SRS 2.0 Motion Tuning Guide

Change Log 7/19/2020 - Added new entry on Motion Refresh Rate. Fixed some grammar issues. 7/24/2020 - Added additional details in Understanding the Tuning Sliders and Max Telemetry. - Added intro to Platform, Effect, and Advanced section. - Revised Important Tips on being in game for tuning with Profile Manager info. - Moved SRS config.ini section to bottom, removed measurement_unit mention in config.ini section as it's an option in the SRS UI, and renamed the section Advanced Boost Tuning. 8/3/2020 - Added tuning tips for sliders to the Tuning Tips / Troubleshooting section. 8/12/2020 - Added 'Long G Surge Accel and Long G Surge Decel Max Telemetry values keep changing to the same number' section to Tuning Tips / Troubleshooting section. 8/17/2020 - Added GEAR SMOOTHING FACTOR to the Advanced section. 8/20/2020 - Added notification to H6/P6 users regarding Enhanced G-Forces impacting Surge and Sway. 8/26/2020 - Removed references to the general rule/rule of thumb regarding dividing captured Max Telemetry by 3. This was intended to ensure movement occurs during general tuning for a game; however, the values could be reduced inaccurately resulting in jarring movement for low telemetry effects. - Updated the "General Slider Tuning Tips" section providing positional orientation guidance when tuning for Pitch, Roll, and Yaw. - Revised much of the Telemetry Tips section to provide an updated example for tuning telemetry. 8/27/2020 - Renamed Telemetry Tips to Capturing Telemetry and updated headers for Platform to Platform Settings and Effects to Effects Slider Settings as well as changed Understanding the Tuning Sliders and Max Telemetry to Understanding the Effects Sliders and Max Telemetry. - Updated section on how to capture telemetry in Capturing Telemetry. - Added the section Advanced Telemetry Gathering. - Added a Table on Contents at start of guide. - Updated Understanding the Effects Sliders and Max Telemetry example regarding 1800 Max Telemetry settings. - Added example images to many different sections.- Updated Important Tips at start of guide to include updated information on the Profile Manager. 8/28/2020 - Revised MOTION REFRESH RATE section that DOF Reality Platforms no longer have the option to adjust the refresh rate beyond 30. - Added the Corrupted and Bad Telemetry and Lowering Max Telemetry sections. 8/30/2020 - Added additional information regarding Enhanced G-Forces. 9/2/2020 - Updated several effects details in the Effects Slider Settings section. 9/19/2020 - Updated Boost section to provide more detail regarding its application for tuning. 10/20/2020 - Added Increasing Max Telemetry Section. - Expanded Troubleshooting to a reply post. - Added note to Min Traction Loss Activation it can be disabled by setting it to 0. - Added additional guidance in step 6 of Capturing Telemetry.

10/21/2020 - Added new section General Max Telemetry Tips. Added exception note regarding increasing Traction Loss for Rally, Dirt Oval and Road, or Drifting in the Increasing Max Telemetry section.

10/23/2020 - Added new section on Smoothing Effects. Updated main SRS image to include Smoothing Effects.

10/25/2020 - Added new section Telemetry Capture Tips. Updated example image with included details in the Advanced Telemetry Gathering section.

10/29/2020 - Added 'Jumps and Landings for Rallycross, Dirt Rally, and Aircraft' to the Telemetry Capture Tips section.

11/12/2020 - Added warning regarding setting Boost above 45. - Added detail regarding global setting of Reaction Speed.

11/13/2020 - Updated General Slider and Overall Tuning Tips section.

12/17/2020 - Added 'WHEEL SLIP/LOCK' to Effect Slider Settings section.

1/7/2021 - Added 'RUMBLE STRIPS' to Effect Slider Settings section. - Updated primary images for Platform/Effect Slider.

1/28/2021 - Added IMPORTANT NOTE to the Smoothing Effect section regarding increments of 5. - Retired the Snapshot Telemetry section. -Added information regarding Telemetry Over Time and Intellitune. -Updated section on Advanced Telemetry Capturing. -Added Clip Bad Telemetry section. -Redirected WSL and RS game support list to SRS blog posts for sustainability of updates. -Updated section on Resetting Telemetry to include Export. -Added Intellitune vs Manual Tuning section. - Added WARNING to Effect Smoothing section. -Added IMPORTANT NOTE to the Lowering Max Telemetry section. -Improved guidance on Pitch, Roll, Heave, Surge and Traction Loss in General Max Telemetry Tips section.

1/30/2021 - Updated Enhanced G-Forces section

5/9/2021 - Updated Enhanced G-Forces to clarify that surge and sway telemetry is used for pitch and roll.

5/18/2021- Added updated images for Actuator and Non-Actuator Tuning Page examples. All Tuning Page descriptions updated, differences between actuator/non-actuator platforms, and various corrections in terminology. Vertical Actuator Effects section added. Flight Effects added with Blog post link. THANOS Spike Filter information added.

5/20/2021 - Fixed a incorrect reference to the 'Traction Loss Feels Wobbly/Loose/Jarring' section

5/25/2021 - Added additional note to THANOS section regarding vertical and horizontal spike filter linked operation.

1/4/2022 - Updated some of the entries within Platform Settings and Effects Slider Settings. ABS Lock info added. Rewrote the entire section of Understanding the Effects Sliders and Max Telemetry. Capturing Telemetry has been updated. Telemetry Over Time section has been rebranded as Exporting Telemetry and updated.

1/11/2022 - Added Auto Smoothing Low Speed section.

2/2/2022 - Updated Overall Smoothing, Boost, Pitch, Roll, Long G Surge Accel/Decel, and Gear Smoothing Factor sections.

2/3/2022 - Added note in Max Angle section. Updated Flight effects section.

2/5/2022 - Consolidated the Lowering Max Telemetry and Increasing Max Telemetry sections into Adjusting Max Telemetry. Updated Traction Loss section in General Max Telemetry Tips. Added new General Effect Slider Tips section. Removed Troubleshooting section as content is integrated into the guide. Added new Reverse/Invert an Axis section.

2/6/2022 - Added Platform Differences section. Engine Haptic section added.

2/7/2022 - Added What is Telemetry section.

2/9/2022 - Updated Clipping Bad Telemetry section by expanding its usage and removing previous recommendations.

2/24/2022 - Added link to Reversing the Surge Actuator Tutorial in the Reverse/Invert an Axis section.

3/8/2022 - Updated the Surge - Max Telemetry section.

5/30/2022 - Updated the Thanos section to include additional information regarding the Spike Filter settings.

6/22/2022 - Added descriptive Max Telemetry section in Tuning Page Features. Updated image for Effects Slider Settings. Updated Gear Smoothing Factor with information on consequences of extremely high settings.

Advanced Telemetry Gathering

Here are some ideas to think about when capturing telemetry for different types of vehicles.

Aircraft/Spacecraft: When capturing telemetry for an aircraft or spacecraft, a few things should be taken into consideration:

• The telemetry captured while on the ground will likely be different than in flight. Be cautious of ground maneuvers causing spikes in telemetry (usually heave or surge) and corrupting telemetry for flight.

• Landings will generally cause large spikes in surge and heave. This will corrupt flight telemetry as well.

• Depending on the aircraft, be mindful of how you are flying. If a commercial aircraft, slow smooth movements will result in low telemetry which is good for small felt changes in the platform. Hard sweeping movement like in a jet fighter will result in large telemetry outputs and allow for large motion without jarring movements.

• Special events like catapult launches or in space sims boost or exiting the frameshift drive in Elite Dangerous can cause large spikes in telemetry.

• Utilizing any boost, afterburner, or cannon fire effects will likely cause spikes in surge.

• Utilize any breaks, loops, rolls, hard yaw or rudder movements or similar actions the aircraft/spacecraft are capable of that would occur during normal flight
  

Review the telemetry to look for spikes or outliers in telemetry. Telemetry from Takeoff and Landing can be excluded or tuned as needed since they might have outliers in high values.

Aircraft and Spacecraft are generally thought of to have a smooth movements. Sometimes smaller movements are more immersive. Higher Max Telemetry values will avoid harsh movements, but might loose the fidelity with smaller changes in elevation or direction.

Ground Vehicles: When capturing telemetry form a vehicle, take the following items into consideration:

• Starting telemetry from the pits could potentially cause corruption depending on if there are any startup/surge spikes or similar telemetry bumps until you get on the race track.

• Drive at least 2 or 3 good laps, which depending on the track can be near 5 minutes.

• Avoid going too slow, the driving should be performed at a normal race pace.

• Avoid collisions with other vehicles or objects.

• Avoid skidding off the track and minimize out of control skids on the track. Some traction loss is acceptable and expected in normal racing conditions. Do capture one separate session with a skid in order to adjust Traction Loss.

• Ensure braking would be perform as a normal race.

• Driving over a chicane or curb will spike heave, which is fine, but avoid excessive bumps and launches off curbs at high speeds as they will greatly spike heave.

• Traction loss should be minimized so you capture the true race performance of the vehicle; however, if its a rally/drift car, drift as needed to capture the correct Traction Loss telemetry.

• Trading paint/bumping with another vehicle or crashing will spike telemetry values (sway, surge, heave, etc), avoid at all costs.
  

Telemetry from a pit stop can be skewed if its captures the vehicle being raised on jacks for tire changes or other events. Extreme slides or collisions will spike Long G Surge Accel or Decel as well as Heave.

Find the right balance of telemetry for each effect is key in order to have the fidelity while driving to help make decisions on braking, turning and accelerating while racing.

Track Variation: When collecting telemetry for a vehicle tuning, always gather telemetry from multiple tracks. A good starting point is 3 to 4 different tracks at a minimum. This will allow you to have a wide range of surfaces for improved Heave telemetry as well as elevation and road geometry changes for Pitch and Roll. In addition, the speed for certain corners will impact Sway and potentially Traction Loss. This variation will allow an improved average telemetry to improve performance on many different tracks.

Sample Length: Capturing near 5 minutes of telemetry over time should be obtained to ensure an accurate capture of telemetry occurred. This will allow you to identify outliers and potentially exclude them from your samples. 5 minutes of capture time should allow for 2 laps on large tracks and 3 to 4 laps on smaller tracks.

Jumps and Landings for Rallycross, Dirt Rally, and Aircraft: When capturing telemetry from any type of vehicle that experiences a jump and hard landing, be aware this will corrupt the Surge and Heave telemetry. When the impact occurs, it will cause a spike in Surge and Heave as the vehicle lands and experiences high g-forces in these effects. This higher telemetry value is so extreme it will cause standard driving or flying effects to be minimized if the are utilized for calculating Max Telemetry. These telemetry spikes should not be included when creating the Evaluated Max Telemetry.

When tuning for Dirt Rally or Rallycross races that have jumps, it's recommended to be very cautious of including these spikes into the Evaluated Max Telemetry. When a jump does occur after tuning is completed, the spike in telemetry will reach the Max Telemetry value extremely fast and provide the expected experiencing of hitting the ramp and/or landing.

Landing in an aircraft is similar in that landing Heave or Surge spikes should not be calculated into the final Max Telemetry values.

Resetting Telemetry

When you are Exporting telemetry and an event occurs that can cause corruption (hitting a wall/car, sliding off the track, going into a stall, etc) or you want to start a new file for data collection, you can reset the telemetry and start a new exported .CSV file with a new time stamp by toggling the Capture or Export buttons On and Off. To assist in resetting telemetry on the Telemetry page, you can bind a keyboard key press or joystick button to turn On/Off Capture Telemetry, On/Off Export Telemetry, and to Reset Telemetry.

To bind a keyboard key press or joystick button, click the keyboard icon in the upper right of the Telemetry page.

In the new window, you can set a Keyboard key press or Joystick/Buttonbox press to enable Telemetry Capture or Telemetry Export On or Off. You can also change the Type field by selecting it and choosing Telemetry Reset.

Now you can easily bind keyboard key press or a button on your Buttonbox, Joystick, or Steering Wheel to quickly reset telemetry in Sim Racing Studio while you are tuning. Note: The joystick or buttonbox will only appear if it has been detected by Windows. Once you have selected the correct joystick or button box, press the button you want to bind and then click the Confirm button.

Corrupted and Bad Telemetry

Since there are no industry standards like DirectX for telemetry output, the values captured can sometimes be corrupted by impacts, unknown variables, contain telemetry data not associated with normal movement, extremely low values, or is just buggy in terms of the telemetry values available.

Game World Impacts: A vehicle impacting something in a sim will usually create a large spike within a telemetry value as it replicates the g-forces of the crash. These are usually seen as extremely large spikes in Heave, Sway, or Surge; however, accidents can also impact Pitch, Roll, and Sway as the orientation of the vehicle spins/flips around. When accidents occur, the telemetry will contain these higher values which is seen with the extreme movements of the platform.

Excluding impacts from captured telemetry is essential to ensure the tuning represents normal driving. If the Max Telemetry setting contains these spikes from accidents, normal movement will be minimized or barely felt as the g-forces during normal driving or flight are significantly lower than that of an impact. This is why obtaining "clean" telemetry will provide the best motion platform experience.

Corrupted Telemetry: An example would be when a sim first loads a vehicle onto a track or runway via "dropping" it into the game world. This placement of the vehicle can cause a large spike in Heave, Sway, or some other effect and thus corrupt the Min/Max values for telemetry. This is normally felt in the motion platform as extreme movements when first loading into the game.

It's important to monitor the Captured Telemetry immediately after loading the vehicle. If large spikes in telemetry are seen, you can reset the telemetry by clicking the Capture or Export button Off/On prior to recording telemetry data. Corrupted Telemetry values should always be excluded from the data while tuning Max Telemetry by collecting it clean or manually removing it when reviewing the data.

Unknown Variables: Since there are no industry standard for telemetry output, how telemetry is gathered from the vehicle in game can vary widely from sim to sim. There should be general principles applied, but sometimes there will be values that have no direct relationship to the activity of the vehicle. The values are usually seen impacting other effects that shouldn't be impacted or there isn't a specific logical reason for their impact. For example, when accelerating forward in a vehicle, traction loss telemetry increases at the same rate as speed even though the vehicle isn't losing traction.

Unknown Variables seen in telemetry values should be normalized or excluded from the data while adjusting a Max Telemetry.

Buggy Telemetry: This will be seen as values that are extremely high (usually over 180), values when there is no movement on the axis, or no telemetry values reported when movement should occur. Buggy telemetry is common for sims that utilize Memory Hooks due to developers not supporting telemetry outputs or seen in games that are not sim orientated, such as roller coasters or other arcade like games that don't focus on realistic physics.

Tuning the telemetry output for these types of games will require the tuner to become creative with the data. Setting Max Telemetries that taken into account the motion platforms abilities will be a primary focus versus using the range of telemetry values captured from the game.

There is no easy fix for these games as the telemetry output can not usually be adjusted for within SimRacingStudio. The tuner must work with what is available.

Extremely Low Telemetry Outputs: Some sims will have telemetry outputs so low they never go above a value of 1. They will be seen as 0.0129 or 0.68. This could be there is no actual g-force or effect for the vehicle, thus making the number accurate; however, if a vehicle would normally feel a g-force; then the output isn't providing the accurate telemetry.

Lowering Max Telemetry to 1 might enable some movement, but it could be jarring and will likely not have the fidelity possible for the effect. If lowering Max Telemetry is still unable to obtain sufficient movement, submitting a ticket to SimRacingStudio will be needed in order for the telemetry value to be multiplied so a tuning range within Max Telemetry can be utilized. Motion is still possible; however, the fidelity and lack of priority in terms of overall movement will be impacted negatively by extremely low values.

Special note on Pitch, Roll, and Yaw: These values will change from sim to sim, but generally it represents the orientation of the vehicle in 360 degrees in space. This will be seen as Min -180 and Max +180. However, these values could also not use spacial orientation and be some factor of g-forces and positional data. Monitoring these values closely are important for a tuning that feels "correct". Expectations of movement are usually centered around the 3 axis.

For motion platforms that are unable to rotate 360°, the movement can be extremely violent as the platform switches from -180 Yaw to +180 . This is a key reason why the Effects slider for Yaw is set to 0 with Max Telemetry at 1800 to remove Yaw movement on these platforms.

Adjusting Max Telemetry

Why would you want to adjust a Max Telemetry value?

The primary focus of a motion platform is to move. If the Max Telemetry is set too high for an axis, the vehicle in the game will never output a telemetry value close to its maximum value. This will cause the platform to have very little movement on that axis. If the Max Telemetry is set too low, then the vehicle's telemetry will easily pass the Max Telemetry value often thus leading to extremely jarring and unrealistic movements. The key is finding the right Max Telemetry to allow for the full range of normal movement of the vehicle under normal circumstances (See Advanced Telemetry Gathering).

Here are some general considerations when adjusting a Max Telemetry:

• There will be instances where the Max Telemetry is just extremely low based on captured telemetry. If a Max Telemetry is 3, you must be careful in reducing it further to 2 or 1 as motion will potentially be extremely fast and jarring.

• When lowering a Max Telemetry, you are allowing for more movement of the platform with less input from the driver/pilot since the smaller telemetry values from the game will hit the max telemetry value sooner). This will provide addition fidelity of movement for small changes in altitude in a plane or small adjustments while driving down a straight road. The compromise will be when a large movement is executed (pulling straight up in an aircraft or making a sharp turn), the motion will be extremely fast and jarring.

• Increasing Max Telemetry could be utilized to reduce the overall motion for a specific axis after you have reduced the Effect Slider down to 1. Since reducing the Effect Slider to 0 will effectively turn off that specific axis effect, increasing the Max Telemetry will provide additional headroom for the Effect Slider. As you increase the Max Telemetry value, return the Effect slider back to 10 to being adjusting from a neutral position. For example, if you have the Max Telemetry for Traction Loss set to 3, but the motion for Traction Loss feels very jarring after reducing the Effect Slider all the way down to 1, you can increase the Max Telemetry to 4 or even 5 which will allow you to increase the Effect Slider for Traction Loss back up to 5 or 10 to help balance it against all the other Effects.

• Remember, the Max Telemetry sets the maximum potential movement range for the platform. If you raise Max Telemetry too high and the game never outputs a telemetry value that meets or exceeds your Max Telemetry setting, you will never reach the maximum movement possible for your platform for that specific axis.

General Max Telemetry Tips

Pitch - Max Telemetry

Pitch telemetry output represents the angular position (angle in radians (degrees, revolutions)) of the vehicle in the game world relative to a flat plane.

For example, if the vehicle is going down a 7 degree hill, usually the captured telemetry MIN value will be –7.0. If it’s going up a 14.2° hill, the captured telemetry output MAX value will be 14.2. The same applies for flight sims. If the aircraft is climbing at a 45 degree angle, the Pitch telemetry will show MAX 45.0. If it’s diving straight down, it will be MIN -90°.

For flight sims, if the aircraft does a complete loop, the captured telemetry will output –180 min and +180 max as it completed a full 360° loop (starts at 0, climbs to 45, then straight up is 90, inverting at 135, upside down at 180, then -180 as its inverted level, -135 as its pitching down, -90 flying straight down, -45 as it pulls up, back to 0 of level flight).

The important part to remember about setting a Max Telemetry for pitch is 1) the overall angular pitch movement available for the platform and 2) how much of the pitch travel is wanted in the platform.

For racing sims, if you set Pitch to exactly what is captured in telemetry output, but you only drive a relatively flat track like Sebring, the max telemetry you capture will likely only be 2. If you set Max Telemetry to 2, then the platform will quickly rise on other tracks like Laguna Seca that can have a telemetry output for pitch up to 13. The platform will reach its maximum pitch quickly as you go up a hill which could result in jarring motion. It's recommended to find a balance or middle-ground for the the types of tracks that will be raced. For road course racing, this is around 7, but it can vary depend on the tracks and type of racing (Dirt Road can have jumps with large spikes in Pitch). A balance is needed to be utilized so you can still feel surge effects while pitching up in the platform when climbing a hill or ramp.

For flight sims, if you do a complete loop, the captured absolute maximum telemetry value for pitch will be 180. If you set your Pitch Max Telemetry to 180, the only time your platform would pitch to its maximum amount of movement in pitch would be at the end of a loop. If you set Max Telemetry to 90 (flying straight up at a 90° angle), then the platform would only reach maximum pitch when you flight straight up. The negative is you would feel very little platform movement during normal flight if Max Telemetry is set at 90 since the platform is likely only receiving pitch telemetry changes between 5 to 10° degrees during normal flying maneuvers. It's recommended to lower the Pitch Max Telemetry to have the user feel the platform pitch back to its maximum motion when it reaches 25 to 45 (dependent upon the performance of the aircraft). This will allow to platform to move backwards as the aircraft climbs, providing the g-force effect feeling, but will stop moving when in-game telemetry hits 45. These values should be experimented with based on the aircraft being utilized.

Note: Its possible that single-digit Max Telemetries could be utilized for Pitch to provide fidelity in motion for very small changes in flight. However, it will cause jarring motion if large motions are made. A balance based on the intended flying use should be utilized (ie. lower max telemetries if casual/civilian flight is desired, increase max telemetries if jet fighter/aerobatic flight is desired.)

Roll - Max Telemetry

Roll is exactly the same as Pitch in regards to angular position. The same concepts apply.

For most racing sims, Roll will be seen when hitting curbs, crashing, driving on a hillside or racing Oval tracks with high bank corners. Balance must be achieved as well similar to pitch in road courses, but increasing Roll for Oval racing does add more immersion as you can feel the banked corners.

For flight sims, the same concept as Pitch applies to Roll. Its recommended to lower the Roll Max Telemetry to have the user feel the platform roll side to side to its maximum motion when it reaches 25 to 45 (dependent upon the performance of the aircraft). This will allow to platform to move realistically as the aircraft rolls, providing the g-force effect feeling, but will stop moving at say 45° which will maintain the g-force feeling for the remainder of the roll. This is very dependent on the performance of the aircraft, as high performing aircraft like aerobatic or fighters can quickly complete a roll in under second, so increasing Max Telemetry to 50, 60 or above will help to mitigate the extremely jarring motion that can be encountered.

Note: The same single digit Max Telemetries for flight might be warranted depending on flying style. Refer to the note in Pitch for more details.

Yaw - Max Telemetry

Yaw is usually only exclusive to flight or space sims. Racing sims will utilize Traction Loss. For non-racing/flight sims, it will be a case-by-case basis. Yaw is completely dependent upon the telemetry output of the game as it can be one of two things: 1) the angular deflection from the center axis of the vehicle or 2) the angular direction the vehicle is pointing in the game world.

For most sims, it will be the angular deflection from the center axis of the vehicle. This will represent how far off axis the vehicle is when using rudder pedals. For most platforms, the movement on the Yaw axis can be jarring if done quickly, so setting the Max Telemetry to closer the actual captured telemetry value is recommended, but as always, it should be adjusted and tuned by the tuner. Helicopter simulators are notoriously harsh with Yaw telemetry.

If the Yaw value is the angular direction of the vehicle pointing in the game world, unless you have a 360°capable motion platform like YawVR, its recommended to disable Yaw telemetry. You can do this by setting the Effect Slider to 0 and the Max Telemetry to 1800 which will negate any Yaw telemetry outputs from impacting other effects in terms of predominance. The reason you disable on non-360° platforms is as the telemetry value approaches 180, it will flip to -180 immediately causing the platform to move extremely quick from full right yaw position to the full left yaw position.

Yaw Angle is available for YawVR, but won’t be covered in this guide at this time. Please see the YawVR forums for more information: https://forum.yawvr.com/discussion/29/faq#latest

Sway - Max Telemetry

Sway emulates the g-forces felt when cornering pushing the vehicle to the outside.

The captured telemetry for Sway is GREATLY impacted by the performance of the driver and how well they can push the vehicle to its maximum capabilities when collecting telemetry. Be cautious of corrupted Sway spikes by hitting walls or other objects and even during high speed skids when nothing is hit.

For racing sims, Sway tends to spike quickly and can lead to jarring motion. It might be needed to reduce the Sway Max Telemetry slightly to compensate for the required amount of smoothing effects. Sway can be easily tuned by feeling the platform movement when warming up tires and swerving back and forth on the track. Fast sharp corners will also produce spikes in sway for testing.

For flight sims, Sway can vary greatly in captured telemetry as its very dependent upon the flight model and if winds are reflected in telemetry (which usually are not included). It must be balanced against Pitch, Roll, and Yaw which are the expected g-forces felt while flying.

There are some flight sims, like DCS, that will spike Sway while on the ground or have other effects that impact the Sway output (loading onto a aircraft carrier catapult). Caution should be utilized when adjusting the Sway Max Telemetry to ensure a natural motion is felt during flight and not subjected to corrupted telemetry.

Surge - Max Telemetry

Telemetry for Surge will match the acceleration and deceleration capabilities of the vehicle.

For racing titles, the surge for deceleration will usually be higher than the surge for acceleration. This is primarily due to vehicle being able to stop faster than they can accelerate; however, this greatly depends on the performance of the vehicle (ie. Drag cars have a higher surge for acceleration).

Remember, Surge telemetry can be impacted very easily by hard braking to a complete stop (which isn’t normally done during a race). Also, any impact that will spike surge telemetry. Note: If you are stopping a vehicle while collecting telemetry to record the telemetry output, be sure to stop smoothly to avoid spiking telemetry values.

For flight sims, Surge telemetry can be seen during takeoff and landing. Rarely is an aircraft able to provide a g-force surge that is show in Surge telemetry (space sims excluded). The same principles apply when collecting data. Flight sims also tend to “drop” the vehicle into the game world when first loading, so be sure to capture telemetry after loading, clear it, capture during takeoff, clear it, during normal flight, clear it, and finally after landing. It’s important to have a good sense of accurate Surge telemetry for aircraft as the landing will spike many different effects.

IMPORTANT: Collisions are spikes in telemetry (hitting a car, landing hard, hitting a wall) and should not be baked into Max Telemetry. The platform will simulate the impacts more than enough by how quickly it will reach these spikes and bypass a normalized Max Telemetry setting. This applies to ALL axis.

Heave - Max Telemetry

For racing sims, Heave generally will be the primary source of road bumps. It is dependent upon the accuracy of the race track model. Laser scanned tracks should provide the best telemetry.

Balancing Heave is critically important to make the platform “feel” the road. A lower Max Telemetry ensures there is enough motion felt in the bumps, but this is completely dependent upon the motion platform, the vehicle being tuned, and the accuracy of track. Increasing the Effect Slider would be the first step in tuning, but once 20 is reached, begin to lower Heave Max Telemetry 1 point at a time until the desired road effect is felt.

Heave will also be represented in landing off jumps for Rally or Dirt Racing, so ensure the spike in telemetry are not matched precisely so the jarring landings can still be felt. If you match telemetry 100%, the landings will feel too smooth. Heave for racing sims is extremely critical to provide an immersive experience. When reviewing telemetry, look for values that are providing road feel vs the spikes for curbs or chicane bumps. Generally lower is better, but caution should be utilized to avoid making the platform too shaky.

For flight sims, Heave can provide that sense of weightlessness; however, its completely dependent upon the accuracy of the flight model. Rarely is turbulence modeled into telemetry, but it can be monitored during turbulence to see if a value can be obtained.

Generally, Heave for flight sims is seen during landing where a large spike will occur when hitting the run way. If captured telemetry is utilized too closely to this landing spike, the “hit” of the landing might not be felt, so its recommended to stay lower than what is captured.

Traction Loss - Max Telemetry

Used primarily for racing, Traction Loss Max Telemetry settings can be tricky to balance the feeling of losing traction while still feeling realistic when exiting a corner. Each sim will treat traction loss slightly differently.

Traction Loss is unique among all the other axis effects since it represents an "error" while driving (Rally, Dirt Oval and Road, or Drifting are exceptions and discussed below). If you capture telemetry and make no errors or abnormal motions while driving, the captured telemetry for Traction Loss will be relatively low, typically around 3. This is because you did not actually lose traction from over-steer or under-steer while capturing telemetry. There might be some very small values when entering or exiting a corner or while swerving on the track from tire slippage, but the values won't be high as if you did actually lose traction.

The issue with utilizing this lower value (~3), is just as when you captured with no errors, the Traction Loss telemetry value of 3 will occur. The platform will now move to its maximum possible traction loss movement often since the Max Telemetry value is so low resulting in potentially jarring motion. So, even if there is no over-steer or under-steer, you will likely feel traction loss occurring all the time because the Max Telemetry value is so low.

However, when capturing telemetry you do over-steer or under-steer, the value could be much higher, typically around 10 to 12. If you use a Traction Loss Max Telemetry of 12, the platform will barely move as the vehicle begins to lose traction and the platform won't reach its maximum amount of traction loss movement until the full skid has occurred. This results in an issue similar to adjusting the pitch and roll for flight sims. The car is rotating on the Yaw axis more than the motion platform can twist on the Traction Loss axis. There is an adjustment that can be made to "compress" the telemetry so you feel the beginning of the traction loss event in motion yet keep it from being to jarring in motion. Finding the balance between the traction loss telemetry value when driving clean and the traction loss telemetry value when skidding will provide a baseline max telemetry than could then be balanced with the Effect slider.

For example, in a clean run with no serious traction loss skidding in iRacing, depending on the vehicle, the captured telemetry for Traction Loss could peak at 3 or 4. If you utilize a Traction Loss Max Telemetry of 3, Traction Loss would often move to its maximum potential movement during normal driving and likely result in jarring motion. However, if you did actually over-steer and skid out of control, the capture telemetry for Traction Loss could peak to 10 or 12. If you utilized a Traction Loss Max Telemetry of 12, the platform would barely move at the beginning of a Traction Loss event which would feel less immersive and make catching the over-steer difficult.

Adding an additional buffer by increasing the Max Telemetry for Traction Loss to 5 or 6 (approximately 25% over captured Max Telemetry) from a good run will allow for a mix between the two values so that the Traction Loss event can be felt during the initial slide and the movement remains immersive throughout the entire event by not feeling jarring or dull. This is why it it critical to know how much the vehicle actually lost traction during the capture session (recovered slide vs full 360 degree spin) Some racing like Rally, Dirt Oval and Road, or Drifting are exception to this guidance as Traction Loss is not a driver error and intended for these type of racing. Utilizing the actual absolute values might be recommended since the platform will move more often on its Traction Loss axis. Depending on the driver's skill, a smaller Traction Loss max telemetry would allow for a more responsive feel in the traction loss of the vehicle specifically for drifting, however, it will result in more jarring motion if an extreme traction loss event occurs such as a crash.

Remember, when capturing telemetry, it’s a good practice to have a lap that is clean as possible to monitor how much Traction Loss telemetry occurs when exiting a corner. Perform another lap while pushing performance to have the vehicle lose traction slightly and catch it, much like a normal race, and analyze the data. Finally, perform a lap with a complete skid out to see what the maximum Traction Loss would spike too. This will give you a baseline of min to max for Traction Loss. However, it’s very important NOT to use the large spike from the skid out since it will make feeling the traction loss event difficult to feel as it begins for regular road racing. A balance between the clean run and the caught traction loss event is best.

General Effect Slider Tips

Note: The recommended values below are based on a PT Actuator 6DOF Simracing Platform (150mm: 7 Actuators (2 Front + 2 Rear + 2 TL + Surge). For platforms that do not have horizontal actuators, see '4 Vertical Actuators vs Additional Horizontal Actuators' in the Platform Differences section blow for more information on adjustments.

Tuning Off an Axis

If a specific axis is not needed, such as Yaw in racing sims, it can be disabled by turning the axis switch to OFF. You can also disable an axis by setting the Effect Slider to 0 and setting the Max Telemetry to 1800.

Pitch - Effect Slider

The Pitch Effect Slider has the greatest impact on feeling elevation changes in racing such as climbing a hill or the initial impact of a ramp as you go up a jump. Anything that will lift or lower the front end of the vehicle will be represented in Pitch.

• For road racing, the amount of pitch should be determined by how much elevation changes, road dips and climbs, and other track variations are desired to be felt. Small dips in the racetrack are usually felt more in pitch than in heave. A mid to high range will allow for all track telemetry to be felt.

• For rally or off road racing, a mid-to-high setting for the Pitch Effect slider will increase the feeling of ramped jumps or road launches as the vehicle pitches up quickly on the ramp/road.

• For flight sims, its recommended to increase the Pitch value very high to obtain the most amount of pitch available in the platform during flight. However, lower amounts might be desired for civilian flight sims.

Roll - Effect Slider

The Roll Effect Slider has the greatest impact on feeling curb hits and banked corners in racing. Anything that will roll the platform from the left to the right will be represented in Roll.

• For road racing, the amount of pitch should be determined by how much of the curb should be felt. In addition, banked corners will be represented in Roll for the vehicle which are particularly high in tracks like Daytona. Large curbs will also cause the platform to roll in addition to driving on the side of a hill. Mid-to-lower values tend to work well in most road racing games for Roll due to the jerky/violent impacts some curbs can reflect in Roll.

• For rally or off road racing, a higher setting for the Roll Effect slider will increase the feeling of corner dips, sliding down hillsides, or any other effect that rolls the body of the vehicle including loose/long-travel suspension. A higher roll value is recommended.

• For flight sims, its recommended to increase the Roll value very high to obtain the most amount of roll available in the platform during flight. However, lower amounts might be desired for civilian flight sims.

Yaw - Effect Slider

The Yaw Effect Slider will primarily be used for flight sims. Any twisting movement on the platform will be controlled by Yaw. This includes motion with platforms with just Traction Loss since Traction Loss is part of the Yaw axis and will move when the rudder is used in an aircraft. Sway telemetry is often swift and spiky and not a sustained sway g-force that might be expected.

• For flight sims, Yaw twisting motion can be extreme. A mid to lower ranged value will minimize jarring side-to-side motion when using the Yaw axis.

• For racing sims, if the platform is able to spin 360 degrees like YawVR, then the Yaw Effect Slider can be utilized to represent changes in compass heading while driving.

Lat G Sway - Effect Slider

The Sway Effect Slider will control how much the platform moves left to right in hard cornering or when swaying back and forth on the track to warm up tires. If you don't have sway actuators, it will be how much the platform rolls during sway. Any motion that will cause the vehicle to move laterally from side to sway is a result of Sway.

• For racing sims, Sway telemetry is quick and spikes fast when entering a high g corner or when swerving quickly from side to side on the track. Finding a balance of Sway Smoothing Effects and the correct setting for the Lat G Sway Effect Slider will reduce jarring motion when entering and exiting high sway corners as well as quick side-to-side motions on the track. A mid-to-high setting generally works best for most racing vehicles; however, matching the amount of the Lat G Sway Effect Slider to the performance of the vehicle generally provides the best results (ie. high performance vehicle can product higher sway g-forces in corner, thus increase the Lat G Sway Effect Slider as well).

• For flight sims, Sway isn't as often felt due to the nature of aircraft and banked turning. However, if a lower Sway Max Telemetry is utilized, Sway telemetry can still be felt and should be balanced against Pitch and Roll. Having the Sway Effect Slider in a neutral position will ensure Pitch and Roll are not impacted by Sway telemetry when flying.

Surge - Effect Slider

The Long G Surge Accel and Long G Surge Decel Effect Sliders control the forward movement during acceleration or reward movement during deceleration. If you don't have a surge actuator, it will be how much the platform pitches during acceleration and braking. The direction when accelerating or braking can be adjusted into two ways: For actuator platforms, you can reverse the surge actuator via the guide here. For platforms without a surge actuator, you can reverse the direction of the movement by changing the Max Telemetry to a negative value.

For gear shifts in racing sims, the placement of the Long G Surge Accel and Long G Surge Decel Effect Sliders will have the greatest impact on overall feeling. Since a gear shift is a momentary spike in deceleration telemetry, the father forward the platform is prior to the gear shift and the father back it needs to travel when receiving negative surge telemetry, the larger the felt "jerk" in motion can occur. This is due to the larger "gap" in between the forward position of the platform during acceleration and the rearward position of the platform during deceleration. Note: This gap in distance can be mitigated with increasing the Gear Smoothing Factor which will increase the amount of temporary surge telemetry smoothing to minimize the amount of movement during the gear shift.

• For accelerating in racing sims, the higher the slider is set for Long G Surge Accel, the more forward motion will be felt when accelerating. This motion can be jarring when starting from a dead stop or when hitting the accelerator to leave a corner which can be mitigated by reducing the Long G Surge Accel Effect Slider and/or increasing the Surge Smoothing Effect. The amount of the Long G Surge Accel Effect Slider can also be adjusted based on the performance of the vehicle (ie. the more power in the vehicle, the more acceleration, thus more travel via a higher Long G Surge Accel setting). A mid-to-high range will mitigate excessive jarring motion while allowing for an increased amount of motion.

• For decelerating in racing sims, the higher the slider is set for Long G Surge Decel, the more rearward motion will be felt when braking. Since braking telemetry is generally high, a higher setting for the Long G Surge Decel Effect Slider will allow for more travel in the platform and provide a wide range of felt fidelity. However, the increase in travel can result in jarring motion when braking hard to a complete stop or via a pit limiter. Utilizing additional Surge Effect Smoothing or the Auto Smoothing Low Speed button will help to mitigate these harsh motions.

• If both the Long G Surge Accel and Long G Surge Decel Effect Sliders are set to high numbers, more jarring gear shifts could occur since there will be a greater distance between how much forward the platform will be when the Long G Surge Accel Effect Slider is set to a high value AND the Decel Effect Slider is also set to a high value which causes the platform to move more rearward during negative/decel telemetry.

• Gear Smoothing Factor can be utilized to minimize the jarring gear shift when larger values are utilized; however, it might not be able to mitigate all the jarring motion. In addition, a larger amount of Gear Smoothing Factor, more than 50, can induce latency when returning to the throttle after a downshift.

• Long G Surge Accel and Decel can be adjusted to feel the feathering of the throttle, the balance of movement during trail braking, initial starts and complete stops, and other effects. Do not limit your adjustments to just hard and fast starts and stops.

• For flight sims, Long G Surge Accel and Long G Surge Decel is typically felt in the initial take off when accelerating and when braking during landing. Surge telemetry is rarely felt while flying unless in a jet with afterburners. Finally, some sims like DCS will represent spikes in negative surge telemetry when firing a cannon like in the A-10. Movement of the platform can be adjusted as normal; however, be careful when utilizing Surge Effect Smoothing as these effects can be muted easily.

• For space sims like Elite Dangerous, there will be a incredible high spike in Surge telemetry when exiting the Frameshift Drive. For platforms with a Spike Filter, harsh motion will be mitigated. For platforms without a Spike Filter, Clipping Bad Telemetry (see the Clipping Bad Telemetry section below) might be needed to mitigate excessive movement.

Heave - Effect Slider

The Heave Effect Slider will control how much upward and downward motion the platform performs during heave events. Heave requires a critical balance between the Max Telemetry setting and the amount of the Vert G Heave Effect Slider. The proper Max Telemetry value for Heave will allow for the smaller details in road telemetry to be felt. These details can be lowered or strengthened via the Vert G Heave Effect Slider which will cause the platform to rise or fall more based on Heave telemetry.

• A key tip for Heave is to go SLOW when adjusting values. A single digit can make the difference between a motion profile that feels to jarring and one that feels perfect. This is due to the fine relationship between the Heave Max Telemetry value and the Vert G Heave Effect Slider. Road telemetry can be small and lost in the telemetry against larger curb hits or other track variations that spike heave. Finding the fine balance between feeling the small details in the road and having it not feel harsh is a slow process.

• Do not hesitate to adjust the Heave Max Telemetry value by a single digit up or down as well when working to find a good Heave setting. However, the Vert G Heave Effect Slider will need to be adjusted anytime the Heave Max Telemetry value changes.

• The higher the value for the Vert G Heave Effect Slider, the more travel that will occur during heave which generally leads to jarring motion. Increasing Heave Smoothing Effects or slowly lowering the Vert G Heave Effect Slider will help to mitigate jarring heave motion.

• For flight sims, heave telemetry is generally felt during landings as well as turbulence and can be easily adjusted with Heave Smoothing Effects.

Traction Loss - Effect Slider

The Traction Loss Effect Slider is a key factor in how far the platform will move left or right during traction loss. If you don't have a traction loss actuator, it will be how much the platform rolls during traction loss. The more travel available in traction loss, the more fidelity that can be utilized to tune in the initial feeling of traction loss into the platform. This is done through fine tuning the Traction Loss Max Telemetry and utilizing a higher value for the Traction Loss Effect Slider.

• A major impact to Traction Loss motion is the Min Traction Loss Activation setting. Ensure Min Traction Loss Activation is set to 0 to allow for the full fidelity of traction loss telemetry to be utilized. Min Traction Loss Activation will not activate traction loss until the setting value is obtained leading to jarring/steppy motion.

• Traction Loss can become very snappy quickly if the Max Telemetry value is too low. Raising the Traction Loss Max Telemetry value will allow for more travel via the Traction Loss Effect Slider.

• Traction Loss Smoothing Effects can also be utilized to mitigate any jarring motion. However, too much Smoothing Effects can lead to small traction loss events not being felt or a latency in terms of responsiveness.

Platform Differences

Not every platform will feel the same. Differences in the spacing of the actuators, actuators vs non-actuator, servo drivers, and platform dimensions will all factor into the overall feeling of motion for the platform. There is simply not a "one size fits all" motion profile.

DOF Reality H/P3 vs H/P6: Sim Racing Studio will convert the motion from a profile created on a P6 to work on a P3 and vice versa. There is no specific platform motion profile for DOF Reality Platforms. A motion profiles created on a H3 will work on a H6. The key issue is the tuners ability to feel the Surge, Sway, and Heave axis on a H/P6 that is not present on a H/P3. Adjust might need to be made on these 3 axes if motion does not feel correct.

4 Vertical Actuators vs Additional Horizontal Actuators: Sway, Surge, and Traction Loss is converted into pitch or roll for platforms that do not have horizontal actuators (Sway = Roll; Surge = Pitch, Traction Loss = Roll). Platforms with horizontal actuators can utilize a larger value for Surge, Sway, and Traction Loss as these motions will have their own dedicated horizontal actuator. If the same Horizontal Actuator Effect Slider values are utilized on a 4 Vertical Actuator platform, it could result in excessive pitch or roll.

IMPORTANT: For an axis that does not have a dedicated horizontal actuator, it might be necessary to reduce the Effect Slider for Lat G Sway, Long G Surge Accel and Long G Surge Decel, or Traction Loss by 60% to mitigate excessive movement. For example:

• If no Sway actuators, reduce the Sway Effect Slider from 14 to 6.

• If no Surge actuator, reduce the Long G Surge Accel/Decel Effect Slider from 16 to 6.

• If no Traction Loss actuator, reduce the Traction Loss Effect Slider from 18 to 7.

The same conversion should work when converting a 4 Vertical Actuator motion profile to a profile that will be utilized on a platform with Horizontal Actuator - increase the Sway, Surge, and Traction Loss Effect Sliders by 60%.

Actuator Stroke Size: The size of the actuator stroke will impact the overall feeling of a motion profile. A motion profile tuned on a 150mm actuator platform might feel too jarring on a 200mm actuator platform. A motion profile created on a 200mm actuator platform might feel too subdued on a 100mm actuator platform. This is due to the simple physics of an object having to travel the same % of distance in the same amount of time.

For example, while in a 150mm actuator platform, the surge telemetry from the game spikes to 15 while I accelerate out of the pits. Since I have the Max Telemetry set to 15 and the Surge Accel Effect Slider set to 20, the platform will move me the farthest forward possible by 75mm (since half is accel and the other half (75mm) is decel giving me the 150mm actuator stroke).

However, in a 200mm actuator platform, the same car, same telemetry and same settings, the platform will now move me the farthest forward possible to 100mm. 25 extra millimeters of travel. When I let off the throttle, the 150mm platform returns me back to neutral by moving reward 75mm whereas the 200mm platform moves me back 100mm. Thus, its very possible, the larger movement of 100mm feels jarring compared to the 75mm simply due to the extra 25mm of travel in the same amount of time.

This is something to consider when sharing motion profiles or when comparing your profiles to someone with a different actuator stroke platform.

Actuator Placement: The positioning of the actuator on a platform will impact the overall available angles of pitch and roll. The closer together the actuators are to each other, the greater the angle when at full pitch or roll. These changes in angle will impact the overall feeling of the profile. A simple change of 10cm can increase the angel by a couple degrees and result in a different feel in the motion profile. Differences in actuator placement is something to consider when sharing or comparing motion profiles.

MDBOX Tuning: Due to built in smoothing effects for MDBOX, it might not be necessary to utilize Effect Smoothing. Based on motion profiles created for PT Actuator platforms, it may be necessary to reduce the Effect Smoothing by 50%. Surge, Sway, and Traction Loss may require Effect Smoothing to be removed completely when comparing to motion profiles created on other platforms.

Clipping Bad Telemetry

SRS has the ability to clip excessive telemetry spikes from corrupted/buggy telemetry or extreme events such as hard crashes, hits, or rolling flips.

A few examples of buggy telemetry is that Elite Dangerous will spike surge to 9.6 million when exiting the frame-shift drive, IL-2 will spike surge and heave up to 300 when switching positions in a bomber, and DCS will spike sway when first attaching to a catapult on a carrier or taxiing on a runway. These events could be filtered to prevent the excessive movement and prevent them from dominating the other axes due to their extremely large telemetry values.

Extreme events could also be filtered that would be higher than expected telemetry like hard crashes, rolling flips, hard landings or other events that would normally lead to jarring motion. Accurate Max Telemetries should be utilized to ensure all intended motion isn't clipped.

WARNING: Clip Factor is a GLOBAL setting since its located in the config.ini file. Any setting made here will impact all games and could potential clip telemetry for titles in which its not intended.

The setting is in the SRS config.ini file which is located in the Documents/SimRacingStudio 2.0 folder. Default settings:

[MOTIONBOX]

pitch_clip_factor = 1000

roll_clip_factor = 1000

yaw_clip_factor = 1000

surge_clip_factor = 1000

sway_clip_factor = 1000

heave_clip_factor = 1000

traction_loss_clip_factor = 1000

The Clip Factor will clip any telemetry that is higher than the existing Max Telemetry for an axis MULTIPLIED by the Clip Factor. For example, if your Surge Max Telemetry is 20 and you set the Clip Factor to 3, any value the game send over 60 (3x20) will be clipped at 60. So if the games send a telemetry output for surge of 300, SRS will process the output only as 60, not as 300. Defaults Clip Factors are set to 1000 to prevent most clipping form occurring.

Reverse/Invert an Axis

By manually entering a negative number in the Max Telemetry field, the movement for that axis will be inverted. For example, if a game output has the platform turning the wrong way on the Yaw axis, entering a negative number into Max Telemetry for Yaw will reverse the Yaw movement.

Note: If you are wanting to reverse the direction of a horizontal surge actuator, follow the tutorial here instead.

Advanced Boost Tuning

The Boost multiplier SRS utilizes; the threshold at which it would begin; and the threshold in which it would be smoothed can be edited in the config.ini file. For example, the default boost_threshold for a DOF REALITY platform is 150 which is 15% of total movement. To boost just the small details, lower boost_threshold to 100 or even lower to 50. Change these settings only if the Boost slider in Platform settings isn't providing the desired strength of boost. The SRS config.ini can be found in the documents/simracingstudio 2.0 folder. The config.ini file can be edited in Notepad to adjust various settings in Sim Racing Studio. When making any changes to the config.ini file, SRS will need to be restarted. It’s recommended to make a backup copy prior to editing. [MOTIONBOX] boost_multiplier - How much boost to apply if the threshold is met.

[DOF REALITY][PROSIMU]

boost_threshold - When SRS calculates the new platform position, if the delta is smaller than this threshold, SRS will apply a boost_multiplier. The higher this number, boost gets applied to a larger range of delta movements and could cause jerkiness on large effects.

smoothing_threshold - When SRS calculates the new platform position, if the delta is larger than this threshold, SRS will apply a smoothing formula. The lower this threshold, more frequent smoothing gets applied and could cause some small effects to disappear.

Miscellaneous Tuning Tips

Shaker Kits, Transducers, and the Buttkicker Gamer 2

It's recommended to disable shaking when tuning as it will potentially mask the movement of the platform, specifically Heave. You need to be able to feel the motion movements without any distractions. Disabling shaker/vibrations enable you to feel the minute movements of the platform. Heave can especially be hidden by shake telemetry.

VR or Screens

It's much easier to adjust a motion profile on screens as you can easily observe the platform's movements. There is no recommendation in this guide for different settings based on screens or VR.