Thursday 26 May 2016

Red Bull Masters Series - Version 1.2 Released

My Red Bull Masters Series mod is something quite special to me.

It comes with a wide variety of customisation options - including multiple BHP levels - so that people can play however they want, and showcases all of the skills that I've learnt and developed since jumping into the GP4 modding scene some years ago.

While teams & drivers are far from realistic, I initially conceived this mod with the idea of it being something of a prediction of the 2017 Formula 1 regulations; At the time I started work on this, the sum total of what we knew was 'more powerful engines, more mechanical grip, faster lap times'.

With that in my head, the initial concept was engines producing 1000 BHP at 18,000 RPM.
And from there it only grew.
Option for 15,000 RPM, option for 1200 BHP (later changed to 855 BHP), more torque....all the fun things.

The vision for F1 in 2017 has changed somewhat since the mod's inception but, at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, it still gives a rollicking good experience.

Variety of Imgur albums with screenshots ranging from WIP to final versions: 1,2,3,4,5

Features:
* 11 fictional teams
* 22 real-life drivers; all either champions or fan-favourites of their respective disciplines
* 17 tracks with specially tweaked Magic Data
* 36 different performance files
* 2 BHP levels
* 2 RPM limits
* 4 different physics configurations
* 4 different torque configurations
* 3 helmet styles
* 4 custom soundsets + original
* 2 custom steering wheel styles + original
* Full-range of Pirelli tyre compounds
* Sample car setups for all circuits.

Download links:
Mod - OneDrive Google Drive
Trackpack - OneDrive Google Drive

Main thread at GrandPrixGames.org
Important information regarding the mod.

Monday 14 December 2015

Grand Prix 4 - First Order Stormtrooper helmet

Star Wars!

Can you tell I'm excited?

Just in case you missed it:

STAR WARS!

In honour of this most fantastic of events, here is a Stormtrooper helmet - one of the new ones - rigged up for Grand Prix 4.

Included are the shapes (*.gp4), one texture (*.tex) ready to go and a bunch of template files to create your own designs.

Full details in the enclosed Readme files, and download link after the pretty pictures.




Download: The Force Awakens - First Order Stormtrooper helmet.

Saturday 12 December 2015

Grand Prix 4 - F1 Graphics Swapper

All of Grand Prix 4's basic graphics options are accessible via the appropriate in-game menu. These options, along with the multitude of advanced settings, are stored in a .cfg style file titled 'F1Graphics.cfg'.

At the very least, most users will have to modify this file for the purpose of changing the game's screen resolution - 'modern' resolutions aren't listed in the in-game options.

Other settings located in this file include clipping distance for cars and scenery, distances over which to display reflections, and finer control over many of the in-game settings.

Owing to today's modern and powerful computer hardware, many users opt to edit this file in such a way that will maximize all settings well beyond what was practical in 2002.

However, many of the mods today feature models and textures that far outweigh the originals in terms of computing power required to display them; there are, for instance, user created helmet models that are composed of more faces than the original cars!

So, while your computer may be able to display the original cars and tracks in all their glory, it might struggle with newer creations.

The solution is simple of course; Have multiple F1Graphics files, and manually swap them depending on which mod you are using.

As someone who had to do this on a regular basis, I got sick of it really quickly.

And so I made F1 Graphics Swapper.

  1. Have multiple f1graphics.cfg files in your GP4 directory. (Eg 'High.cfg', 'Normal.cfg' & 'Low.cfg')
  2. Run 'F1 Graphics Swapper.exe' from anywhere on your PC.
  3. Find your GP4 Installation using the 'GP4 Location...' button.
  4. Select the desired .cfg from the combo box. 
  5. Press 'Swap!'

More detailed instructions can be found in the enclosed 'README.txt'.
Feel free to host this file anywhere, but please remember to give credit where it is due, and I request that the README be kept in-tact and in-place.

Grand Prix 4 - Torque .cap Maker

The Carset Manager (CSM) component of ZaZ's tools is capable of  patching the GP4.exe at runtime, by inserting files with a .cap extension.

These patches can be anything: Allowing for alternative CSM mod structure, enabling tweaks from GP4Tweaker.........and altering the game's Torque Curve.

Altering the Torque Curve is a relatively simple task, thanks to the Torque Editor by Patrick Cloosterman; However it only allows you to inject this new curve straight back into the .exe - which renders it incompatible with CSM - or to export it as an .ini file.

As of GPxPatch v4.44, my tool is no longer necessary.
GPxPatch can now read the .ini files produced by Patrick's Torque Editor, and I thoroughly suggest doing it that way instead.

Extracting the torque curve from the .exe to a .cap file is a relatively simple process using a HEX Editor, but it is prone to user error.

My 'Torque .cap Maker' solves this.

1) Modify a GP4.exe using the Torque Editor.
2) Open the .cap Maker, and find your newly modified .exe using the 'GP4 EXE' button.
3) Press 'Save Torque .cap file'

Repeat for as many torque curves as you have.

I personally have used this for my current mod, which allows the user to select from four combinations of BHP and rev limits; I needed four different torque curves, one for each of these combinations.

Download: Torque .cap Maker

More detailed instructions - including rehosting information - in the enclosed README.TXT

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Mk. II

If you've come to this site via a link talking about a 'Text-based RPG', I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is, this is the right place.
The bad is that I'm no longer doing that thing.

As I'm no longer doing that thing, I thought I might as well make use of this place for a thing that I am doing.

My Star Wars: Empire At War mod, Secrets Of The Venator, already has it's own page on ModDB, so this place won't be for that.

This place will instead be for, at this stage, 'stuff' related to Geoff Crammond's excellent Grand Prix 4.

The mod that I'm working on, as well as any tools or some such that I come up with, will have a nice home here.

I'll also post handy tutorials and guides that I come across/create, as well as link to various other 'things'.

So, enjoy your stay and I hope you'll find something of use.