RCS64 History (Past to Present)

Lap Counter

Started with Lap Counter in December 2011, for C7030 Powerbase

First numbered version was 1.0.0.2 and Last Version which supported C7030 only was 1.0.0.8

Jan 2012 (v 2.0.0.0) First APB (C7042 ) version.

(v 2.0.0.8) Stop and Go, basic sounds implemented. Fixed timing bug

Until version 2.0.0.9 software was called Lap Counter

RCS64

April 2012  (v 2.0.0.9)

Throttle profiles added at press of key

3^rd April 2012 – Marcel announces on SlotForum that RCS is in the making.

(v 2.0.0.10) Updated GUI for GP, showing throttle,LC and brake

(v 2.0.0.11) Le Mans Implemented

(v 2.0.0.12/13) Non sorting boxes for GP/Le Mans. Refuel speed. Updated GUI for Main screen and sound.

(v 2.0.0.14) Throttle calibration. Stop and Go with LC. Version to be used for 2 hrs endurance as serious test.

(v 2.0.0.15/16) Now It is easier to test without PB connected. Copy car function available. Sorting position/difference boxes in GP/Le Mans screens. Testing of multiple sounds in practice screen.

(v 2.0.0.17) Individual sounds in practice for passing Start Finish works ! GUI update car setup. Minor bugs found, to be checked before beta. (awarding stopngo, race end power)

May 2012  (v 2.0.1.15)

BETA test version rolled out to 3 testers. Race end power solved, individual sounds for passing SF in all race modes.

Sept 2012

***CURRENT VERSION 3.0.0.x***

Almost ready for download !

17 Sept 2012 – Pre registration for test version

27 Sept 2012 (v 3.0.0.1) Basic test version released

Version 3.0.0.1 is the Free basic version of RCS64.

Features

-Qualify

-GP

-Le Mans

-Throttle profiles (default and custom)

– Stop and Go

-Sound features

– Advanced Pit Menu (APM (c) )

– Fuel load simulation

-(auto) track call

30 Oct 2012 (v 3.0.0.4)

* Fixed issues;

– power limiter did not work when not using fuel load simulation

– throttle profile did not work correct when added custom profile

– improved fonts

– spelling/grammar corrections

– difference box not always shown

* New features

– enter refuel speed manually and slider

– change endurance time with buttons

– super fast update speed powerbase-PC-powerbase (1 ms!)

– dynamic braking optional for every controller

– brake applied when track call occurs

– reset calibration

– changed fuel routine. Very stable. And looking at the future with big tank size for tyre wear races where your car gets lighter but you only stop for tyres.

You will see options for tyre wear. They will be available in next version, they have no influence now !

1 Nov 2012 (v 3.0.0.5)

*Fixed issues;

– First time refuel was too fast.

9 Nov 2012  (v 3.0.0.8) (Scalextric World Championship Edition).

*New features

– Minimum lap time

– Overall race time displayed in Results Page

The above was necessary to be able to use RCS64 for the Dutch round of the Scalextric World Championship.

22 Nov 2012 (v 3.0.0.9)

*New feature:

– Pause race by brake button. Keep button pressed for X seconds (user defined). This will pause the race and you will get a message which driver paused It. This also works with Auto Track call enabled.

– Improved Car ID’ing.

* bug fixes;

– Add lap after pitlane with parallel pitlanes. Adding a lap after pitstop or stop and go should now work correct, also in practice/qualify.

– In throttle tab, the leds for lance change/brake did not work correct for all controllers, now It does.

 28 Nov 2012 (v3.0.0.10)

– Improved Car ID‘ing (colors)

– Small bug fixes

Known issue; If you don’t use sequential car ID’s/controllers (1,2,4), the leader name and difference box is not always correct in GP/Endurance screen. However, position in dashboard is always correct and race winner and results screen too.

30 Nov 2012

IMPORTANT MESSAGE;

Best version to download now is (Scalextric Championship Edition), there are some issues with 3.0.0.9 and 3.0.0.10.

21 Dec 2012 (v 3.0.0.13)

New FREE download available ! (We found an issue in fastest lap update, working on a fix!)
– some bug fixes
– new features;
* Brake call (press brake for x seconds to pause race)
* Identified who caused the track call
* Cancel stop and go during race
* pitstop sound added and a few more sounds
* A lot of work has been done for tyre wear, almost available !

17 Jan 2013 (v 3.0.0.22) Release of Formula One Edition

The Formula 1 edition includes of course the Formula F3 features like;
Qualifying , Grand Prix Races,Time Limited Racing, Fuel load simulation, ‘Stop&Go’ penalties, Automatic Track Call/Brake call, Dynamic braking, Car database, Throttle calibration,Program cars from PC, Individual car settings for fuel load simulation, Advanced Editable throttle profiles, Dedicated dashboards with lap difference boxes, Multichannel sound options, APM: Advanced Pitstop Menu.

So what makes the Formula 1 edition so special;
– Tyre wear
– Weather

For the first time ever in a slot race management system (correct me If I am wrong) you now have to watch your tyres, feel your tyres wear, think ahead about strategy, react on weather and track conditions, and actually also be a race engineer and driver at the same time.

We like to call It sim(ulation) slot race management, because RCS64 aims to take slot racing to a new level. Which means tyre wear and weather is not all. A lot more to come. And still remain intuitive to use. Quite a challenge.

13 Feb 2013 (v 3.0.0.29)

F1 version of RCS64 now supports Pit Pro ! With advanced lights option !

Other new features;

Damage;

Award damage points to the drivers. Every track call costs 1 damage point for the driver that initiated It. Can be awarded or cancelled manually, of course. Reach 0 damage points and make a pitstop to repair. Repair time user defined. Really nice feature to even out driver capabilities, and I see more potential.

Arduino Start light control; If you have an Arduino board RCS64 can control it ! Start lights and track call lights. And this is just the beginning.

Do you have a cool rain track profile , or a profile that suits a certain type of car best ? You can now share It with other RCS64 users.

Car pictures; now visible in dashboards.

Timed practice and qualify, with possibility to use tyre wear, weather and track call.

And a lot of other improvements. Next to the already existing Tyre wear and weather simulation.

Last nights test results were good, only found a small problem with auto track call in timed practice mode which can easily be solved yourself. And a fix is under way

Free F3 version of course still available and benefits of the developments too. Better dashboards, throttle profile share, timed qualify and of course fuel load simulation, stop and go’s etc. as usual.

Step by step we continue building. Let’s first see what the coming days will bring, and than we can continue with more features. I will inform you later this week what our plans are.

22 Mar 2013 (v 3.0.0.37)

Version 3.0.0.37 is out. As Martin said, the focus was to optimise and stability, and fix the issues that were present in the previous release. So no real big new features in this download, but still a very interesting new release.

Previous release had some issues with regards to safe speed in combination with damage. Also damage itself was not working correct in all circumstances. There was also an issue with throttle calibration. And a few other fixes. It is more fun to tell what is new in this version;

– if you have pit pro, and use auto track call, when you drive in pit it won’t trigger an auto track call

– Arduino support for pit in led, triggered by pit pro (also track call light issue solved)

– re-arrangement of pit pro advanced lights mode. More clear now.

– improvement of GP/Endurance dashboards

– improvement of GP/Endurance pit menu

– optional background sounds in practice/qualify and race screens

– new sounds added for tyre change, pit menu and practice/qualify end

– general user interface improvement

– Arduino firmware version now suitable for either Uno or Mega version. Firmware is in RCS, upload from within RCS.

– damage; repair time now depending on how many repair points left. Example; If I set damage points to 5, and repair time to 20 seconds, the repair after losing 1 damage point takes 4 seconds. Of course, not possible in parallel with tyre change or refuel.

– result screens improved.

29th March 2013 (Version 3.0.0.41)

Version 3.0.0.41 is up !!! At the moment only available via Roadkill’s server (and why would you want another option  )

RCS64 version 3.0.0.41 – Roadkill server

Yesterday it was clear there was an issue with lap counting, especially in the practice/qualify tab. Martin has made a fix an this has been tested, so far it seems solved 
Please let us know your findings.

But that is not all, there is an Easter egg in the latest build. Well, actually 2.

– In GP/Endurance dashboards you can now see why a car gets safe speed. The moment fuel = 0, or tyre = 0, or you are in pit, or have finished, or damage = 0, this will be visible in your dashboard at the location where the car picture is. Very nice feature.

– In the ‘setup cars’ you will find the basics of the car database. This has been extended with a few new fields. And the best part, and a nice feature too, is that you can save your car setup to a file, and load It at someone else his PC, including car picture. So if you visit someone’s track and you bring your car, you can also bring your file, so the set up and picture can be loaded and used at the host’s track.

Have fun and thanks !
Marcel,
Team RCS

10th April 2013 (Version 3.0.0.50)

Mainly a bug fix release.

Some fixes;
– Tyre wear improved, did not work always correct if you brake less than amount of brake points, and also not in combination with dynamic brakes. This is now solved.
– open pit menu when no pit pro is used is improved (to prevent open menu while racing)
– sound issue when switching tabs after race is solved
– rain sound volume is lower
– save set up cars issue solved
– green light arduino out when track call
– track call when PB power is lost or connection lost, plug back in and continue race
– Lots of clean up in the code.

We think this is a very stable and reliable release.
Next step; release pacers.

We have a long lists of things we want to implement, we can’t wait to work on new features !

Version 3.0.0.50 now available from RCS website (website needs to be updated) and if all is well, later today also via Road Kill server for super fast download.

Thank you,

Marcel
Team RCS

15th July 2013 (Version 3.0.0.80) 

*** BREAKING NEWS ***The biggest and best release of RCS64 is now available !!!
Just when you did not expect, it is there 
Forget the nice weather and back to the track !So what is so special about this release ?* The F1 version now has PACE CARS. But not just pacers….- fixed throttle pacers
– recorded pacers
– optional lap count for pace cars
– optional skip a lap number to simulate pit stops, or even better…
– Pacers that can make a pitstop if you have pit in sensors (pit pro or smart sensors)
– very reliable recording and playback
– very easy to record brake and lane change commands
– on the fly speed adjustments during recording AND playback
– easy to set up
– tested and approved by experienced SSD-users
– …

* ANALOG mode (finally  )

* Updated firmware for Smart Sensors

F3/F1 improvements
– easy add/remove sound files
– ADVANCED TRACK CALL WINDOW
– general issue fixes

I know I forget a lot of things, so please:
Check the up to date manual and video manuals on the RCS-website for more details !!!!

This release would have never been possible without the help of a dedicated team of testers. THANK YOU !!!

There has been put a lot of effort to get this release out, we hope you like the release and find not too much issues, so we can continue with new features.
Next (most likely): rally mode

And above all, after this release the development will continue in a newer version of labview, which gives us more possibilities. So stay tuned but first enjoy this new release !!!!

Marcel
TEAM RCS

PS at the moment download links are updated, look for version 80.
I contact Roadkill for superfast download location too.
**EDIT** and that is really needed because it seems Martin’s server is having a hard time trying to keep up 

 

September 5th 2013 (Version 3.0.0.87)