Sorry if this is a stupid post but i've never used analyzers before so I have the simple question: Is this program better for comparing your driving inputs (from your replays) to the driver inputs from WR replays than Analyze for Speed? Will it give me more usefull and easier to observe information on why im slow? Or is this program more geared to making good setups rather than recognizing driving errors/areas for improvement? Thanks.
I'm biased on this, so I'd better not answer the question.
Why don't you try both programs, and see which one suits your needs best?
LRA should be useful for both. If you want to analyse the driving style, you can look at speed, time (difference), and at the driver's inputs. If you want to analyse the setup, you can take a look at camber, slip ratio, tyre load, etc.
If the program can show data for all wheels in one graph (as the average) and can show average of values over certain period of time, i will be completely happy.
Hi wsinda, here are some ideas for future versions.
- It would be great to have an editable list of values to display in the legends instead of just showing the value of the selected graph. There would be a menu where you'd select which parameters to show independently from graphs (for example you could select speed, throttle, brakes and steer even though you'd just display the speed and throttle graphs), and you'd see in the legends the value of each of these parameters at the point where the vertical cross-hair is.
- It would be very handy to be able to define and save segments of a track. You'd click and drag in one graph to select a segment of the track, for example, then select Save Segment in a menu and be prompted to give the segment a name. Segment separators would be shown in the track map, driving line display, and graphs (probably as bars) and clicking on one of these segment separators in a map would select the segment that starts at that point (and scroll the graphs accordingly). Of course, the time spent by each driver in that segment would also be displayed in the legends. And the icing on the cake would be to have several possible sets of segments for a same track. So for example you could define a set of segments identical to LFS' splits (or have LRA defining it automatically for you by default, maybe?) and another set with one segment for each turn, and then switch easily between them. These saved segment sets would be available each time you analyze replays for the same track.
- I'd really like the driving line display to scroll automatically (if necessary) to show the point corresponding to the vertical cross-hair on the graphs. I know you said you'll look into it, but I just wanted to emphasize how important it is IMHO.
- It might also be handy to be able to combine graphs. So for example instead of having a graph showing the speed and a graph showing the brakes, you could have one graph showing both the speed and brakes. Obviously some combinations would generate an unreadable mess, but some would work fine and that would allow to display more graphs at once.
- Any way to apply antialiasing to the graphs and texts?
Average of all wheels will be in the next version (and 2 other averages: of the front wheels, and of the rear wheels). For the average over a certain period of time, see my response to FL!Ps first remark, below.
The legend would not be the right place to show this amount of data, because then it would be too wide for a "sidebar" pane.
But I can envision a "stats" window containing a table of numerical data, one row for each loaded lap. The columns in the table would be user-selectable, chosen from the same list as the graphs. You would also have an option to display either the value at the crosshair position, or the average, minimum or maximum value over the selected part of the track.
Whoa, this is getting complicated!
How would this help you in analysing your laps? For myself, the time difference graph tells me all I need to know: where in the lap I lost time, and where I gained some. What would a detailed list of sector times add to this?
OK, noted. It'll get a high priority.
F1PerfView can do this. It's called overlays. You can add other data to the graph (provided that it's expressed in the same units).
I can't say I like it, though. I find it difficult to distinguish which line is for which type of data. The display gets messy very quickly.
It's not supported by the library I use (wxWidgets). Anti-aliasing is rare for Windows desktop apps. Do you have any readability problems with LRA, perhaps?
Well, since I use LRA in full screen (with the driving line display on the left, graphs in the middle, and legend and track map on the right) a new window doesn't seem the best option to me. OTOH, the right column with only the legends and track map has lots of empty space.
Yeah, I know. Sorry, just brainstorming.
Well, first having LFS's splits would be useful as a reference when you get back on track. And I would find useful to be able to see easily how long each driver spends in each corner, for example.
Thank you!
OK. I think some graphs can be mixed and stay readable (for example speed and brakes) but I realize that it would introduce difficulties with your UI.
No, it's just that everything is antialiased in Mac OS and when you're used to it, everything else looks kinda ugly.
If you want a window that shows the driving line of the car on the track, there is one. Press F7 to show it.
If that window does not show the boundaries of the track, then you need to install the *.pth files. The files are included in the .zip file; copy them to directory lfs\data\smx. (Also explained in the LRA manual.)
The track data itself is not readable outside LFS, because the file format is not public. There are two "extracts" of track data that can be used by external programs: the PTH files (which LRA uses), and the SMX files (which Analyse For Speed uses). The SMX files contain more detail, but not so much that you can see where the curbstones are.
I realize that is not possible, but I also see how this could be useful. I very often use the start of the curbs as a braking reference point.
Would it be possible to mark the straights with tiny triangles or something at the 300, 200 and 100 marks? That way it would be easier to relate the trackmap to the actual track, and to see how much you need to adjust your braking points.
I find that LRA and Analyze For Speed are very complementary. The former shows great graphs and loads of data, and the latter shows much more of the track (kerbs, lines, etc) but makes the data very hard to analyze. So I use them both together. LRA's line display is very handy to compare lines and relate them to the graphs, but when I want to see details like braking or turn-in points, I switch to AFS.