SHO XD Style SimHub Overlays V17

Nice little video by GPLaps introducing the basics of SimHub and showing you how to use it for yourself. Various mods including this one are highlighted.

Version 17 (2022-08-06..2022-10-25)

Highlights:

• [Tyres] Reorganized for more compact layout to save space onscreen
• [Dash Mini Plus] Reorganized elements a little bit. Minor visual improvements/fixes.
• [WIP] [Torque] Added new Torque overlay to represent percentage wheel torque being sent to your wheel. Used the Pedals overlay style. GTR2-specific for now and not currently 100% accurate due to available data.
• [WIP] [Wheel] Added new Wheel overlay to show a wheel onscreen rotating as you rotate your physical wheel. Not ready yet, need a proper wheel image.
• [Various Overlays] Minor visual improvements/fixes

Action Required:

• [Tyres] Remove and re-add Tyres Overlay in Overlay Layout Editor as physical dimensions have changed and SimHub may poorly render the overlay

Full Release Notes:

• [Action Required] [Tyres] Remove and re-add Tyres Overlay in Overlay Layout Editor as physical dimensions have changed and SimHub may poorly render the overlay
• [Tyres] Removed unneeded "TEMPS" labels to create a more compact layout
• [Tyres] Changed red car background image to a grayscale image to reduce visual busy-ness
• [Dash Mini Plus] Moved Ahead/Behind elements to the second row as I tend to look at these quite a bit and wanted them more upfront-and-center
• [Dash Mini Plus] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Position] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Position] Minor visual improvements/fixes. Added row for Lap: This was done for consistency to match height of other overlays that I usually put in the top of the screen.
• [Leaderboard] Changed to higher Delta precision during Practice and Qualifying as precision is more valuable then versus in a Race.
• [Map] Minor visual improvements/fixes. Trying to minimize wasted space where possible to gain back space to be used by other overlays.
• [Relative] Minor visual improvements/fixes. Tiny height adjustment to match Lap Overlay height for visual consistency. Consistent 10px padding. Tiny font size adjustment to fit.
• [RSplits] Minor visual improvements/fixes. Tiny height adjustment to match Lap Overlay height for visual consistency. Also now has consistent 10px padding.
• [WIP] [Torque] Added new Torque overlay to represent percentage wheel torque being sent to your wheel. Used the Pedals overlay style. GTR2-specific for now and not currently 100% accurate due to available data.
• [WIP] [Wheel] Added new Wheel overlay to show a wheel onscreen rotating as you rotate your physical wheel. Not ready yet, need a proper wheel image.

Version 16 (2022-06-17..2022-08-06)

• [SimHub Compatibility] This is the first release since I started using SimHub V8. I'm uncertain if V8 overlays will work on older than V8. Beware. I can recommend V8 so consider upgrading if you can.
• [Renames] Overlay files have been renamed. Try importing like usual first. You may need to clean up old overlays with the old name.
• [Leaderboard] Fixed a mistake where bottom row was using a custom-calculated Gap value that wasn't consistent with other Gap values. Figured out a way to use the same Gap logic as the other rows.
• [Leaderboard] Changed delta/gap accuracy to tenths instead of hundreds to reduce busy-ness and reduced visual update frequency for a calmer, less overwhelming experience.
• [Leaderboard] Removed Delta/Gap dash (-) for unused rows (ie. when grid size less than 20)
• [Dash Mini Plus] Changed ahead/behind gap accuracy to tenths instead of hundreds to reduce busy-ness and reduced visual update frequency for a calmer, less overwhelming experience.
• [Dash Mini Plus] Increased font size of values slightly but not labels.
• [Relative] Changed gap accuracy to tenths instead of hundreds to reduce busy-ness and reduced visual update frequency for a calmer, less overwhelming experience.
• [Tyres] [Race 07] Fixed grayed out/missing Water/Oil temps which actually are supported
• [Tyres] Grayed out unsupported properties (ie. rFactor2 Water/Oil Temps, Race07 Tyre Wear/Brake Temps)
• [Tyres] Improved Brake Temp colour range. Brake temps go extremely high (800) in rFactor2 GT3/GTE cars (ex. Ferrari 488 GTE) and the brake temp bars goes extreme red for a long time while the brakes cool down. It seems to me there should be a normal operating temperature range where it shouldn't "look" too cold or too hot, visually speaking. That's what the change was here.
• [README] Added Compatibility section to highlight what games the mod is compatible against. In theory, all SimHub supported games should be compatible but in practice sometimes the games themselves don't deliver all the data needed for the overlays to work completely but many overlays do still work fully or well enough to use.
• [MOD]Removed focus on "GTR2" as the goal is to make them useable on any game SimHub supports. My personal goal is that they work on the classic SimBin games GTR2, GT Legends, and Race 07. If they were work on others, as they should all things being equal, that's great, too.
  • So, many things got renamed, mod, files, titles, etc. But luckily SimHub seems smart enough to know it's just a rename and it didn't mess up my Overlay Layouts.

I just upgraded to SimHub 8 (8.0.4). It was a painless process and everything, including my overlays, just seems to work!

Version 15 (2022-05-19..2022-06-17)

• [New Dash Mini Plus Overlay] New overlay starting from the Dash Mini V Overlay and adding in info that I find myself glancing at frequently from other overlays. I moved them here because I place this closer to the center of my field of vision so I'm taking my eyes off driving to less of a degree. This overlay will effectively fulfill the purpose of a real SimHub Dash but just in Overlay form. Might change in the future but currently adds: Position, Time, Lap, Last Lap, Fuel/Laps/Econ, Optimal Lap, Ahead Gap, Behind Gap
• [Mini Dash V Overlay] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Mini Dash V Overlay] -> [Dash Mini V Overlay] Simple rename
• [Mini Dash Overlay] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Mini Dash Overlay] -> [Dash Mini Overlay] Simple rename
• [Position Overlay] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Position Overlay] Gray out unsupported properties (ie. more friendly in Race 07)
• [Status Overlay] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Status Overlay] Gray out unsupported properties instead of zero values (ie. more friendly in Race 07)
• [Leaderboard Overlay] Gray out unsupported properties (ie. more friendly in Race 07)
• [Relative Overlay] Gray out unsupported properties (ie. more friendly in Race 07)
• [Lap Overlay] Gray out unsupported properties (ie. more friendly in Race 07)
• [Tyres Overlay] Gray out unsupported properties instead of zero values and blinking continuously (ie. more friendly in Race 07)
• [README] Clarified SimHub requires windowed mode not fullscreen mode to work and addded instructions for Crew Chief for automatically going borderless windowed mode
• [License] Added Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. README updated. License details:
  • SHO GTR2 XD Style SimHub Overlays © 2021 by Shovas is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

I've updated the demonstration video in the Overview and README to a V15 20min race.

Bonus: It also features the latest SHO Competition AI V13-test2

The next release will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.

View the full license here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

This license allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only.

It simply requires that users give credit to the creator.

There's no drama that precipitated the license but as mods grow the risk of abuse goes up so I thought I'd figure this out now.

I think this provides clarity to mods (no need to contact the author for legitimate uses!) and is a nice compromise that maintains modding freedom while protecting the people that made them from losing credit to their work and against losing out when someone tries to make money from it.

I've updated the Overview here and the README to clarify SimHub requires windowed mode and added a note about Crew Chief which has an option to automatically go fullscreen borderless windowed mode on launch.

Code:

Required:
- SimHub should work with both Steam GTR2 or non-Steam GTR2
  - Steam GTR2 will use "Telemetry plugin (Steam version only" in SimHub > GTR2 > Game Config > Telemetry Mode option
  - Non-Steam GTR2 will use "Basic game shared memory (Any game version)" in SimHub > GTR2 > Game Config > Telemetry Mode option
  - SimHub requires windowed mode not fullscreen mode. Crew Chief has an automatic fullscreen borderless windowed mode which works great. Otherwise, use Borderless Gaming: https://github.com/Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming/releases/
 
Recommended:
- Crew Chief is not exactly required but some telemetry data is not available to SimHub without Crew Chief's GTR2 telemetry fixes (eg. some tire and suspension data) and so some overlays might not work as expected
  - Install instructions and documentation here: https://thecrewchief.org/showthread.php?2012-Crew-Chief-GTR2-Enhancements-Plugin-Setup-Instructions-Known-Issues-and-Changelog
  - SimHub requires windowed mode not fullscreen mode so you'll probably want to enable fullscreen borderless windowed mode by setting graphicsForceBorderlessWindow=1 in your GTR2\Plugins\CrewChief.ini file

I haven't tested with SimHub V8 so I can't say if the overlays work as they should or not.

SimHub V8 seems like a major rewrite of key components so I'm hesistant to upgrade for a while. I'll let the guinea pigs work out all the bugs.

For now, you can still download SimHub 7.4.23, the latest V7 release, if you don't mind running a step behind for a bit.

I'll upgrade in a week or two when SimHub V8 has appears to be stable.

Version 14 (2022-04-14..2022-05-19)

• [RSplits Overlay] New overlay displaying sector splits in a newest-first way: First line is current sector, second line is previous sector, third line is sector before that, etc. This enables tracks with more than 3 sectors (ie. most relevant when using in other sims that have tracks like that).
• [Awareness Overlays] New Left/Right/Rear Awareness overlays with the goal of aiding peripheral awareness: You will know who is around you in your peripheral vision as opposed to having to look at a radar and specifically note the cars around you and what the indicators are telling you. They are intended to be placed on the left, right, and rear edges of the screen to provide a visual indication in your peripheral vision of cars around you. The Radar Overlay provides this information but requires you to look directly at it taking your focus off the road and racing where it should be.
  • Note: An outer red border line has been added to help positioning. This red border line is meant to be positioned just off-screen. This was added to help positioning when running from Dash Studio where no border is added like with the Overlay Layout Editor.
• [Status Overlay] Updated Optimal Lap Time to handle more than 3 sectors to match the RSplits Overlay implementation
• [Status Overlay] Fuel/Laps/Econ overlaps fuel amount text when text needs 3 characters (ie. 100+)
• [Status Overlay] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Splits Overlay] Admittedly, this was pretty broken for a lot of cases. I reworked a significant amount of the logic and hopefully it'll be more reliable now.
• [Splits Overlay] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Splits Overlay] Gray out while in pits
• [Splits Overlay] Improved performance with RenderingSkip
• [Lap Overlay] Split Gap now matches original GTR2 Lap overlay where Split Gap is a cumulative gap at each split
• [Lap Overlay] Minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Various Overlays] Changed holder text '--:--:---' to '--:--.---'
• [Leaderboard Overlay] Delta column is now properly a lap time delta against best lap in Prac/Qual/Warmup and a gap against the leader in a Race. Gaps are a little slow to sort themselves out in Lap 1 (SimHub weirdness) but gets sorted out eventually.
• [Leaderboard Overlay] Lap Time column is now properly Last Lap Time in Prac/Warmup/Race and Best Lap Time in Qual.
• [Tyres Overlay] Pressure should blink when tyre visual blinks due to low tyre pressure (see unsupported Race 07 where it happens because no tyre pressure are reported)
• [Map Overlay] Enable clickthrough in overlay mode
• [Mini Dash Overlay] Enable clickthrough in overlay mode
• [Mini Dash V Overlay] Enable clickthrough in overlay mode
• [Dash Overlay] Enable clickthrough in overlay mode
• [README] Added README Install instructions to enable "Use HTML Engine (can be more smooth)" for each overlay
• [README] Added Introduction section notes about SimHub and Crew Chief requirements/recommendations
• [README] Added/Refreshed Install section notes with to explicitly link SimHub and Crew Chief download and setup information
• [README] Added Install section notes about Crew Chief being recommended or else some telemetry data won't work in SimHub and will affect some overlays
• [README] Added Install section notes about SimHub Steam vs non-Steam EXEs (both should work)
• [Mod] Added GTR2.txt to record development notes about GTR2
• [Mod] Added SimHub.txt to record development notes about SimHub
• [Mod] Moved README Known Issues and Plans sections to separate files "Known Issues.txt" and Plans.txt, respectively.

While sim hopping today and leaving my SimHub overlays running I noticed my overlays were working in a number of other sims and while I'm sure there are bugs I didn't notice anything immediately.

The only "supported" game is GTR2 right now but these unsupported games also appear to work pretty good:

rFactor 2
ACC
AMS2

Buggy:

Race 07: Some overlays work, some don't

Should work but need to check again:

GT Legends

I included a WIP Awareness Overlay in the last release but it was just an experiment at that point. I've now done some substantial work on it.

In the screenshot you can notice some red/white ellipses across the edges of the screens indicating the car passing on the left. They sort of mimick the same red and white bars on the Radar Overlay.

But the goal is different between the two overlays and normally I wouldn't have them both running except for development reasons:

The goal of the Awareness Overlay is peripheral awareness:

You will know who is around you in your peripheral vision as opposed to having to look at a radar and specifically note the cars around you and what the indicators are telling you. There's no need to move your eyes to look at anything, you'll pick it up in your periphery.

I think something like this is even better than the radar/arrow implementations in games like PC2/AMS2/AC/ACC as you don't have to track the indicators as precisely. This overlay is meant to get out of the way but still provide useful information.

I have the overlay stretched to fullscreen but you could resize and reposition in any way you like.

You can raise or lower it so that it shows either above or behind other overlays although it's a little finicky to do that when you're making a Layout in SimHub > Dash Studio > Overlays > New Overlay Layout or when you edit an existing Layout.

It's not finished yet. I'll keep refining until I release the next version.

After some discussion in the download thread, I updated the README Introduction and Install sections with some notes on what is required and recommended regarding SimHub and Crew Chief:

Requirements:

• SimHub:
  • Works with Steam and non-Steam versions of GTR2
    • Uncertain about any limitations depending on which you run
  • Full download and setup instructions in the Install section

Recommended:

• Crew Chief:
  • Fixes some missing telemetry data that SimHub needs for some overlays
  • Full download and setup instructions in the Install section

I also cleaned up and clarified each with links in the Install section:

Requirements:

• Both Steam GTR2 or non-Steam GTR2 should work with SimHub
  • Steam GTR2 will use "Telemetry plugin (Steam version only" in SimHub > GTR2 > Game Config > Telemetry Mode option
  • Non-Steam GTR2 will use "Basic game shared memory (Any game version)" in SimHub > GTR2 > Game Config > Telemetry Mode option

Recommended:

• Crew Chief is not exactly required but some telemetry data is not available to SimHub without Crew Chief's GTR2 telemetry fixes (eg. some tire and suspension data) and so some overlays might not work as expected
  • Install instructions and documentation here: https://thecrewchief.org/showthread...Setup-Instructions-Known-Issues-and-Changelog

Notes:

• SimHub:
  • Install SimHub by downloading here: https://www.simhubdash.com
  • Learn how to install it here:
  • Learn how to use SimHub with a series of excellent tutorials here:
• Crew Chief:
  • Install Crew Chief by downloading here: https://thecrewchief.org/
  • Crew Chief GTR2 plugin Install instructions here: https://thecrewchief.org/showthread...Setup-Instructions-Known-Issues-and-Changelog
  • Crew Chief GTR2 plugin manual here: https://thecrewchief.org/downloads/gtr2/GTR2_CC_EP.zip

My release notes for V13 were probably confusing regarding the Leaderboard Practice/Qualifying vs Race sessions.

Simply put, the Leaderboard works properly in all sessions now as of V13.

I had just meant to say the issues with the Delta/Gap column were fixed.

The issue was properly displaying the Delta/Gap column as either delta-to-leader-laptime in Practice/Qualifying or gap-to-leader-position in a Race session.

It should all be working now.

I updated the last update and the overview and the files in the mod to better describe the fix.

Version 13 (2022-03-04..2022-04-14):

• [Dash Overlay] Redline blinking fixes, minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Mini Dash Overlay] Redline blinking fixes, minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Mini Dash V Overlay] Redline blinking fixes, minor visual improvements/fixes
• [Leaderboard Overlay] Delta/Gap column now correctly displays delta-to-leader-laptime in Practice/Qualifying or gap-to-leader-position in Race.
• [Leaderboard Overlay] Fixed off-by-one sorting bug where Delta should have corresponded to the row above it
• [Note] [SimHub] GameRawData.Data.session: 1=Practice 1, 2=Practice 2, 3=Qualify 1, 4=Qualify 2, 5=Warmup, 6=Race
• [Known Issue] [SimHub] GameData.SessionTypeName shows "Qualify" in a Race
• [Known Issue] [Leaderboard Overlay] Delta/Gap column now using GTR2-specific parameter "GameRawData.Data.session" to change Lap Delta to Position Gap in Practice/Qualifying vs Race, respectively: Delta to leader's laptime is used in Practice/Qualifying and Gap to leader's position is used in a Race.
• [Known Issue] [Leaderboard Overlay] Delta/Gap column uses GTR2-specific parameter "GameRawData.CurrentPlayer.timeBehindLeader" as a SimHub parameter isn't available outside of the special Leaderboard logic
• [Known Issue] [Leaderboard Overlay] [Fixed in V13] Delta/Gap column was incorrect in a Race session vs Practice/Qualifying:
  • V12: The V12 overlay is suitable for Practice and Qualifying because Leaderboard positions are sorted by Position, that is Best Lap Times, but in a Race the Leaderboard should be sorted by Position on track, only, not Best Lap Times because anyone in the grid might set a new best lap time, at any time, but could be in any position. Currently, the Leaderboard is sorted by Best Lap Time so Deltas are confusing as you can't easily compare them to the first on the Leaderboard (as Position on Leaderboard is Best Lap Time position not racing position).
  • V13: These issues are fixed in V13 as described in the Leaderboard Overlay release notes, above.

- [Known Issue] [GTR2] GTR2 must be running with Metric in Options > Game > Unit Of Measurement. You can still use different units by selecting the related options in SimHub > Settings. I've chosen to do this to avoid complications of having variable units in two different places (SimHub vs GTR2).

- [New Splits Overlay] New overlay to show your split times and deltas. Currently limited to 3 splits as that's all GTR2 has. Will plan to handle more in the future to be compatible with others games and tracks.

Version 12:

- [Mod] Reorganized Release Notes and Development into separate files

- [Various Overlays] Optimize resource load with RenderingSkip for Status Overlay, Splits Overlay, OGD Status Overlay, Dash Overlay, Lap Overlay, Leaderboard Overlay, Position Overlay, Radar Overlay, Relative Overlay, Tyres Overlay

- [Known Issue] [Status Overlay] Only a US Gallon (~0.264 Gal/Lit) not an Imperial Gallon (~0.22 Gal/Lit) matches for Laps Remaining field when switching between SimHub's Imperial vs Liters Fuel Unit setting.

- [Known Issue] [SimHub] DataCorePlugin.Computed.Fuel_RemainingLaps changes depending on its SimHub Fuel Unit setting. RemainingLaps is unrelated to Fuel Unit and so should not be changing. Means I have to calculate it manually for now.

- [Known Issue] [GTR2] GTR2 must be running with Metric in Options > Game > Unit Of Measurement. You can still use different units by selecting the related options in SimHub > Settings. I've chosen to do this to avoid complications of having variable units in two different places (SimHub vs GTR2).

- [Status Overlay] Support user preference units (ie. imperial vs metric). Fuel amount displayed using correct unit.

- [Tyres Overlay] Support user preference Imperial vs Metric units (SimHub provides a way to do this already). Temperatures already supported Fehrenheit vs Celcius. Now tyre pressure is diaplayed as either PSI, KPA, or BAR, depending on what you have set in the SimHub settings (values and labels are displayed appropriately).

- [Known Issue] [SimHub Bug] Limited to 3 sectors so could be considered a GTR2 specific thing that will limit applicability to other sims where there might be more sectors on a track

- [Known Issue] [Crew Chief] Sector time callouts are using Sector*BestLapTime for comparison but I think Sector*BestTime values make more sense. The difference is BestLapTime is all time best while BestTime is session best.

- [Lap Overlay] Minor cosmetic changes

- [New Splits Overlay] New overlay to show your split times and deltas. Currently limited to 3 splits as that's all GTR2 has. Will plan to handle more in the future to be compatible with others games and tracks.

- [Leaderboard Overlay] Minor cosmetic fixes

Version 11:

- [Note] Since I've been straying from the original GTR2 HUD design in V11 I'll be saving "original GTR2 design" versions of the ones I'm customizing using the "OGD" acronym. I can't promise I'll keep them up-to-date but they'll be in the archive if you don't like straying from the original design.

- [Status Overlay] Replaced Best laptime with Last laptime since it's duplicated in the Position Overlay already and added Optimal laptime in the old Last laptime place. Optimal laptime is calculated based on the sum of your best sector times in the session.

- [Mini Dash Overlay] Swapped RPM and Speed positions to match Dash Overlay change since Mini Dash is intended to be a compact version of the Dash Overlay.

- [Dash Overlay] Swapped RPM and Speed so Speed is on the left to be closer visually

- [Leaderboard Overlay] Added extra Player row that is always visible outside the top 20 while if you're within the Top 20 that row disappears and you display like normal in the Leaderboard

- [Leaderboard Overlay] Discovered the Gap column was using the wrong property and the right property was actually available so now using Opponent Delta as provided by SimHub

Since I've been straying from the original GTR2 HUD design in V11 I'll be saving "original GTR2 design" versions of the ones I'm customizing using the "OGD" acronym. I can't promise I'll keep them up-to-date but they'll be in the archive if you don't like straying from the original design.

Here's a few laps at Valencia National in the Corvette C5-R to showcase the look and feel, preview the new mini dashes, Leaderboard with fixed deltas, and the Status Overlay now has an Optimal laptime field that is a sum of your best sectors.

Reminder all overlays are optional and fully resizable and repositionable so pick and choose what you like.