RCD (talent file)

Discussion in 'Car Modding' started by MikeeCZ, Jul 10, 2016.

  1. MikeeCZ

    MikeeCZ Registered

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    Wanted to ask if any of you would be so kind to explain me how is this working. I found little to no information about RDC around internet and im curious how this works.
    I would that the list of drivers is done by teams in the teams folder, so how does this combine with the RCD file.

    Now the list of parameters in the skipbarber RDC file is as follows:

    Eric Elliott
    {
    Nationality = American
    DateofBirth = 26-2-1984
    Starts = 0
    Poles = 0
    Wins = 0
    DriversChampionships = 0
    Aggression = 90.0 - I believe this gets multiplied by the AI agression set in general settings
    Reputation = 100.0 - obsolete line
    Courtesy = 95.0 - obsolete line
    Composure = 97.0 - this gets combined with the setting AI Limiter and the lower the number, more often does the driver make mistakes without provocation?
    Speed = 100.0 - percentage of the AIW path optimal speeds
    QualifySpeed = 90.0 -ratio of his speed for qualy only?
    WetSpeed = 90.0
    StartSkill = 115.0 - Dont know what this is or how does this work
    Crash = 0.7 - Only working when skipping sessions
    Recovery = 100.0 - No idea about this one
    CompletedLaps = 100.0 - Only working when skipping sessions
    MinRacingSkill = 90.0 - Will have few bad laps over the race, this affects how many and also by how much they are bad compared to normals



    Can somebody please explain questions ask and confirm/correct the descriptions of the parameters?

    What does the file has to be named and how do i get it working?

    Many thanks
     
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  2. Emery

    Emery Registered

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    Many years ago, on the former racesimcentral site, I think it was Joe Campana or MikeZ wrote a quick description of the talent file as it applied to rFactor 1. rFactor 2 is not too much different, but I recall there being new information. I'll update this post if I can find that newer information [now updated with MikeZ's info].

    StartSkill is the reaction time when the green flag drops, with StartSkill=0 being slow and StartSkill=100 a perfect reaction.

    DrivingLine= assigns an AIW path to a specific driver. See http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.p...ettings-Thread?p=246577&viewfull=1#post246577

    ***
    The old racesimcentral (RSC) post:

    Aggression 0 - 100 (%)
    As this number increases the AI will give other cars less room, both while passing and while following. It also increases the frequency at which they try to pass and the increases the threshold they are willing to endure before giving up a pass (or crashing, as the case may be...)
    The aggression slider in the UI also affects this directly. RCD Aggression * UI Aggression = final....and should always be between 0-100%.

    Reputation:
    Courtesy:
    Recovery:
    All but worthless or no longer used.


    Composure:
    The lower the number, the higher the frequency of "intentional" mistakes. (if AI Mistakes is > 0 in the playerfile) If AI Mistakes in the playerfile is set to 0.0, then the AI drivers never make mistakes. *cough* Well, mistakes that the programmer planned. "intentional" mistakes are things like, taking a turn too wide, or missing a breaking point.
    Increasing composure also decreases the time between bad driving zones. (also affected by the playerfile variable AI Limiter, see MinRacingSkill below)

    Speed: 0-100
    How close to "optimal" this driver drives a track. This number directly interacts with a variable in the AIW file called "AIRange" AIRange tells us how wide the gap, from 0-100% (expressed as 0.0 to 1.0 in the AIW) The default is 0.1 meaning that the full range of Speed RCD values from 0 to 100, are directly mapped to the top 10% of the max speed = 90-100% For example a driver with 100% speed will drive at (0.9 + 0.1 * 100%) = (0.9 + 0.1 * 1.0) = 100% of what he thinks the track can handle, while a driver with speed = 0 will drive at (0.9 + 0.1 * 0%) = (0.9 + 0.1 * 0) = 90% what he thinks the track can handle. There is a random fluctuation in this value, but it's much less than in previous version where the random fluctuation was so great that it made the original value meaningless.

    Crash: 0 - 100 %
    CompletedLaps: 0 - 100%
    Only used in auto completing laps (skipping practice/qualifying)

    MinRacingSkill=0 - 100%
    When the AI Limiter variable(from the playerfile) value is > 0.0, the AI drivers go through cycles of optimal driving and sub-optimal driving where their driving skill falls to MinRacingSkill * Speed. (Set the AI Limiter variable to 0.0, and the AIs will always drive to the best of their ability...every lap) So for example if you have a driver with Speed = 50, a AIRange in the AIWfile = 0.2), and MinRacingSkill = 90 This AI guy will usually drive around at (0.8 + 0.2 * 0.5) = 90% speed (really very very slow....but this is just an example), but will sometimes dip as low as (this speed * MinRacingSkill = (0.9* 0.9) = 81% while having a bad lap.....that is extremely low, but this is just an example with easy numbers.

    ***
    Where to put the RCD file?
    The RCD file goes into it's own MAS file which then is included (alongside the other MAS files) when building the package.

    Is my RCD file working?
    A good way to test if the Talent file is working is to deliberately make 1 or 2 drivers with Speed=0 and check in game that that they are much slower. When the file is working you can then reset Speed=.

    ***
    MikeZ expanded on Speed= and Aggression= in 2014:

    Some things to keep in mind: 1) The rcd "Speed" values are not constant throughout the race (though they change slower the closer to 0.0 your playerfile "AI Limiter" value is)....they fluctuate slightly throughout the race. 2) Also, upon RCD load (which happens between every session) the speed values have a small pseudo normal variation added. 3) The AI are extra careful behind the player's car. They try *really* hard not to ram the player in the back. As a consequence of that code, it is possible to keep the AI confused and behind you if you if you are actively working to mess with the AI instead of racing.

    In the standard retail build you're not privy to this second by second speed information, but in Mod Mode, you can see the current "Speed" value for the displayed AI car while in the AIW editor on the 3rd line up from the bottom (the line that reads, "track xx.xx obst xx.xx per x.xx", per = percentage of what the AI physics considers optimal speed. *) That is the value I use to determine when I think cars should attempt a pass or not. (The AI don't use this value though....they determine when to pass based only on what they perceive....having to brake before they want to...counting up the moments they think they are losing staying behind this guy...)

    One more thing. The RCD aggression values are not as significant as the playerfile aggression value. What I mean by that is, those rcd values (1-100%)are mapped into a %20 range whose start slides from 0 to 80% based on that playerfile slider. So an AI driver with %100 aggression while the Playerfile aggression is %0 is about as "aggressive" as an AI driver with %0 aggression when the playerfile aggression is set to 21%. These numbers aren't exact, but you get the idea.

    I did my tests between 25% and 50% playerfile aggression.


    * FYI "track" shows how much more meters per second the car could go to be limited by the track, "obst" means the same but limited by his relationships with other cars. When ever one of those values is negative, you know what the AI is slowing down in response to.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2016
  3. MikeeCZ

    MikeeCZ Registered

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    Awesome stuff thank you very much, would you mind also explaining the very introduction of RCD? i mean what exactly is it for when the drivers are defined in teams files, is this only for undrivable AI drivers? How do i get it work? Is the file itself has to have a specific name? Where do i refer to it from? the Line 1 is a car name, writen in a specific way, name of exactly what is this?
     
  4. alpha-bravo

    alpha-bravo Registered

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    Thank you Emery! A very informative and detailed information :cool:
     
  5. Juergen-BY

    Juergen-BY Registered

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    Probably i`m to dumb to understand that...
    When i have Ingame the Ai Aggression set to 25% and in the RCD file Aggression = 95%, i`ll have a total Aggression of 23%?
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2017
  6. JParra

    JParra Registered

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    Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I would like to ask a question very related to RCD files

    Is it possible that both the server and offline, rF2 save data about how real drivers have performed in online races, and then apply it to their cars in the case of being driven by AI?

    It seems to me too much coincidence, that when I do a simulation of a race with IA pilots, both on the server and offline, the same pilots who have been fast in online races, are always in the top positions and in the same way as the pilots who have had accidents, the same thing happens to them when the AI drives the car.

    Thanks.
     
  7. Juergen-BY

    Juergen-BY Registered

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    In short, no.
     
  8. JParra

    JParra Registered

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    And "in long" can there be something that justifies this behavior?
    If not, it strikes me as an amazing coincidence, far from what could be an acceptable probability.
     
  9. GertjanD

    GertjanD Registered

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    In the new UI, how do you change these AI settings in the game when you have duplicated a skin and created a new driver?
     
  10. Smeghead

    Smeghead Registered

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    pretty sure you cant
     
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  11. GertjanD

    GertjanD Registered

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    Shame that option is gone.
     
  12. Nicola59

    Nicola59 Registered

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  13. GertjanD

    GertjanD Registered

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  14. Forcer77

    Forcer77 Registered

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    hi! I tested AI a lot and talent files and can surely say that unfortunately rF2 AI is broken :( in talent files Composure and MinRacingSkill doesn't work as ISI explains in this file "RF2 Talent ( RCD ) explanations and settings" . I tested these parameters and it just doesn't work at all! I put different values and nothing helps, even when I put MinRacingSkill = 5 and Composure = 5 but AI drivers still do almost the same lap times (variability is very little per lap), although it should be huge difference. When AI limiter set to 0 it's impossible to make AI having variation lap times, AI drivers set almosy the same lap times completely ignoring MinRacingSkill and Composure parameters, they don't race with each others (very rare overtaking other AI drivers). It seems that such parameters in RCD file as Courtesy, Reputation, Recovery, Composure, MinRacingSkill change nothing. You can get AI variation and AI racing each others only if you set AI limiter higher than 0. But enabling AI limiter also turn on some weird and confusing AI behaviour... for example when I set AI limiter on 10% fastest AI drivers slow down in race and do lap times slower than 2 sec than in qualify while AI backmarkers suddenly accelerate and do 2 sec faster race lap times than they do in qualify. It's ridiculuos... So AI limiter forces AI drivers bunched and packed in race and it looks so weird. :(
    it's surprising but I found that even AI in old GTR2 works much better and GTR2 RCD parameters are much more effective and influencing AI behavior than rF2. Racing with AI in GTR2 much more enoyable than in rF2... it's so strange that so old game from 2004 has better AI than modern racing simulator
     
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  15. Nicola59

    Nicola59 Registered

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    Did You addressed rcd file ( talent ) like the car class, in veh file?
    To be working, RCD file must be named as the “class” of the mod it belongs to; the "class" of a mod is reported in the Veh files of that Mod.

    Example:

    If the name of the Mod is GT_2021, in the Veh files of that Mod the Class will be identified by

    Classes = "GT_2021".

    The RCD file ( that in Mod Dev will go into the Talent folder, while in the retail game must placed with main files ) must be called GT_2021.

    Beware that “ Classes” is not “Category”, always reported in Veh file, and reporting sometimes a different name ( for example: GT , or GT League, etc )
     
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  16. Forcer77

    Forcer77 Registered

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    I know all about it... RCD files work because parameters Speed and QualifySpeed work as it should be...
    But MinRacingSkill and Composure don't work at all if AI limiter = 0
    If AI limiter is higher than 0 then AI drivers get variability but AI limiter works very weird and makes AI bunched and packed as I wrote in my first comment (faster AI guys do slower lap times in race and slower AI guys do faster lap times).
     
  17. Emery

    Emery Registered

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    Keep AI limiter very small. 0.1 is too big, as you've discovered. 0.005 to 0.01 is more like it.
     
  18. Forcer77

    Forcer77 Registered

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    yes, it seems so... But I would like to make some AI variability in race lap times and force them to race against each others at least a little.. but when I set AI limiter from 0 to 0.05 AI is still very consistent in race no matter which values I set to Composure and MinRacingSkill in rcd file. I even changed AIRange values in AIW files from 0.1 to 0.5 and got some pleasing AI variability in qualify lap times but in race AI is still too consistent. I tried to experiment with AI limiter but was not satisfied. it works too weird when I raise it
     
  19. Nicola59

    Nicola59 Registered

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    To Forcer77:
    Yes..RCD are not making miracles, but...if You set well them, with all game parameters proportioned to Your Talent file, AI drivers commonly are not bad....( I can't say they are perfect or great because in RF2 AI Autolearning mode is not working ).
    Anwyay:
    first thing, consider that AI drivers are following the parameters inside the RCD file. But, if You are racing in game with AI drivers not included in RCD ( "generic AI drivers" from RF2 ), the realistic effect is gone....because Generic AI drivers are following Game menù AI setting ( same for all drivers ), while AI drivers included in your RCD may be different in performances, following parameters inside it.
    AI limiter: 0 AI limiter means that AI drivers may have ( but also no...) more variability in their performances.
    AI Limiter 1: AI drivers will have less variability in performances
    Infact, AI Limiter limits the performance "randomness" of AI-drivers. Small values spread the field more as differences between drivers are greater.
    Lower values pack the field more together
    This value interacts with AIW track value in which is reported AI Range= 0.0 –
    1.0 , and with the MinRacingSkill value of the RCD.
    Shortly, if You set AI Limit to 0 You will get always the maximum of
    performance status of that driver, but also a wider range of variability.

    Second thing:
    Set well in RCD these values...that are not casual
    Example....
    StepDistance = 3.5
    StepSpeed1 = 25.0
    StepSpeed2 = 37.0
    StepSpeed3 = 48.0
    StepSpeed4 = 58.0
    StepSpeed5 = 68.0
    StepSpeed6 = 78.0
    StepSpeed7 = 90.0
    StepSpeed8 = 100.0

    If You have a GT car, is not useful to put as last numebr 100 ( that are meters/seconds, or 360 Km/h of max speed ).
    Try to put a more realistic value for Your car mod ( less than 100, dividing it for the 7 steps, obtaining values more suitable for Your AI drivers ).
    Pay attention also to these parameters:

    CorneringCaution = 25.0 ( very important.....changing it may give a lot of difference in AI behaviour )
    FearOfWalls =
    OverSteerThrottleReaction =
    UnderSteerEffectOnThrottleMulti =
    UnderSteerEffectOnLineMulti=

    Inside the RCD ,
    Reputation =
    Courtesy =
    Composure =

    have no longer importance...they are not used in RF2

    And, honesttly, I think also
    Crash =
    Recovery =
    CompletedLaps =

    are no more used...but You can set them 100 for sure.
    Like, I suggest to put always 100 in MinRacingSkill =

    Surely working is
    StartSkill =

    Of course, I consider that You have set in a "realistic" way
    Aggression =
    Speed =
    QualifySpeed =
    WetSpeed =

    but RCD working well are always depending from some AIW track factors:
    WorstAdjust=(0.8000)
    MidAdjust=(1.0000)
    BestAdjust=(1.2000)
    AIRange=(0.1000)
    AISpec=(0.0000,0.0000,1.0000,0.0000) // 4 ways to express AI speed on track, limit the acceration, max speed, their cornering speed, or their deceleration. 0.0 - 1.0

    Good tracks commonly have also good CC lines for AI drivers.

    And, don't forget that a "bad" HDV physics car may cause also in AI drivers a strange, un realistic behaviour.
    Especially if You don't set also these strings in a correct manner for the car of mod:
    AICornerRates=(............)
    AIBumpstop=(...........)
    AIDamping=(..............)
    AIDownforceZArm=
    AIDownforceBias=
    AIFuelMult=-1
    AIPerfUsage=(.................)
    AITableParams=(...........)

    Finally, dear mate, what I can suggest is to try making small changes in RCD, testing then the effect, and, step by step, to get with patience the more correct balance of AI drivers for the car of your mod, considering that AI drivers won't be anyway like humans...
     
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  20. Frederick Alonso

    Frederick Alonso Registered

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    So true, it was day and night AI difference on my Cayman Mod. Ai is now a train of cars on the track. I believe I did set the lowest skill to 90% and the highest at 99%
     

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