Complete Controller Software for Sim (Racing) Rigs

Hello all,

I have a little Xmas present for you. In the past few months I've been working on a software as an integrated solution to control every aspect of our beloved sim rigs. The basic idea is to put your button box in total control of every aspect of the simulation, including tactile and motion feedback, if available. But you can also control your ingame chat system, launch telemtry software, and so on. The possibilities are endless. But since every button box has only a restriced set of controls, I introduced a layer concept, which allow the button box to implement context-sensitive bindings of control functions to actions.

Button Box 5.JPG


Beside that, the software can control all your favorite applications and simulation games and combine them into one seamless user experience. But take a look at the main features:

* Connect all your external controller, like Button Boxes, to one single center of control
* An unlimited number of layers of functions and actions, called modes, can be defined for your controller. Switch between modes simply by pushing a button or switch a toggle on your controller.
* Modes are defined and handled by plugins, which can be implemented on your own using an objecct oriented scripting language.
* Configurable, visual feedback for your controller actions
* Define your own Button Box visual and integrate it with the Simulator Controller using the simple plugin support. Depending on configuration, this window will popup whenever an action is triggered from your controller, even during active simulation.
* Code your own functions to be called by the controller buttons and switches using the simple, object-oriented scripting language
* Configure all additional applications to your taste, including the simulation games used for your virtual races
* Start and stop applications from your controller hardware or automatically upon configurable events
* Add splash screens and title melodies using a themes editor for a more emotional startup experience
* Full support for sophisticated application automation - for example, start your favorite voice chat software like TeamSpeak and automatically switch to your standard channel
* Several plugins are supplied out of the box:
* Support for Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione already builtin
* Fully customizable plugins supplied for total control of SimHub and SimFeedback - change your settings while racing using the dials and switches on your favorite Button Box
* Send your predefined kudos and rants to the ingame chat without touching the keyboard
* Additional support to trigger every function and action from external sources like a voice or gesture recognition software to always keep your hands on the wheel
* Builtin support for visual head tracking to control ingame viewing angle

Every aspect of the Controller software can be configured using graphical tools:

Setup Tab 4.JPG


Themes Editor.JPG


The software is free for anyone for non-commercial use. You can download the latest build at GitHub. Also take a look at the very extensive documentation, including lots of stuff for developers.

And now - have fun. Happy Xmas, a good start into the next year and stay healthy...

TheBigO
 
Things are moving fast these days when it comes to AI applications. Two major improvements this week:

1. The Strategist and the Spotter learned a new voice command, with which you can get information about the pitting of other drivers.
2. The knowledge transfer from the rule engine to the LLM has been improved for all Assistants. Much more complex questions are now possible, for example you can ask the Engineer: "Can you tell me the air temperature and the tyre pressures we have chosen for the last pitstop?"

Here are some short recordings with conversations with the Engineer and the Strategist and even between those two. Please note, that some functionality demonstrated here are not yet available in the 5.7.5 but will be released with 5.7.6 end of next week.




And you can check the Release Notes for many other improvements, as always.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-575
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Another big step for the Assistants: If they are connected to a GPT service, the LLM can now trigger any action inside Simulator Controller. A handful of actions are predefined and you can define your own ones, but this requires some serious technical skills.

Configuration Tab 7 Speech Actions.JPG

Actions can be triggered as a result of your conversation with the Assistant, but the LLM can also decide to trigger an action on its own.

I will now have a summer break. Supoort and minor functional additions will be secured during this time, but since no on-track testing is possible until end of July, there will be no major updates.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-576
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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The big, fat summer release is here. Three major changes are waiting for you to explore.

1. It is now possible to integrate an LLM using an external GPT service into the reasoning process of the Race Assistants. This will potentially make them much smarter in handling unforeseen situations and you can define your own types of events and actions to be executed by the LLM.

Agent Flow.JPG


2. Full support in all applications for a very nice looking dark UI theme.

DarkMode.JPG


3. The documentation has been extensively reorganized, rewritten and extended. Details can be found in the Release Notes.

We will have a live seminar / coaching session for the new LLM capabilities in our Discord on 29th July at 19:00 CEST. Don't miss that.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-580
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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This week we made a lot of small improvements to the recently introduced features. Of particular note is the advanced handling of pit stop situations through an LLM, including a comprehensive understanding of the available tire compounds and their use for different weather conditions. Additionally, the event and action editor UI has been improved in many aspects.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-581
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Release 5.8.2 brings more events and actions for the GPT / LLM integration for the Assistants. Additionally, the "Practice Center" and the "Race Center" will now save a recorded session to the session database, from there it can be shared with your team members or your crew chief or coach for evaluation. And the release contains a new, fully rewritten runtime for local LLMs.

As an addition, I have a TL;DW recording from our latest coaching session in our Discord for you. It as an 1-hour trip into the rabbit hole of using GPT-based large language models to boost the intelligence and extend the capabilities of the Race Assistants.


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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-582
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Release 5.8.3

14 majors changes and additions are part of this release. A couple more events for the LLM integration, a browser for sessions stored in the session database and - most notably - a new, simplified UI for the "Race Center". Details can be found in the Release Notes.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-583
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Lots of new stuff this week:

1. Non-circuit tracks like Rally stages, hill climb tracks and even street roads can now be mapped correctly. After you gut a track map, you can use Track Automations to create pace notes, or automate car settings depending on track position.

Trento Uphill.png


2. Many new events and actions for the LLM integration are provided for Spotter. One of which enable you to automate actions like saving the replay after a pitstop or at the end of the race.

3. The local LLM runtime now supports non-Nvidia GPUs using the Vulkan driver.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-584
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Beside several important bug fixes, we have two major changes this week:

1. If you have configured an LLM to boost the intelligence of the Race Assistants, it si now possible to let the Assistants collaborate on a given task. Example: The Spotter recognized that your direct opponent ahead is pitting. The LLM can then trigger an action, which informs the Strategist by an event, so that he will check the strategy and probably call you to the pit as well. Addionally this release once again comes with several new predefined events and actions for the LLM integration.

2. You can now open almost any report in the "Practice Center" in a separate window. This makes it easier to compare laps and other important data. This feature has already been around in the "Race Center", but is now available for the "Practice Center" as well.

Practice Center.JPG


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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-585
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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This time I renamed two applications. "Practice Center" has become "Solo Center" and "Race Center" has become "Team Center", which reflects much better, the purpose and scope of these applications. The "Solo Center" got a lot of love in the area of tyre handling and we have a new LLM event for the Spotter.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-586
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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This week we have a couple of fixes for AMS2 and R3E as well as a rework of the muted mode of the Assistants and some improvements for the "Strategy Workbench".

Additionally, a critical bug has been fixed for "Solo Center" and "Team Center" which results in saved sessions having the wrong file extension, which made them useless. All those sessions will be recovered automatically.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-587
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Today we introduce a new data category in Simulator Controller. Car telemetery data can be collected lap by lap in the "Solo Center" and can be stored in the session database, thereby sharing them with your team or even with the whole community. Telemetry data can be compared, for example to find out why a lap was slower then the best reference lap.

Telemetry Browser.JPG


Future releases will integrate this feature also into the "Team Center", so that you can view the telemetry data of your team mate in real time and in the long run, the AI of the Driving Coach will have a full understanding of this data and will be able to discuss areas of improvement with you.

Beside that, lap times and sector times have been fixed for RaceRoom Racing Experience.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-590
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Thanks to @DIEGO Falcone Dev_Dk HawkOne we introduce today the full support for the Italian language inc. conversation with the Assistants.

Italiano.jpg


Beside that, we have many improvements for the new telemetry support, incl. integration for the "Team Center". And the internal database engine got a substantial performance boost, which benefits all applications. Take a look at the Release Notes for detailed information.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-591
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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3 new channels have been added to the telemetry data system and telemetry is now also available in the "Setup Workbench" during setup development. Last but not least, an integration with "Second Monitor", a sophisticated telemetry tool has been finished with the kind support of @Winzarten.

A critical bug has been fixed for iRacing, which prevented the Spotter from alerting about nearby cars.

Infos about additional changes can be found in the Release Notes.

We will have a live coaching session about all the new stuff on Monday, 19:00 CEST in our Discord. Feel free to join...

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-592
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
Upvote 0
Todays release contains several important fixes. Of course, there is some new stuff as well.

1. The Spotter now gives you the delta to your own lap time, when he informs about current lap times of other cars.
2. The tyre temperature related compound recommendation for the next pitstop by the Engineer got much better.
3. And we have updated the car meta data for RaceRoom Racing Experience to the latest version.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-593
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
Last edited:
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Release 5.9.4 comes with another bunch of improvements for the latest addition of lap telemetry analysis features. You now can define your own layouts for the telemetry viewer and you can decide which telemetry channels should be displayed. An importer for MoTeC data is also part of the package.

Beside that, RaceRoom Racing Experience again got a lot of love. For example, all Simulator Controller apps now can handle sessions correctly where cars with a race number of "0" are present (weird, isn't it, but R3E allows that).

Todays release will be the last feature release until December, where we will hopefully see a really incredible new feature for the 4th anniversary of Simulator Controller. Stay tuned...


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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-594
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Another intermezzo release while we are working on the next big thing for the anniversary release. Nevertheless, the Engineer got two new voice commands to control handling of tyre pressure loss during pitstop. And documentation for voice commands for all supported languages has been finally added. The details can be found in the release notes, as always.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-597
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
Upvote 0
Although it is still a week to go for the 4th anniversary and the official release of the new Driving Coach, I will open the beta version to the public today. A small team has been testing it throughout the last two weeks and it looks already fully stable.

The 6.0.0 brings a stunning extension to the Driving Coach, which is now able to work with you on your driving techniques directly on the track. To do this, the Coach has a full understanding of telemetry data and can compare your performance against a reference lap of you or one of your team mates, or even against a lap of a different source. Here is a recording of a typical training session (incl. jump marks):


Since the coaching functionality needs some preparation and configuration to work correctly, please read the new documentation for it:


IMPORTANT: The Beta version will not install automatically. Instructions can be found on our Discord: https://discord.com/channels/852795995049558016/852797072884891668/1311926081783337043

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-600
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Four years of Simulator Controller - what a ride. And as in every year, I am happy to release a great new feature for Simulator Controller to celebrate the anniversary. This time we have, as all of you already know, a new AI which is capable to work with you on your driving skills on the track. When I released the original Driving Coach a year ago, I always had a functionality like this in mind, but I needed several months to figure out how to do it properly. There is so much data crunching involved and a GPT model is not really good at that. But I don't want to bother you with technical details. Important is, the I didn't want just a tool which tells you "Brake later" or "Accelerate earlier" here and there, but I wanted "someone" that can discuss all the ins and outs of your track performance with you - on the track and after a session. I think, I have delivered, but judge it by yourself.

Release 6.0 is ready for download!

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-600
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6
 
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Tomorrow evening, Monday, 19:00 CET, I will run an online session in our Discord, where I demonstrate everything about the Driving Coach from configuration to running a practice session and working with telemetry data. Questions are very welcome...
 
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