The last poster wins

[Vindekarr]

The advantage with ASS is that the wing is always at the perfect angle for any given corner, then folds away on straights to give a top speed boost. The system is very smart; it measures about sixteen times a second and adjusts almost instantly. It also provides two other systems; it works as an air-brake, and it adjusts it's flaps to help the car turn-a bit like an aeroplane's rudder.

 

The only other interesting thing in the article was a system called ERS. ERS I can see being used outside the car industry; it's a parasitic system that generates electrical current by feeding on waste heat. It's making it's debut in Formula One this year as a very elegant way of boosting engine power.

 

The F1 car's engine has electrical coils as well as pistons; as the engine burns fuel, the ERS feeds on the heat and pours power into the on-board battery. When the car reaches full-throttle, that power flows into the engine's coils, providing a massive power boost without adding weight. The system is so efficient that it doesn't need recharging mid-race; it can go the full two hours on a single charge.

 

The electrics of the system are pretty impressive too; the whole unit weighs less than ten kilos, with a battery the size and weight of a laptop fit snugly under the driver's seat. The whole system would fit in a backpack.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Vindekarr

[ub3rman123]

 

Also, I figured out why Oblivion only loaded at 40-ish frames. The trees in L&G Floriana Gloria have so many polys that my laptop literally struggles to render them. When I put the tree fade distance on 0, I got 60 frames. Oh well, I'm not removing them because they look too nice. :tongue:

Do you know that if you set the tree settings too low, trees will only appear as LOD trees no matter how close or far you are from them? You haven't seen graphical horror until you see that. :ohdear:

 

 

Hooray, Daggerfall time!

[Werne]

What ASS does, is adjust the wing angles as you corner. <snip> ASS uses computer wizardry, sophisticated sensors and mathematics to calculate the perfect wing angle for the car and adjust to it. <snip> The whole system is obscenely expensive-about $45,000 <snip>

Hey, my ASS does the same thing without all the computer stuff, and I got it for free 21 years ago. :tongue:

 

Anyway, the system seems interesting but it's too damn expensive, ABS requires a nearly equal amount of calculations to make a decision when and how to use the breaking system, and yet it costs significantly less.

 

Aside from that, I have little faith in computerized cars, a small problem with the computer and the car may as well end up rammed into a tree along with you or flipped on the side of the road. Same as that steering control system from Mercedes that makes slight adjustments to the car path using real-time 3D calculation, or the breaking system that controls each caliper individually to achieve identical result on all 4 wheels, or the system that breaks on it's own when you approach a car in front of you - I just don't trust that stuff.

 

That's why I drive a Yugo, it may be an old piece of crap, but it's an old piece of crap that I control 100%, not some computer.

Hooray, Daggerfall time!

Yup. :laugh:

 

[Vindekarr]

I have a Land Rover, it's a bit like that. Literally the only electric system is the casette deck. Seriously; bought it new in 2009 and it's got a Casette Deck. Literally everything else is mechanical; even the air conditioner is powered by a rubber belt and some gears. It's like a Steampunk version of a car.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Vindekarr

[Werne]

Mine doesn't even have air conditioning, there were some DIY air-conditioning kits for it but they require me to wreck the roof which I use for transporting heavy stuff, so I won't be getting one.

 

And I have a car radio made in the 50s with an analog frequency display, salvaged it from the junkyard. It looks like big metal box with a multimeter-like frequency meter that moves left and right to show you which frequency you're on when you spin the knob. It's so old it doesn't even have a cassette deck and only has two options - change frequency, change volume. :laugh:

 

I like that car, as much as I hate it sometimes, it's a good vehicle. :happy:

[Vindekarr]

My Land Rover doesn't have air-con either; it's got vents at the base of the windscreen which you can open... ...if you dare. First time my GF rode in it, she opened one heading down the Princes highway at 110 and took a hypervelocity bee to the face. It does compensate you though; as barebones as the interior is, it's probably the best tradesperson's car ever created.

 

The highlights are scuff-boards under the doors, so if you've got muddy boots you can scrape them before getting in. The entire inside is water-proof and there's a plughole(yes, complete with a rubber plug) which the manual describe as "for use in case of deep water crossing or for cleaning with a hose" Why you would hose the inside of the car is beyond me, but that's awesome. It's also got a cavernous rear cargo area, brackets for tying loads in place, and even a lockable toolbox.

 

It's about as comfortable and civilised as a tank, but it's staggeringly capable off-road and amazingly practical. Very powerful too; a serious bio-diesel engine designed for towing heavy loads. A similar vehicle would be the Soviet UAZ-80; the Land Rover is essentially a pickup-truck sized version of that.

 

This is the closest image I can find to mine; it's the same configuration(four-door truck), and it's got the same roof-top storage rack, although mine has a canvas cover at the back, has wheels and it's black.

 

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn9/schoelink/media.jpg

[Thor.]

:mellow: I can't help it, must use mellow smiley, will week. minnnddd!! stroonnnggg!!

[Werne]

@Vindekarr I like Land Rovers, those are one of the best off-road vehicles I ever drove, even better than Lada Niva. I wanted to get one but they are way too expensive around here, even used ones from our explosives guys and electrical company cost more than a decent new car.

 

By the way, I once had one Land Rover floating in a river, didn't leak anywhere (I tested how well did I set the door seals). And driving off-road, damn, it's seat becomes as comfortable as a tank's but it can drive over head-sized rocks at 60km/h without any problems with the car.

 

And that UAZ-80 you mentioned, around here our military uses them for troops, usually scouts, while them old farts (aka, high-ranking officers) drive in a Puch G 461 (actual designation is Mercedes Puch G-Wagen 461). I like both UAZ and Puch, with a difference that Land Rover feels like an expensive comfy limo compared to UAZ, and Puch is as comfortable as any fancy Mercedes.

 

Also...

mine has a canvas cover at the back, has wheels and it's black.

Your car would be pretty unique if you were to drive around without wheels. :tongue:

 

 

 

EDIT: AMD, you awesome son of a b**ch. My flash video stuttered since the beginning of time, and so it did until now. What I figured out is that AMD has "Apply current video quality settings to Internet video" and "Accelerated Video Conversion" options in Catalyst for their 5xxx/6xxx/7xxx/R7/R9 series cards. After enabling them, not only did my flash start working flawlessly, it now looks much better. YouTube videos used to run at 15-20FPS and now I have them stutter-free and awesome looking. :dance:

Edited January 31, 2014 by Werne

[Thor.]

I had nothing but Microstuttering with amd, didn't matter what game i ran. Flash or anything else, i was so tired of it, i needed a change of pace. My next video card will be amd, like in a pattern.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Thor.

[Vindekarr]

Massive update for Assetto Corsa this morning, they added AI to the game. It's really growing up quick; the beta is almost finished and I'll be getting my final code copy, if things keep going so well, in about a month. The beta gets interesting from here on; multiplayer netcode trials begin soon, the AI's supposedly going to be re-written, and the final few game engine tweaks going in. The community's starting to see the light at the end of tunnel.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Vindekarr