Tools: -"Node-based" material system with a one-size-fits-all base material. i.e. UDK Despite the many material presets present, they don't fit every situation every time. It would be nice to have artist-friendly materials, or at the very least better documentation / templates for writing our own materials in Cg or HLSL. (I have 'some' programming experience, but not enough to tie a material into this system without any guidance). This would also include post-process shaders. -Softimage ModTool support--Autodesk still offers the ModTool as a FREE option for modders. Why not take advantage of this powerful professional-quality tool? -User normals. Especially for things like trees, where it's better to have the leaf normals all pointing outward from a central point rather than perpendicular to their surface. Tracks: -Have the RealRoad system work over the top of all decals on the road. This way we can add decals for variation (skidmarks, dirt, etc.), but all of the rubber/marbles being laid down will be applied on top of these things, instead of below them--similar to the way tire skid marks (i.e. lockups, burnouts) currently work.. Graphics: -FOV-dependent Shadows/LOD--as I mention here: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/2830-Undercar-Shadow-next-step-)?p=38951&viewfull=1#post38951. To reiterate/expand: have the shadow draw distance be a function of depth AND FOV. Since objects take up more screen space at lower FOV, the draw/LOD distances can be increased. It shouldn't be much of a performance hit (if any), since view frustrum culling should be greater at lower FOVs. -A UI that provides all of the information from the HUD at once, without flipping through the different screens. (or a selection of different screens). (Maybe this can be done with a HUD Mod? Looking forward to more information on these). -Per-camera HDR--or at least exposure settings. A camera that's set up inside a tunnel is going to be exposed for the lighting in the tunnel, not for the lighting outside. -GI / Some way of doing color-bleeding--I believe that we've heard that bloom and AO are due to be put (back) into the graphics pipeline, but I haven't heard anything about Global Illumination. It's quite clear that GI adds a TON of realism to any CG pipeline (whether pre-rendered or real-time). A real-time solution would be the nicest, of course (but I think it requires DX10/DX11 (?)). But even some way of having lightmaps be computed in quasi-real-time would be a vast improvement. Perhaps the GI could be stored per-vertex (only on some objects--don't really need it on small objects), and only computed when needed (i.e. more often at sunrise/sunset, but not really needed throughout most of the night), and maybe only once for an entire cloudy, rainy day. Just suggestions... Replays: -The ability to click on a lap of yours or competitors and have the replay skip to the beginning of that lap. I'd like to be able to see a best lap without having to guess where exactly it is on the replay bar. -A timer on the replay bar. So we can make a note of where a particular incident occurred, etc. -The ability to move the 'interest' on car-tracking cameras. So we can focus in on a piece of suspension or something, but still have the camera move with the car's translation and rotation.
To reinforce the desire for XSI support: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=13571400 Part 4-ICE Modeling - Track Building Just found out that Softimage also allows you to create and test HLSL shaders right in the software itself (and even has a wizard to get you started)--seems like it could be useful on a number of levels...
This request really goes out to anyone and everyone creating cars/tracks for rF2. Please make your glow objects/materials one-sided! When you cannot see the emitting object, you should not be able to see the "glow" emanating from it. "glow" is meant to simulate the imperfections with lenses and sensors (either our own eyes or from a camera) that cause diffusion. On a perfect lens, you will see no glow. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_(shader_effect)
A couple of things I thought of recently: Audio: Wind "wooshes". Since, I believe I've read somewhere, that we're supposed to be getting dynamic wind that affects handling. It would be nice to have an audio cue to let us know when it's blowing and in which direction. This can be achieved by "wooshing", similar to what you might hear on the highway when a gust of wind blows. The loudest "woosh" might come head-on, whereas, a gust from behind might actually lower the already-present wind sounds that you get at speed. I believe that Live for Speed already has 'some' dynamic wind, but you don't get any feedback whatsoever. So, you can never tell when the wind is blowing and from which direction it's coming from. Tools: Maybe this is already what 3DSimEd can do, but as a compromise for those of us who might wish to use a different 3D app. than 3DSMax, and ISI doesn't want to release the file format publicly. Perhaps they could have a standalone tool that takes .fbx files and converts them to .gmt's. It would be nice to have the option of using a lightweight program for prototyping, or even a command-line .exe so people could launch it from the 3D App of choice (via Python or equivalent), in addition to a full application that allows you to edit the materials and make small adjustments (Scale, Rotation, Translation). Ideally, it would include the option to do a batch conversion. Where it might be different from 3DSimEd, is that it would not be necessary to go the other way (.gmt to .fbx).
I like that idea a lot. Maybe even go one step further by having the option to highlight the lap you want, and then click "Set as Ghost car". Then when you are on track, toggle the ghost car keyboard button to drive with it. No one online sees the ghost car apart from you. Have a 2nd button to switch on ghost of YOUR fastest lap too if you wish. Maybe at a future date have options to save and load them also. The game already saves hotlaps so can not see this as a problem. Why have ghost cars online? Something extra to have fun with while your waiting for people to get on the track or join room.
I always liked the idea of a ghost car so i can see where I am gaining / losing time against my fastest lap during practice and qualifying, including online. We should also have the option to choose the ghost for either self-best or overall best lap to see where time is lost or gained to help improve the driving.
Ok, here's another one that's been bothering me since initial release: Get rid of the glare in the windshield from driver's lights behind you. This is completely wrong. The glare in the windshield is from the reflection of the dash. That's it. (Unless the windshield is exceptionally dirty/foggy--which it shouldn't be from the very start of the race). The glare on the windshield should only happen when the dash is lit from above and from the front. For me, this is a show-stopper for night racing.
I don't think this one's been mentioned at all yet. I believe I've heard that the UI may receive an overhaul. Either way, I'd really like to see the layout names in the track selection screen. As-is, I can't tell the difference between the two Portugal layouts just by looking at them.
Another thing...I can't remember if this has been mentioned already, or if ISI has said it's in-the-works: "real" clouds -- by this I mean that the clouds can have volume and altitude. So if someone creates a track with a lot of elevation change (even a few dozen meters can make a big difference sometimes--i.e. mornings), then you can move in and out of clouds (actually see them in the higher/lower altitudes--whichever the case may be).
Ok, I know ISI has taken out a lot of the old rF1 functionality because much of it was never used, in lieu of what we have currently (basic replay). At first I was perfectly ok with this, since most of the time I just watched my replays in-game, anyway. However, whenever I've wanted to upload a video to YouTube (and I know I'm not the only one who does), I've found that my system just isn't powerful enough to do 1920x1080 30p with FRAPS. Which brings me to my wish: "rendered" output into a video file (uncompressed is fine) so we can get a full-quality video regardless of the performance of our machines. I understand that it can be difficult to sync audio up when this happens, and I would be happy with it doing a second pass to output a separate audio file in realtime or whatever--and sync it up in a video editing app.
From a modders perspective: a dedicated retroreflective shader for doing things like road signs and whatnot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroreflector If it would work as I'm imagining it would, it should eliminate the need of an additional specular map. At the very least, I believe it would work similarly to the inverse of the Fresnel (as a very rough estimation).
