Box Box Box - Sim Racing Players Club [Now Hype Train Enabled!]

[bcredeur97]

The other night, I witnessed THE WORST start yet in a PCars online race. I wish I had been recording or saved the replay, but I had to quit the race early.

It was a GT3 race at Road America and here's what went down:

Qualified 5th out of a field of 14 players (only had time for about 2 hot laps and both were not great). Anyways, I'm sitting on the starting grid waiting for everyone to sync up. The lights come up, everyone starts revving. I guess someone either didn't have their foot on the clutch and had the car in gear (or just decided to be an ass) because from somewhere near the back of the grid comes this guy who's jumped the start and clearly doesn't give a you-know-what. Smash, smash, smash, he plows through one car after another, collecting them on the front of his car like a bulldozer in a landfill. Among the chaos, several other drivers decide to jump the start to avoid being pushed aside while the rest of us wait for the green, which only resulted in more collisions/confusion.

By the time the green dropped, the track in front and all around me looks like a war zone. Cars everywhere, spinning their tires, smashing into one another, even upside down. Somehow I squeezed through with only a few scratches. Tried to continue on with the race, but was laughing too much and kept making mistakes.

I would of just put in caps in the chat: "FORGET THE RACE, DEMO DERBY TIME!"

[MEC-777]

I would of just put in caps in the chat: "FORGET THE RACE, DEMO DERBY TIME!"

 

That's pretty much what it turned into.

[chaozbandit]

So reading week turned out to be a shamble as the Rogers line at my Toronto home decided to cut out leaving me without internet since Friday. Thankfully for the next few days, I'm back at the office in Waterloo and can get down to business. ^^ Two of my three packages arrived, and so I'll probably be working on these between study breaks.

 

(TrackIR5 for head tracking, Leo Bodnar SLI-Pro (shift light indicator) for more telemetry display with use of FanaLED)

 

 

But for now, a nap then time to hit the books. One of many reasons I love living in this student oriented city is the food... $10 gets you this.

 

 

Back to gaming news though... Assetto Corsa discretely released patch v1.3.2 which addressed a few things...

 

V1.3.2 hotfix Patch:

• Graphical fixes for Ferrari F40 (s3), BMW M4 and Akrapovic, Zonda R
• Corrected SCG003 Fuel consumption
• Fixed Dual Core CPU crashing due to non properly initialized threading using “Timer Process”
• Fixed replay framerate wrong multiple of physic engine rate producing wrong speeds in replays
• Fixed user force feedback capping the value to 100% on load
• Fixed volume balance (exterior) for some cars
• DX10.1 fixes are not also active for the ksEditor
• Possible fix for colored spectators using new camera facing rendering
• Performance improvement for camera facing spectators when reflections are active Fixed L
• Lotus 98T AI tyre strategy (choosing qualify tyres even for tracks that are too long for those)
• Added DRS zones to Nordschleife
• Improved AI lines at Nordschleife 
• Slight improvement in AI race craft
• Changed Led on Huracan GT3
• Fixed DLC2 cars lap limit on quick races
• replaced Lamborghini Logos

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS LINE:

• Fixed replay framerate wrong multiple of physic engine rate producing wrong speeds in replays

SEE, I TOLD Y'ALL I'M NOT CRAZY.

[brownninja97]

 

finally getting around to fixing the f zero blue falcon mod for assetto corsa. this is with the turbo at 30%, putting it at 100% is pure insanity

[chaozbandit]

 

finally getting around to fixing the f zero blue falcon mod for assetto corsa. this is with the turbo at 30%, putting it at 100% is pure insanity

 

I drove that thing for all of 10 minutes before deleting it from my mods folder haha. Not a car I'd take out given any other choice, but was fun while it lasted. The cockpit leaves you wanting more though.

[brownninja97]

I drove that thing for all of 10 minutes before deleting it from my mods folder haha. Not a car I'd take out given any other choice, but was fun while it lasted. The cockpit leaves you wanting more though.

the guy that made the shelby cobra did this model

 

the bad model is part of the nostalgia. To remember when AG racers ruled and polygons could be counted with your naked eyes. 

 

It got noticed way more then i was expecting. many reviews for AC mention the f zero blue falcon. 

[chaozbandit]

So this is happening right now.

 

[bcredeur97]

I just beat a youtuber on pCars apparently....

 

His channel is mostly drifting stuff though, so I give him that. I can't drift very well (in a game at least)

 

 

(he's the highlighted one, here is his channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/broburga/featured )

[ScarisRacer]

Here's some driving I did on Assetto Corsa today (look, I did a thing )

 

Also, I did a sound comparison with a Pagani Huayra in a couple of other racing games (look, I did another thing )

[MEC-777]

So this is happening right now.

 

 

Lol, you weren't kidding when you said "my desk looks like a Christmas tree" last night.

[chaozbandit]

Lol, you weren't kidding when you said "my desk looks like a Christmas tree" last night.

 

Haha yeah, thats only 40% brightness too. With the pit lane speed limiter activated, the entire top row flashes once per second. Testing two pieces of software (both can make use of the LEDs on the G27): the first allows you to customize what every LED is bound to (in terms of data from shared memory) and can adjust brightness but only sweeps from left to right, the second allows you to change sweep pattern but nothing else. Unfortunately you can't mix the two

 

 

I basically bought a really expensive desk clock. It's still really cool though, imho.

 

[chaozbandit]

While I wait for rush hour traffic to die down so I can make it 160km without wanting to turn things into a derby, let's check out the rumour mill! With the recent 5.0 patch for PCars.... well, some stuff leaked out.

 

Namely the upcoming TS040 (the first to claim nearly 1,000hp in a LMP1 chassis)

 

 

And the GT86, which we all pretty much knew about already.

 

 

BUT OH MAN, ROCKET BUNNY EDITION. WOOOOOOOOOOO. (rated as a GT4 car, and sounding very turbocharged)

[bcredeur97]

so um what was the treadwear warranty exactly? 

 

 

 

My PC would die, but I want more smoke

[chaozbandit]

I wish my FX8350 could handle this kind of load LOL

 

 

Currently editing videoooooos.

[chaozbandit]

The following are two of the many items on any sim-racers list of "wants" and the first I decided to splurge on when it came to finally upgrading my rig (if you don't count upgrading from a Logitech Momo wheel to the G27). I have had <24 hours with each thus far, so bear with me as I give you a quick run through (to the best of my ability) of my thoughts.

 

Full disclosure: The following wanted me to cover so badly that they provided all the info on their websites for the general public, then made me pay full price (where applicable) plus shipping, handling, and customs. Joking aside, I am not sponsored by any nor have I been in contact with the, (other than sales invoices, obviously) and any monetary exchanges are made with my consent and under good state of mind.

 

Leo Bodnar's SLI-Pro Module

 

 

As you can imagine, SLIs (Shift Light Indicators) come in any myriad of configurations, sizes, and price points. Notable manufacturers include SIMDisplay (F1, DLX, GT), Pro-Race / SR Hardware, EKSIMRacing SLI Max and of course Leo Bodnar’s SLI lineup (Pro, Mini, F1), just to name a few. That’s not to say that these are your only options; you could as easily solder your own control boards, LEDs, and displays if you had the skill as an alternative to pre-built solutions. Conversely, you could also source automotive grade digital gauges, or find your favourite guage cluster from a road car, and hack it with say, an Arduino, if you really wanted to. All the hardware is there, it’s just down to finding a package that suits your needs and then pairing it with the best software (more on that later).

 

Note: while these are purpose built solutions, nothing is stopping you from simply re-purposing a tablet and acquiring a third-party piece of software that reads in-game data in a similar way, whether it be direct-connection or from the cloud. More often than not, the “licenses” for these applications are quite expensive, and the lower cost options tend to lack features. I will most likely be covering this sub-market in a later post, so stay tuned for that.

 

Onto the SLI-Pro itself. The main reasons I chose this route was that I felt it had the best packaging for the LEDs and display, and taking into account the pricing of all competing solutions, deemed this the best for “future-proofing.” Ontop of the default setup, LB also has provisions for extra hardware add-ons that you can either solder or get custom cables for; be it extra LEDs or hats, rotary encoders and switches that you can use to flip through different data pages and profiles. As for mounting solutions, LB does have a bespoke aluminum enclosure available but you could also fab up your own solutions; alternatively, you could source a custom-cut mount that attaches to your wheel rim, or if you’re balling and use Fanatec hardware, to your wheel base (the cardboard setup I have above is temporary as my mount is being manufactured at the time of writing).

 

 

Apart from the top row of LEDs (4x green, 5x red, 4x blue) you can also program each of the six bottom LEDs as well as two of the four central panels (outlined in orange and red). As you can see, the SLI-Pro also has provisions for extra LEDs with terminals soldered in already. Below is just a sample of the pre-programmed functions that the module can read from shared memory:

 

LEDs - Blue (LR), Orange (L), Red (LR), Green ®

None, ABS (virtual / rumble), Cruise control, DRS, Flags (Black, Blue, Finish, Five-to-go, Green, One-to-green, Red, Ten-to-go, White, Yellow), Handbrake, Headlights (low-beam, high-beam), KERS (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%), Pit-limiter, Ready-set-go (GO, READY, SET), Revleds (11%, 22%, 33%, 44%, 55%, 66%, 77%, 88%, 100%), Signal (Left, Right), Stalled, Upshift, Warning (ABS, Battery, Damage, Engine, Fuel low, Oil, Traction-control)

 

Displays (L)

None, Sector, Brake temperature (FL, FR, RL, RR), Engine temperature, Fuel %, Fuel % (no zeros), Fuel Pressure, KERS max, KERS remaining, Oil Pressure, Oil temperature, Position, Position (no zeros), Speed, Speed (no zeros), Total cars, Total Laps, Turbo (boost), Tyre pressure (FL, FR, RL, RR), Tyre temperature (FL, FR, RL, RR), Water pressure, Water temperature, Laps, Laps (no zeros), RPM, RPM (no zeroes), Fuel #, Fuel # (no zeros), Fuel max, Delta to best, Delta to optimal, Delta to session best, Delta to session optimal, Laptime, Laptime best, Laptime last, Sector time

 

Now the fun part: software! There are two main proponents for the LB SLI ecosystem, and any compatibility with other previously mentioned combinations is unconfirmed on my part, so you’ll have to do your own research on that. Before we set off: the following software WILL also make use of your Logitech G27 and give you some extra functionality by activating those LEDs.

 

SimSLI

 

Fairly limited in scope when it comes to hardware and in-game compatibility, but more than enough to get you started as they cover nearly everything “hot” right now. Compared to the next piece of software, it pales in terms of how easy it is to customize each component but if all you wish to do is get the shift lights working and aren’t nit-picky about the data displays, this is the quickest way to do so.

 

 

Do note that when out of games (at the desktop), the device will act as a desk clock and output the system time on the left display (provided you have the software working in the background).

 

Supported devices: Leo Bodnar (SLI-PRO, SLI-F1, SLI-M), SymProjects (Pro-Race, SPI-D, DLC-247), Siminstruments Dash, Logitech G27, SteelSeries SRW-S1

Supported games: Assetto Corsa, Gtr2, iRacing, Project CARS, Race 07 (all derivations), rFactor, rFactor 2

 

You can download the latest version of SimSLI (v0.9) here 

 

Fanaleds

 

Hands down the most recommended piece of software that is always being updated with support for the latest titles. Going beyond just SLIs, the devs have also added functionality for those with hardware (pedals) that come equipped with items such as load-cells or digital potentiometers and vibrating motors (ergo most of Fanatec’s stuff). When loaded, the SLI-PRO will go through a splash screen (LED sweep) and display the logo as shown in the previous image above, but afterwards it’s all digitally controlled.

 

 

White it does appear quite intimidating at first, it’s actually really easy to adjust to your liking. The GUI is click-based and all highlighted lines are what the unit will display (flash) if applicable to the game (full list of data is provided above in the overview). Sections you can’t change are the top row of shift LEDs (you can change sweep pattern, however), the gear indicator, and the lap time display (right). Data outputted to the left display is interchangeable between the two halves; anything is game for the bottom LEDs, though.

 

Last thing of note is that you can set up profiles for pre-set display combos, which you can then switch between in soft-are or with add-ons like rotary (hat) switches.

 

 

Bonus feature: like SIM SLI, Fanaleds will also turn your device into a really expensive desk clock, for if you don’t attach it to your wheel; keeps system time on the left but adds date (DD-MMM) on the right.

 

You can download the latest version of Fanaleds (v2.3f) here 

 

(placeholder for supported games)

 

 

NaturalPoint TrackIR v5

 

In Layman’s terms: the 2D VR experience.

 

Relatively simple packaging for this one: just a clamshell, some paper covers, and all your hardware. Included is the monitor mount, the infrared camera itself, a clip (for hat users), and the track clip pro that attaches to any headset and has a lengthy USB cable with pass-through for the camera itself.

 

 

My experience with it so far is overly positive; while it does take some time to adjust to the physical movement of one’s head, the integration is pretty seamless with applicable games. Currently preferring the Smooth preset profile, though still trying to find an ideal speed/smoothness setting for the tracking movement, but slowly getting more adjusted to using it. My only gripe with it thus far is the need for constant re-centering, as my setup doesn’t involve a fixed seating position and every session places me in a different spot in relation to the main sensor. Beyond that, as long as you don’t move too far from the head position, you won’t see too much clipping as you move around (i.e. sitting behind / looking too far past the boundary of view before you hit missing textures, drooping too low such that you see the driving suit).

 

Note: like the Oculus, you can freely (relatively) move around a vehicle while in-session with the TrackIR5, but it is limited because you need to be in constant view of the IR setup. Not that useful in reality, but it is neat for viewing your cockpit.

 

Above: without camera attached.

 

Will definitely need more time to get adjusted to using this setup before I do an actual video, so here’s a video of the AI driving but with me doing the head tracking.

 

 

I have planned at least 2 more installments for this kind of post by year's end, so hit follow if you haven't already.

[brownninja97]

Now that is pretty awesome. That ts040 sounds very disappointing, while ive not been a fan of the project cars sounds they have sounded similar to the real cars. this sounds nothing like the ts040. Hope they are placeholders been thats bad which is something i dont want because ill likely drive it alot because boooo audi boooo

[MEC-777]

-great wall of text-

 

Gonna have to bookmark this and come back to read it all when I have more time.

 

That being said, my initial thoughts about head-tracking in this type of setup are a bit mixed. Mainly because when I'm racing on a single monitor, I don't turn/move my head, I tend to move/look with my eyes instead. So when I enter a corner and look to the apex, it's with my eyes, not my head. What would also seem weird to me, is turning your head but keeping your eyes looking forward (at the monitor). It might just be a matter of getting used to it, though. I've never tried it, so I shouldn't knock it. That's just my two cents from an outside observer. 

 

Personally, I think I'd prefer surround displays where if I want to look to the side, I can turn my head and look to the side monitor. And oculus, of course. That would be the ultimate (I'm assuming, haven't tried that either). 

 

That SLI LED module, though. That is cool! The shift lights on the G27 are so... puny and dim, lol. I find myself glancing at the dash in the car on screen or just going by the engine sound most of the time. 

[chaozbandit]

Gonna have to bookmark this and come back to read it all when I have more time.

 

That being said, my initial thoughts about head-tracking in this type of setup are a bit mixed. Mainly because when I'm racing on a single monitor, I don't turn/move my head, I tend to move/look with my eyes instead. So when I enter a corner and look to the apex, it's with my eyes, not my head. What would also seem weird to me, is turning your head but keeping your eyes looking forward (at the monitor). It might just be a matter of getting used to it, though. I've never tried it, so I shouldn't knock it. That's just my two cents from an outside observer. 

 

Personally, I think I'd prefer surround displays where if I want to look to the side, I can turn my head and look to the side monitor. And oculus, of course. That would be the ultimate (I'm assuming, haven't tried that either). 

 

That SLI LED module, though. That is cool! The shift lights on the G27 are so... puny and dim, lol. I find myself glancing at the dash in the car on screen or just going by the engine sound most of the time. 

 

I wrote a wall of text? 3 Garage posts from last week combined are longer than my one! At least I had the decency to add pictures! Jokes

 

I can vouch for the movement, in this configuration, being a bit un-natural. For one, the track clip pro being mounted to the side of your head pretty much forces you to use a headset (thankfully I don't mind using my Beyerdynamic COPs) at all times, meaning you always have two (minimum 1) cables attached to you. Even with the 27" MG279Q and at 1440p, I find myself barely moving my head since a slight shift in eye focus is more than enough to spot apexes, with the slightest of movements being needed in some cases. I'm sure I'll adjust when I have more experience with it; like @bcredeur97 said, it takes a bit of time before you start realizing the situational awareness improvements.

 

^ Matt York (Yorkie065) has ~2 years of experience with his TrackIR system

 

I too would like a surround setup one day, with a Obutto R3volution like Linus has, but the amount of space that takes up just isn't justifiable at this point in time (for me, at least).

 

https://youtu.be/H97sUIS_tLM

 

Note: the SLI-Pro in this case is set up perpendicular to the Sony ActionCam; any glare you see in the middle of the frame is a result of the light bouncing off the top of the lens, which collects particles from the air as it sits a few inches away from the path of my case exhaust. Also, I apologize if that sound in the back annoys you; the H220 pump isn't the quietest of things, and I've bled the system twice now. Brightness settings are 50% for both M3 laps (pCars, AC respectively) and 100% in the Oreca. ATM its still uploading, should be processed on YTs end by 7PM EST.

 

And while I deal with terrible upload speeds in Toronto, just wanted to share a new piece of software I was trying out. Since I dont have Vegas on my portable workstation, I decided to jump on the Lightworks bandwagon to see what the hype is about. The verdict? I can definitely see why pro-film studios use this thing. While the free (yes, FREE) version lacks many of the export settings of the paid studio version ($200 annually or $400 outright, per activation), it's pretty damn good for what it is and hands down blows any other un-paid solution out of the water. Many of the same pro-editing features you'll find in Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere suites, in a (subjectively) better looking UI and wit more degrees in freedom with regard to how you setup your modules.

 

 

Do bear in mind, however, that these non-linear editing suites do take a bit of time to get used to, but once you do the workflow and quality is amazing. Thankfully, Lightworks has free online tutorials that are more than enough to get you going and covers the basics that anybody would require. IMHO, better to learn whatever gives you the most room to grow rather than having to learn something twice.

[chaozbandit]

Kunos seem to be rolling out these hot-fix patches pretty quickly... v1.3.3 is out as of October 17.

 

Proposed changelog

1.3.3

Fixed wrong timing in brake disc glow effect

Improved AI spline road sides at Spa

AI spline sides now accept CSV with both "," or " " as delimiters

Fixed tyre collision not using rims at super low tyre pressure

Added downshift protection parameters to drivetrain.ini to allow individual car tune up

Tuned up Nissan GTR GT3 downshift protection

Force Feedback frequency is now controlled using a more precise setting in assetto_corsa.ini (FF_SKIP_STEPS instead of the old MAX_FF_RATE_HZ)

Direct Input devices are not initialized with a BACKGROUND flag instead of FOREGROUND

Set audio channels to 128 instead of 64 in audio.ini

Added turbo boost information to shared memory

Fixed tyre vertical stiffness pressure dependency wrongly using ideal pressure instead of reference pressure

Fixed upshift audio sample not correctly triggered

Fixed Ruf RT12R limiter audio clicks

Minor EQ tweaks

Rebalanced heat distribution as function of camber

 

Official changelog

1.3.3

Fixed wrong timing in brake disc glow effect

Improved AI spline road sides at Spa

AI spline sides now accept CSV with both "," or " " as delimiters

Fixed tyre collision not using rims at super low tyre pressure

Added downshift protection parameters to drivetrain.ini to allow individual car tune up

Tuned up downshift protection (experimental) for the following cars

BMW Z4 GT3

Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT3

Glickenhaus SCG003

Lamborghini Huracan GT3

Nissan GT-R GT3

McLaren MP4 12C GT3

Mercedes SLS GT3

BMW M3 GT2

Ferrari 458 GT2

Corvette C7R

Force Feedback frequency is now controlled using a more precise setting in assetto_corsa.ini (FF_SKIP_STEPS instead of the old MAX_FF_RATE_HZ)

Direct Input devices are not initialized with a BACKGROUND flag instead of FOREGROUND

Set audio channels to 128 instead of 64 in audio.ini

Added turbo boost information to shared memory

Fixed tyre vertical stiffness pressure dependency wrongly using ideal pressure instead of reference pressure

Fixed upshift audio sample not correctly triggered

Fixed Ruf RT12R limiter audio clicks

Minor EQ tweaks

Rebalanced heat distribution as function of camber

Experimental heat/grip ratio for BMW M3 E30 Drift, BMW M3 E92 Drift, BMW Z4 Drift

Ford GT40 ui description added

Ford GT40 corrected setup screen with proper values

Ford GT40 adjustable engine limiter added

Audi Quattro dash texture bug fixed

Huracán GT3 light script fixed

Huracán GT3 LEDs fixed

Ford GT40 windscreen frame mesh bug fixed

BMW M4 tyre 3D model fixed

Nismo GTR glass transparency issue fixed

Nismo GTR digital instruments not being visible fixed

BMW M4 dash lights being inverted fixed

Audi R8 window transparency issue fixed

 

Still not entirely happy with the downshift protection in general. Glad to see they finally fixed the dash lights being inverted on the M4, though its on the RUFs as well. Lots of small things in this patch in general.

[bcredeur97]

Missed my league race today... Super busy

I'm not too bummed out though because I'm not the best at hockenheim lol

Got to a race a little bit tonight though. Random multiplayer server:

First race I was in a P1 and I was doing amazing, leading by 12 seconds. When suddenly the gas light starts flashing... Didn't bring enough fuel .

So I got DQ'd because I ran out of gas right before I crossed the line lol... In pcars if you run out before the line (car still coasts over it) you still get DQ'd. So there went second place (third was way behind). So I got dead last which was 5th

Next race was going well for about 2 minutes. Then I got rammed from behind 5 times. Every time I would get to a corner with a car behind me *BAM* and I go flying off the track. Kept my patience and finished... 7th out of 9th

Today wasn't a great day lol. But tomorrow I'm going spectate at the autocross with a friend, so there is that.

[brownninja97]

http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/boxbox.7652/

 

This app is also called boxbox lol

[xAcid9]

Hey guys, any way to improve FFB in pCars with G27? I tried a couple of guides online but they're either too weak with some details or mediocre strong with no details.  :wacko:

[brownninja97]

Hey guys, any way to improve FFB in pCars with G27? I tried a couple of guides online but they either too weak with some details or mediocre strong with no details.  :wacko:

project cars has ffb optimised for belts and gyros so even though they have logitech sponsoring its pretty bad with the gears. I setup my dfgt myself and then by steam recommending. It has the same issues that assetto corsa had in release, the ffb snaps easily and im not sure why, its like a wheel is coming off the ground at every corner even with the high downforce cars. i think ive got too used to the AC and Rf2 ffb.

[chaozbandit]

http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/boxbox.7652/

 

This app is also called boxbox lol

 

The naming is a pure coincidence, I promise lol the premise behind the app is interesting though. Something you can always do the maths for yourself, but having an app is always nicer. pCars community has a similar app for calculating put strategies.

 

 

http://forum.projectcarsgame.com/showthread.php?35604-Strategy-Calculator-Planner-DOWNLOAD-UPDATE-Open-office-and-Excel

 

Just a bit more indepth as it takes into account pitstop times, damage repairs, tyre degradation, etc. Minor adjustments from car-to-car but nothing too hard to integrate into your setup. Mainly created with GT3 in mind but its not too hard to dig through telemetry (vrHive) for other categories.

 

I was geeking out over the excel formulae a few weeks back when I found it. It's on the resource list in the first post.

[brownninja97]

The naming is a pure coincidence, I promise lol the premise behind the app is interesting though. Something you can always do the maths for yourself, but having an app is always nicer. pCars community has a similar app for calculating put strategies.

 

Just a bit more indepth as it takes into account pitstop times, damage repairs, tyre degradation, etc. Minor adjustments from car-to-car but nothing too hard to integrate into your setup. 

 

I was geeking out over the excel formulae a few weeks back when I found it. It's on the resource list in the first post.

oh that sounds awesome. wish i knew python, id have that in AC before the end of the day. all i know is vb.net, java and C#