RadioControl Series Mod 0.3

Based on the great GSCE Radio Control 1:8 scale unofficial mod | RaceDepartment by Niels Heusinkveld, who kindly gave me permission to port his mod to AMS, improve it, and extent it. And after a long odyssey here we are!

You will find some information on RC Tracks, RC Cars, and pre-defined RC Car Classes below. I've also included some info and guidance on Suggested Controllers. In any case, please make sure to read the final notes section as it provides some very important info about known issues and limitations of the mod in its current version (as of today v0.3).

Installation and Deinstallation​

The RC Mod files are in the "mod" folder. To install the mod, you just have to extract the content of the "mod" folder ("GameData" and "Series" folders) into the root folder of AMS. The root folder of AMS is usually located in your Steam Library under "\steamapps\common\Automobilista".

To deinstall the RC Mod, you need to browse to your Steam Library under "\steamapps\common\Automobilista" again, go to "GameData", then "Vehicles", and delete the folder "RadioControl". Then go back to "GameData", then "Locations", and delete the folder "RCTracks". Last step will be to go back to the root folder "Automobilista", then "Series", and delete "Radiocontrol.srs" and "Radiocontrol.tga".

RC Tracks​

Unfortunately, there aren't many tracks yet. I really hope the release of this mod motivates some modders to create some RC tracks!

You should use the track's TV cameras for driving ('page down' key by default). Make sure not to use the camera cycle as that can be very confusing in most cases.

Hockenheim RC​

This package includes the Hockenheim RC Track, that came with the original mod. It was not notably modified, but verified to work with AMS and the RadioControl mod. I included it just to have the conversion complete, so don't expect too much.

Please note that the AI is not working here, so only hotlapping or multiplayer human vs human are the way to enjoy this track. Anyone able and willing to make the AI work (i.e., create a new AIW) on this track is greatly welcome (send me a PM)!

Genk RC​

This original track is Genk Karting by Gijs van Elderen and converted to AMS by Dave Hodsell. The track can be downloaded here: Karting Genk | RaceDepartment. The RC Update is available here: Genk Karting RC Update | RaceDepartment

The RC layout is already part of the track, the Genk RC Addon will make that layout available. You need to have the original track installed in AMS (download via above link).

Please note that AI does work, but is beyond being great. Especially faster cars don't work well and turn over a lot or crash, so if you want to have some fun races you should only drive against the Rookie or Pro class of cars. In test day sessions, you could of course have all classes present for some traffic.

RC Cars​

In the current version, the mod comes with following three (3) RC cars:

1. SuperToy​

Supra 1/8 scale electric drift road car, available with ROOKIE and EXPERT specs. Categories (=opponent filter):

• R/C E-DRIFT Pro 1/8
• R/C E-DRIFT Expert 1/8

Please note that the AI, even if AI is working on a track, will not drift at all. You will have to drive around on your own or find a friend to share the fun!

In the original version of the mod for GSCE the visual tuning options were not available. I've enabled them again, so you can give your car the little extra. Physic-wise the upgrades do have no effect.

Credits: The body mesh was created by Siim Annuk. I did just modify its ingame appearance slightly via VEH and HDV tweaks but the mesh remained untouched.

2. NinjaRacer​

Can-Am 1/8 scale electric car, available with ROOKIE, PRO, and EXPERT specs. Categories (=opponent filter):

• R/C EGT Rookie 1/8
• R/C EGT Pro 1/8
• R/C EGT Expert 1/8

Credits: The body mesh was created by David Sabre - at least I think he did. Also this model was untouched (except scaling the car model for the spinner), I did only finetune the ingame appearance via VEH and HDV tweaks.

3. HyperRacer​

The HyperRacer is as fictive as the previous two RC cars. But it's the new player in this mod and all my pride. The physics of this RC car are based on the NinjaRacer's physics by Niels. I've spent quite some time on changing the physics to ressemble a true 1/10 RC car. Not sure if successful, still I've changed almost everything back and forth, created new suspension geometry and electric motors. So in the end it behaves, looks, and feels quite believable. Still I do not want to take all credits for the physics, therefore a very deep bow to Niels for his amazing groundwork!

Touring Car Bodies​

Auri LM3 TCR 1/10 scale electric touring car, available with PRO specs. Category (= opponent filter):

• R/C EGT Pro 1/10

Credits: The base body mesh was created by Jose Bronze and published in the Sketchup 3D Warehouse. I did download the model years ago when it was still freely available and just played around with it in Blender for a long time. Eventually I decided to improve the mesh and make it game ready. The car has a very simplified Tamiya TT-01-like chassis model I've created from scratch almost a decade ago (feels more, honestly!). I've been working on a new and improved chassis model, but that's for a future update.

Mini Challenge 1/10 scale electric touring car, available with PRO specs. Category (= opponent filter):

• R/C EGT Pro 1/10

Credits: The body mesh was extracted and minorly modified (incl. scaling the car model for the spinner) from the original Mini Challenge that comes with the AMS game. So all credits go to Reiza. Again, the simplified Tamiya TT-01E chassis like model is used here.

Racing Truck 1/10 scale electric "touring car in a ETRC-esc body shape", available with PRO specs. Category (= opponent filter):

• R/C EGT Pro 1/10

Credits: I created the body from scratch, using the ETRC Buggyra as reference. Again, this RC car uses the very simplified Tamiya TT-01-like chassis model.

Pre-defined RC Car Classes​

The following classes are available in the mod. More classes can be added in the series file (srs).

1/8 Touring Classes​

E8GT-GT-ROO -- Electric, 1/8 GT chassis and bodies, ROOkie class, low speed, few setup options available

E8GT-GT-PRO -- Electric, 1/8 GT chassis and bodies, PROfessional class, medium speed, more setup options available

E8GT-GT-EXP -- Electric, 1/8 GT chassis and bodies, EXPert class, high speed, almost all setup options available

1/10 GT & Touring Classes​

E10GT-GT-ROO -- Electric, 1/10 GT chassis and bodies, ROOkie class, low speed, few setup options available

E10GT-GT-PRO -- Electric, 1/10 GT chassis and bodies, PROfessional class, medium speed, more setup options available

E10GT-GT-EXP -- Electric, 1/10 GT chassis and bodies, EXPert class, high speed, almost all setup options available

E10GT-TR-PRO -- Electric, 1/10 GT chassis and TRuck bodies, PROfessional class, medium speed, many setup options available

Drift Classes​

E8RC-DRIFT-PRO -- Electric, 1/8 Road Car chassis and bodies, PROfessional class, medium speed, more setup options available

E8RC-DRIFT-EXP -- Electric, 1/8 Road Car chassis and bodies, EXPert class, high speed, almost all setup options available

Suggested Controllers​

Do not use your simracing wheel. Instead chose one of the following options.

You can, and in some cases should, use driving aids, like TC or ABS. Especially the fastest Expert configurations are hard to manage without aids at the beginning. However, the most real experience comes without using any driving aids.

Option #1 Analog Gamepad​

Any analog gamepad does work well, although it's not providing the real simulation feeling. It's like driving these small cheap RC cars for kids.

Anyhow, you should make sure to set a speed sensitivity of around 50% and reduce the axis sensitivity to 25% as a starting point.

Option #2 RC Remote Control with Simulator/PPM Interface​

RC remote controllers provides the best and realistic simulator experience - it really feels like driving an RC on a real RC track!

There are many remotes out there, from cheap to expensive (ca. 30 to 100€ and beyond). However, the only requirement is that the remote has a simulator or PPM interface. Other features can be fully ignored because they would not work on your PC anyway.

The simulator interface allows connecting the remote to your PC and use it as a simple joystick. Simulator or PPM interface adaptors are availble almost everywhere and do not cost much (ca. 10 to 15 €). By the way: These adapters do work in Windows, Linux, and probably also in MACOS. I'm actually using a Surpass Hobby 5 Channel 2.4 GHz remote with an PPM rc simulator adapter under Linux, having coded a small script that sets specific calibration parameters to ensure I can play without having to re-calibrate each time I plug in the device.

Oh, and you absolutely do not have to buy them via Amazon. I'll provide links to Amazon here just as an example, without any refferal or the like.

Example: INJORA RC Car Remote 2,4GHz 6Ch
Costs: ~50€

https://www.amazon.de/INJORA-Fernsteuerung-Fernbedienung-Empfänger-Crawler/dp/B08SJTPPPP

Simulator/PPM Interface USB Adapter​

Example: Keenso RC Simulator Adapter USB
Costs: ~15€

https://www.amazon.de/Simulator-Don...gsimulator-Fernbedienungssender/dp/B084H9NN55

Final Notes​

As the version number indicates (as of today v0.3), this mod cannot be considered as a feature complete version. There is still so much I'd like to add or change later. Also it's full of bugs, I'm very sure. So please feel free to report whatever you discover. However, I decided it's finally time to release the RC Mod now in it's current version.

Known Bugs and Issues​

1. The fuel density is hard-coded in all gmotor2 games: 1L of fuel is roughly weighting 0,7kg and if that's not enough, cars must also have at least 1L of fuel in their tank to not cause strange issues. Consequently, all the electric RC Cars are too heavy and would lose weight when fuel usage is not set to "off" (see also below No. 3). This is of course very unrealistic, but currently there is no solution to this except for disabling fuel usage when using the electric RC Cars. I'm still hoping that someone like @AndreasFSC will figure out how to change the hardcoded value, but time will tell.
2. Even if AI is supported by the RC Track (see section RC Tracks above), the AI can still be very buggy or shows strange behaviour.
3. All the R/C EGT Pro 1/10 cars currently require "tyre wear" set to "Off" for race sessions or otherwise the game will crash when you enter the race. Also "fuel usage" must be set "Off" or otherwise the AI will run out of fuel short after the race started. Hopefully both issues will be resolved with one of the next updates (fingers crossed!).
4. SuperToy 1/8 currently only has one team/driver/skin per class, more to come later.
5. Mini Challenge 1/10 comes with just one team/driver/skin using a default skins from the original game for now, more to come later.
6. Auri LM3 TCR 1/10 and Racing Truck 1/10 do come with a small number of teams/drivers to at least fill the field, but the skins are rather simple.
7. Sound of all cars is the same original sound from the GSCE mod. Hopefully, with some help of the community, there will be better and real sound in a future update.
8. Templates for painters were not added to the release package yet. Anyone interested in the templates already, please feel free to reach out to me.
9. Speaking of templates, the rims of the HyperRacer do not feature a working wc material yet. This will be added to the next update, to allow painting the rims to your liking.

Future Updates and Additions​

I'm working on updates to the RC Mod and RC Tracks, but also on new RC Cars and RC Tracks. Making slow progress, but still I would like to let you know what to expect (hopefully) to be added to the mod in the not too distant future:

• New Formula-like RC Car, likely fit into the E10GT-GT-EXP class;
• New RC Track, located on the grounds of a famous Japanese GP circuit;
• Additional touring car body shell for the HyperRacer;

Last but not least, I'd like to mention that I would be more than happy if anyone would be interested to contribute to the mod or add content to the RC universe in AMS. Please feel free to reach out to me via PM or in the comments.