Profile Page¶

This section describes the profile page and its operation.

SIMRIG Control Center is built around Profiles. A profile is nothing more than a collection of settings and parameters that apply to a single car, in a single game.

Each car, in each game, is assigned a unique profile. This profile is automatically selected when that game starts and that car hits the tarmac.

The active profile is displayed on screen. See the red rectangle below.

The currently active profile is displayed on screen. IR indicates that this profile is associated with iRacing.¶

Sometimes you will see the following message: “This profile is no longer active!”

It will show up when you switch game or car while leaving the profile page open. Click the Switch now link to open the active profile instead. This will affect which profile you see on screen. It will not affect the profile used by SIMRIG Control Center.

Concepts¶

The purpose of a profile is to control how simulated forces are converted into motion. Since each car behaves in a different way (some are fast, some are slow) each car requires a unique profile and unique settings. Getting the profile right and tuned correctly is very important since it determines the motion system’s behavior and response to in-game events.

The most important in-game event is vehicle acceleration. Most profile settings therefore deal with acceleration and the system’s sensitivity to acceleration in different directions.

The profile settings are divided into three main parts: Axis Allocation, Forces, and Orientation.

Forces¶

Each vehicle produce different amounts of forces while accelerating, turning, and braking. These settings are responsible for converting these forces into a normalized range.

Take the Acceleration setting as an example. While the vehicle is accelerating it generates G-forces. The car in this example is capable of generating 1 G of forwards acceleration. By setting All forces to 100 % and Acceleration to 100 % the motion system will utilize all allocated pitch while the car is accelerating forwards at 1 G. At 0.5 G it uses half the allocated pitch.

Let us consider the available settings:

All Forces: This slider controls the system’s overall sensitivity to acceleration in any direction. Setting this value to zero will make the system stand still. It is recommended to leave this setting at 100 %, but feel free to reduce the value if the system feels to fast or twitchy.
Acceleration: This slider controls the system’s sensitivity to acceleration in the forward direction: forces that move the vehicle forward. Adjust this value until the system tilts backwards the desired amount during maximum acceleration (usually full throttle from standstill.)
Braking: This slider controls the system’s sensitivity to acceleration in the backwards direction: forces that stop or move the vehicle backwards. Adjust this value until the system tilts forwards the desired amount during maximum braking.
Turning: This slider controls the system’s sensitivity to acceleration in the left or right direction: forces that turn or roll the vehicle. Adjust this value until the system tilts left or right the desired amount while turning.
Bumps: This slider controls the system’s sensitivity to acceleration in the upwards and downwards direction: forces that move the vehicle up or down. Adjust this value until the system moves upwards and downwards the desired amount when driving over curbs, and other uneven surfaces such as potholes and gravel.

Tip

Use Auto Tune to determine initial values.

Auto tune¶

Auto Tune is designed to generate a baseline profile by recording telemetry data while you drive. The algorithm can generate a profile by analyzing the forces that act on the car. The resulting profile tries to maximize the range of motion while minimizing clipping.

Each car is unique, and so is each driver. You will have to find settings that work for you. This can be a tricky process, but with Auto Tune you will at-least get a good starting point for further tuning.

How to: Auto Tune¶

Before we can start the Auto Tune process you need to get in your favorite game and car. Make sure the telemetry is connected and that the motion system is enabled.

Drive for about 5 minutes
- The goal is to generate diverse data
- Try not to crash (keep driving for another 30 seconds if you do)
- Brake, accelerate, and turn excessively
- Stop and go multiple times if the track lacks slow corners
Take note of the suggested values for Acceleration, Braking, Turning, and Bumps
- They should no longer show the default value of 100 %
- They should be less than 200 % otherwise you need to drive more
Press the Apply button
Try the new settings, they will take effect immediately after you press Apply
You can either use the values as-is, change them manually, or keep recording more data
- Press Apply to use the latest values
- Press Reset to start from the beginning

Intensity settings¶

Until this point we have considered settings that affect the range of motion. The intensity settings however affect its speed and acceleration. The speed and acceleration are crucial for the perceived intensity.

Intensity settings affect the linear actuators’ speed, acceleration, and travel. There are three presets to choose from: Normal, High, and Raw, with increasing levels of intensity. The forth option, Custom, allows precise control of each setting.

Stroke length: Sets the actuator maximum travel. A value of 100 % allows the actuator to move 70 mm. While a value of 50 % allows for 35 mm of travel. Fast and stiff car’s benefit from lower stroke length.
Responsiveness: Sets the actuator power. A lower value results in lower acceleration while a higher values means more power and higher acceleration. Try a lower value if you think the motion system is too fast or too aggressive.
Spring stiffness: Sets the actuator compliance to directional changes. Try a lower value to remove high frequency noise and bumps.

Tip

Use the Hotkey to switch between presets without leaving the game.

Axis allocation¶

Each linear actuator has a fixed amount of travel. This is determined by the actuator’s mechanical construction. How we choose to use this travel is determined by the Axis Allocation settings.

A fixed amount of travel is allocated for each motion axis (pitch, roll, heave.) For example, we can allocated 20 mm of travel to pitch, 30 mm of travel to roll, and 20 mm of travel to heave. The Allocation Settings determine these amounts.

Interestingly, we could allocate 70 mm travel to both pitch and roll at the same time for a total of 140 mm of combined travel. But! Moving 140 mm is physically impossible. However, the vehicle will seldom brake at full power while also turning at full speed. If it does, the actuator will bottom out, causing the motion to clip. You can choose more motion at the risk of clipping; or less motion and no clipping. This is a compromise that is different for each vehicle.

Follow track geometry¶

Vehicle orientation is also an important source of motion data. Perhaps you would like the motion system to follow the road; to pitch backwards when going uphill or to roll more aggressively when hitting a curb. There are two settings which control how vehicle orientation affects the motion system:

Roll: This slider controls how much of the vehicle roll that transfer over to the motion system. At around 20 % there is a one-to-one mapping between the virtual vehicle and the physical motions system (depending on distance between front and rear actuators.)
Pitch: This slider controls how much of the vehicle pitch that transfer over to the motion system. At around 20 % there is a one-to-one mapping between the virtual vehicle and the physical motions system (depending on distance between front and rear actuators.)

Gear shifts¶

Sequential and semi-automatic gear boxes introduce sudden and noticeable pitch motion. This motion can be uncomfortable or unwanted. Use these settings to smoothen the motion or remove it entirely.

Enable: When enabled, the algorithm will detect and remove, sudden changes in pitch caused by gear changes.
Smoothing: Some gearboxes are quicker and some are slower. The duration should cover the time it takes for the gearbox to change gear. Increase this slider until the pitch motion is to your liking (leave the Feedback slider at 0 % while tuning.)
Feedback: Increase to introduce haptic feedback on gear change.

Post-processing¶

Sometimes it is necessary to apply post-processing techniques to the telemetry data; such as smoothing and velocity limiters.

Pitch washout: When enabled, pitch washout returns the system to a natural pitch during constant acceleration. This makes the motion system level with your floor during extended acceleration. Furthermore, the pitch velocity is limited for a smoother ride. Braking is not affected.
Turn stabilization: When enabled, turn stabilization adds a dead-zone on the roll axis. This makes the motion system less prone to rolling when driving straight. You will still experience roll motion when turning. Increasing this value makes the dead-zone larger and the motion system more stable.
Smoothing: These sliders controls the speed at which the system reacts to changes. Setting this value to 0 % will disable the Low-pass Filter making the system as fast and responsive as possible. Increasing this value will reduce (and even remove) fast and twitchy motion. A large value will result in a smooth ride.

Tip

Some games work better with the Low-pass Filter enabled. If the motion is twitchy or choppy, try setting the Low-pass Filter to 100 % and reduce gradually until you get a smooth and responsive ride.

Importing and exporting¶

You can export individual profiles to a file. The file can be shared and later imported. Exported profiles have the file extension .scc-profile.

To import a profile, right-click anywhere in the profile tree and choose Import…. Alternatively, drop the file on the profile tree.

To export a profile, right-click the profile to export and choose Export..