44 replies to this topic

[ezechiel47]

Hi all,
You'll find in the attachment a file called "the track.ini for dummies".
Just a few words about how the track.ini works, how to tweak it to your taste or to your favorite mod.
My sources are all i've read about Ai (thanks to Ed Solheim, Lee Bowden, Nigel Pattinson, Mark Beckman) and my own experience as an Ai maker.
I tried to explain what i've understood in a simple, synthetic and empirical way.
Hope that can help.

Good racing

Ez

PS
the title of the text is just a joke (by comparison to the famous guides "... for dummies"). There is no dummies in our great community. We are all lords of the road and lords of courtesy.

Attached Files

•  the trackini for dummies by Ez.pdf   100.41K   518 downloads

[svenvangent]

Hallo ezechiel47

thanks for this explanation , well done .
greets  

[Tato]

I'm a "voracious" track.ini modifier, but after 9 years around GPL I've still many things to learn, so thank you sir for this useful guide  

[ginetto]

Thank You Ez
I just notice this thread (thanks to Tato's post)
I never got the whole thing right I guess, so I'm getting the file now and will study it well
See you on some new track to tweak

[Pedro]

Thanks EZ  

 ezechiel47, on Oct 24 2010 - 06:16 AM, said:

We are all lords of the road.

[ezechiel47]

Hi all.
Thanks for your enthusiasm.
I prepare a french version of the tutorial.

Good racing

Ez

[M Needforspeed]

 ezechiel47, on Nov 28 2010 - 03:25 AM, said:

Hi all.
Thanks for your enthusiasm.
I prepare a french version of the tutorial.

Good racing

Ez

Merci encore

for your info, the next Bernd GPLPS installer will have the install translated in French.As well as the " Rasterizers, Core.ini , Pribluda explained " tutorial he did.

Edited by M Needforspeed, Nov 28 2010 - 06:52 AM.

[Saiph]

Hi ezechiel,

This document is very interesting. I've found out several things that I didn't know before, and now I'm tempted to try a few "tweaks" on my own track.ini files to see what effect they have. Great work!  

But I have one question about your explanation of the "no cut" checkpoints.

Take the first checkpoint you show in your example, the checkpoint that "Prevents cutting Becketts". This is 1426.0 metres along the track, the first limit is -14.0 metres (14 metres to the right of the centreline), and the second limit is 14.5 metres, (14.5 metres to the left of the centreline).

Now this seems to define a line which stretches across the track, rather like a "start/finish" line. The track itself runs through the line. And yet in your comments, you say this defines a corridor where you mustnt run. Is this a slip-up? Did you really mean to say that the driver must drive though this point, on the track, otherwise GPL says you have cut the corner? I think this would make more sense.

If I have misunderstood, I'm sorry, please try explaining it to me again! On the other hand, if I'm right, then changing that "mustnt" to a "must" would make things clearer.

Thanks for creating this document, and helping us all to understand and enjoy GPL even more than we do now. And bon chance with the translations!    

Edited by Saiph, Nov 28 2010 - 08:11 AM.

[ginetto]

You're right Saiph
a checkpoint works like you explained

[M Needforspeed]

   fps60aiV1 NEWS

here two track.inis where the GT Mod run nice.With the fps60aiV1

  Solitude track.ini.
  Tweaked Zandvoort track.ini.

Yesterday, I looked at the race at Solitude, with a full grid.The AI 's passes in many parts of the track, that is rather rare.An you have even AIs, which, after have been laped, go as far as 200 meters back, then  come back and sometimes pass the car who passed it ! I never noticed that in GPL.Looking them racing was simply a pleasure, with beautiful Thomas Lachaele add ons.
AI 's too are reliable

When I saw so good promising results, I installed some key lines of the Solitude track to the Zandvoort track.With the default track.ini, AI 's where desperately slow on the long straight.Now they go as fast as 270.But there a little slow on curve, to achieve real laps time .With a little further tweaking, all should be correct.
  Now, they run on correct laps time, pass at many places, and won 't crashes nor make mistake.I was the spectator of a very beautiful race, with dual fights between AIs !They passes on various part of Zandvoort track, including the hairpin, and after Tarzan.

I have witnessed only few pass at the end of the straight, but it is rather because the relative speed of each AI doesn t give enough room, as explained Border Reiver.


  To summarize, I wld even say that Sport Cars passes more often than AI's of any other GPL mods.And apart some weird move, globally they act more realistically.

  back up your track.inis first, and if you want to give them a go .Don 't try to change anything is the Gpl_ai_ini.
  

First is Solitude
2 is for Zandvoort

Attached Files

•  track.ini   5.97K   30 downloads
•  track.ini   4.66K   25 downloads

Edited by M Needforspeed, Nov 28 2010 - 12:01 PM.

[FloP]

 M Needforspeed, on Nov 28 2010 - 11:46 AM, said:

Now they go as fast as 270.But there a little slow on curve, to achieve real laps time .With a little further tweaking, all should be correct.

Does this mean that you have found a way of changing the AI drivers' straight line speed relative to their cornering speeds? If so, it looks like you made a major breakthrough as far as 60 fps AI usability is concerned!

[ezechiel47]

 Saiph, on Nov 28 2010 - 08:09 AM, said:

Hi ezechiel,

This document is very interesting. I've found out several things that I didn't know before, and now I'm tempted to try a few "tweaks" on my own track.ini files to see what effect they have. Great work!  

But I have one question about your explanation of the "no cut" checkpoints.

Take the first checkpoint you show in your example, the checkpoint that "Prevents cutting Becketts". This is 1426.0 metres along the track, the first limit is -14.0 metres (14 metres to the right of the centreline), and the second limit is 14.5 metres, (14.5 metres to the left of the centreline).

Now this seems to define a line which stretches across the track, rather like a "start/finish" line. The track itself runs through the line. And yet in your comments, you say this defines a corridor where you mustnt run. Is this a slip-up? Did you really mean to say that the driver must drive though this point, on the track, otherwise GPL says you have cut the corner? I think this would make more sense.

If I have misunderstood, I'm sorry, please try explaining it to me again! On the other hand, if I'm right, then changing that "mustnt" to a "must" would make things clearer.

Thanks for creating this document, and helping us all to understand and enjoy GPL even more than we do now. And bon chance with the translations!    

Of course you are right Saiph !
Sorry for this mistake.
Going to change my wrong sentence in the file and in its future french version.
Thank you to have pointed that up.

Ez

[ezechiel47]

Merci Michel !
C'est vraiment super qu'avec deux ou trois modifs dans le trackGT.ini on puisse faire rouler correctement les Ai en 60 fps.

Ez

[M Needforspeed]

My next goal for Zandvoort will be :

Achieving the same laps time I roughly get already ( 1 29 XX /1 30 XX for the best), a little bit lower than the 67 F1, but tweaking:

1 the speed on the long straight, that I will decrease a bit
2 Increasing their cornering speed

  I want to tweak that without playing on the D Long Speed coef.At least as a first step. This parameter  will be used only as a final tweaking tool to fine tune the best AI laps time, on a two hours Grand Prix practice session.

   Perhaps I will need the results of what you experienced on your tweaks, Ezechiel.

  It is one condition for those AI to be real interesting for quite fast GPlers:

   1 - that there are not too easy to pass or simply closing the gap on cornering section
   2 - That  a pass is still possible on the straight line.At the moment, under Ai strong acceleration, thats rather hard.
     Passing on the  Zandvoort straight is already doable, but because we can brake later and harder than any AI.But that problem is recurrent to GPL.It has nothing to do with the first Petteri AI patch, nor the WSC AIs  physics, that look both really, promising.


  PLEASE, BRR, I THINK YOU SHOULD PROMOTE YOUR FIRST 60 FPS AI's.Perhaps, the others should be removed from GEM ?? You could keep only a 60 FPS without AIS for those practising off line on long sessions?
   IT WLD HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF SIMPLYFYING GEM Choice. Many newcomers will wonder why there is a choice between 4 different 60 FPS Patches....
   (only my few cents, here )
    

Edited by M Needforspeed, Nov 29 2010 - 04:12 AM.

[M Needforspeed]

 ezechiel47, on Nov 28 2010 - 12:38 PM, said:

Merci Michel !
C'est vraiment super qu'avec deux ou trois modifs dans le trackGT.ini on puisse faire rouler correctement les Ai en 60 fps.

Ez

  Merci Ezechiel.les as tu testé ? installe toi en spectateur et dis moi ce que tu en penses ?Je poursuis en Anglais
  
  You ll have to zip between different places at Solitude and at Zandvoort. At Solitude, I identified 9 places where AI passes.Rarely seen before, for a game like GPL !!
  But the best new is that AI aren 't afraid to pass during cornering, and stay two in front from the corner entry to the outing. The paradox is WS cars have a larger wheelbase Finally, AIs feels strongers, more dynamics.  

   For the tracks not included in the season.ini 1967 WSC championship,the Sport Car mod use the track.ini .I know that you know, but only for info ...  

Edited by M Needforspeed, Nov 29 2010 - 04:10 PM.