Zeger Knaepen wrote:
> a lot of reasons: MPEG1-codecs (or at least, the decoders) are included with every
major OS, so everybody can see it, MPEG4 needs a faster computer, which not everyone
has, and there appear to be a lot of sub-standards for MPEG4, so even if you have *an*
MPEG4-decoder, you might not be able to see it.

Yeah...I thought about that...there are so many MPEG4 codecs out there. 
  MS has one, plus there's DivX, XviD, and I'm sure many others.  I 
think I'll start attaching MPEG1 files with a link to a DivX file.  Or 
do you think I should do it the other way around?  Or perhaps upload both?
> 
> It's more or less the same with MP3.  There are better alternatives than MP3, OGG
Vorbis for instance, but everybody can play MP3 without hassle, which is not the case
for OGG Vorbis, so MP3's what you should use if you want people to hear your music :(

I don't use OGG Vorbis for that reason, pretty much.  I don't think Nero 
supports OGG when I want to create an audio CD, and converting to WAV 
manually is a pain.

> 
> To comment on the animation: looks good (except for the MPEG-artifacts of course :))
!  Is it just going to be spheres, or are you planning on making it a real
(customizable) rollercoaster-object?  That'd be cool :)
> 
> cu!

I'm currently in the process of rendering a new version with an actual 
track, complete with 2 running rails, a center spine, and track ties. 
It looks similar to a style Schwarzkopf used in his roller coasters. 
Eventually, I'll have all the track designs that No Limits supports. 
Although some, like the Intamin and B&M track styles, will require some 
extra coding.  B&M has a boxy design for their track, and Intamin's 
track ties actually connect forward in their design.

This picture shows the Schwarzkopf style I'm creating:
http://www.rcdb.com/ig2264.htm?picture=38
(Except my implementation doesn't have those small bars between the ties)

This is a typical B&M design:
http://www.rcdb.com/ig2528.htm?picture=45
Note the faceted spine shape.

And here's Intamin's design:
http://www.rcdb.com/ig594.htm?picture=9

Of course, there are many other designers, but they'll be easy to 
implement.  They just need different diameters/offsets for the rails and 
a different meshes for the ties.

For example, Arrow Dynamics:
http://www.rcdb.com/ig25.htm?picture=17

Premier:
http://www.rcdb.com/ig593.htm?picture=22

And more...

To see how all these designs look in No Limits, go to the screen shots 
section at http://www.nolimitscoaster.de/

(Of course, Ole Lange, the author of No Limits, doesn't use the company 
names, probably due to copyrights, with the except of Gerstlauer, who 
he's actually been working with to create their train/track designs.)

-DJ

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