Can Am for GTL Any interest?

[Erling G-P]

Only just saw this (don't visit the non-race forums nearly as often as I should).

Sounds like an excellent idea and a series I would be very exited to take part in, so thanks John for making the effort.  Hope it meets with success on all levels.

Years back (1992 I think), I saw and heard some of these cars at the Oldtimer Grand Prix at Nürburgring. The thunder of a McLaren M8F going down one of the straights, the momentary silence as the driver braked for a chicane, ruptured by the roars of the throttle blips under downshifts, was a jaw-dropping experience!!     If only you could make a realistic reproduction of this in sims... (but then I guess the neighburs would line up to complain..  )

Cheers,
Erling

[Jeep]

A few screen shots to show I'm not being idle

Laguna Grid


Laguna Corkscrew


Looking down the Corkscrew


Bridgehampton T1


All cars are now in the sim, currently working on the sounds. I spoke again with hmmguy and we discussed these, they are all 3rd party so I am removing them from the package along with a few other files so it will not have anything in it which we do not have permission for, also working on rpm samples etc in the .aud files to make the Corvette, Cobra and Pantera sounds from he original game work instead. They sound a bit weak in comparision to the original but I'm sure a grid full of them will  sound ok.

My biggest issue at the moment is a lack of any instruments or Steering wheel for the Mclaren M6A. I don't know where to start on that. Any one know about Texture files?

TTFN
John.

[Erling G-P]

Looks great John! 

Pity about the sounds - always love those cars with ferocious, raw sounds 

I remember years ago, someone called Ducfreak made some great custom sounds for several of the standard GTL cars; GT40 & Daytona Coupe among them.  I wonder if he's still possible to get in touch with, and whether he would have something we could use ?

Still have some of the downloads from him, but unfortunately they contain no contact info.

Cheers,
Erling

[Bob M.]

Just info:
Ducfreak post's on GC and Nogrip.  Latest has been in the GTL #2 sequel thread to get his PM connection........

Bob M.

[Erling G-P]

Thanks for the info Bob!

John, would you be up for this, or have you already put in too much work with the standard sounds ?

I'd be happy to make contact with Ducfreak and also lend a hand with the sounds, if he's got something he's willing to let us use.  Not sure how much help I'd be though - my attempts to copy the Ferrari 250TR sounds to the 375 in our '50 cars met with spectacular failure; just so you're warned.. 

Cheers,
Erling

[Geoffers]

Ducfreak did the sounds for P&G, he must have some Ford & Chevy V8 sounds that he used for that.

[Jeep]

Well, I did have a look on NoGrip in the downloads section to see what was available regarding sounds, I actually expected more of his sounds. Nothing other than his Shelby Daytona looks to be suitable.. I did wonder if this is the same  guy who goes by the name Ducwolf on SRMZ who also does a lot of sounds.

I would consider making contact but not for the initial version, I feel I would like to actually have something to show him rather than just approaching him as an unknown with a project which isn't even running yet. (I'm sure he already gets loads of those).

Phil (Hmmguy) has also sent me the rfactor version of Edmonton67. I don't even have rfactor but I'll trawl the forums once this little project is done and see if it is possible to convert from rfactor to GTL and if I can get it to work I'll contact the original creator to ask about permission to release that as well. It's needed if I ever expand past 1967 with this venture.

My biggest issue at the moment is the missing cockpit for the Mclaren M6 It drives perfectly in the sim but I'm not sure if it's acceptable in a series to have a car which is so obviously a WIP.  Also the Maclaren M1B (I think) has a nice cockpit but no gauges or rev counter working so plenty to do yet. The standard of the cars differs quite a lot, none are bad but it's obvious the poly count is definitely lower in some. I have found the odd link to purpose built GTL Can-Am cars but I've decided to stick with the cars in the original package mainly because I know the performance and general physics are aligned across the range.

They don't actually seem that fast but a 1:16 around the 60's Monza circuit proves otherwise.

The sounds are very close now and I hope to actually have something I can pass around for an "Alpha" test in the next few days.

Just saw your post Geoffers I've just had a look through my P&G install to see if the sounds supplied are different to the GTR2 versions and they are, there is also a "readme from Ducfreak". Phase 2 may include a call to either Dave Wright or Ducfreak direct me thinks.

TTFN
John.

[looseether]

Hi John,

Just thought I'd chime in and let you know that I am working on the update/reboot for the Absolute Can-Am mod by Hmmguy.
Another friend GeeDee is re-doing the skins. It is a big job but here is a list of what has been achieved so far.

All the internal drivers have been added.
All cars have working gauges which includes added dashboards for those cars that had none.
All cars have steering wheels (and columns) with corrected pivot points and rotation.
All mirrors are working - I plan to revisit this as some are "just" working but need improving.
A lot of fixes to bodywork - filling in holes etc
All internal driver suits are skinnable.
Some cars are now skinnable.

I am currently doing :
Rewrites of CAS files. This includes consolidating car groups into one CAS instead of one CAS per car slot. i.e the Porsche 917-10 now uses only 1 CAS file.
Also renaming of GMT files to be more logical and consistent as well as overall mod and car group file structure tidy up.
Adding animated external drivers which will also be skinnable, suit and helmet.
Converting driver helmets to GTL to allow them to work correctly with the animated external driver.

Autocoasts, BRMs and Chaparrals have now been repainted.

As you can see, a lot is being / has been done to improve this mod.
Practically everything that you see missing from the version you have will be included. The important things anyway
Also the version you have will no longer be compatible with this update as the file structure has changed too much.

So my intent is not to discourage you from your conversion but perhaps you may want to focus on the legal sound side of the mod ready to drop in to the update ?
As once I am done doing the GTR2 update, the GTL conversion will take me literally an hour.
I imagine doing the legal sounds will take you a while or am I way off ?

Having said that, I still have the Lola, McLaren and Porsche cars (apart from the 917-10s) left to clean up and add the external drivers. Also some other niggly things to try and fix.
But I have to stop work on the update for a short while as I promised to help someone else on a project of theirs (this will give GeeDee time to finish the skins too), so although the update is substantially done, the release is not imminent.
I can see no reason why it won't be completed within the first half of this year (famous last words !).

This is just a suggestion and also to let you know that the main mod shortcomings are being addressed.

Your thoughts ?

Regards
\\:^)
Terry.

[Jeep]

Hi Tony,
 Thanks for the post, I'm really looking forwards to the next Absolute release (But please make it generally available I only ever found it on the Evo forums, it deserves a much wider audience than that). Just to confirm my thoughts regarding this little project.

This was never intended to be a replacement for any other GTL Can-Am release, rather just me having an interest in this series, wanting to drive it in GTL and also wanting to learn more about how GTL hangs together. I saw various "Can-Am for GTL" type threads dotted around the forums both requesting and indicating they were already available but never actually found anything which really worked straight from the download or I would consider "Integrated" into the base GTL package (Common car physics, Car selection screens, Separate class etc).

It sort of grew of it's own accord and I suddenly realised I was having a lot more fun than I had ever expected. (Although I have become more familiar with the GTL trace files than I had hoped).  I decided to go for a single season only initially mainly to keep my learning curve as shallow as possible. I decided on 1967 because 1966 is imminent for GPL  (1971 has been available for some time) and also because even though some tracks are not the correct year at least they are available where as later years need Edmondton which is not currently available

I approached Phil to ask if I could make it available to anyone who wanted an interim GTL Can-Am car set as long as I made it clear this was an import of the Absolute GTR2 mod and all original readme's etc were included giving credit to the original authors which he seemed happy with. The decision to use the default GTL sounds was because I could see the ones in the Absolute pack were 3rd party and wasn't sure how easy it would be to track the original authors down so decided to do a complete replacement of these.

I don't feel in any way competent to tackle any sounds as I'm just a "dabbler" with no real skills in any of the more specialised aspects of GTL.

As far as "This" project goes the only real issues I have at the moment are as follows..

1). No cockpit or Steering wheel in the Mclaren M6A or the Mcleagle M6B. Although I have removed the M6B out of my pack because although the Absolute pack suggests it is a 1967 car I am sure it was actually campaigned from 1968.
2). The front wheels in the Mclaren M1B show occasionally in the cockpit view at either end of the suspension movement.
3). No Driver Head movement in the Mclaren M6A/M6B.

All these are addressed by your post apart from the wheels in the M1B but I guess the replacement 3D models cover that.

Being really cheeky I would love to know if there is anything available to put even a rudimentary cockpit into the M6 series in the current pack? The lack of working head physics in the M6 and wheels in the M1B don't worry me for this project but the lack of a cockpit drives me mad. 

So,
 No one should overestimate my abilities here, Current achievements could probably have been done in a few days at most by a more knowledgeable person it has taken me weeks of toil, prayer and ritual sacrifice to reach this point.

I am finally in the position of having something which I think works and is ready for someone else to have a look at. It's not perfect by any means but I do think it is better than any other GTL CAN-Am car pack I have come across to date.

TTFN
John.

[Wiltshire Tony]

Ermm, it's Terry not Tony 

[looseether]

Well spotted Terry...er, Tony

[looseether]

@John,

Just quickly as it is way past my bedtime...........

Don't worry, I know what it's like trying to piece it all together, especially at the start. It's not easy but well worth the perseverance. I've still got a lot to learn and know very little of the physics side of things or put another way, just enough to get us all in trouble !

The head movement get's addressed when I do the external drivers and convert the helmets.

And you have a PM you cheeky blighter !

[Jeep]

Oh Wow, That is fantastic.
It slotted straight in, I must be getting better at this as it only took me about 10 minutes to get both car numbers in game with everything working..

Grateful just doesn't cover it, I could offer you my 1st born although at 27, 6ft 3in and he plays Rugby for Tamworth Town probably not what you had in mind...

Really Thanks, Now? What else to I want... (Just kidding)

Thanks Sid erm Phil, Sorry..... Terry.

TTFN
John.

[Jeep]

ok, Time to put up or shut up as they say...

I just shot a PM off to everyone who has contributed to this topic with a link to the initial download pack.

If you can find time to give it a whirl and provide some feedback I would be most grateful. If anyone didn't get the PM or any other UKGTL drivers are interested in having a look let me know.

Please do not place it in your favourite GTL install, create a new one. I am 99% sure nothing will be overwritten but it's the other 1% which worries me.

TTFN
John.

[looseether]

Oh Wow, That is fantastic.
It slotted straight in, I must be getting better at this as it only took me about 10 minutes to get both car numbers in game with everything working..

Grateful just doesn't cover it, I could offer you my 1st born although at 27, 6ft 3in and he plays Rugby for Tamworth Town probably not what you had in mind...

Really Thanks, Now? What else to I want... (Just kidding)

Thanks Sid erm Phil, Sorry..... Terry.

TTFN
John.

No worries John but I must gratefully decline your offer of your offspring.
Thanks is enough, thank you.
Glad to help push your project along a bit.