TORCS (The Open Racing Car Simulator) is an open-source3Dcar racing simulator available on Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, AmigaOS 4, AROS, MorphOS and Microsoft Windows. TORCS was created by Eric Espié and Christophe Guionneau, but project development is now headed by Bernhard Wymann.[2] It is written in C++ and is licensed under the GNU GPL. TORCS is designed to enable pre-programmed AI drivers to race against one another, while allowing the user to control a vehicle using either a keyboard, mouse, or wheel input.[3]
Comparison of the reflections system of TORCS 1.3.3 (left) and Speed Dreams 2.0 (right): Front view of a racing car split by a bright line; the right part shows more vivid reflections
Development of TORCS began in 1997 by Eric Espié and Christophe Guionneau as a 2D game called Racing Car Simulator (RCS). It was influenced by and based on RARS (Robot Auto Racing Simulator).[4] When Espié and Guionneau acquired a 3dfxgraphics card for game development, they made the first 3D version of the simulator with OpenGL and renamed it Open Racing Car Simulator (ORCS) so as not to be confused with the Revision Control System.
The early versions of ORCS did not include cars with engines, making the game a Soap Box Derby-style, downhill racing simulation. When engines and engine sounds were eventually added, the simulation was given its final name, TORCS, as the name seemed more relevant to automobiles given its similarity to the word torque.
Later, Guionneau added multiple camera angles during game-play. Guionneau developed much of the original graphics code in TORCS and eventually added texture mapping to give more detail to the cars. Espié then worked on piecing together and finalizing code for release.[5]
Future goals
The current main developers of TORCS are Bernhard Wymann (project leader), Christos Dimitrakakis (simulation, sound, AI) and Andrew Sumner (graphics, tracks). Aside from bugfixes and maintenance of TORCS code, the next features planned include network multiplayer mode, improved physics engine, enhanced car interior detail, and replays.[6]
Reception and impact
In December 2000 CNN placed TORCS among the "Top 10 Linux games for the holidays".[7]Linux Journal considered TORCS to be the best open source driving game in their October 18, 2007 issue, highlighting the ability for players to design their own cars, realistic graphics and vehicle handling.[8] The game has gained substantial popularity; between 2000 and 2017, it was downloaded over 2.9 million times via SourceForge.net alone.[9]
Competitions
The TORCS Racing Board hosts a competition on its website among players in the TORCS community. Unlike traditional network multiplayer events in which players compete in real-time on local network or Internet-connected clients simultaneously, the TORCS Racing Board is a competition between artificial intelligence "robots" developed and uploaded by users.
TORCS has been forked into several projects, for example Speed Dreams,[11] originally known as Torcs-NG.
Use in research
Thanks to its openness, modularity and extensibility, TORCS has been adopted as a base for many research projects; examples include automated computation of car setups, human-assisted algorithmic generation of tracks and the application of several computing techniques (e.g. genetic programming) to different aspects of robot driving. Since 2008, TORCS has also played an important role in various research fields within the IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games, where it appears as a base for 4 to 6 projects every year.
According to the TORCS FAQ the current version of TORCS should be cited as "B. Wymann, E. Espié, C. Guionneau, C. Dimitrakakis, R. Coulom, A. Sumner. TORCS: The Open Racing Car Simulator, vX.X.X, 20XX."
^COBOSLAB, University of Würzburg, , archived from the original on 2010-04-06, retrieved 2010-04-03
^"Speed Dreams home page".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to TORCS.
TORCS website
The TORCS Racing Board
January 21, 2023
torcs, open, racing, simulator, open, source, racing, simulator, available, linux, freebsd, amigaos, aros, morphos, microsoft, windows, created, eric, espié, christophe, guionneau, project, development, headed, bernhard, wymann, written, licensed, under, desig. TORCS The Open Racing Car Simulator is an open source 3D car racing simulator available on Linux FreeBSD Mac OS X AmigaOS 4 AROS MorphOS and Microsoft Windows TORCS was created by Eric Espie and Christophe Guionneau but project development is now headed by Bernhard Wymann 2 It is written in C and is licensed under the GNU GPL TORCS is designed to enable pre programmed AI drivers to race against one another while allowing the user to control a vehicle using either a keyboard mouse or wheel input 3 TORCSSplash screenOriginal author s Eric Espie and Christophe GuionneauDeveloper s Bernhard Wymann et al 1 Initial release1997Stable releasev1 3 7 May 26 2016 6 years ago 2016 05 26 Repositorysourceforge wbr net wbr projects wbr torcs wbr Written inC EnginePLIBPlatformcross platformTypeRacing gameLicenseGNU GPL Free Art licenseWebsitetorcs wbr sourceforge wbr net Race track in Torcs in Top down view Comparison of the reflections system of TORCS 1 3 3 left and Speed Dreams 2 0 right Front view of a racing car split by a bright line the right part shows more vivid reflections Contents 1 History 1 1 Development 1 2 Future goals 2 Reception and impact 2 1 Competitions 2 2 TORCS forks 2 3 Use in research 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditDevelopment Edit Development of TORCS began in 1997 by Eric Espie and Christophe Guionneau as a 2D game called Racing Car Simulator RCS It was influenced by and based on RARS Robot Auto Racing Simulator 4 When Espie and Guionneau acquired a 3dfx graphics card for game development they made the first 3D version of the simulator with OpenGL and renamed it Open Racing Car Simulator ORCS so as not to be confused with the Revision Control System The early versions of ORCS did not include cars with engines making the game a Soap Box Derby style downhill racing simulation When engines and engine sounds were eventually added the simulation was given its final name TORCS as the name seemed more relevant to automobiles given its similarity to the word torque Later Guionneau added multiple camera angles during game play Guionneau developed much of the original graphics code in TORCS and eventually added texture mapping to give more detail to the cars Espie then worked on piecing together and finalizing code for release 5 Future goals Edit The current main developers of TORCS are Bernhard Wymann project leader Christos Dimitrakakis simulation sound AI and Andrew Sumner graphics tracks Aside from bugfixes and maintenance of TORCS code the next features planned include network multiplayer mode improved physics engine enhanced car interior detail and replays 6 Reception and impact EditIn December 2000 CNN placed TORCS among the Top 10 Linux games for the holidays 7 Linux Journal considered TORCS to be the best open source driving game in their October 18 2007 issue highlighting the ability for players to design their own cars realistic graphics and vehicle handling 8 The game has gained substantial popularity between 2000 and 2017 it was downloaded over 2 9 million times via SourceForge net alone 9 Competitions Edit The TORCS Racing Board hosts a competition on its website among players in the TORCS community Unlike traditional network multiplayer events in which players compete in real time on local network or Internet connected clients simultaneously the TORCS Racing Board is a competition between artificial intelligence robots developed and uploaded by users Faculty from the University of Wurzburg and Politecnico di Milano host two AI competitions the Simulated Car Racing Championship and the Demolition Derby Competition the latter uses a patched TORCS server 10 TORCS forks Edit TORCS has been forked into several projects for example Speed Dreams 11 originally known as Torcs NG Use in research Edit Thanks to its openness modularity and extensibility TORCS has been adopted as a base for many research projects examples include automated computation of car setups human assisted algorithmic generation of tracks and the application of several computing techniques e g genetic programming to different aspects of robot driving Since 2008 TORCS has also played an important role in various research fields within the IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games where it appears as a base for 4 to 6 projects every year According to the TORCS FAQ the current version of TORCS should be cited as B Wymann E Espie C Guionneau C Dimitrakakis R Coulom A Sumner TORCS The Open Racing Car Simulator vX X X 20XX See also Edit Video games portalList of open source games VDrift another cross platform open source driving simulation X Motor Racing TORCS compatible UDP interface Speed Dreams TORCS fork under active developmentReferences Edit TORCS Team TORCS FAQ Who develops TORCS About TORCS on torcs sourceforge net Evolved to Win by Moshe Sipper ISBN 978 1 4709 7283 7 2011 TORCS project history SourceForge net TORCS FAQ What are the future plans Top 10 Linux games for the holidays by Lee Anderson on cnn com December 20 2000 archived Diehl Mike 2007 10 18 Free Games for Linux Linux Journal Linux Journal Retrieved 2007 12 04 stats 2000 03 19 to 2017 05 25 on sourceforge net COBOSLAB University of Wurzburg Simulated Car Racing Competition 2010 Demolition Derby archived from the original on 2010 04 06 retrieved 2010 04 03 Speed Dreams home page a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to TORCS TORCS website The TORCS Racing Board Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title TORCS amp oldid 1108900366, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
