ZG264

Install Guide: Setting up TDU's graphic options for best effect: So since i discovered the Platinum Mod and by extension TDU i have been through a process of trial and error to get the best out of the game on my system. My System Specs: CPU: i5 3350P 3.1Ghz RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600Mhz GPU: 4GB 1050 Ti Game installed on HDD (not SSD). Screen: a native 1920x1080 flat screen TV @60Hz In game graphic settings: Resolution: 1600x1024 Refresh Rate: 60Hz Anti-Aliasing: 4x HDR: (on) Brightness = Max Level of Details = High Nvidia Control Panel Settings: I set these for both the Project Paradise Launcher.exe and the Test Drive Unlimited.exe (just to be sure nothing is missed). Ansiotropic filtering: 16x Antialiasing - FXAA = on Antialiasing - Gamma correction = on Antialiasing - Mode = Enhance the application setting Antialiasing - Setting = 8x Antialiasing - Transparency = Multisample (on my system using Supersampling introduces flickering artifacts on distant objects) Multi-Frame Sampled AA (MFAA) = on Texture filtering - Negative LOD bias = Clamp Texture filtering - Quality = High Quality Triple buffering = on Vertical sync = Adaptive All other settings not mentioned are left at default settings. Project Paradise Launcher: Windowed = on Unlock Settings (Windowed) = on Vsync = on HD = on (as i use the 'HD300' graphic enhancements from the HawaiianBliss v4.0 mod). Fuel = on Big .bnk = on ----------------------- With those settings when i launch the game via the Project Paradise Launcher i get a small(ish) window on my native 1920x1080 display. I normally run my games windowed as i have some utilities that i run to monitor performance and hardware and provide recording etc. So on the right of the screen i have Piriforms Speccy to monitor a range of hardware temps (from CPU to GPU and HDD/SSD), then below that GPU-Z to monitor the GPU in detail, then at the bottom a 'detatched' section from the MSI afterburner software to show graphs for FPS, CPU usage and RAM usage. I also use Riva Tuner part of MSI Afterburner to set an FPS cap of 60. I also run DXtory and use that to display FPS on screen when running a game (and to record any footage if i choose etc). So with that right section of the screen occupied i take the TDU screen that Project Paradise launches and drag it to the top left of the screen space, then using the 'windows' key to get out of the TDU screen and carefully select and drag the games window down and to the right to take up the available space and keep my game monitoring software in view. It looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/5tLDfKX.jpg https://i.imgur.com/5Z3Iq42.png As for the general settings above i spent the last few months working out what worked best. Setting the resolution in game to 1920x1080 and running it windowed gave it lots of ugly jaggies, even with all the Antialiasing i threw at it. So for Windowed mode it is best to set an in-game resolution less than your display resolution and simply drag the window to fit what you want. With the HD300 pack from HawaiianBliss v4.0 mod i mostly get a solid 60FPS (keep in mind I cap the game to that) with just the occaisonal dip into the 50's. Hopefully this guide will aid those looking to get the best out of how TDU can look

Was that at me?? psp? (Play Station Portable)? change cars? Sorry but i don't know what your talking about. IF you are asking how i used the patch to update my game, i downloaded the three parts as directed, then used 7zip to unzip them which gave me a folder around 269MB in size, I then opened that folder and opened the 'Extra' folder and then 'Expert Bots(kinda)' and copy/pasted the 'AIBotPers.xml' file into where my game install of TDU is (this file goes in .../Atari/Test Drive Unlimited/TDU/Euro/Bnk/Database in your install). This gives the harder/better performing AI bots. For the main bit of the patch update i opened the 'Test Drive Unlimited' folder (from the patch files we unzipped as above) and copy/pasted the 'Euro' folder in that over the one in my installed game .../Atari/Test Drive Unlimited/TDU/Euro, allowing the prompts to over-right files that pops up. Then i ran the game and enjoyed the changes.

The Nissan 350 Z Coupe seems to have issues changing it's Binocular settings in game. It saves it ok in the TDUF editor (and changes the value for the other 350 Z options, like Nissamo etc), but in game it does not change the view like it does in the Alpha i posted pics for. All the other cars i've tried so far have also worked, just not the Nissan for some reason? Edit: RE that Nissan 350 Z coupe. OK for some reason TDUF changes the car view from what is normaly 'cockpit' (as you choose one car type after another) to 'Hood' view. I've been through about 20 cars and it only seems to do this for that Nissan out of those others. So what happens when you pick the Nissan the values you get for 'Binoculars' are under the Hood view not the cockpit. So after chosing that car in TDUF, check that the view is on 'cockpit' before changing Binocular values. Once that is done the changes work as expected (and 16720/16730 works well for this car also as it has working mirrors in the cockpit view).

Awesome I gave the harder AI a bash and it makes that whole opening part of the game (F class) much more interesting. I had to pick my fights and learn to accept 2nd, 3rd or non places! Lots of fun and everything working as smooth as silk so far. Thank you (and any other modders involved).

I find it 'amusing' when the traffic in front decides to change lane, then changes it's mind at the last minute and drifts back! Never assume that 'other' driver knows what they hell they are doing (in relation to driving a car) or where the hell they are going. A good rule in general for driving in real life and TDU!

No problem, glad to help :) I'm a newbie to TDU, and one of the first impressions i had was a general 'discomfort' with the in car views, especially in relation to being able to use the mirrors or not, and this issue with not being able to adjust the view-point enough with the in game seat position options was determining which cars i would end up buying and driving. So with the awesome Platinum mod there are all these hundreds of extra cars, and sadly many of them were also not possible choices for me for the same (and worse!) problems in terms of functional mirrors and if you could use them in the in car view. I was very happy to find this thread with as it turns out a potential solution for those issues using the Binocular values to adjust FOV. I've now gone through my game files with TDUF and saved the view changes to the cars i've tested have working functional mirrors (as many do not) and overall my game is much improved using the settings I settled on. 16720 or 16730 (just down to personal preference) seems to be working for all those cars so far, to give better FOV for the in car view point. One other aspect of this could be looked at in relation to the seat position ranges? In TDUF that looks like it might be related to the _Z co-ordinate values in the same section as 'Binoculars'? There are two Z values it seems so i'm not sure which one determines the ranges (if it does at all!) for the seat adjustment setting?

Binoculars=16720 + Seat Position (set in game options) = max forward. To show how you can adjust the same binocular setting with the in-game seat adjustment. So that concludes this rounds of tests. Binoculars seems to have a max starting value of 16641, but is not usable in game. The top ranges of 16895-16880 (and maybe a bit further) give an upside down view! usuable values seem to be in the 16680 (most zoomed in) to 16730 (most zoomed out) ranges, for the car tested, and i have now chosen 16720 as it's new default setting.

Binoculars=16720. This is the new default i have set for this car (was 16697).

Binoculars= 16730. First workabl/driveable option perhaps (for this car), taking into account seat adjustment (forward)?

Binoculars = 16680. to give maybe the max comfortable zoom in view? Keep in mind this is with the seat position set to max rear, so can be zoomed in even more using the in game seat slider (and will likely be the same for most cars where that is set as furthest back as default?).

Binoculars = 16750. Both side mirrors! But weird in general to drive like this!

Binoculars = 16645. At the other end of the scale we have this. 16640 produced a red screen, 16641 just the max zoomed in view (only tarmac right in front of the car). In this shot you just see the wheel and hand (i had put on a max right turn to get the hand on wheel in shot):

Here are the results: Binoculars = 16890 (all the range from 16895 to this looked the same, upside down etc! Not sure exactly where the cut off for the upside down is!)

EVERY youtube video gets a dislike(at some point), no matter what. I think there are bots setup to do that most likely, so don't pay it any attention! P.S. i just added a like so you are ahead now Your sound mod in the clip is really good, like awesome, so fantastic work. And in relation to what you were talking about above, in all games i set an FPS limit (normally 60, but on the rare occasion it can be lower (some old non-fps games work smoother at 30 FPS limit i find!)). I use MSI Afterburner (via it's Riva Tuner componant) and that works in most games, and more importantly TDU (without intefereing in the Platinum/Project Paradise game .exe!). Great sound, just need to get enough cash in game for that Ferrari now

Ok that is from the 'starting' Alpha Brera, i used tduf as above to set the 'lowest' value for 'binoculars' (16640). Seat position set in the in game menu is furthest back and lowest to the ground. I 'think' i can see a little more of the wing mirror vs normal, but not 100% sure on that. So if someone else has a default Alpha Brera they could compare what it looks like? Edit: Ok there is some weird 'vodoo' file permission stuff going on when trying to edit these files it seems! Most times the files are set as 'read only' (i pick the 'Database' folder for example to turn that off and apply the changes to all subfolders and files and 'apply', and next time i check it is 'magically' back to 'read only'! Very strange and must be down to either some deeper layer Atari added to the game files OR my system security settings as the game is installed in a normal 'Program Files' type installation. Anyway i think i'll be able to work around it and get the changes to 'stick' so i guess the screen shot above we can take as 'default' (16697 for Binoculars) for that car. I'll post another when i get the 16640 to stick and hold NOPE! a value of 16640 just gives a total red screen in cockpit view, just with some hud elements visable (satnav and fuel gauge+digital speed and gear readout in bottom corners (left and right) of screen. value 16640 is not accepted by the game!

I think if i understand the limitations those will bascially be replacement races right? We still have this arbitary limit so can only change existing races and not add additional content ontop of what is already there (without over writing exisiting races etc)? I just look at the games map and imagine all the hundreds of extra race events it 'could' hold, if we had a way to actually add additional races :(

ok well i just gave some value tweaks a go. i had in game: (F) Alpha Romeo Brera (my usual 'starting car' choice), a mod added (E) Mitsubishi GTO Turbo, and a classic (G) Porsche 911 Turbo(930). TDU database path is to my installed (Platinum mod version) main \Atari\Test Drive Unlimited\TDU\Euro\Bnk path and the database loaded up fine. So i browsed to the cars (as above) i have in my save game in tduf and changed 'binoculars' values from current defaults: (4)Brera = 16697 to 16640 (714)Mitsubishi = 17980 to 16640 (382)Porsche = 16697 to 16640 Then 'saved' and 'checked' the changes (all ok according to tduf). The numbers in brackets are those shown in tduf for the specific cars. I 'think' i noticed a difference when i loaded up the game but am not 100% sure. The mirrors in that Mitsubishi are not fit for purpose (as is the case with many cars sadly). Strange thing is when i load back the tduf database all the values are reported as being back to their defaults, even after having 'saved' the changes. Is that normal? I think i will carry on experimenting and getting some comparison screenshots done. Is there a reason for the min value for FOV?

Cool, thanks for the pointers. Time to look at tduf tool Ok just having a quick look over that link and i think i get it to some extent. We would need to enter 'binoculars' values for ALL cars in the game! There is no universal/global value that applies to all instances (like a FOV value in a regualr game (like Morrowind/Fallout etc)). Ouch. And each one would need testing in each car! And on that note not all car mirrors actually work properly as is! Many reflect 'fuzzy' or are angled wrong etc, so those might all need adjusting too (model work?). Hmmm. I would need a 'cheat' way to get access to all cars in game to even start to go through this? Is that a feature of tduf tool by any chance?

Good effort! I'm thinking on the main single player mode though. ALL that space on that fantastic island map and no way to add locations to that that any one could download and put in their own game. I guess Atari were focusing on the MP too much perhaps?

So from my short time around these parts i think i'm correct in saying it seems impossible to add new missions and locations to the game due to it all being in machine code or something like that (so you need really good coders with reverse code skills etc). So what is that bit about getting access to 'the editor' in game when you hit 'pro level' all about? And the fact it works so half-featured (does not 'save' in the game world, just that instance for you try it out etc). What were Atari 'planning' to do with that feature? Did they go so far then pull out and implement it half cooked to not ruin their potential for DLC money etc? It just seems a really odd feature to me. So it got me thinking. What if there was a way to unlock this feature and have it work as one might expect (be able to create x amount of new custom player designed races and save them into your world etc), how could that be achieved? Would it need a separate 'launcher' perhaps with an interface that pulled the date from the games files and placed them back in? Are their any Russians looking into this perhaps (I say Russians as they have a pretty good track record in this kind of thing, i also play Elite FFED3D which was a Russian reverse engineered version of the Elite FFE game)? I think if we had the potential to add more races to the game (and share that with others) it could make TDU last even longer than it has already? Just a 'dream' i'm sure many have had around here.

So, this is a pretty old thread and i'm not sure if the people are still around? I would like to give this a go, as in help test things as i 'think' it might be a solution to the poor viewing angles in many of the current car models (and not being able to adjust the seat position any further). A wider FOV would indeed allow more cars to have working mirrors in the cockpit view (a view i like to drive in). So what do i need (tools) and what do i need to do to test this 'binoculars' variable? @Djey i downloaded your .bin file and had a look at it, but i'm not sure where i would put the '16640', '16768' or '16895' values as they all seem too high for what is in that code packet? Would those need converting down as Mondodimotori had in his post (57, 35 and 10 etc)? So you might need to give me a very quick and basic 'how to' series of posts so i can do the right thing to get this tested in game :)

Ok, thanks for the answer Milli :) I might have a go at helping out on this thread issue: As it might be a potential 'fix' for the seat position issue (with many of the cars). Getting a 'wider' FOV should allow more cars to have usable mirrors etc?

Hi, not sure if this is the right part of the forum to ask, but i'm having a few issues with the seat position on many of the cars in TDU (TDU Platinim modded version). It seems many of the cars have a seat position already set as far 'back' as you can go BUT still are not able to fit the rear mirror and side mirror in view on the screen. Is there a place in the game files we can adjust these seat position settings so as to give a greater range of movement? As it is it often becomes the determining factor in if i buy a car or not. Can i use it's mirrors when driving in first person (inside the cockpit) view mode. I'd like to be able to drive all the cars

ok thanks for the info :)

@kristiannn So i'm running your 'new' v4.0 and i'm not seeing any night time. Looking through the Weather_HDRI.ini i see no mention of MOONLIT, just NIGHT/(DARKNIGHT) and NIGHT 2/(DARKNIGHT2). I'm playing offline and wondering how long does a day/night cycle take (i've driven for a good few hours so far) and does it 'reset' after each save/re-load perhaps? Where in your files can you adjust that time scale perhaps? Thanks in advance.