures are now supported!
- Simulation/ContentTool: The processes that compile the scripts and handle the game controller are now placed in the LOTUS directory and are launched from there. If you anti virus software does not like that, you should whitelist them.
- ContentTool: Vehicle filters, vehicle name and description can now be configured. Should you miss any entries, please report!
- ContentTool: Light effects can be configured to increase with distance
- ContentTool: Object parameter added: Maximum distance for light effects and the option to enable the LOD-script, in case the object is too far away
- ContentTool: SimStep_LOD() added: Is called instead of Simstep() only every 10 frames as soon as the object is no longer visible, but in range for the light effect. If no LOD script is defined, no script is executed.
- ContentTool: Under "test environment" is a button that outputs the current state of a script/text texture in two bitmaps (color and alpha channel). You can use it to properly align a text in Blender, for example.
- ContentTool: Text on text texture can now be aligned to the top and bottom edge, as well
- ContentTool: The script variable test window now correctly interprets the chars "
" into a word wrap, so you can test multi line text textures, as well
- ContentTool: Traffic signs and traffic lights no longer cause the warning to be too small for CAT1
- ContentTool: Bugfix: Material parameter "Causes shadow" is now correctly labeled
- MapEditor: The standard position of switches can now be set, as well as blocking switches
- MapEditor: To accelerate saving maps, the auto backup function was removed. Instead, please execute backups often and on your own (Container symbol)!
- MapEditor: The terrain algorithm is only activated if the current work step is completed (e.g. creating a spline)
- MapEditor: The height and gradient of end points of absolute splines and tracks can now be set relative to the terrain (by using the "Z=" button in the top tool bar)
- MapEditor: Upon changing the current tool, the MapEditor remembers the last marked object and remarks it upon returning to the corresponding tool.
- MapEditor: Right clicking an object causes it to be marked in the object list
- MapEditor: Simple splines can be marked in the object list, as well
- MapEditor: "Normal" saving has been improved and is now faster!
- MapEditor: Refreshing function for single objects added: Only the immediate environment of the marked object (spline/polygon) is calculated and only its channel (marking layer, for example) is regenerated. --> Please note: Before the last saving of the map you should generate the whole tile again. Otherwise the areas of the map are empty. In addition, it occurs that the edge of the object environment is not clean. Generate the whole tile to fix this.
- MapEditor: Spline disconnect function added
- MapEditor: Map choosing window now allows double clicks to open a map ;)
- MapEditor: Bugfix: If the last saving of the map was done with Ctrl+S, missing objects could not be replaced
- MapEditor: Bugfix: If a track was changed in height belated, the connections to neighbor tracks broke down and the train derailed
- MapEditor: Additional logfile entries for "Clicking left mouse button"
- MapEditor: Aerial image download is now logged in the debug logfile
- MapEditor: Workshop item list is now named "wsitems.cfg". Please start LOTUS once after updating!
- Content: Some traffic light added in fir green
- Content: The standard car traffic light have now new light effects
- Content: GT6N is 64bit compatible
- Content: Further Berlin buildings added
