Look What The Cat Hacked In - S2E03 Sunday's episode was a light one, clocking in at just above 60 minutes. There are, however, some interesting things that were discussed, such as DRS, graphics, new tyre models and... surprise, suprise: Assetto Corsa 2. Below the video you'll find a breakdown of the most important parts of this episode of "Look What The Cat Hacked In", including a detailed Q&A session. DRS The file format and algorithm have changed. Before these changes the simulator was checking the gap at the finish of the last lap, which obviously wasn't the proper way to do it. So Stefano has rewritten the algorithm in order to measure the time gap between two cars right at the start of the DRS zone. Most aspects of this feature already work, but AI is still work in progress. Especially the Exos 125 has issues. New realtime telemetry app Can display four realtime graphs It's possible to read various data, including the newly added water temperature The code is easy to update (by Kunos) in order to include new types of data Graphics Exposure settings are now saved Triple buffering added to vertical sync, which should now be smoother Tyre model Concerning mainly modders: INI files can now have inline lookup tables, so you don't need another .lut file. First application of this new feature is the tyres.ini file, where the DX and DY values can now have more than two values (DX0 & DX1 for example). Instead, you can load a lookup table with the DX_CURVE key, and the simulator will just use those values. More work going on with the "simplified" tyre INI files, where you can just key in a few values (tyre dimensions, general softness and sidewall stiffness) and the software computes all the paramteres you would usually see in the tyres.ini file. Q&A Session Q: Stefano, can you explain how camber changes affect longitudinal grip in AC? A: The effect of camber on longitudinal grip is like a slip angle. You can consider camber like an additional slip angle, but there are some differences. One main difference is that slip angle reacts to relaxation length. The camber doesn't have that, it gives you instant grip, no grip build-up. If you have more camber then you also have less longitudinal grip because the tire also accelerates you sideways. Q: So just to clarify, DRS does work both in single and multiplayer? A: It doesn't work in multiplayer yet. I would love the logic of the DRS to be on the server, so it would say "You passed the detection zone, this is the gap to the guy in front, so you can/can't use the DRS". Of course that means for me to rewrite the logic on the server, but I want to do it. Q: Can the league guys expect something about last lap when the first guy crosses the finish line? A: Yes, it shouldn't take me long to do it so you can expect it. Q: Stefano, can you add some variables to control the pressure increase with temperature? A: It's probably calculated in the software. We will see. Q: Can you explain what the ENABLE_GYRO setting does? A: The idea is that if you have something that is rotating, that object is going to resist a change in rotation, so basically resist any torque that tries to change its orientation not in the plane of the rotation. The ENABLE_GYRO setting does exactly that: the faster the wheels are spinning, the harder they are to steer. It's working pretty much like a steer damper dependent on the front wheels' rotation speed. Q: Better visual damage? A: I don't think so. Q: Server plugin changes in 1.3? A: Yes, there are already some changes. Other are coming as well, such as the ability to send a car to the pits for a number of seconds, or knowing if a car is in the pitlane. I think this is going to be a game changer. Q: Maybe the new tyre model (the one that won't be coming in 1.3) is a reason to release Assetto Corsa 2? A: Yes. That's definitely something that could be done. Don't rush into releasing something, work on it as long as you need. We have a platform that is working. Q: Can you explain the steer assist? A: There was a lack of communication between me and Aris. Reading in the comments I found he was talking about speed. It's not something that relates to speed, but it's something that is used to reduce the torque sent from the front wheels through the steering wheel. F1 cars use it in order to not kill the driver's arms. In AC it is a parameter for a gamma curve; at 1 the response is linear, below 1 the curve is convex so you get more force at the steering wheel at low speeds but lower resolution at higher speeds. Q: What effects does the water temperature have? A: At the moment just the gauges inside the car showing you what the temperature is, nothing more. Q: The downshift protection will disallow downshifting early to protect the engine or is it there to shorten brake distances? A: No, the downshift protection is there only to prevent over-revving the engine, just like in the real cars. Q: How far is the code from the Ferrari Virtual Academy days? A: It's not the same thing at all. No code from FVA went into Assetto Corsa. Q: Considering you're talking so much about the physics engine update rate, I presume it's not that easy to increase it? A: Actually to change it you only have to change one number in the code. A single number. The problem is if you make it faster you reduce the number of AI cars that you can run, because it's more demanding in terms of compute resources. This is why we're working on multithreading the physics, but the problem on PC is that not everyone has an 8-core CPU. Maybe we should make it dynamic, as an option or automatic. It's a complicated matter. Q: What about the Porsche? A: I don't know anything about it. Q: Any favourite car&track combo that you like to drive, Stefano? A: It always changes. KTM @ Magione? Lately, the 458 gives me the impression that you can do some sort of Top Gear "Eat an orange while drifting" challenge. It gives that sensation of total control. Unless you're braking in Imola, which is a nightmare. Q: Most PCs have four physical cores... A: Yes, but the problem is once you release a game and say it's compatible with X hardware you're basically just buying into supporting that hardware for the rest of the game's life cycle. You know there are some guys that run Assetto Corsa on DirectX 10 - where the trees are not transparent - by editing an INI file. I'd like to do lots of stuff on Assetto Corsa, but I cannot just break compatibility like that, you have to factor that in when talking about bumping the update rate of the physics engine or implementing the latest and greatest graphical features. I'm starting to have a desire to start working on Assetto Corsa 2. I want to say "f**k DirectX10 and DirectX11, let's make another DirectX 12 engine and let's change the tyre model so I can do this, this and this". You know, I want to implement many things, I don't wanna see Python ever again. Those kind of things I'm not allowed to do with this version of the software.
