Graphics Glitch, any suggestions please?

morsify · Aug 20, 2017

Can anyone please help me solve this?

I converted an F1 1985 mod from rFactor. I've spent a fair bit of time fixing sound, steering & graphics issues, and re-structured everything to use the Formula Classic engine/gearbox/suspension as a base.

But I've just noticed this strange and annoying glitch that I cannot get rid of. In the example screenshot, you can see the yellow line apparently going over the top of the windshield instead of behind it, & it happens with many white lines too.

It affects every car with glass windshield, which is most of them, and it happens on all the Reiza tracks, but not on older third party tracks.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone knows how to cure it. I was enjoying messing about in these cars and I'd just got them to an enjoyable state when I saw this, & unfortunately it's happening too often to ignore.

Thanks

BTW so far I've tried
changing the detail levels of tracks and cars;
different AA texture filtering settings;
saved the windows as dxt1 with and without alpha, dxt3, dxt5;
different LOD in/out settings in the car GEN file (but this just makes the windshield disappear).

Alex Sawczuk · Aug 20, 2017

think you need post shadow or similar on the window material.

morsify · Aug 20, 2017

Alex Sawczuk said:
think you need post shadow or similar on the window material.

Thank you Alex, I'll try and do that, I'll take aanother look at the material.

Gringo · Aug 21, 2017

"post shadow" in the material options for the window mat in MAX, or in 3dsimed the same option is called "glass".

The problem is an alpha sorting issue in the game engine, and it can get a bit tricky depending on how the car model is constructed. A well built car will have a separate model of the car for the cockpit view, also the window objects and material names should be separate for external view window, cockpit view window, and the inside of the window seen from external view.

The reason this is important is if you simply turn on the glass flag for all the windows then you will still get alpha sorting issues... if you have only one window material then you might still have sorting issues.

If I recall correctly you want to set the glass flag for the cockpit window and the external window, but not on the inside window seen from external view (if that is clear as mud).

With just a small window on your car it might work out ok, for larger cars with full windscreens the problem is a bit harder to deal with. Like you get fences or trees, and window decals or window banners that don't sort out correctly. The above strategy of window objects and material names seems to be the best solution for solving the sorting issue.

That cockpit looks nice!

morsify · Aug 21, 2017

Gringo said:
"post shadow" in the material options for the window mat in MAX, or in 3dsimed the same option is called "glass".

If I recall correctly you want to set the glass flag for the cockpit window and the external window, but not on the inside window seen from external view (if that is clear as mud).

!

That was it! Thank you so much, I was really floundering. I read that sentence about 20 times while looking at the files in SimEd, and it slowly sank in. Each car has 2 or 3 car bodies and a cockpit, but fortunately it only took a couple of permutations of glass/double sided settings to hit the right one (after trying thousands of wrong things over the past few days, always on the right track but never close enough haha).

Thanks for taking the time to describe it, I hate giving up but I nearly had to admit defeat there.