4D Sports Driving Car Editor / CarEdit3

4D Sports Driving Car Editor (also named CarEdit3) is a graphical DOS program written in the Pascal programming language with the purpose of editing 4D Sports Driving / Stunts CAR*.RES files.

Overview

The program allows the modification of car parameters (original and almost every custom car added to the game) separated into feature sections:

• Garage:
  • List cars for handling RES files;
  • Copy, rename or delete entire cars in a convenient way;
  • Spare car management (using a configurable separate folder).

• Engine:
  • Advanced power curve editing (single values or entire ranges);
  • Adjust idle RPM, max RPM and gear shift RPM values.

• Gears:
  • Number of gears and their ratios with equalizer function;
  • RPM/velocity diagram with shifting scenarios;
  • Dashboard gear console pattern coordinates.

• Misc:
  • Car dimensions and collision parameters;
  • Wheel coordinates with 3D shape coordinate calculation.

• Text:
  • Automatic correction of length/offsets in RES files on save.

• GFX:
  • Change movable dashboard elements on speedometer (analog/digital);
  • Speedometer, Rev counter and wheel position coordinates.

Development and features

This tiny program was developed by dm_s1e6 and initially published on the Stunts Forum in 2014. Version 3 was the first to be released, although it was stated that this was still a "beta" version.

An older version of the program called CarEdit2 was created in the late 90s but was never published.

CarEdit3 offers a simple way of editing car parameters that is superior to Car Blaster but retains the use of the keyboard for input control. It is characterized by intense flickering caused by a lack of optimization in the rendering routine. This is most noticeable while editing the power curve.

The program was later updated and released in 2021 by Zapper with permission from dm_s1e6 who shared the program's source code for adding refinements and features.

Version 3.2 changes:

• Information that helps with the modification of parameters;
• More graphical elements displayed;
• Spare car management that supports all car file name formats.

In 2023 Duplode contributes with new enhancements on RES file loading and saving operations.

Version 3.3 changes:

• Read the CAR*.RES file resources in any order, for compatibility with different editors.

In 2024 Zapper developed some improvements on Garage spare car management allowing large amount of cars released so far by the community. It also include custom needle color mod car parameter that were previously implemented in game by the community (Stunts 1.1 Mod 1.0). A new 256 color video mode was added to support this type of parameter edit.

Version 3.3.1 changes:

• Bug fixing on GFX screen, namely on Rev Meter edit coordinate Y values.

Version 3.4 changes:

• Improvements in Garage screen navigation for car list and spare car list up to 512 paged entries and with folder and subfolder support;
• More side information to help modification on Gears screen, parameter validations and added custom mod parameters (custom color needles) in Misc screen;
• New Configuration screen for changing program settings for car and spare cars path and video driver mode.

Version 3.4.1 changes:

• Minor improvement to the Misc screen, focused on editing the wheel coordinate value as a signed negative value (using two's complement) via the Enter key or alternatively as a signed relative value CAR1 (using 1:64 negative conversion) via the Insert key.

Version 3.4.2 changes:

• Minor improvement to the Misc screen that avoids the change of wheel coordinates even if user choose to cancel in "Edit CAR1 value" dialog.

Gallery

V3.1:

V3.2:

V3.3:

V3.4:

V3.4.1:

External links

Stunts Forum - And yet another (DOS-based) Car Editor