Power CD-ROM!! 10/PCD10.ISO/cheat/editrpy/editrpy.txt

Text File | 1994-11-20 | 17KB | 380 lines

This program (EDITRPY) is designed to perform various editing functions
on INDYCAR replay files.  This preliminary version has limited function.

It can:

* Identify each of the laps in a replay file, giving the lap time
  for each lap of each car, accurate to 1/1000 second.  (In all
  cases that I have observed these times have differed from the
  lap times reported by INDYCAR by no more than 1/1000 second.

* Copy a lap (for a single car) from a replay file and paste it to
  another (possibly new) replay file.  A lap is the sequence of
  1/15 second frames starting with the first frame after a finish
  line crossing and ending with the last frame before the next finish
  line crossing.

* Produce a file with speed and acceleration data for a lap.
  This can be imported into a spreadsheet (or other program) and
  used to produce graphs of speed and/or acceleration as a function
  of position along the track or as a function of time.

What's new in version 1.4

- In order to calculate correct lap speeds Editrpy needs to know
  which track a replay file is for.  Normally, Editrpy determines
  the track from the name of the directory containing the replay
  file.  If the directory containing the replay file doesn't have
  a name which matches one of Indycar's tracks directories previous
  versions of Editrpy would give erroneously low lap times.  In
  this version if the directory name is not one of the Indycar
  tracks directories then the program asks which track the replay
  is for.  If none is specified then the laps are all marked
  "partial".

What's new in version 1.3

- A bug which caused a "Floating Point Error" is fixed.  This
  happened if the replay file you open has a lap with exactly
  one record (i.e. it is one record long).  This can happen if
  you had previously cut the replay file and happened to start
  it one frame before the finish line.

- The track length constants have been updated to provide a
  more accurate conversion of lap time to lap speed.

What's new in version 1.2

- This version gives the car number and driver name (from the
  drivers.txt file within a carset).  The previous versions only
  displayed the car's index into the drivers.txt array.

- This version includes the function to produce speed and
  acceleration data for a lap.

- This version can indicate that a car was damaged.  This
  may be useful to verify that damage was on.

What's new in version 1.1

- The previous version had a limitation that it couldn't work with
  replay files which contained more than about 18 minutes of replay.
  In version 1.1, this restriction is removed.  You should be able
  to work with a replay file of any length and any number of cars.

- The previous version only displayed lap times for each lap.
  Version 1.1 displays both lap times and speeds.

Some limitations:

* The program cannot cut and paste sequences of laps, only single laps.
  For example, if you wanted to copy two consecutive laps from a file
  and add them to another file, the best you could do would be to copy
  them individually.  This would superimpose those laps (they would
  appear as two different cars) rather than having them run consecutively.

* Any "dirt", "smoke" or crash sounds associated with a copied lap are
  not copied.  This is because there is nothing in the replay file to
  identify with which car these artifacts are to be associated.  At some
  later date I plan to allow copying these from a file which has only one
  car as then there is no question about the source.

* The program won't run unless you have a mouse and have the mouse
  driver loaded.  I've seen that several people have had a problem trying
  to run the PAINTKIT program because they didn't have mouse drivers
  loaded.  I plan to improve the program to allow all functions to be
  performed from the keyboard, but for now you will need a mouse.

* I've noticed that in some replay files generated while using modem play
  cars seem to disappear (and sometimes reappear).  EDITRPY is not very
  robust when it comes to these files and sometimes fails.  You may see
  a line in the middle of the screen about an "assertion" error.  If that
  happens, you should play the replay file within INDYCAR to see if it
  exhibits any strange behavior.  If all seems well, and you can find a
  way to get me the replay file, I'll try to see if I can find out what
  is wrong.  For the most part, I would avoid using replay files created
  in modem play.

* I used the Borland Turbovision file dialog box when selecting file
  names.  I've found this code doesn't do "what you expect".  I haven't
  had the time to write my own, so for now we have to live with it.  The
  problem I have with it is that once you navigate to the directory that
  you want, if you type in a file name without path, the file is not
  created into the directory you are currently looking at, but rather
  into the "current" directory.  To get the file into the directory you
  are looking at, make sure that you keep the full path in the input line
  where you are typing the file name.

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To install:

Place the program EDITRPY.EXE onto your hard disk.  A convenient place
may be the indycar directory itself, but it doesn't really matter where.

Here is how to use the program:

Run the program
for example:

C:> editrpy

The first time it is run the program will search your hard drive(s) looking
for the INDYCAR directory.  It will find it whereever it is as long as its
name is "INDYCAR".  For example on my system the directory is:

E:\GAMES\INDYCAR

When it is found, the program will create a file EDITRPY.INI in the same
directory in which you placed EDITRPY.EXE.  This file will identify where
your INDYCAR directory was found so it won't have to search again.  If the
program can't find your indycar directory (maybe because you gave it a
different name) then you can edit EDITRPY.INI and add a line identifying
where to find your indycar directory.  For example if you had installed
Indycar into C:\MYINDY then place the following line in EDITRPY.INI:

IndyCarDirectory=C:\MYINDY

The EDITRPY.INI file also contains other information which you can
specify on the Preferences pulldown menus.

----

After the program gets started there are five pull down menus at the top
of the screen "File", "Edit", "Preferences","Window" and "Help".
These are used as follows:

"File"  This pull-down menu has six functions "New", "Open", "Save",
        "Save As", "Analyze Lap" and "Exit".

        "New" creates a new replay file (it won't be written to disk
        until you select "Save As").

        "Open" brings up a file dialog box which allows you to select a
        replay file to be read into a window.

        "Save" saves an open replay file (which has been modified by "Paste",
        "Delete" or "Edit Car ID")

        "Save As" brings up a file dialog box which allows you to select
        a new file name for an open replay file.  You must use "Save As"
        to save files created with "New".

        "Analyze Lap" creates a file which contains speed and acceleration
        information for the selected lap.  The format of the file is
        determined by the preferences specified on the "Preferences"
        pull down menu.

        "Exit" ends the program.

"Edit"  This pull-down menu has four functions "Delete", "Copy", "Paste" and
        "Edit Car ID".

        "Delete" is not implemented yet, but will eventually
        allow you to delete cars and/or laps from a file.  You can get the
        equivalent by creating a new file and copying all of the laps you
        wouldn't have deleted.

        "Copy" makes a copy of a selected lap.  To select a lap, click
        on the line which shows the lap time.  "Copy" will copy the
        currently selected lap to an internal clipboard.  If there are
        multiple windows on the screen, more than one of them may have
        a lap selected.  The lap that is copied is the selected lap in
        the current window.  The current window is the window whose frame
        is highlighted.

        "Paste" copies the lap which is currently in the internal clipboard
        into the selected Car.  Cars are the lines in the windows which
        are titled "Car nn" or "New".  Currently the program is limited to
        copying laps into the "New" car.  As above, if there are multiple
        windows, the car to which the lap is added is the selected car in
        the current window.  The current window is the window whose frame
        is highlighted.

        "Edit Car ID" lets you change the car number associated with a
        car in a replay file.  The car number is the position in the list
        of cars found in the DRIVERS.TXT file in your ..\CARS\CARS93
        directory.  00 is the first car, 01 is the second car, etc.
        You can set each car in the replay to whatever value you want,
        even making multiple cars have the same value.  This value is
        used by Indycar's replay code to decide which graphic to use
        for each car.

"Preferences"  This pull-down menu has two functions, "Lap Analysis" and
        "CarSets".

        "Lap Analysis" allows you to set preferences for
        the format of the output of the Analyze Lap function.

        "CarSets" lets you select which car set you want the car number
        and driver names to come from.

        Preferences selected here are remembered in the EDITRPY.INI file.

"Window" This pull-down menu has three functions, "Next", "Zoom" and "Tile".

        "Next" sequences through the windows.  (There really isn't too much
        use for this unless you have so many files open you can't find
        the windows)

        "Zoom" maximizes (or minimizes) the current window.

        "Tile" causes all of the windows to be rearranged so they are all
        visible with no overlaps.

"Help"  This pull-down menu currently has only an "About" selection.
        Someday I plan to add some help too, but that may be a while.

        "About" only tells you who I am.  It also lets you know the
        version of the EDITRPY program.


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Notes:

You can move the windows around by clicking on the title bar and dragging
the window.  You can resize the windows by clicking on the lower right
corner and dragging.  Each window you create will start in the upper left
corner of the screen so you will almost surely have to drag them around
to see them.

The windows have scroll bars in case you have so many laps in a window that
they can't all fit on the screen (or if you have so many windows that you've
had to resize them smaller).

You will notice that some laps (usually the first and last) will have the
word "partial" next to them.  This means that these laps are not complete
laps.  They may start at the start of the file and go to the first finish
line crossing or start at the last finish line crossing and go to the end
of the file.

Some laps will have the word "damage" next to them.  This means that the
car has had damage in that lap (or some previous lap).  Damage may consist
of flat tires or tires that fly off the car.  Unfortunately, if you make
it into the pit and fix the problem (change a flat tire), the replay file
continues to indicate the flat so all subsequent laps will also indicate
damage.

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Examples of use:

Suppose you've just produced a replay of your latest practice session
and want to cut out a single "hot" lap.

1. Use the "File/Open" menu item to select the track and replay file
   that you just produced.  This will bring up a window with a line
   for each lap showing the lap times.
2. Click on the lap you want (it will become highlighted)
3. Use the "Edit/Copy" menu item to copy the lap to the internal clipboard.
4. Use the "File/New" menu item to create a new replay file.  This will
   bring up a window with a single line in it, New
5. Click on the word New in the window just created in step 4 to select the
   "new" car.
6. Use the "Edit/Paste" menu item to copy the lap from the internal
   clipboard to the new car.  The window will now contain a car with that
   one lap and another New car will appear.
7. Use the "File/Save As" menu item to save the new replay file to disk.

You now have a replay file with just the single "hot" lap

------

Suppose you have several "hot" laps and you want to compare them to see
why one is faster than another.

1. Use the "File/Open" menu item to select the file(s) which contain the
   laps you want to compare.  If both laps are in the same file, you only
   need to open a single window.  If the two laps are in different files,
   you will need to open a window for each file.
2. Use the "File/New" menu item to create a new replay file.
3. Click on one of the laps
4. Use the "Edit/Copy" menu item to copy the selected lap to the internal
   clipboard.
5. Click on the New car in the .Untitled file created in step 2
6. Use the "Edit/Paste" menu item to copy the lap from the internal
   clipboard to the New car in the new file
7. Repeat steps 3-6 for each of the laps you want
8. To change the car IDs click on the Car to be changed and use
   the "Edit/Edit Car ID" menu item
9. Use the "File/Save As" menu item to save the new replay file to disk.

-----------

Suppose you have an "archive" replay file which contains your best laps.
(This file could have been created using the procedure above)  You just
run another "hot" lap and want to add it to the archive.

1. Use the "File/Open" menu item to select the track and replay file
   that you just produced.  This will bring up a window with a line
   for each lap showing the lap times.
2. Click on the lap you want (it will become highlighted)
3. Use the "Edit/Copy" menu item to copy the lap to the internal clipboard.
4. Use the "File/Open" menu item to open the "archive" replay file
5. Click on the "New" car in the "archive" replay file
6. Use the "Edit/Paste" menu item to copy the lap from the internal
   clipboard to the "archive" replay file
7. Use the "File/Save" menu item to save the "archive" replay file to disk.

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Suppose you have a replay file of a race and it is huge because you spent
a lot of time in the dirt.  (Dirt and smoke can easily be more than half
of a replay file).  You can use EDITRPY to remove the dirt and smoke,
leaving the rest of the information.  This can substantially reduce the
size of a replay file.

1. Use the "File/Open" menu item to select the track and replay file
   that you want to modify.
2. Use the "File/Save As" menu item to save the replay file under a new
   name.  This will save the original file minus the dirt, smoke and
   crash sounds under the new name.

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Suppose you have a replay file of a lap for which you want to produce a
graph of speed vs. track position.  You can use EDITRPY to produce a
comma delimited data file which can then be loaded into a spreadsheet
program to produce graphs or perform other analysis.

1. Use the "Lap Analysis" selection of the "Preferences" menu to select
   the data and format you wish.

   Select the type of data you want produced.  These are:
  - Time
  - Distance
  - Speed
  - Acceleration
   Each of the selected items are output at each ten foot interval along
   the track.  For example, if you want to produce a speed vs. position
   graph, you might select "Distance" and "Speed" then use a spreadsheet
   to produce an X-Y graph.

   Select the format of the output.  There are currently two choices,
   "Printable Report" and "Delimited".  Normally, you would choose the
   "Delimited" format.  The "DIF" format is not implemented yet.

   Select the units.  These can be "English", "Metric" or "Mixed"

2. Use the "File/Open" menu item to select the track and replay file
   that contains the lap you wish to analyze.

3. Click on the lap you wish to analyze.

4. Use the "File/Analyze Lap" menu to create an output file with the
   lap analysis data.

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Good luck.  As is usually the case, there are no warranties.  You use this
program at your own risk.  As far as I know there are no bugs and the
program does what I've described, but ...

If you have any problems, let me know at:

Compuserve      76104,1250
America Online  MikeCorr
Internet        [e-mail]