Like a lot of sim racers I love the LMP Hybrid era, and my personal favourite LMP1 car has been the Porsche 919 Hybrid, especially the 2017 version. Sadly there has never been a really good version available for Assetto Corsa (or any sim for that matter).
Sure there is a conversion from Forza Motorsports which was improved physics wise by SpeedStar2000 and drives great, but the model and textures left lots to be desired.
I recently found myself with quite some time on my hand and decided to make some improvements for myself. I have experience with making skins and doing some texture work, but had never touched a 3D-model or knew a thing about shaders. This however has now changed, as the minor personal improvements turned into a small project where I updated almost everything I could think of. I then contacted SpeedStar2000 asking if he was okay with me releasing this to the public (which he is totally okay with) and he graciously gave me some pointers which send me down a second rabbit hole of improvements which results in what I'm making available right now.
There are still issues I'm sure, and things I could do better as I develop my skills. Please feel free to highlights this to me and I'll do my best to address these when I'm able to.
Anyway, without further ado, here is the 2017 Porsche 919 Hybrid (v1.5)
Highlights
- Complete revamp of textures and shaders used
- Added AO, highlights, materials, and dirt layers
- Complete revamp of all the skins including loads of additions
- Minor 3D-model corrections
- Complete revamp of the lighting both exterior and interior (CSP required)
- Complete revamp of the LCD-screen on the steering wheel (CSP required)
- Loads of other small additions and corrects both on the interior and exterior
- Minor changes to the set-up and physics (only to correct naming or correct bugs, BoP should be identical to before)
Credits
- Kunos: for Assetto Corsa and the 2016 919, which offered loads of data and the sounds (Porsche DLC is therefore required)
- SpeedStar2000: for his excellent LMP1/LMP 2017 pack which was the basis for me to take off from, and his kind permission to release this
- All the modders: for the great platform, awesome additions, inspiration, and the support
- Sources used: Porsche Newsroom (PDF!), Official WEC rulebook for 2017 (PDF!), this excellent article by Motortrend, this article by Racecar Engineering, and this one by Racing Sports Cars
- YouTube videos used: this, this, this, and this one
Screenshots
I completely re-did the cockpit, every light, button, and display acts as the one in the real car (or at least close enough)
Every skin features a custom driver, which includes suit, gloves, helmet and visor. They match as they were used in that actual race
I spend a lot of time getting the lights right, including the coloured pit lights on the front and the position lights on the side (not pictured, the complete revamp of the rear lights
Changelog
===== Updates to version 1.6
[Fix] Renamed folder to str_lmp1_porsche_919_hybrid_2017 (please delete both older str_lmp1_porsche_919_hybrid_2017 and my v1.5 gtp_porsche_919_2017 folders)
[Added] Added LODs, they are not perfect but good enough for now
[Fix] Slightly changed some data files to better align with SpeedStar2000's latest version (1.4.1)
[Fix] Issues with blurred rims becoming transparant have been solved (in a hacky way because the 3D-model is weird)
[Fix] Re-textured some rim decals and corrected the shaders
[Fix] Issues with visual damage creating a blue hue over the car have been solved
[Added] Basic implementation of visual damage added, the car will somewhat correctly crack and scrape if you crash it and have damage enabled
[Fix] Minor updates to AO
[Fix] Minor updates to NM
[Fix] Updates to Tribute versions of the car with regards to sponsors
[Fix] Corrected white number on the back of the car
[Fix] Cleaned up the Data folder and some other development stuff before release
===== Changes to Textures
[Fix] Some sponsor textures were using the incorrect shader
[Fix] The steering wheel had weird texture glitches
[Fix] Antenna on top
[Fix] Made the window banner see-through from the inside as per the real car
[Fix] Corrected loads of shaders, which were often wrong causing all kinds of glitches (still some issues I'm sure)
[Fix] Slightly darker rims as per the real car
[Fix] Correct tyre textures with custom writing (differs per car)
[Fix] The little safety pins on the door are now orange and not chrome as per the real car
[Fix] Complete revamp of the base livery (based on own "template")
[Added] AO mapping (not perfect)
[Added] Front-window tear-off stickers to the side of the window (not perfect)
[Added] Pit crew skins unique per car skin
[Added] Correct driver suits, helmets (driver used varies per skin), and gloves for all cars
[Added] Dirt layer so the car builds up dirt throughout your races
[Added] Reflective roof as per the real car (not perfect)
===== Changes to Liveries
[Added] WEC season opening (Silverstone) skins #1 (Neel) and #2 (Earl)
[Fix] WEC Le Mans 24H skins #1 (Nick) and #2 (Brendon) were corrected (slight sponsor changes)
[Added] WEC Le Mans winner (which is dirty) skin #2 (Timo)
[Added] WEC season champion (Shanghai) skins #1 (Andre) and #2 (Earl) (with slightly different headlights as per the real car)
[Added] WEC final-race (Bahrain) Tribute skins #1 (Neel) and #2 (Timo) (the ones with all the names on it)
[Added] 2018 Tribute skin that was driven by various journalists (without WEC-stickers)
[Added] Custom ext_config per skin with correct lighting based on the actual race and car
===== Changes to Lighting
[Added] The front lights are split up between day-time running lights (which are always on) and night-lights (a.k.a. the headlights), using custom csp extension for better light control
[Added] Coloured RGB-pits-light-strip on the front of the car, with different colours as per the real car (#1 is illuminated in blue, #2 car can be recognised by its purple light)
[Added] Interior lights as per the real car (pink)
[Fix] Position lights on the side now work correctly and show the position of the car
[Added] Complete revamp of the rear-lights as per the real car with 4 rows of lights
Top lights are the rain lights, automatically start blinking when the wipers are on (this is normally controlled by race control and the driver using a button, this seemed like a reasonable sim-alternative))
Middle lights are the normal rear lights, and the brake lights, and they blink when the car is decelerating at > -0.4 G-forces (as per the real car and WEC-regulations)
Bottom lights are the pit-lights, which blink when the car is in the pits (as per the real car)
Very bottom lights are the indicator and hazard lights (assumption, I can find no information on where these lights actually are on the real car)
[Added] Interior center-dashboard lights: the switches have lights, as do the buttons, which light up based on various conditions (as per the real car (some assumptions made))
===== Changes to Interior
[Added] Tyre-lock-up LED's added to the dash
[Added] Digital mirror display added to the top of the cockpit
[Added] Flag indicator display added to the top of the cockpit (can currently only display yellow flags)
[Fix] RPM LEDs lights up correctly as per the real car at correct RPM (assumptions made, could also differ per STRAT/MODE the car is in, not validated)
[Added] Complete revamp of the steering wheel LCD screen
Now shows the KERS battery charge and available boost left for this lap - identical to the Kunos 2016 Porsche 919, but not as per the actual car which uses a way more complex dataset for these bars which can't be simulated (by me atleast) in AC
Correct data shown on the steering wheel, based on the most-used screen as per the onboard videos on YouTube and some assumptions on what certain datapoints mean
[Added] The display also shows a green 'PIT' bar when the car is in the pits (49:22 YT video)
[Added] Furthermore the display shows a yellow 'BOX' bar when the car is low on fuel, this is not correct as it should be based on the usage of the BOX button on the steering wheel, but this seemed like a more reasonable simulation
[Added] When the car stalls a big warning is displayed indicating the same
[Added] Finally the display shows a 'RADIO' indicator at random times, you don't actually hear anything, but imagine your engineer telling you something (can be disabled in /extension/ext_config.ini by searching for 'random radio' and reading the instructions)
===== Changes to Physics and Configuration
[Fix] Set-up new/real F6-camera's
[Fix] Brake temperatures are now correctly simulated and displayed
[Fix] Made the throttle curve linear as per the real car
[Added] New Gearing sets based on YT-video data and some assumptions (available are Short, Long, Le Mans)
[Added] New KERS-modes based of off YT-video estimates and some assumptions, with the following modes available
M +9 Safety Car Build Charge meant for full course yellow and slow zones, no deployment and only builds charge
M 1 Race meant for normal racing conditions, should be used as the default (and is the default)
M -8 Race Push meant for pushing during the race to overtake traffic for example, bit more aggresive coming out of the corner
M 5 Race Rain meant for raining conditions during the race, lower deployment and not aggresive out of the corners
M 9 Qualifying meant for qualifying, very aggresive deployment meant for soft tires only
M -9 Boost maximum deployment as long as the button is pressed
[Fix] Fuel usage changed to 3.161484 km per liter as per max. WEC regulations for 2017 (based on a Le Mans lap and allowed max. fuel uasge) and fuel tank size changed to 62.3 liters
[Added] Slightly revised traction control logic
[Added] Slightly revised default set-up
[Fix] Renamed folder to str_lmp1_porsche_919_hybrid_2017 (please delete both older str_lmp1_porsche_919_hybrid_2017 and my v1.5 gtp_porsche_919_2017 folders)
[Added] Added LODs, they are not perfect but good enough for now
[Fix] Slightly changed some data files to better align with SpeedStar2000's latest version (1.4.1)
[Fix] Issues with blurred rims becoming transparant have been solved (in a hacky way because the 3D-model is weird)
[Fix] Re-textured some rim decals and corrected the shaders
[Fix] Issues with visual damage creating a blue hue over the car have been solved
[Added] Basic implementation of visual damage added, the car will somewhat correctly crack and scrape if you crash it and have damage enabled
[Fix] Minor updates to AO
[Fix] Minor updates to NM
[Fix] Updates to Tribute versions of the car with regards to sponsors
[Fix] Corrected white number on the back of the car
[Fix] Cleaned up the Data folder and some other development stuff before release
===== Changes to Textures
[Fix] Some sponsor textures were using the incorrect shader
[Fix] The steering wheel had weird texture glitches
[Fix] Antenna on top
[Fix] Made the window banner see-through from the inside as per the real car
[Fix] Corrected loads of shaders, which were often wrong causing all kinds of glitches (still some issues I'm sure)
[Fix] Slightly darker rims as per the real car
[Fix] Correct tyre textures with custom writing (differs per car)
[Fix] The little safety pins on the door are now orange and not chrome as per the real car
[Fix] Complete revamp of the base livery (based on own "template")
[Added] AO mapping (not perfect)
[Added] Front-window tear-off stickers to the side of the window (not perfect)
[Added] Pit crew skins unique per car skin
[Added] Correct driver suits, helmets (driver used varies per skin), and gloves for all cars
[Added] Dirt layer so the car builds up dirt throughout your races
[Added] Reflective roof as per the real car (not perfect)
===== Changes to Liveries
[Added] WEC season opening (Silverstone) skins #1 (Neel) and #2 (Earl)
[Fix] WEC Le Mans 24H skins #1 (Nick) and #2 (Brendon) were corrected (slight sponsor changes)
[Added] WEC Le Mans winner (which is dirty) skin #2 (Timo)
[Added] WEC season champion (Shanghai) skins #1 (Andre) and #2 (Earl) (with slightly different headlights as per the real car)
[Added] WEC final-race (Bahrain) Tribute skins #1 (Neel) and #2 (Timo) (the ones with all the names on it)
[Added] 2018 Tribute skin that was driven by various journalists (without WEC-stickers)
[Added] Custom ext_config per skin with correct lighting based on the actual race and car
===== Changes to Lighting
[Added] The front lights are split up between day-time running lights (which are always on) and night-lights (a.k.a. the headlights), using custom csp extension for better light control
[Added] Coloured RGB-pits-light-strip on the front of the car, with different colours as per the real car (#1 is illuminated in blue, #2 car can be recognised by its purple light)
[Added] Interior lights as per the real car (pink)
[Fix] Position lights on the side now work correctly and show the position of the car
[Added] Complete revamp of the rear-lights as per the real car with 4 rows of lights
Top lights are the rain lights, automatically start blinking when the wipers are on (this is normally controlled by race control and the driver using a button, this seemed like a reasonable sim-alternative))
Middle lights are the normal rear lights, and the brake lights, and they blink when the car is decelerating at > -0.4 G-forces (as per the real car and WEC-regulations)
Bottom lights are the pit-lights, which blink when the car is in the pits (as per the real car)
Very bottom lights are the indicator and hazard lights (assumption, I can find no information on where these lights actually are on the real car)
[Added] Interior center-dashboard lights: the switches have lights, as do the buttons, which light up based on various conditions (as per the real car (some assumptions made))
===== Changes to Interior
[Added] Tyre-lock-up LED's added to the dash
[Added] Digital mirror display added to the top of the cockpit
[Added] Flag indicator display added to the top of the cockpit (can currently only display yellow flags)
[Fix] RPM LEDs lights up correctly as per the real car at correct RPM (assumptions made, could also differ per STRAT/MODE the car is in, not validated)
[Added] Complete revamp of the steering wheel LCD screen
Now shows the KERS battery charge and available boost left for this lap - identical to the Kunos 2016 Porsche 919, but not as per the actual car which uses a way more complex dataset for these bars which can't be simulated (by me atleast) in AC
Correct data shown on the steering wheel, based on the most-used screen as per the onboard videos on YouTube and some assumptions on what certain datapoints mean
[Added] The display also shows a green 'PIT' bar when the car is in the pits (49:22 YT video)
[Added] Furthermore the display shows a yellow 'BOX' bar when the car is low on fuel, this is not correct as it should be based on the usage of the BOX button on the steering wheel, but this seemed like a more reasonable simulation
[Added] When the car stalls a big warning is displayed indicating the same
[Added] Finally the display shows a 'RADIO' indicator at random times, you don't actually hear anything, but imagine your engineer telling you something (can be disabled in /extension/ext_config.ini by searching for 'random radio' and reading the instructions)
===== Changes to Physics and Configuration
[Fix] Set-up new/real F6-camera's
[Fix] Brake temperatures are now correctly simulated and displayed
[Fix] Made the throttle curve linear as per the real car
[Added] New Gearing sets based on YT-video data and some assumptions (available are Short, Long, Le Mans)
[Added] New KERS-modes based of off YT-video estimates and some assumptions, with the following modes available
M +9 Safety Car Build Charge meant for full course yellow and slow zones, no deployment and only builds charge
M 1 Race meant for normal racing conditions, should be used as the default (and is the default)
M -8 Race Push meant for pushing during the race to overtake traffic for example, bit more aggresive coming out of the corner
M 5 Race Rain meant for raining conditions during the race, lower deployment and not aggresive out of the corners
M 9 Qualifying meant for qualifying, very aggresive deployment meant for soft tires only
M -9 Boost maximum deployment as long as the button is pressed
[Fix] Fuel usage changed to 3.161484 km per liter as per max. WEC regulations for 2017 (based on a Le Mans lap and allowed max. fuel uasge) and fuel tank size changed to 62.3 liters
[Added] Slightly revised traction control logic
[Added] Slightly revised default set-up
- The LCD screen doesn't display extreme brake bias values correctly (<53% or >62.5%)
- At some tracks/in some situation I run into some Z-fighting on the dashboard - I somehow expect this is related to your PC-hardware and the load you put on it, I've tried to minimise it as much as possible, please report any (big) issues
The car turns a shade of blue when visual damage is on and you have a crash (reported through reviews)(fixed in v1.6)- The Tribute skin is a bit rough (all those names...) and not perfect due to limitations in the model/textures
No testing has been done on other systems or with different configurations (Sol/Pure/versions of CSP, etc.)(it has over 2000 downloads now and I didn't hear any complaints, must be fine
)- FFB was not tested as I don't currently have a steering wheel, but it also wasn't changed, so assuming it's fine
- I've done about 400 kilometers with the version I'm releasing and have not run into any weird issues, but I wouldn't call my testing or experience in modding exhaustive - so except bugs (please report)
The car has no LOD's, generating these gave all kinds of funky issues, most likely due to my limited knowledge(fixed in v1.6)- The car doesn't have changeable Recup (for the KERS-system) even though the real does, however I've not seen an onboard where they aren't running mode 1, which is also what our 3D-model is in
- Animating the doors was too tough for now (due to my limited Blender experience)
- I would love to go even further with the LCD display, but this would require me writing a custom LUA-script as CSP doesn't provide the required data at the moment
- Animating the doors and dials on the steering wheel
- I could definitely improve some textures and liveries (especially the Tribute ones), but it's 'good enough' for now (and a bit better in v1.6)
- Add TC/F and TC/CON systems (very difficult to find data on this, not sure if this can even be simulated in AC)
- The KERS deployment system has way more options then currently available, maybe I want to simulate all of them, but finding the data is really hard
- I would love to use the extra buttons to controls certain KERS-modes (namely race push (M -8) and SC build charge (M +9) as these are activated using the top flappy-padels on the real car - but this seems very hard to do if not impossible, probably requires custom LUA-scripts
- I would also love to control some other often used buttons and switches in the cockpit using the extra buttons
- Add battery-master and ignition systems so you actually have to start the car (note to self: your not VRC, stay in your lane)
- Modelling the different aero-packages and late-season front-end
- Modelling new mirrors (they are not in the correct location on this model)
