AI-based Virtual Race Engineer incl. Pitstop Handling

Release 6.5.0

Today we introduce two new major features:

1. Team races under control of the "Team Center" are now officially supported for Le Mans Ultimate. There still may be some glitches present, since testing time was quite restricted, but we ran a 6H race succesfully with it.



2. A new speech service is supported - ElevenLabs. This one is special, since you can create your own voices based on a couple of samples of an existing voice. So, if you want a celebrity to be your Coach, or if you want your favorite Crew Chief to be your Spotter, give it a go.

The project will now be on a summer brake, but support and smaller fixes will be provided. Will be bake early in September, maybe with some exciting new stuff in the backpack.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-650
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Release 6.5.1

Fixes and several small improvements this time. Especially the voice recognition is much more reliable for Chinese and Japanese now, cause full-width punctuation characters are handled correctly. Please see the Release Notes for full information about all the other changes.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-651
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
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Release 6.5.2

Yet another release with many fixes and small improvements. Worth to mention is a change in the "Solo Center", which now handles tyre sets differently for simulators which do not support tyre sets. Also this release comes with an updated local runtime for large language models and instructions for the large language models can now be defined individually for each Assistant. This allows you to give them different characters.

And I have some funny stuff this time. Using the LLM instructions, I changed the character of the Assistants a bit, so that they are talking gangsta style with a lot of swearing. Take a look at the following video...



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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-652
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
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Release 6.5.3

Back from the holidays with a big bunch of new stuff. I can only mention the most importatn additions here, therefore take a look at the Release Notes for a long and complete list of all changes and fixes.

1. The Driving Coach will now (depending on a setting) automatically create a reference lap from your practice session and store it in the session database for use in your next session.

2. Telemetry recording and handling has been improved in the "Solo Center".

3. The Spotter and the Strategist will now refer to other cars in thei shout outs not only by position or car number, but also by the name of the driver from time to time.

4. The recommendation of the tyre compound for the next stint is now based on the strategy in the "Team Center".

5. The number of driven laps of a given tyre will now be shown in the session information in "System Monitor".

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes#6530
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-652
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
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Release 6.5.4

We have some improvements for the Spotter this week and also a new way to derive track names for Assetto Corsa. Most important, but not that obvious on the surface, is the first internal change towards using a LAM (large action model) for pitstop control. Lastly, a change in the "Session Database" let you now control settings for Team races independent from the same settings for Solo races.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes#6540
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-654
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
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Release 6.5.5

We have an important milestone this week. More on this below, but first a list of other changes:

1. Timed races are now supported for Assetto Corsa.
2. This version also includes full support for the latest version of RaceRoom Racing Experience. Very positive: The new API supports state management for the Pitstop MFD and we no longer need the nasty image recognition method. The downside: Since this version includes a new API, prior versions of RaceRoom are no longer supported.
3. We added support for the GPT 5 large language model family from OpenAI. Especially for the newly added functionality mentioned below, these models perform very well.
4. And, of course, the new LMP3 car is included for Le Mans Ultimate.

Now the exciting new feature introduced with this release: Using the Reasoning booster it is now possible to use a GPT model to plan a pitstop or to adjust the strategy while on the track. Currently, the rule engine is responsible for this functionality, but with the latest LLMs being more and more capable on agentic task, you now can choose to use an LLM as an alternative. The LLM will get all the data about the session and the current state of the car as well as several functions, that can be called to achieve certain tasks. In this case, the LLM is acting as a LAM (aka large action model), something which is the next big thing in the current AI trends.

Attached is a transcript of an interaction with the Strategist. The question asked was: "Will a pitstop in lap 17 have any benefit?"

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes#6550
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-655
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
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You never stop, it just keeps getting better.

 

Release 6.5.6

Only one major change this time, but this is a very important and useful one. In simulators like rFactor 2 or Le Mans Ultimate, where a tyre change is possible for a single wheel or for the wheels on an axle, the Race Engineer will now decide on tyre changes based on tyre wear (if available) or on the number of driven laps. Various settings will help you to tailor this to your needs and preferences.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes#6560
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-656
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6

 

Release 6.6.0

Another release with many important changes and additions.

1. First, we are completing the major 2025 initiative to support LAMs (also known as large action models) by now enabling strategy simulations to be run by a GPT model. The results are really promising when using one of the current high end models, like GPT 5 or Claude Opus.


2. Many minor glitches for team race handling in Le Mans Ultimate under full control of the "Team Center" have been fixed. We are very proud, that we already offer every feature and function, that may be included in the still announced "Engineer" role of Le Mans Ultimate.

3. The support for DPI scaled monitors has been dramatically optimized.

4. Lastly, the audio routing configuration has been extended. It is now possible to automatically switch audio devices, for example when starting a session in a sim using a VR headset.

As always, all the details can be found in the Realease Notes and the updated documentation.

With the release of all these features, especially the GPT-based strategy simulation, all functional goals for 2025 have already been achieved. In the remaining weeks of this year, we will focus on expanding the functionality of the Driving Coach. Stay tuned...

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Here is a detailed example of what the AI do for you with the latest LAM integration. Attached you will find a transcript of the actions of the Race Strategist during a 1 hour race in Le Mans Ultimate on Imola using the Lambo Hypercar. By the way, I gave the Race Strategist the character of an English snobish butler (also using GPT technology).

1. Initial race rules were set in "Race Settings", therefore the Strategist came up with a simple strategy (1 stop, refueling and tyre change).
2. He revised the strategy once using the rule system, adjusting the fuel a bit.
3. I then called GPT-5 to take a look at the strategy:
- Pit lap was moved to the end of the race
- Fuel was calculated more aggressively
- Tyre change was skipped, which is in line with the decision, the Engineer would have taken based on tyre wear.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes#6600
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-660
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6

 

Loving this. Knew someone would do it

 

Release 6.6.1

Many smaller changes and some important fixes this time.

Most interesting addition for Experts is the new possibillity to trigger events and call actions in the Reasoning booster of an Assistant depending on the current position on the track.

And Assetto Corsa got a lot of love this time, with many additions to the car meta data by @neophyte.

Finally, we have updated the setup guide video, which now covers all the major stuff added during the last months:



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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes#6610
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-661
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6

 

Release 6.6.2

The Spotter learned a lot about multiclass races with this release. He will inform you about cars from a faster class which come up behind or will tell you that the two GT3 cars ahead are fighting for position when you approach them in your Hypercar. And a lot more....

Additionally, several problems have been fixed for RaceRoom Racing Experience, which were caused by the latest patch of the game.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes#6620
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-662
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6

 

Release 6.6.4

I had skipped the announcement for the last release, cause it contained only fixes and minor improvements. But today we introduce a really important new feature, since this version contains support for OpenAI compatible speech generation and recognition services. Beside OpenAI itself, you can use many solutions that are available on GitHub and can be run on a local machine in your network. The well-known https://speaches.ai is a good example. Together with Ollama for GPT models, it is now possible to run all AI services used by Simulator Controller locally in your home network.

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Download: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller#latest-release-build
Release Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Release-Notes#6620
Update Notes: https://github.com/SeriousOldMan/Simulator-Controller/wiki/Update-Notes#release-664
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/5N8JrNr48H
Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simulatorcontroller
Support the project: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=7GV86ZPS95SL6