ACC Blog: MoTeC Telemetry and Dedicated ACC Workspace

Paul Jeffrey

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ACC MoTeC Aris Blog.jpg

Kunos physics expert Aristotelis Vasilakos continues the new build blog post tradition... this time paying attention to the new MoTeC functionality within the sim...

With release six of Assetto Corsa Competizione comes the inclusion of support for the often discussed, and rarely understood MoTeC telemetry support.. a bit of a black art that Kunos Simulazioni physics developer Aris Vasilakos attempts to explain in his latest blog posting release.

Frankly I know what it is, but not how to use it properly, so I'll shut up and let you read the new post from Aris in full below...

Assetto Corsa Competizione officially supports data analysis, by exporting in MoTec i2 native format.

Assetto Corsa Competizione has been conceived since the beginning to recreate a GT3 racing car, in the most faithful and realistic way, as well as the complexity of the Blancpain GT3 series championship. Users of ACC can obviously just jump in and drive the amazing GT3 cars of the Blancpain series, but as the competition heats up, they will find that the GT3 cars are very sensitive vehicles and their performance and handling characteristics are greatly depended by setup choices. Industry first simulation features in ACC, further influence the cars behaviour as in real life. As simracers and real life drivers are using ACC seeking for more performance, car and driving data acquisition and analysis becomes of paramount importance in order to optimise Practice Sessions training and bring a good car setup for Qualifying and Race Sessions.

MoTeC i2 software solution is an industry leader in data analysis. It can help greatly with reviewing overlaid data, creating track maps analysis, comparing graphs, implementing math channels and more. All of the above and more, if properly used, can provide a good indication of the car handling and give good hint on driver’s performance.

MOTEC i2 DOWNLOAD LINKS
You can download MoTeC i2 software from the following links:
MoTeC software latest releases page: https://www.motec.com.au/software/latestreleases/
direct download MoTeC i2 Pro: i2 Pro V1.1.4.0454 (64Bit)
(it is free for non professional use)


ACC WORKSPACE
To get the most out of a telemetry lap analysis, you need to know how to read it. The MoTeC i2 software is created with the help and used by the best motorsport racing teams all around the world. It is a complex software than can intimidate even the most knowledgable racing engineers. Because of that, we collaborated with a racing engineer to create a specific MoTeC workspace. A workspace is a sort of a template that includes various worksheets with different data channels, histograms, track maps etc. It gives you a perfect starting point to work on your laps, with ordered data and worksheets for each kind of analysis you intend to undergo. The workspace is based on actual real driver performance evaluation and is specifically tuned for ACC data channel export.

ACC uses exclusively real data to simulate the GT3 cars and tyres of the Blancpain GT3 series. As you would expect, such data are protected under heavy NDAs and licensing. We took extra care to protect such data but on the other hand we understand the necessity to provide simracers with proper telemetry output. The ACC data export and MoTeC workspace is all that is needed to evaluate driver performance and car behaviour. The number of the available data channels might seem more limited than say AC1 exports, but it is both realistic in terms that you get data channels that actual cars have, and more permit to focus more on the driver and car performance than reverse engineering and validation.

HOW TO INSTALL THE ACC WORKSPACE
Once you have installed the MoTeC i2 software, run it at least once then close.
Start Assetto Corsa Competizione and go to any track with any car. Then close ACC.
Now into your “documents/Assetto Corsa Competizione/MoTeC/Workspaces” you’ll find a folder named “base_ACC”. Copy this folder inside “documents/MoTeC/i2/Workspaces” folder and it will appear through the available workspaces inside the MoTeC i2 software.
Alternatively you could double click on the file ”base_ACC.i2wsp-archive” and the workspace will auto-install, but on some configurations windows might not recognize how to run this file.


HOW TO EXPORT TELEMETRY FROM ACC
To enable ACC telemetry export, all you have to do, is go into the “Electronics” section of the car setup and set the number of laps that you want to be saved. Every time you go out to the track, ACC will automatically export the number of laps selected. If you do more laps than selected, it will save the latest ones. For every time you go to the track, a new session of telemetry will be exported. In that way you can create different setups that export a different amount of laps, giving you the possibility to have practice session setup that save a big amount of telemetry laps and race setups that save less or no telemetry laps at all, keeping your RAM and HDD space under control during long races.

telemetry_laps_setup.jpeg.jpg


HOW TO LOAD ACC TELEMETRY EXPORT
The telemetry export laps are saved under “documents/Assetto Corsa Competizione/MoTeC” folder. If you have MoTeC i2 software installed, you can simply double click on the “.ld” files and they will open inside the telemetry software, ready for analysing.
You can also exchange telemetry files, but make sure you share not only the “.ld” files but also the accompanying “.ldx” file.
You can of course open different telemetry laps and session, from inside the i2 software. Go to the far left vertical panel and click on the Data vertical button.

data_panel_button_small.jpeg.jpg


The new panel will scroll in from the left and if you have already loaded a session, it will display a list of laps. You can select up to 3 to overlay one over another.

Clicking on the top left load icon (image folder with green + icon), a new window will appear.

data_panel_button_load.jpeg.jpg


If not already, navigate to the documents/assetto corsa competizione/MoTeC folder and you will get a list of various telemetry sessions with the name of the car and the rack. Double clicking on any of them, will add them to the bottom window (selected files).

load_telemetry_worksheet.jpeg.jpg


Click Open and they will be available to the Data panel for selection and analysis.

ACC WORKSPACE WALKTHROUGH
The ACC workspace, consist of various worksheets with preloaded data channels that can help you analyse your track sessions.
What follow is a short description of the worksheets available and how to use their functionality to analyse your driving and car behavior.


COMPARE WORKSHEET
compare_worksheet.jpeg.jpg


This worksheets, include the classic channels of SPEED, RPMS (engine revs), GEAR, BRAKE, THROTTLE.

You can open a laptime the DATA panel that stays at the far left side of the MoTeC window, vertical buttons.

From the DATA panel you can select multiple laps even from multiple sessions to compare between them. This first “compare worksheet” will give you a clear indication of how a lap is faster than another, gear usage, brake and throttle application. The main speed graph can be zoomed to show he actual speed the car maintains to every part of the track.

DRIVER WORKSHEET
driver_worksheet.jpeg.jpg


The “worksheet Driver” uses all the previous data channels but also adds STEERANGLE and GLAT (lateral g forces) and GLONG (longitudinal g forces). Comparing two different laps, you can easily check if a given steer input can generate more g’s and what’s the result in speed. Brake and throttle application comparison is also very important for driver and setup evaluation.

WHEELSPEED WORKSHEET
wheelspeed_worksheet.jpeg.jpg


The “worksheet Wheelspd (wheel speed)” is used specifically, to understand differences in wheel speed, enabling the engineer to point out excessive wheel spin under acceleration, or slight lockups under heavy braking. Even though the cars use ABS, it can be optimised to give maximum braking force in a straight line, but that might bring slight lockups on turn entry. This worksheet can help optimising such situations.

UNDERSTEER&OVERSTEER WORKSHEET
understeer_oversteer_worksheet.jpeg.jpg


A great help for the engineer and the driver, that bring an objective perspective to the very delicate driver feedback in terms of understeer and oversteer.
Channels used: SPEED, STEERANGLE, glat, Oversteer, BRAKE, THROTTLE
The Oversteer channel is a math channel. It will give negative numbers for understeer and positive numbers for oversteer. Ideally you need a bit of understeer to stabilise the car and give the driver the confidence to push for a better lap time. A hint of oversteer out of slow turns is good to have as long as the throttle application remains confident and not tentative. If after an oversteer moment, you can observe a big dip in throttle application, that means that the driver is simply not confident to push and action is needed to maintain car control so time is lost.


Much more information can be acquired from this worksheet and we will produce more tutorials on how to use the ACC telemetry workspace in the near future.

ENGINE REVS WORKSHEET
rpm_histo_worksheet.jpeg.jpg


This worksheet visualises the engine usage and gear usage through a complete lap. It can also help to determine and instruct the driver to use the best revs range of the engine, to take advantage of the best acceleration possible. Keep in mind that GT3 engines are heavily restricted by rules, so for most of them, pushing the engine to the rev limiter is counterproductive. This worksheet is the perfect place to understand how to use the engine.

Again, much more information can be acquired from this worksheet and we will produce more tutorials on how to use the ACC telemetry workspace in the near future.

SUSPENSION HISTOGRAM WORKSHEET

The suspension histogram worksheet, visualises the damper velocity for each wheel. It’s a great tool to understand if a damper setting is not ideal for the track and car combination, or certain specific damper choices that might be forced in order to maintain a better aerodynamic platform and make the aerodynamic devices of the car, work more efficiently. Generally if a damper is properly setup you should expect to see a symmetrical bell graph with the damper passing more time in the low speeds thus producing higher bars in the middle of the graph. Highly asymmetrical graphs indicate that the damper is setup badly in bump or rebound, fast or slow, or a specific damper setting is required for the setup of the car, for whatever reason.



Assetto Corsa Competizione is available on Steam Early Access - Release status 6.

For more of the latest news and discussions about Assetto Corsa Competizione, head over to the ACC sub forum here at RaceDepartment and stay in touch with everything ACC!

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As a "competitive online racer" that has limited time to get fast from one race to the next, Motec is essential.
I have two racing buddies that are more or less my pace over a total lap and one friend that is extremely fast and races in leagues beyond my level.
Often I learn a new track+car combo until I can push confidently and then ask my friend to do a benchmark lap for me.
I also gather the data from my other two buddies.
Then I spend about an hour taking notes for each corner, pinning it next to my monitor. I also note down where my buddies are quicker or slower than me and send them my notes if I could find something during my analysis.

That way my practice becomes way more efficient and with only 2 hours a week on a new track and one hour in Motec I find myself always close or on the podium.

Seeing where time is lost or a setup fails Black on white and to miniscule detail is crucial for efficiency.

Not boring at all for some people. Extremely wanted and needed for people like me!

(I'm studying engineering so that explains it too I guess :p)
 
I used to spend a lot of time with Motec trying to make the car go faster. Then I got tired of it, it's not worth investing the time. Learn the basics of setup, enough to make the car behave in a way close to what you enjoy and have fun.
I only look Motec once in a while if there is a place I suspect the car is hitting the ground like at the Eau Rouge.
 
Dumb question: how do I navigate the setup menus tyres/electronics/fuel/dampers/aero in VR? I only have access to the first one (tyres), and can't move to the other tabs.
Open the game on regular monitor, bind the keys to navigate through the menus and then open the game in VR.

Now back on topic :)

So, I need an engineering degree now. My competences in telemtry reading are the same of our politics in Italy.

@RasmusP where did you learn to read that fancy colored lines?
 
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So we basically have nothing to judge aero, unless I missed some damper position graphs in the text, or a ride height sensor.

Aside from that, a fairly realistic approach to daa acquisition. Some monitoring channels are out as well, but they dont make sense in a sim currently
 
Open the game on regular monitor, bind the keys to navigate through the menus and then open the game in VR.

Now back on topic :)

So, I need an engineering degree now. My competences in telemtry reading are the same of our politics in Italy.

@RasmusP where did you learn to read that fancy colored lines?
For dampers and suspension it's really complicated and while I understand the data I still set the cars up by feel and testing...
I mostly use Motec to compare the driving and that's very simple:
Select 2 laps and the data gets overlayed. One lap colored, the other one only white.
Then you scroll through the lap and check what the faster lap did differently.
Pretty basic as I only use:
- Line (didn't see the map I use in there but I'll create one I guess)
- pedal input
- steering input

Important buttons:
F3: shows the time gap as a separate line
F9: switches between metres and time
O: activates the offset to keep the laps synced for each corner

Mostly you want to use metres as the laps will stay synced. Only if one lap takes a shorter line it will need some offset. With "time" one dataset will run away.

And the rest is done trial and error until you learn where to click and how to scroll.
Shift + arrow keys scrolls the area you're looking at.
 
I'm waiting for an F1 Challenge 99-02 style telemetry to come back to a game so bad.

I believe that telemetry was the perfect telemetry for the masses with enough information and flexibility to help the majority of people analyse and compare laps/driving while giving enough options and flexibility for some more advanced stuff (but nothing too crazy).

All we need is for games to come out with proper telemetry maps for their circuits, "proper" as in not just a line representing the track but the full width so you can see exact car lines/placement. Combining a proper track map with lines and different colour lines representing brakes, gas, coast, etc. is, in my opinion, probably the easiest and quickly-effective way for most people to get benefit out of telemetry. Overlaying 2 laps on the map on the left side with some brake and throttle charts on the right side is incredibly effective especially for how fast and easy it is to setup and understand by almost any one.


0:48 - 1:43 is what I'm talking about, I miss that so much!!!
.
 
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I tried to use motec for a while ten years ago in Race 07 and it was nice, but I always thought it could be implemented inside the sim. I would never imagine that in 2019 we wouldn't have a single sim with this feature implemented. It would make our lives much easier.
 
I think this is a fantastic addition to ACC, I rarely use MoTeC to it's full potential these days but this may just get me back involved. Sure enough it's easy to live without it, but just to have it there at your disposal when you want to dig deeper into your setups & driving style is great, thank you Kunos :)
 
Inside the iRacing forum I have had this same kind of discussion about MoteC where people basically not interrested using this analysing tool did use as excuse that MoteC is too difficult to use for anybody else than autistic data nerds.
In opposition to this my own attitude (and personal learning way) was to start using only two or three simple data channels that intuitively applyed to my day to day driving problems.
This was Braking vs Throttle vs GearShift.:)

And when I realised how much I could gain (in car control and laptime:whistling:) by slightly change my behaviour in this narrow area I stepwise expanded the channels I focus´ed on.
Later on my personal learning route I began experimenting with some more advanced (or nerdy :laugh:) data display analysis that I have described in another thread.
Assetto Corsa Competizione: Release 6 Previews

So my comment to people that is against MoteC or more general telemetry display in racing sims is just dont use it yourself but let other enjoy it - because there is no reason to try to talk it down just because you have no personal interrest in using it.:thumbsup:
 
I used to spend a lot of time with Motec trying to make the car go faster. Then I got tired of it, it's not worth investing the time.

Especially if you get varying results across sims engines, chassis and tyre

Now , if all that Motec data was consistent across all sims ( as it is in real life ) that would really be something ...............of course you would need a control engine for that, something most everyone would be dead set against ..........explain the logic in that. .

Me I like historics mainly where they never had it :)

Like Tony Brooks said " Its Formula 1 but it ain't no Grand Prix"
 
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