RBR mod creation

kubasienki · Mar 21, 2023

Hello,
I'm a software developer and in my free time I enjoy coding projects. Recently I've began researching into a possibility of writing an AI for Richard Burns rally. NOT LIKE AN AI OPPONENT, but rather AI player, playing the game. I've run similar projects before, from the AI side, but have no experience in modding games.
I would need some interface between the game and the script running an AI driver. I'm looking for a way to change RBR to suit my needs. I have hard time finding a modding guide. Where do I find one?

I've linked a paper which inspired this idea. I don't anticipate such results, but it still may be fun.

jgf · Mar 22, 2023

Unlike other sims, in rally sims the AI do not actually "drive"; in fact you never even see them. The game computes their stage times from track parameters, weather conditions, specs of the cars, and individual driver parameters, then throws in a random factor for "luck".

Most modding for RBR has been to the physics of the player's car(s); I don't know if anyone has delved into the equations for AI stage times. It would be interesting though.

kubasienki · Mar 22, 2023

Thanks for your reply. I think you misunderstood me, I'm looking into creating not an opponent, but rather an AI player. I don't want to change player's experience by changing the opponents, I want to create an AI playing the game as a player would.

Do you know any resources showing how to start any code modding? I think if I'll get a foothold I can progress into what I want.

jgf · Mar 22, 2023

Ah, you want the computer to play the game. (Which is where I feel F1 is headed - program the tracks into the cars and let computers drive them.) I've no knowledge of programming but think what you propose shouldn't be too difficult; to make it interesting there would need to be fuzzy logic so the computer wouldn't run robotic laps (not always applying the brakes at the optimum point and amount, not always turning at the exact spot every lap, etc.)

kubasienki · Mar 22, 2023

jgf said:
Ah, you want the computer to play the game. (Which is where I feel F1 is headed - program the tracks into the cars and let computers drive them.) I've no knowledge of programming but think what you propose shouldn't be too difficult; to make it interesting there would need to be fuzzy logic so the computer wouldn't run robotic laps (not always applying the brakes at the optimum point and amount, not always turning at the exact spot every lap, etc.)

Yes, I won't implement it on a track basis or program the computer to do the same thing every time. I'll try to make a generic AI - similar to the link in the first post.

Do you know any resources which will show me how to mod the game?

jgf · Mar 22, 2023

Sorry, I'm of little help in that area, but I think you might have luck working with custom dlls, which RBR accepts in its PlugIns folder, that interface with the main program. There are some folks in the forums here who have worked with those.