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Finalizing Camera GT Version 2.0 Release

Great news is Version 2.0 of the Camera GT is very close to being released. We are finishing off beta-testing and making some last minute changes.

As suspected, and mostly because of the enormity of the updates, we split the updates into two :

Version 2.0 will be the next release, with some sculpt changes, a bit more detail, massive script changes, loads of more features and flexibility.

Version 3.0 will add the additional 'pimped' GT vehicle - so you would have the normal ver 2.0 GT as well as another vehicle altogether - a customized widebody GT.

Some on-the-ball customers have been mentioning they've noticed some blog posts on the website and are quite excited to see what's coming up. So to give all a chance to see, here's a few links to the Camera GT blogs :

http://sl-carreragt.blogspot.com/2010/04/assistance-for-za-setup-ramp.html

http://sl-carreragt.blogspot.com/2008/05/assistance-for-follow-cam-configuration.html

As some will notice by the blog post date, this was planned YEARS ago but never finalized.

http://sl-carreragt.blogspot.com/

NOTE: These are FREE updates to all existing Camera GT owners - as long as you retained your package. Once the update is released, simply rez your package to get the update.

New customers wanting to purchase these vehicles, simply purchas ethe current Camera GT model and you will receive these FREE as soon as it's released.

Camera GS owners wanting to update to the Camera GT can do so by paying the price difference - just pay me the difference in-world and send me a Notecard (as my IM's get capped) to do that.

Enjoy

Zab

Massive Update Lurking...

I have tried to get this out as a Christmas to all my GREAT customers - just to say thanks for your support, but it's just too much to complete.

Plus we are releasing a new car around the same time - want a hint - its called "Zender" at the moment :)) ... inspired by Pagani ;)

BTW : Those of you who cannot afford the L$6995 price tag of the GT - there is a cheaper (GS) version for sale at L$2300 here. Its very similar to the original GT, small script differences, it has some additional poses on windshield etc, it is limited in colors (just over 30 presets instead of millions), and only has the supplied interior and alloys. But if you are just looking for a decent car, then its there.

FYI : We have a Christmas tree running at the moment GIVING FREE GS's AWAY !!! :)) ... all you need is some patience and have a good chance to win one by just spending some time on our sim. Its here - just click the tree to enter, then enjoy shopping / exploring the sim.

So back to the update. Without giving too much detail away .... I really appreciate all you great customers and your support, and I didn't want to be like other car-makers - just push new cars nonstop and give no extra value on older ones. So I've been working on something special to re-ignite your GT's ;))

NOTE: This update is GT only, not GS.

As many of you commented, the GT was pretty decent and ahead for its time. It's now 18 months later and some makers are catching up, and their sculpt meshes are a little less shaky than they used to be. So this update will take your GT a big step ahead again. It will not appeal to ALL owners, but I would think most will enjoy it. I will also be making some small changes on sculpt improvements on the base GT model in the update so I'm sure all will enjoy those.

Have fun

Zab

Camera GT Version 1.1 is released

In the late hours (or early) this morning we released a very large update to for the GT which takes it out of the pre-release state and past the official released version :) ... that happened as the full release was delayed a week, so I added some more goodies.

All existing owners need to simply rez their PACKAGE (the keystand they originally received) and wait a few seconds to allow my update server to automatically send them the upgrade.

For details on what is included in this large release, see section 5 in the Release notes here.

Some details on the HUD changes including the color option available here.

IF you experience any issues, please check the FAQ here, and if that does not help, please contact the creator.


Enjoy :)

Driving the Camera GT ... and some of the new mods

I get asked a lot what the Camera GT drives like. Well I wouldn't like to describe it, readers may consider me biased ;) ... I will say its great fun though, and is a very highly respected car. We have many car collectors and builders as owners in SL, these are people who love cars, and the message from them is the ride is very good.

Camera GT update during Beta-testing 3 June 2008

Good news then, in the upcoming update / upgrade (which should be released in a just under a week) the ride has got even better. I have re- engineered most of my scripts and optimized them a lot. The car is more responsive and at the same time smoother.

Also, as enthusiasts each have their own individual driving styles, I have added a TWEAK-ing ability which allows owners to tweak the cars power, braking, and steering response to their taste.

At the same time I've thrown in some special goodies owners have come to love about this car. On the initial release I believe we were the first SL released car to feature REAL-Damage and REAL-lights.

For this upgrade I'm adding another level or reality ... drive it hard with heavy braking, and those disc-brakes are going to get hot ! :))

Enjoy

Ohhhh ... which color today ???

Pretty soon, this is the dilemma owners will be facing...

Our upcoming update, which was going to be a small one, is going to be a big one. Unfortunately it has meant a slight delay of a week or so to cram it all in and test, and all going well we hope to release the update in a week from today or slightly sooner. Watch this blog for the release notice as well as notices will be posted to the ZA Motors group - join it if you are an owner, its zero-spam and very few notices so won't bug.

As an appetizer, I am including a picture put together by the great and ever helpful Lucie Laval who does some testing for me. When I asked her to test the color configurator, this is what she came up with :) ...


Just Love it! Well done Lucie! Her words were ... 'just tell me what color you want, I can make any color'.

FYI : Those who voted on the color poll - your votes were put to good use. I added 'base' colors to the car in that priority : White (original), Charcoal (Black), Red (Pure), Silver (70%).

But then I had promised many ladies pink, and they all love different shades of pink ... so I added a tint function. Using the 4 base colors mentioned as well as tints on top of those means you can color just about any color you can think of.

Thats not all ... I thought in order to give owners even more flexibility and the ability to really personalize their ride, I added the option to be able to set color by panel. So you can have pink doors, red main body, green bonnet, black engine cover, silver wing ... if you really like (and hate your neighbor) :)


Oh, and then I threw in shiny options too :) ... but take note ... shiny does not work on panels with transparency (its an SL known issue hopefully they'll one-day fix) - like the windscreen frame and engine cover ... so on those panels you can fiddle a bit with the tint to get it closer. Also while chrome looks cool ... remember it will make small sculpt bumps look massive so be careful if you use it ... personally I prefer mat (no shine) or Low.

All this functionality in the color configurator means it loads and unloads a bit slow (via the new "CFG.." button on the HUD), but as its not something you use all the time, I guess thats acceptable for the flexibility.

Oh, and I threw in a few more goodies too ... but I'm keeping them to myself :) .... hint: N71 Aeon found one ... its on his blog review at http://n71aeon.blogspot.com/2008/05/talk-of-town.html if you can't wait ... nice review, thx N71. Its really inspiring to hear there are so many happy and proud owners.

First Carrera GT sold in minutes!!!

Congratulations to Rubi Ichigo for purchasing the first Carrera GT ... minutes after I enabled the vendors! Just been out showing her the ropes, and she's loving it !!!

It was good to eventually start pushing the Carrera GT onto the grid so others can start enjoying it too, and I am pleased to have some really appreciative and happy customers.

9 Carrera GT's were sold on opening day, and it was interesting to meet most of the customers, all interesting people, some with auto-related interests (a couple of car collectors, and a few car builders).

Thanks to all my customers for making Opening day a success!

Carrera GT RELEASED !!!

As promised to excited fans, the Carrera GT was released on the SL grid on evening of Sunday 20th April 2008.

It is available NOW for purchase in-world at the vendor ONLY at our shop (click here for TP).

Customers will receive FREE updates automatically as soon as they are released. At release it's only available in Pearl White, but later updates will include a user-selectable color pack.

NOTE that this is a early release model and still has a few small bugs to resolve. These will be automatically pushed to customers using our advanced update server technology.

Thanks to all the customers / fans / friends for all their support (and patience) in getting this released.

Enjoy :)

SL's Carrera GT Website for Help and FAQ

Click here to view the website dedicated to the Carrera GT. This is where all the info on the car, help screens and FAQ's will be posted.

"REAL-Damage" added

Another SL first!!!

We've just introduced "REAL-Damage" to the Carrera GT (and SL) !!!

So while out on the track (or driving home after a few drinks) be careful what you drive into! Or what drives into you!

Both the front and rear ends have the ability to incur damage. Of course the owner can fix it all up with a click ... one big advantage the SL Carrera has over the RL one :))

Optional: Real damage only works when the FX option is enabled (HUD switch), so if you too embarrassed to leave it on, you can disable it. And for the racers' info - its zero lag.

"REAL-Lights" added

In an effort to push the boundaries of realism in SL, we have now added 'REAL Lights' to the Carrera GT.

This is another SL first!!!

The picture shows it well, but in-world they are beautiful, with a slight flickering effect just like it really is in First Life :)


Real lights have two parts : the 'glow' and the 'beam'. The beam only works when the FX option is enabled (HUD switch), so if you'd like to disable it, you can. And for the racers info - the glow is zero lag, beam very close to that (less than the tyre/exhaust smoke on racing cars) ... but can be turned off if you insist.

Glowing driving / brake lights ...

SL has just announced a new client version 1.20 in RC (Release Candidate). One of the cool features it introduces is 'scriptable glow'.

At a recent test track conversation with some other car developers they said they are looking forward to that. I told them I've been using it on the Carrera GT for two weeks already ... which they laughed at, so I rezzed the car and showed them on the track, and they all viewed it loud and clear - in their standard SL 1.19.1(4) etc clients. I guess it's true as they say ... he who laughs last, laughs best :)

So for the rest that are waiting for scriptable glow, it's already available if you know how to get at it ... alongside are the 3 pics of it in action on the Carrera GT :

1. Chilling (not driving - relaxing in car) = only sunlight/moonlight glow
2. Normal Driving = lights on glow
3. Under Braking = high glow

Of course, not many cars will be able to use this, whether the scripters can or not, simply because they have run out of prims :)) ... unless its a mega-lag high prim attachment vehicle (which everyone HATES at the tracks as they kill the sim).

However, included in our 32 prim maximum (real SL vehicle allocation) highly detailed Carrera GT, we have 2 glowing tail-lights. Oh and BTW ... we have 4 glowing headlamps too !!! The headlamps glow as soon as you enter drive-mode.

Click on pic for a closer view

Carrera GT Close to Completion

The Carrera GT is now very close to completion.

Watch this site for a release notification!


We were waiting for the roll-out of Havok 4 as driving scripts have been optimized that. Havok 4 was rolled out to SL grid last weekend.

In the meantime, we've added Intelli-Drive code to assist driving. This adds some neat features lacking in most if not all other vehicles, including but not limited to adaptive steering strength depending on current vehicle status, and flat track mode to cut down on airtime on busy flat racetracks.

See included pic at our test-sim ( don't worry - you won't be forced to have these colors :), we'll have a few standard colors available ).

If you've ever driven a classy car like this in SL you'll have experienced what I have in testing. Every time I test AV's are jumping in the car with me. While I don't normally have an issue, there have been some troublemakers (ie. read jealous car owners) jumping in and making life unpleasant. So I added an eject option to eject the passenger on demand, and also a ban option to ban a AV re-entering ... must be the first car with a built-in ban system :) ... but it needs it ... EVERYONE wants to ride with.

Some other fun / realistic options you won't find in many SL vehicles include:

• Genuine custom Carrera GT recorded sounds ... none of those internet sounds everyone has
• Tyres even squeal on gear-change!
• Everything opens .. .doors, bonnet, engine hood
• Working aero-wing ... raises and lowers at speed
• Realistic wheel rotation on steering ... the front wheels don't look silly when you turn and they adapt to speed
• Working steering wheel turns with direction changes ... it just sucks that others don't have this
• Drive lights ... when driving, headlights and taillights light up (look fantastic at night!) ..see photo below
  
• Working drive / brake-lights ... pressing brake key activates the brake lights
• Custom driving and passenger animations
• Burn option .... hear the tyres scream amid smoke as you burn some rubber!

We're working on the HUD to show speed as well as engine RPM.

pic of driving lights at night ... braking really lights it up :)

ZA Motors new SL Shop Under Construction

Our new permanent HQ Store is at the awesome and realistic Visiwa estate - Click here for a store LM.

Look to highly realistic displays of our first SL sportscar / motorcar - the much sought after Carrera GT.

This highly detailed sculpted vehicle will weigh in at under the 31 allowable prims for a true SL vehicle !!! That's with it's high level of detail including a full 3D sculpted interior and detailed 3D modelled V10 motor, even down to rear suspension coils! Doors will open, bonnet and engine cover will open, and aero-fin will raise and lower at speed or on request.

Genuine recorded Carrera GT sounds will be included, as will a driving HUD.

At the moment we are working hard to get the SL physics as accurate as we can for this classy vehicle, and preparing it to release soon after Havok 4 hits the grid.

This is by far the ultimate Second Life sports-car, and will be the envy of all.

Apart from the showing of a few new Carrera GT's in various colors, displays will include a partly constructed Carrera GT going through its final stages. Users will be able to run a Dyno-test on the motor, as well as do a quick oil and visual inspection underneath the vehicle by using the mechanics creeper. This display is mostly completed.


Click here to view ZA Motors Ltd in-world @ Visiwa