0.10.203 - Windmill Run

I added a new track to Stage 0, Windmill Run. It's a long, winding high-speed track that takes you from one end of the desert area to another.

All Changes

• increased readability of car customization UI

• Added a new track, Windmill Run

• added keyboard controls for in-game cameras

• made the controller vibrate less if the car is hydroplaning

• optimized the Lake Tangle series of tracks

• made Respawn and Flying Respawn behavior consistent across physics timesteps

• increased collider polycount on a back curve of Lake Tangle 0

• turned off TCS if using a racing wheel

I improved the framerate issues I described in the last post by decreasing the draw count amounts by half on several of the Lake Tangle tracks.

I also decreased controller vibration when the car is hydroplaning to give more haptic feedback on a driving state change. Hydroplaning makes the car become quieter so after a few seconds you'll just hear the rush of air and water, and wanted the gameplay feel to reflect that.

Also, when using a racing wheel, you don't need to press a button to drift now. It was kind of unwieldy, and the increased range of motion you get from a wheel means that you can keep the car from drifting if you don't steer at full lock every time.

Grip Limit Nitro

You may sometimes have seen nitro gained for something called "Grip Limit." This mechanic, while very minor, has been in Neodrive for a long time. To understand it, you need to understand how I implement the TCS (Traction Control System).

If you're driving fast and turn the steering wheel too far, the tires won't be able to redirect all of the car's velocity, and they will start to skid. This is true both in real life and in Neodrive. So, you need some kind of traction control system.

In real life, if the car detects that the requested turn angle is going to send it into a skid, it reduces power to the wheel that's going to break traction (sort of, I'm not an engineer).

In Neodrive, I control every aspect of the car's physics, and know exactly which turn angle is going to make the car break its tire traction at a given speed. So if the user tries to turn beyond that limit, the TCS light goes on and the turn angle is limited to almost the angle that will break traction, but not quite. The car is also slowed down a slight amount to gradually decrease the turning radius as the user presumably intends.

However, if the user themselves inputs a steering angle that is close to breaking traction/invoking TCS, but not quite, that's Grip Limit - literally, steering at the limit of the car's grip. If TCS weren't enabled, the car would go into a skid if the user turned any further.

If you can do this, you get nitro, because this handling model is fairly flexible and could also support a car that's grippier at high speeds but has no TCS and loses more speed in a drift, thus incentivizing good racing lines and grip driving to get a good time instead of drifting.