DannyMackey

March 4, 2022

After V4 was released in September 2012, nearly a decade ago, we are excited to announce we are working on and will be releasing a brand new version of monster trucks to Sim-Monsters, SMV5.

There are many aspects to what to expect, how we got here, and what will change because of V5 and this post will go over some of these points.

We will be using this topic to discuss and update the progress of V5.

What have we been using until now?
Since September 2012, we have been using what is known as SMV4. Originally released with over 100 trucks, it has grown with the collective creative ability of this community into the content being released today. Over 1500 trucks and packs have been uploaded to the website since the release of SMV4. However, the issue with these trucks stems all the way back to the first monster trucks made for Rigs of Rods.

Even before SMV4 was released, the same underlying node/beam has served as a structure for each version of the trucks. Dating back to 2010, the original node/beam, built by Box5Diesel from the Rigs of Rods community, has had issues and flaws that hold the trucks back from being more realistic. The most glaring issues is the scale and proportions of the trucks and their handling.

Due to limitations in knowledge and a lack of resources, the trucks have remained roughly 11% oversized. The proportions of the truck are also an issue as the chassis and axles are far larger than they should be, but the wheels are close to an accurate size. This impacts how the trucks handle and also forces them to behave in an unrealistic manner.

The weight is nearly double the actual weight of a monster truck and the engine creates so much power that the trucks can clear any stadium floor in half the effort of a real truck. Compounded with ridiculous crashes and bounces due to the extra mass and inertia, you have monster trucks that are an exaggerated version of their real life counterparts.

What could be done to fix this?
Over the years, attempts have been made to improve the physics of SMV4, but all have failed either to catch on or fix the core underlying issues. New engine and suspension settings have pushed innovation further, but the issues stemming from the node/beam have left these fixes as band-aids to a larger wound. The best way to fix this issue is to start from scratch.

This was first attempted with the NAMT Truck Settings. Using a node/beam built off of the original Box5Diesel design with needed improvements, more accurate weights, and new engine and suspension settings. However, yet again these trucks too would not catch on. The most notable reasons include the suspension settings that were poor to drive with and the weight and engine settings combining to make the trucks feel more akin to RC trucks changing direction midair from rapid steering. Adding to that, the scale and proportions of the truck remained as inaccurate as they were with SMV4, also impacting the handling of the trucks.

Since the release of the NAMT Truck Settings, the goal for the next attempt was to solve all the issues with SMV4 and the NAMT Truck Settings. With anything less than meeting these goals to be considered another failure.

What is SMV5?
As implied by the name, SMV5 is the successor to SMV4. Starting development in January 2021, the node/beam and physics settings have been carefully crafted and tuned to create the most realistic monster truck experience available.

The first point of concern was dealing with the scaling and proportions. This time, a correctly scaled CRD chassis model was able to be used and for the first time, the node/beam was made to fit the actual dimensions of a monster truck. From there, months went into updating, changing, and refining the node/beam and physics until a stable, realistic monster truck was found. In that time, a collection of new, high quality models were produced to make SMV5 not only the most accurately handling monster truck, but the best looking one as well.

From here, the team of content creators brought in to work on SMV5 crafted new bodies and replica paints to build the first release of SMV5.

How will SMV5 be released?
SMV5 will be released across a number of smaller releases and updates across the next year. The purpose of breaking SMV5 across multiple reasons is two fold. We want you all to get to have SMV5 now, but we also want to take the time to continue crafting the most realistic monster trucks we can.

The first release will consist of ~20 CRD monster trucks. This release is just the beginning with more CRD trucks planned in a later update along with more chassis variants in future updates. Over the next year we will continue this process of releasing new chassis along with trucks to go with them. We will also continue to improve bodies and other props which may lead to updates of already released trucks/parts in SMV5.

During this time we will slowly allow members of the community to contribute and create their own trucks for SMV5, just how it works with SMV4. However, as we intend on putting the most effort possible in creating these new chassis for SMV5, we will not be allowing others to upload their own attempts at these trucks until we release our own. I understand some may balk at this idea as it goes against how SMV4 has worked where anyone at any time can upload their truck for download to Sim-Monsters.

I want to make this absolutely clear, we are committed to producing these trucks to the best of our ability in a reasonable time frame. This is not a project I plan or want to drag out any longer than is absolutely needed.

When will SMV5 be complete?

With the plan to release updates for new chassis types and trucks for SMV5 over the next year or so, we plan on providing the majority of chassis running across multiple teams in the industry currently. Once we have released enough chassis variants to cover most running trucks, we will consider SMV5 to be complete. After this time we may add more one-off chassis designs and new trucks, but we would expect the community to continue their work building and releasing trucks of their own.

Our goal is to provide enough chassis variants that SMV5 can replace SMV4.

What does this mean for SMV4?
A result of SMV5 being released through a series of smaller updates is that SMV5 won’t be in a “completed” state for nearly a year after it is first released. This leads to what happens with SMV4.

As the site transitioned between versions of the trucks in the past, it has been the case that old versions of the trucks were removed to make way for the new ones. This will be no different with SMV4.

In short, we will remove SMV4 content from the website once SMV5 reaches a “completed” state. This will be a bit different compared to when the site transitioned from SMV3 to SMV4 obviously. SMV4 has lasted almost a decade and is responsible for more trucks that have been uploaded to Sim-Monsters than all the previous versions combined most likely. However we do intend on moving forward, and the best way to move forward is to commit to SMV5.

What does this mean for leagues?
Until SMV4 is removed from the website, leagues may choose to host their events using SMV4 or SMV5. Obviously more SMV4 trucks are available, which may sway the decision for the time being. We will not be forcing any leagues to switch to SMV5 so long as SMV4 is on the website.

However, once SMV4 is removed from the website, all leagues must make the switch to SMV5. Exceptions can be made for leagues that are mid-season when SMV4 is removed.

Furthermore, a more defined site wide ruleset for SMV5 truck use in leagues will be produced to create a level playing field for everyone competing on the website. Leagues will have to adopt these rule changes and more details for this and anti-cheat changes will be coming soon.

What does this mean for tracks?

Track making on Sim-Monsters has progressed tremendously from the heyday of concrete and SketchUp tracks. One of these changes has been using actual measurements when creating venue models rather than relying on the number of truck lengths that might fit to determine the dimensions of a venue.

As venues and tracks have been made in the past to fit the scale of the trucks being driven on them, you may notice that some older tracks will feel larger with SMV5. This is one of the unintentional side effects of making these trucks to an accurate size. Going forward, venues should be made with a focus on measurements over eye-balling estimates based on truck size whenever possible. However, we will still be sure to provide a reference truck model that can be used to build tracks with.

Also, while I plan on updating the Testmobile vehicles, in the meantime, track makers should scale their Testmobile vehicles by 90% to work better with SMV5.

TLDR:

V5 is happening.
The trucks are made to scale with a new node/beam, accurate handling, and new high quality models and textures
We will be releasing V5 across multiple smaller updates with new chassis and trucks being included in each update.
Props, textures, and possibly handling may change across updates.
V4 will be removed from Sim-Monsters once V5 is fully released
All leagues must migrate to V5 once V5 is fully released.

For now here is the first trailer we released and some screenshots of the truck in-game:

We will continue to update this thread with news and teasers about V5.

December 21, 2021

Welcome to the first ever Sim-Monsters Fantasy Monster Jam League. This is a fantasy sports league for the upcoming first quarter of Monster Jam in 2022. Similar to other fantasy sports leagues for football or baseball, we will have people draft a team of drivers and the points their drivers earn will go towards each person’s season total. Everyone can add, drop, or trade drivers to improve their team throughout the season. Whoever earns the most points after the season ends will be crowned champion.

SIGN-UPS OPEN SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26TH @ 7:00 PM EST / 6:00 PM CST

MINIMUM 12 SPOTS / MAXIMUM 24 SPOTS

FIRST COME FIRST SERVE

DRAFT NIGHT IS SUNDAY, JANUARY 2ND @ 7:00 PM EST / 6:00 PM CST

Sign-Up Format:

Username or Name:

Team Name (Optional):

Rule Book: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1prMD0ZpwZBWHL_WfmnVKm9gzI5QyVL8EOW--pR9T-qk/edit?usp=sharing

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Posts posted by DannyMackey