COKER'S 3D VIEWER
Get the latest Viewer Patches Here! - Last added 4/12/04
Get the most recent Silks Updates Here!


Viewer Features
Computer Requirements
Installation
Download
Starting the Viewer
Entering the Race Number
Accepting the Race Card
Racing
Result Screen

Trouble Shooting
Screen Shots
What's Next?
Credits

Features
The following features can be found in the 3D Viewer:

  • This viewer is an online viewer and requires the user to be connected to the internet before you start the viewer.
  • The running styles are very similar to the official online viewer - it has 8 changes of pace, with every 2nd split putting the horse in the same place as the official viewer.
  • The official colour of the horse used - your horse will always be the same as per the colour assigned by the Sim (brown (bay), brown (chestnut), black, light grey, dark grey).
  • The viewer uses 3D horses and jockeys with a number of viewing options (camera views).
  • You can key on any horse to view that horse or the "leader" and you can also select jockey cam for a different viewing perspective.
  • The maximum number of horses per race is 20.
  • The viewer supports custom silks - see below
  • If you want to see the horse speeds you will need to download the raceout file from the downloads section of the horse racing site. The naming of this file has changed from raceout.zip to "week.txt" such as 1901.txt. This allows for you to keep multiple raceout files together and is in line with the Sim's naming convention.
  • Horse run around an 8F oval track with different surfaces and sky's

    • Computer Requirements
    IMPORTANT The following are the minimum specifications required for the viewer to have some chance of working.

  • You should have a 'pure' 3D Graphics card, standard cards with built in support are unlikely to work properly - One built on the nVidia chipset is recommended such as the GForce brands or ATI Radeons. 32 + Meg cards is recommended.
  • Also make sure you have the most up to date drivers for your card. http://www.guru3d.com/ is a good site for video drivers.
  • You must have Microsoft DirectX 9.1 or later installed on your computer. This is free and can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web Site.
  • You must have an internet connection to download the race details.
  • Minimum screen resolution of 800 x 600 although some text may not be displayed at this resolution. The viewer was designed to operate at 1024 x 768 resolution and this is the recommended viewing resolution.

    • Installation Requirements
    I have tried to package the viewer up so it will install easily with very little user input. To install the viewer:

  • download the zip file from the downloads section below
  • unzip the file leaving you with a file called install.exe
  • double click to run the file and follow the prompts

    The install prompt gives you two options:

  • The first is the required game files and cannot be unchecked (you must install these files)
  • The second is installing shortcuts and uninstaller to the start menu (recommended)

    That's it goodluck!

    • Download Coker3D
    Download the Coker3D Viewer here Version 2.0 (includes custom silks up to 20/7/04 inclusive) The file is about 12.6 MB.

    Oval Track Patch - 20/7/04

    If you already have previous versions of the 3D Viewer then all you need is the latest patch. This patch covers the following:
  • installs a new oval track instead of one long straight
  • increase from 4 to 8 speed changes
  • new finish post, markers, quarter poles
  • new sky scenery
  • new information displayed at the top of the screen including top 3 runners and LB for the selected horse
  • other minor code fixes
  • improved collission routines to reduce the number of times a horse runs over another one (instead of going around)
  • fixed the #18 texture which was displayed backwards
  • introduced zoom out functionality in jockey cam mode to give 'Chase Cam'
  • added error trapping code - the viewer no longer quits when you enter a wrong race code

    To install, simply unzip this file (2.67 MB) and run '3dViewerPatch.exe' to apply the patch.

    NOTE: If you have trouble running the viewer after the patch BUT had the previous version working just fine then try downloading this file (911kb) to install a patch based on an older version of the 3D engine!

    • RODOTS Patch - 4/12/04

    A new Race Number searching routine has been added to accommodate RODOTS (and the viewer may now also work with really old raceout files with less than 15 races/track as well) The patch contains the following changes:

  • installs a new coker3d.exe file with a different race search formula to allow viewing of weekday races.
  • changes a few of the splash / loading screens

    To install, simply unzip this file (433kb) and run 'coker3d091_patch.exe' to apply the patch.

    NOTE: If you are using the older card/engine patch then you must download this file this file (433kb) and run 'coker3d090_patch.exe' to apply the patch!

    • Custom Silks
    Download the trainers customised silks here: Custom Silks - includes all silks up to 20 Jul 2004 inclusive The file is about 6 MB.
    Download only the latest batch of trainers customised silks here: Custom Silks Update - if you had all the previous updates then you only need this file and the next file. Silks added from 20 Jul 04 to 14 Aug 04 (1.7 MB)
    Download the next batch of trainers customised silks here: Custom Silks Update - if you had all the updates up to Aug 04 then you only need this file.Silks added from 14 Aug 04 to 30 Oct 04 (2.5 MB)
    Download the long overdue batch of trainers customised silks here: Custom Silks Update - if you had all the updates up to Oct 04 then you only need this file.Silks added from 30 Oct 04 to 1 Oct 05 (2.2 MB)

    Starting the Viewer

    Make sure you are connected to the internet! and have downloaded the raceout file if you want to display the horse speeds When you first start the viewer you will receive two message box prompts. The first asks if you want to run the program in full screen mode (recommended). If you choose 'NO' then the viewer will run in a window 800x600. You are limited to what you can do to the window as the engine does not fully support this mode. It can be moved but not minimized or maximized. The advantage of using window mode is you can alt tab to another application such as excel or internet explorer to view your race entries. The viewer will continue in the background and only receives the focus again when you minimize the other applications. Full screen mode is more stable and provides better viewing. This is the preferred option of the 3d engine.

    The second message box will allow you to select your video card and if you select full screen mode you will select the screen resolution (1024x768x16 recommended).

    From here the viewer will load a title screen and you can 'enter' or click to be taken to the input screen to enter the race details.

    Entering the Race Number

  • First ensure you are connected to the internet.
  • The viewer can be used to view any race that is supported by the official online viewer.
  • The race number can be entered by clicking on the buttons of the viewer control or by typing the number using either the main keyboard or number pad keys.
  • The race format is the same as the official viewer and must include the week and the track / race. An example for Race 1 at Track 1 (California) for week number 1901 would be: 1901.0101
  • If you enter an unrecognised race number the viewer will give an error message and allow you to select 'New' to enter another race or 'Quit' to end the program.

    • Accepting the Race Card
    If you are connected to the internet and have entered the race number correctly the viewer will attempt to contact the Sim Site and download the pertinent race details. If it is successful the race card will be displayed on the screen and the "Post" call will sound. If you want to see the horse speeds after the race then you will also need to download the raceout file before running the viewer. The naming of the raceout file is now the same as the format provided at the Sim Site "week.txt" such as 1901.txt. This will allow you to keep multiple raceouts in the viewer folder for viewing different weeks. The font colour in screnshot differs from the current version! From here you can do the following:

  • Press return or click 'accept' to accept the race card and proceed to view the race.
  • Press backspace or click 'New' if the you entered the wrong race and want to view another race. You will be returned to the Input Screen.
  • Press escape or click 'Quit' to exit the program.

    • Racing
    If you accept the race card you will be sent to the race track. From here you can do the following (see the screenshot below for reference):

      Top Row
  • View Leader: The first button on this row 'Leader' is used to view the current leader.cam'.
  • Zoom: The second two buttons allow you to zoom in or zoom out during racing. This is quite slow as you need to click several times to zom right out. A faster method is to use the up arrow and down arrow to zoom.
  • Results: If you don't want to wait for the race to finish you can go directly to the results page by clicking this button.
  • Quit: You can exit from the viewer by pressing escape or clicking this button.

      Second Row
  • Camera View: The first button (a camera) is only used to identify that this row of buttons are used to move the viewing mode to 'normal view'. After this will be various numbered buttons from 1 to 20 depending on the size of the field. By clicking these buttons before or during the race the viewer will show a side-on view of the horse with that number.

      Third Row C
  • Jockey Cam: The first button (a jockey) is only used to identify that this row of buttons are used to move the viewing mode to 'jockey cam'. After this will be various numbered buttons from 1 to 20 depending on the size of the field. By clicking these buttons before or during the race the viewer will show a forward facing view as if you were the jockey. If you zoom back while in this mode you will be placed behind the horse in 'chase cam' mode - try it.

    • The Results
    If you click 'Results' during a race or wait for the race to finish you will be taken to the results screen where the race results will be displayed. If you have a raceout file for that week the race speeds will also be displayed otherwise you will see 'No Speed Data' in this field. From the results screen you can: The font colour in the screenshot differs from the current version.

  • Press backspace or click 'New' to return to the Input Screen and enter another race to view.
  • Press escape or 'Quit' to exit the program.

    • Trouble Shooting
    There is an error when the program tries to run - Initialise error or ActiveX error.

    Ensure you have DirectX 9.1 or later installed and the latest video drivers. Ensure the Revolution3D Engine DLL is registered.

    One of the horse is all green and the jockey all black - and its always the horse that wins!

    The engine is a beta engine and is not loading the textures correctly - try new video drivers.

    The program exits without explanation.

    On rare occasions the program will exit when you accept a race card. This is still an unresolved issue but restarting the program allows you to continue viewing races. If the viewer quits after each race then a reboot may be required.

    I can select a video adapter but the box for resolution is blank

    This was encountered during beta testing and fixed by downloading up to date video drivers for your card that supported directx 9.

    My horse never wins!

    Breed a faster horse.

    Screen Shots
    A couple of in game screen shots are listed below, but may differ from the final version.

    one
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    three
    four

    What is Next?
    Now that the viewer is truly 3D and moving around an oval track future development will concentrate on:

  • Additional 3D models and better textures
  • Additional animation sequences - walking, various whipping techniques
  • Customised horses - add socks, blinkers etc

    • Credits

    Thank you to Mike for the wonderful game he has chosen to share with us.

    Also to my beta testers and to all of you who choose to use this viewer - it is your demand that drives us to produce these add-ons for Simulated Sports Horse Racing.

    Also a big thank you for Simon, the developer of the free 3D Graphics Engine "Revolution3D" without which none of these viewers would be possible. This engine allows hobby coders like myself the ability to develop packages without delving in to the bowels of direct X programming.