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Introduction

This page describes the workings of Track Limits monitoring and covers a range of areas including:

  • Ensuring that drivers do not gain time when running off track.
  • Contact with outside walls.
  • Running off track or completely cutting the Pit Exit.
  • Passing Cars during a Track Limits violation.
  • Penalties for driving backwards or the wrong way.

System Overview

Users are able to set the track limits track to None / Default / Strict via UI. This can also be set on a server.

This sets up the thresholds for penalties and warnings for infringements. In non race sessions the penalty is just to invalidate your current and possibly next lap. In a race you earn points. Once you pass a points threshold which can be configured a drive through penalty is issued. Additionally a single infringement of at least 3 points also triggers an automatic drive through penalty.

A new Track Limits Info Dialogue will show when a driver is at risk of an infringement. They will have a brief opportunity to slow down whilst the situation is calculated to avoid a penalty however by how much is not shown.

If drivers pass a driver whilst off track illegally then a dialogue will tell them as such and recommend they give back the place. They will have 10s to give up the place. The system will ignore cars that are off track, driving slowly, in the pits or have DNFd. Note that if further positions are gained during 10s period, this time will be extended.

Cut Track Detection

A track cut is defined as leaving the legal bounds of the race surface and re-joining it and gaining a lasting time or positional advantage from it.

By default the game detects if the car is off track by using the car's average track width. This means to ensure you do not instigate an investigation you need to retain two complete wheels inside the track bounds, although there will be a little further grace beyond this in practice.

The calculations for if it take into consideration the following:

  • Did we gain time whilst off track? We compare the expected lap time from the point we leave the track and to the point we rejoin, and serve penalties points for time gained.
  • Ratio of time gained? This increases the penalties for the higher ratio of time gained, making short sharp cut more costly.
  • How long have we spent off track? The longer we spend off track, the more time we need to lose to not be penalised.
  • How long did we have the throttle down off track? The more we use throttle, the more time we need to lose to not be penalised.
  • How far did we travel in relation to track distance. This will give a little more leeway if drivers run slightly wide and rejoin the circuit, and make cuts which travel less distance more costly. This effect is scaled down on the shortest of cuts.
  • Did we gain extra Speed on rejoin? We sample our speed difference over 25 ticks to calculate if we have gained an advantage on our rejoin speed. This means that if we rejoin with more speed vs the expected speed at the points, versus the speed we had when we left the track we will gain penalty points. This calculation is only applied if we have enough points already to be concerned.

Once we return to track we now take some time to consider the situation and to see if the driver is trying to correct for their errors, under control or even going quick enough. This will help reduce false detections and receiving warnings for basically making a mistake.

The following factors must be present before a cut track is scored:

  • At least a set amount of time must have passed since re-joining (1 second) and a maximum of (5 seconds). Extra time will be permitted if a driver was passed illegally. 
  • The time after cut above depends on if the beneath conditions are met or not. If the beneath conditions are not met, the cut will be scored after the maximum time.
  • The driver must be accelerating and travelling with in a range of the expected speed. This means that a driver who is running slower than expected will reduce any penalty points, where as a driver travelling faster will gain more.
  • The driver must be travelling close (with in 3m) of the racing line. This means if they rejoin away from the racing line more time is afforded until they are travelling more closely to it since this may be giving a false indication of the size of the cut.
  • The driver must be travelling in the direction of the track. This prevents rejoining backwards etc causing problems.
  • The driver must not have passed any cars illegally. More on this beneath.

The system will handle if a driver passes over the track and off again during a track limits violation provided it is with in the limits set above, and will continue scoring the cut until they finally rejoin properly.

Passing when under Track Limits Investigation

The system logs gained positions when a Track Limits investigation is underway.

At the time of position change we log cars which meet the following criteria:

  • The car must be travelling with in a reasonable speed of the expected speed.
  • The car must not be in the pitlane
  • The car must not be off the race track
  • The car must be travelling in the correct direction

Then at each point during the process we re-check the above criteria and only score the cars that are behind us and meet this criteria.

The track limits info dialogue shows the current state of play, with the number of passes made illegally and also the name of the driver closest that we need to give the position back too.

An initial 10s is given to return positions. If a place is gained with 5 or less seconds remaining, a further 5 seconds will be granted to prevent drivers from being penalised at the last moment before scoring the incident.

Note that if you slow down a lot but do not return the place, you may not be penalised if you give up enough time. Similarly if the opposition driver slows down to try to instigate a penalty for you, the pass maybe automatically removed. However the system does not attempt to figure out if you cut and knocked another driver off the track for example.

Wall Riding Detection

Wall Riding detection has been added. The amount of wall contact required is scaled by the amount of throttle input.

The detection works on both a continuous basis and also over the entire lap.

Because this starts a track limits violation, but the system only automatically detects any passes that occur during this time.

The time gained calculations do not start unless the car runs out of legal bounds at some point.

Pitlane Violations

Pitlane Violations can be disabled on a per track basis or via the RFM or GDB. 

  • If a driver goes from the pitlane to the race track at a non valid point then a warning is provided. In strict mode this is an automatic drive through.
  • If a driver attempts to rejoin the track after fully entering the pitlane once the two are disconnected completely, this will result in a warning. In strict mode this is an automatic drive through.

At present they are enabled unless running on an Oval in a non race session.

Track Limits Violations in non Race sessions

In non race session if what if a violation is:

  • Deemed strong enough to earn warning points in the race, it will invalidate your lap.
  • After the last major braking point, your next lap will be invalidated. This position is automatically calculated by the game, unless configured by the track.
  • Deemed strong enough to earn an automatic drive through penalty in the race, it will invalidate your next lap too. Unless configured differently by the track

Track Limits Violations in Race sessions

In race sessions warning points are awarded for Track Limits violations.

  • If the number of points earned in one goes exceeds 3 points the driver will be given an automatic dive through is given.
  • Otherwise the points are added to a tally, and at a set amount of points that can be configured a drive through penalty will be given.
  • If you significantly go over the points tally via large cuts you will be given a stop go penalty, with the stop time variable to the severity of the cuts.

Wrong Way Driving

Changes have been made to wrong way penalties so that if a driver is travelling slowly or far away from the race track they are penalized less severely.

Differences between Strict and Default Detection

When strict rules are set the following differences are applied versus default regulations.

  • Any off track in non race sessions invalidates your lap time.
  • The penalty points for passing a car during track limits violation are doubled.
  • The penalty points for rejoining the track with a speed advantage vs when left are doubled.
  • The threshold for receiving warning points is halved. 
  • Touching a wall in non race session for 0.05s will result in the lap being invalidated.
  • In race thresholds for wall riding are reduced.
  • The points earned for a single wall riding infraction are doubled (0.5 points vs 0.25 points).
  • Illegally rejoining the main race track from the pitlane before defined points will receive a drive through penalty (if pitlane penalties are enabled on this track).

Content Creation

How to setup track limits is covered separately on our developers guide.

Logging / Debugging Issues

The game now logs the results of each track cut violation to the trace log file. This will allow for easier debugging of false cuts. A log file along with a video/replay of the issue should be sufficient to analyse the situation.

Additionally ModDev has a "Track Limits Info" player.json setting that can be set to debug. This will show more information than usual, including a live output of the cut detection in the message box, as well as showing the driving standards dialogue as soon as a car goes off track.

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