iRacing: AI Development Update

[Paul Jeffrey]

Following a community enquiry about the status of AI development in iRacing, RaceDepartment reached out for a comment from those in the know...

Behind the scenes, the new AI code has been in development for the online racing simulation for a couple of years now, in fact I managed to get some seat time with the WIP version of the AI build back at the 2018 Sim Racing Expo, but a little bit of confusion about the current development direction appears to have taken seed within the community in recent days.

Earlier this week I noticed one of our community members mention a curious comment from the iRacing customer services, who noted that AI development within the sim isn't something on the immediate priority plan list. Curious, the community member in question posted a comment asking if anyone knows more about this potential change in development direction by the title.

Having thought about it myself, I noticed we hadn't actually had much in the way of news about the AI for quite a while, which led me to reach out to our friends at iRacing for an update directly from the people behind the sim itself.

Fear not, AI is still very much on the cards for a release "sooner rather than later". What's more, a career mode is also in the works!

"Yes, I can confirm we are definitely on with development of AI for iRacing. In fact we have been for a couple of years" said Executive Director of iRacing, Tony Gardner.​

"We hope to release it sooner rather than later. Although even after we release it, just like everything we will continue to improve it, both the AI itself and the career mode/features around it.

It really just looks look any other iRacing race, if we are doing it correctly that is how it should look. In fact we have put out plenty of videos already using AI, we just didn’t make much of a point that it was AI. For example showing off a new piece of content, like a car or track...." ​

So there you go folks, iRacing will indeed be getting an AI update in the near future... plus a nice and unexpected bonus in the form of some kind of career mode.. rumours be gone!

For more news about iRacing, head over to the iRacing sub forum here at RaceDepartment and get involved with the community today!

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[Tony 93]

i racing just keep getting better in all aspects of sim racing

 

[Mr.Mints_Taboo]

i racing just keep getting better in all aspects of sim racing

Tony 9ardne3 really ought to hide his identity better.
This is not an ad hominem attack, as I tend to agree with him.

 

[Giovaneveterano]

No updates so far?

 

[Deleted member 205301]

funny people here

 

[Giovaneveterano]

 

[Mike Kadlcak]

Dave Kaemmer
iRacing Members, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become more and more a part of our everyday lives. We are excited to say that tomorrow, iRacing is introducing AI as a new aspect of our service.

For more than a decade you’ve been able to drive against the best sim racers in the world in our Official or Ranked racing competitions and some of you have risen to the top and are racing in our World Championship eSports. You’ve also had the ability run in open practices, run in special events with and without official teams, to host races or run in hundreds of leagues through our hosting and league racing service. In addition you’ve been able to drive alone out on the track in testing, in Time Trials and in Time Attack.

Tomorrow you can begin beta testing iRacing AI against computer-controlled, highly adjustable drivers in two ways – in single races or in championship seasons. iRacing AI is still a work in progress; that is why we are beginning with an introductory soft launch open to all iRacing members featuring just the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car racing on 7 selected road courses. If all goes well we will soon be launching NASCAR cup cars in a soft launch as well on a number of oval and road tracks.

This is just the beginning of a number of exciting possibilities for iRacing AI. Currently, Members are able to create rosters of highly adjustable, customizable drivers who can be set to differing levels of skill, aggressiveness, age/reflexes, pitting ability, etc. You’ll be able to replicate the driving attributes of your real-life friends and rivals not to mention rosters of great drivers of the past or present.

I’m sure you’ve raced AI before on other games. Well, here is your first opportunity to race against what will be the most intelligent AI you’ve ever faced. They will also be the toughest once you begin to exceed your overall skill setting. You can also adjust each individual AI driver skill setting and the overall skill spread of the AI field you are racing against.

Full release notes for this build will be shared in a separate post later this afternoon.

We look forward to hearing your initial feedback on iRacing AI, and thanks very much for your passion and support of iRacing! Happy Holidays!

 

[F_B]

Yep, indeed.
Porsche 911 cup car for the start with 7 road courses.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

yes!!! plus, there will be the new tire model on the cup car, sounds like a nice playtoy for the next couple of weeks. thx for posting here!

 

[Kurupt CDN]

Can't wait to test this out!

I was contemplating if I should pickup another 1yr or 2 yr subscription the past 2 days before the Black Friday sale ends.
With the addition of ai and a new tm on the Porsche and the fact I can race in VR on an old i5 3570k gtx 970.... now it's a no brainier

 

[OzzyNeil]

I knew this would happen, as soon as I let my membership expire because of no AI, they drop this, and in my favourite car, Siiiiiick.

 

[newbert]

Is this really legit? (I see no mention of it on the iRacing site. )

But, if true, there's finally a reason for me to renew my membership! As long as members.iracing.com gets working again before the Black Friday deal deadline. (I'm getting a 404 error at the moment...)

 

[Kurupt CDN]

Is this really legit? (I see no mention of it on the iRacing site. )

But, if true, there's finally a reason for me to renew my membership! As long as members.iracing.com gets working again before the Black Friday deal deadline. (I'm getting a 404 error at the moment...)

It's all on the site...here is a bit of the build notes

This season release includes a soft launch of AI Races, three new cars, two new tracks, more V7 Tires, and plenty more to keep you busy! Welcome to iRacing 2020 Season 1!


Some highlights include:
• Supercars Ford Mustang GT
• Supercars Holden ZB Commodore
• Skip Barber Formula 2000 - re-built from the ground up!
• Lernerville Speedway
• Lime Rock Park - re-built from the ground up!
• AI Races - soft launch
• V7 Tires added to additional vehicles
• New Damage Model added to Dallara F3
• Incident and Penalty Updates
• Custom Vehicle Spec Maps
• Updated Crowds
• iRacing BETA Interface Changes
• Much more!


Full 2020 Season 1 Release details are below.



iRACING BETA INTERFACE:

Overall

- Some big quality of life updates have been completed on the iRacing BETA Interface!
- - The top menu bar has been adjusted and compressed. Many of the options have been re-organized slightly, and many are now located in a menu that appears when you click on your helmet in the top-right corner.
- - A direct link to the Member Forums as well as to the Classic Membersite can be found in this menu.
- - The side bar menu at the left is now collapsible.

- Light Theme!
- - A brand new Light Theme has been added to the iRacing BETA Interface.
- - The Light Theme is now the default for the iRacing BETA Interface.
- - - To switch back to the Dark Theme, click on your helmet in the top-right corner, and select Dark Theme.

- Connectivity throughout the iRacing BETA Interface has been improved.
- - User authentication for logging in and connecting has been made exponentially faster!
- - Data authentication has been simplified, and is more stable.

- Improved sizing performance on modal windows.

- Cookies are now properly created and used across the application.


AI Races - Soft Launch

- AI Races are now available through the iRacing BETA Interface!
- - This soft launch of AI Races is designed to give you a taste of what we've been working on, and to help us with additional feedback!
- - Click on "Go Racing" and then "AI Races" to start competing against fully customizable racers with artificial intelligence!
- - Learn more about iRacing AI here: www.iracing.com/how-to-use-iracing-ai/

- AI Races includes a variety of functionality and customization for you to enjoy.
- - Jump right in, and run a Single AI Race against a Roster of AI Drivers.
- - Craft your very own AI Season of events, earn championship points, and try to claim the top spot of the podium.
- - Create a Roster of up to 60 AI Drivers to compete against; including custom paint jobs, adjustable driver personalities, customizable racing skills, and much more.
- - - Please note that using over 40 AI Drivers may have an impact on frame rates as well as cause some quirky AI Driver behavior.
- - Use randomly generated Rosters to get on track against AI Drivers quickly; you might even see some familiar names out on the track.
- - Use iRacing supplied Official AI Seasons, and coming soon: iRacing supplied Official AI Rosters!
- - Share your custom built AI Seasons and Rosters with other iRacers - see who is the master of the bots!
- - - Learn more about creating and editing Custom AI Rosters here: www.iracing.com/airoster
- - Adjust the challenge and difficulty of the AI Drivers to help you train and improve your racing.
- - - The default Driver Skill range is set to 25% - 50%. This should be a good place to start for an average driver.
- - - We recommend a Driver Skill spread (the difference between maximum and minimum) of about 30% for the best racing experience.

- AI Races are currently available using the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (991).

- AI Races are currently available on the following Track Configurations:
- - Barber Motorsports Park - Full Course
- - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - Grand Prix
- - Donington Park Racing Circuit - Grand Prix
- - Lime Rock Park - Classic
- - Nürburgring Grand-Prix-Strecke - Grand Prix
- - Road America - Full Course
- - Watkins Glen International - Cup

- Please keep in mind, this is a soft launch of this feature. We are very excited to get your feedback, and look forward to optimizing, updating, and adding much more to AI Races in the future.


Create a Race

- You can now add Race Admins to user-created races.

- Lap count is now shown on the Create a Race Summary page.

- New Create a Race Options have been added:
- - Consecutive Cautions Restart Single File
- - - When a Caution is triggered immediately following a previous Caution period, the subsequent Caution restart is single file.
- - Wave-Around
- - If enabled, during the Caution period, lap cars that stayed out during pit stops to receive the Wave-Around will be allowed to do so when the "1 to Go" signal is displayed. Lap cars pacing behind the leader will be shuffled to the back.
- - Do Not Count Caution Laps
- - - Laps completed while the Caution flag is displayed will not be counted towards the number of event laps completed. This option cannot be enabled unless Automatic Full Course Yellows is also enabled.
- - - This Race Option has also been added to Heat Racing configurations for any Heat Races in the race weekend.

- When you finish Create a Race, the interface now properly redirects you to the proper view to see your newly created race.

- You can now easily select content you do not own.

- In "All Steps" view, when returning from Time Limit Details or Heat Session modal windows, you are now returned to the step from which you left.

- Create a Race has been overhauled for stability and speed.

- Fixed an issue where Hardcore Level was not defaulting to the correct setting.

- Fixed an issue where the Back button was not visible when creating a League Session.

- Fixed an issue where a Session with a Qualifier could have the time be zero minutes.

- Fixed an issue where wind speed would not be converted properly when set as KPH.

- Fixed an issue where sorting compact tables was not functional.

V7 Tires

- V7 Tires have been enabled on the following vehicles:
- - Formula Renault 2.0
- - Formula Renault 3.5
- - Global Mazda MX-5 Cup
- - Kia Optima
- - Legends Ford '34 Coup (ALL)
- - NASCAR Gander Outdoors Chevrolet Silverado
- - NASCAR Gander Outdoors Toyota Tundra
- - NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 - 2018
- - NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Ford Mustang
- - NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Toyota Camry
- - NASCAR Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado - 2013
- - Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car (991)
- - Street Stock
- - Supercars Ford Mustang GT
- - Supercars Holden ZB Commodore
- - VW Jetta TDI Cup
- - [Archive] Ford Falcon FG V8
- - [Archive] Holden VF Commodore V8
- - [Archive] Mazda MX-5 Cup - 2015
- - [Archive] Mazda MX-5 Roadster - 2015
- - [Archive] NASCAR Cup Chevrolet SS
- - [Archive] NASCAR Cup Ford Fusion
- - [Archive] NASCAR Nationwide Chevrolet Impala - 2011
- - [Archive] NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevrolet Impala COT - 2013
- - [Archive] V8 Supercar Ford Falcon - 2012

- Off-track grip has been reduced slightly.


New Damage Model

- New Damage Model has been enabled on the Dallara F3!

- With this build, we have concentrated on stability and quality improvements along with an overhaul of how the sound system integrates with the New Damage Model.

- Stability Improvements:
- - Transitions from Session to Session are now stable.
- - Moving to and from the garage is now stable.
- - Wheel-to-wheel contact and damage is now stable.

- Quality Improvements:
- - The appearance of scrapes, scratches, and debris has been improved. Damage should now look more appropriate given the materials of the parts and the damaged areas.
- - The force required to trigger an incident due to track hits has been adjusted.
- - The interaction between driver tires and the driving surfaces has been updated to improve handling of irregular geometry such as aggressive curbs.
- - Suspension damage has been adjusted; suspension will now bend within more reasonable parameters.
- - Objects and opponent cars will now more often run at 60hz for improved performance.

- Sound Improvements:
- - The audio system now supports playing many more scrape sounds, is more efficient, has lower triggering thresholds, and much more!
- - The threshold for triggering "medium" and "hard" impact sounds has been increased to increase sound diversity and realism.
- - Crash sounds have been offset forward by a meter to stop DirectSound from always pushing the sounds to the center-front speaker.
- - Fixed an issue where scrape sounds were not loud enough in Replays.
- - Fixed issues with sounds related to hard curb impacts and medium concrete impacts.

 

[naondave]

This is awesome and it’s already so complete for a start as to how we can set up our championships. Down to also being able to set track conditions, weather, times and time lapse for each track. Means I can simulate a WEC season with 4 hour races and 24 hour races in between. Can’t wait when this is dropped for all the cars. Also keep bringing more Tyre model 7. Hopefully the AI is as good as they are claiming. This might become the only sim I need.

AI Racing - iRacing.com

Race against highly customizable, computer controlled iRacing AI drivers without worrying about safety rating or iRating!

www.iracing.com

 

[newbert]

Kurupt CDN - Looks pretty sweet! Thanks!

EDIT: AHA, It looks like those sly dogs at iRacing may have done it again --- I don't currently have the Porsche 911 in my stable, nor do I have many of the tracks that the AI will run on. So, it'll likely require more $$$ than just renewing my membership!

One would have hoped that for a "soft launch" to "give a taste" of what's coming with the AI and "allowing us to help with additional feedback", iRacing would have used the basic package of cars and tracks without requiring additional purchases. Do they want to maximize the pool of beta testers or not?

Or maybe they'll prove me wrong and provide the Porsche and Tracks to everyone only for use in AI Racing? ---- NAH!!!

 

[naondave]

Even the pit crews have AI.

AI Roster Management - iRacing.com

www.iracing.com

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

lol, they have an option for chickens: "When setting your opponent roster, you’ll also be prompted with the “Avoid Me” option. When toggled on, this prevents AI cars from making contact with you during the race." from the "how to" page for setting up AI races. Laugh of the day.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

driver parameters you can set:

• Aggression: This affects the driver’s behavior when interacting with other cars. An aggressive driver will tend to give slightly less room to other drivers, and be more likely to attempt marginal overtaking moves. Consequently there is a greater chance of a collision between two aggressive drivers than between two cautious drivers.
• Optimism: An optimistic driver believes he is more skilled than he actually is. Hence he will attempt to drive through corners slightly quicker, brake slightly later, etc. There are two consequences of this. Firstly, a more optimistic driver will be slightly quicker than a less optimistic driver of the same skill. But secondly, the more optimistic driver is more likely to out-brake himself or run wide.
• Smoothness: This won’t make them any faster or slower, but the attitude of the car will be slightly different. Smooth drivers will tend to have more understeer while less smooth drivers will tend toward oversteer.
• Age: Driver age in years. This affects the driver’s reaction times, most obviously during standing starts.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

crew parameters:

• Pit Crew Skill: This affects pit service times, including changing tires, refueling, and repairing damage. A crew with a higher skill is less likely to experience delays carrying out these tasks.
• Pitting Strategy Riskiness: A crew with a higher risk rating is more likely to attempt a risky pit strategy, e.g. attempting to stop one less time than other crews, but with some risk of running out of fuel. A crew with a low rating will play it safe in these situations.

 

[F_B]

That sounds impressive however we better wait if that really is working.
In the best case Iracing will set new standards regarding AI. Fingers crossed.

I have the impression they really want do deliver a top notch experience. Remember…they told in the beginning of 2018 that they’ll launch AI (and have good progress already) and now they come two (!) years later and just bring in one car and seven tracks with it. Better gotta be pretty darn good AI if it took so long.

Here’s some more info:

AI Racing - iRacing.com

Race against highly customizable, computer controlled iRacing AI drivers without worrying about safety rating or iRating!

www.iracing.com

 

[BrunoBæ]

driver parameters you can set:
crew parameters:

I think I have seen something similiar about 17-20 years ago.