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The SimulatorThis section describes the simulator program and its settings. Please read the chapter about the Setup menu carefully to avoid problems caused by reduced compatibility of several graphics cards.The Main MenuAfter starting the simulator you will come directly into the Main menu. In the Main menu you can choose the track you want to ride or setup some display properties. When you have selected a track inside the Track menu, you are able to click on "Ride" to start the simulation. When you leave the simulation you are always coming back to the Main menu. Clicking on "quit" will leave the application. You can change the environment for the current track with the Environment menu.The Setup MenuVia the Setup menu you can set global settings that affect graphical appearance of the program. Click on "setup" in the Main menu to get into the Setup menu. The Setup menu lets you alter the following properties:
In the Controls sub menu you can change the key to function assignment and change the mouse behaviour. Graphics The Resolution The default resolution is 640x480 pixels. This is also the
lowest resolution
possible to run NoLimits. Higher resolutions usually result in higher
requirements
for your system. You should make sure not to overstress your system by
selecting a resolution that could damage your monitor for example. The
maximum resolution depends on your graphics card, too. Changing this
setting
and pressing "Ok" will result in restarting the application. The Color depth In full screen mode you can set the color depth of your screen. The default is 16 bit. 32 bit will result in better graphics but might be much slower than 16 bit. It depends on your system if 32 bit makes sense. It is not recommended to use 32 bit color depth when you are not using 32 bit textures as well (see below). Changing this setting and pressing "Ok" will result in restarting the application. The Mode The default mode is full screen. In full screen mode you usually get higher framerates than in window mode. Some graphic cards do not support window rendering (e.g. Voodoo 2) at all. Window rendering is not recommended when you want to get the best performance possible. Changing this setting and pressing "Ok" will result in restarting the application. The Texture depth Internal pictures like the trees, sky and ground of the simulation scene are represented by so called textures. You can set the color depth to 16 bit (default) for the textures to save texture memory and enhance speed. When using 32 bit you will maintain the best quality. The Texture detail level Internal pictures like the trees, sky and ground of the
simulation scene
are represented by so called textures. You can set the resolution for
the textures to save texture memory and enhance speed. Most computation is required for the geometry like the rails, supports and cars. This setting affects the multiple level of detail geometry rendering. Changing the default setting (normal) may result in better but slower graphics. There are also settings that reduce the detail for higher framerates. The Shadow detail There are two kinds of shadows in NoLimits. Static shadows
(produced
by the track) and moving shadows (procuded by the cars). This setting
controls
the detail level of the static shadows. Static shadows are generated by
using texture memory. It depends on the track how much texture memory
is
required. If you have a graphics card that has 32 Megabytes or more
memory
you can safely increase the shadow detail level. For all other cards it
is not recommended to change this option to higher levels than normal.
You may also disable the shadows completely. The Reflection The reflection level sets the kind of geometry that will be mirrored on the terrain sea. Keep in mind that the mirror-effect slows down the rendering system very much. The Scenery If the scenery is disabled, all trees and scene objects will
not be
drawn. Disable the scenery if the system is a low-end computer. Sound The
Sound-FX volume slider lets you adjust the volume for sound effects. Advanced The Advanced Settings menu will show up when selecting this
item. In
the Advanced Setup menu you can optimize the rendering for your needs. The Vertex Engine The Dynamic Shadow Mode The dynamic shadow mode affects the rendering of dynamic
shadows used for vehicles. There are different shadow modes available
with worse and better quality aspects. The worse the quality the faster
the rendering will be. Choose the shadow mode that fits your needs best. The Dithering The dithering option
can be used to enhance the rendering. On most cards
the default corresponds to "on". It is recommended to set this option
to
"default" for best compatibility. The Vertical Sync The vertical synchronization option will synchronize the frame
rate
with the refresh rate of the monitor when enabled. This option is only
working for some graphics cards. For highest and smoothest framerates
it
is recommended to set this option to "off". The default depends on the
graphics card's OpenGL settings. "on" or "off" will override the
default
setting of the card. If you have stereo glasses connected to your
computer
you should set this option to "on". The Multitexture Ext The Texture filter The texture rendering system uses a filter to enhance the quality of the images. Trilinear filtering is the best filter available but it will result in slower performance. For slow systems the default filter (bilinear) is recommended. The Light-ModelThe light-model affects the rendering of lightened objects
such as vehicles, track and scene objects. There are different
light-models with worse and better quality aspects. The worse the
quality the faster the rendering will be. Choose the light-model that
fits your needs best. The Fullscene Antialising This option is only available if the graphics card supports
it. Enabling this option will improve the appearance of the rendering a
lot at a cost of slower performance. This setting also affects the
graphics memory requirements and is only recommended on faster
computers. If you experience dramatical slow dows or crashes disable
this option. Others The Units This setting has an effect on how the speed of the trains are
represented
in the statistics (see
below). The Track MenuThe Track menu lists all tracks that are available in the "Tracks" folder inside the installation directory of NoLimits. Copy your track into the "Tracks" folder to make them available (full version only). If you have more tracks that can be displayed in this menu, you can use the scrollbars to adjust your viewing range. The "tracks" folder can contain sub folders.Default Keyboard CommandsIn the simulation you have various control over several settings and functions. The following table describes the default keyboard layout and the properties. You can always press "h" for Help to list all keyboard commands that are available, too. The keyboard layout can be changed in the controls menu.
The StatisticsWhen pressing F1 you can enable or disable the statistics. The statistics are displayed at the top of the rendering window. The framerate (Frames Per Second) and the speed of the current selected train are displayed in the demo version. In the full version the statistics are also displaying the accelerations of the rider caused by the coaster including vertical and lateral G-Forces.Playing the Ride OperatorIn the full version you can play the Ride Operator. The Ride Operator usually sits in the station and controls the trains and lets the people get in and out. When pressing F11 you will switch between automatic dispatch (default) and manual dispatch. In manual dispatch you will get control about the harnesses, the gates and the dispatch itself. You can optionally press F12 to enable and disable an emergency stop. The emergency stop will activate all block brakes on the track trying to halt all trains as soon as possible. A nice little operator's panel in the station will indicate the states of the harnesses, gates and so on, by green and red lights. When the gates and harnesses are closed and the next block is not occupied by another train (all lights green) you can dispatch the train in the station by pressing Return. You open and close the gates and harnesses by pressing F9 and F10.Saving ScreenshotsIn the full version you can save screenshots by pressing Control-F9. The screenshots will be saved as uncompressed true color Targa Files (ending ".tga") for best quality into the folder "screenshots" inside the NoLimits installation directory. You can use various paint applications to load these files and alter them for your needs (webposting e.g.).EnvironmentsEnvironments are simple configuration files that are located in the "environments" folder. These files (.env) contain sets of property assignments.A few pre-defined environments are shipped with this version of NoLimits. Custom environments can be added with ease. To create a user custom environment, simply add a .env file and insert some equations in the form: <property> = <value> A "#" can be used for commenting out lines A lot of properties can be set using this technique including
all textures.
Tia's Environment Editor for NoLimits is a special tool, that makes it a lot easier to create custom environments than with a text editor. You can download it for free at Tia's NoLimits Tools. Note: |