Editing TORCS

{{Short description|Car racing simulator}}
{{Infobox software
| name = TORCS
| screenshot = Torcs-title.png
| caption = Splash screen
| author = Eric Espié and Christophe Guionneau
| developer = Bernhard Wymann, et al.<ref>[http://torcs.sourceforge.net/index.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=19 TORCS Team]</ref>
| repo = {{URL|https://sourceforge.net/projects/torcs/}}
| released = 1997
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2016|05|26}}
| latest release version = v1.3.7
| platform = [[Cross-platform]]
| programming language= [[C++]]
| genre = [[Racing game]]
| license = [[GNU General Public License|GNU GPL]], [[Free Art license]]
}}
[[File:TORCS.png|thumb|Race track in ''Torcs'' in top-down view]]
[[File:Speed Dreams vs TORCS - reflections.png|thumb|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]]
'''''TORCS''''' ('''''The Open Racing Car Simulator''''') is an [[open-source software|open-source]] [[3D computer graphics|3D]] [[racing game|car 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://torcs.sourceforge.net/index.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=30#c1_2|title=TORCS FAQ: "Who develops TORCS?"|date=6 February 2020 }}</ref> It is written in [[C++]] and is [[Software license|licensed]] under the [[GNU General Public License|GNU GPL]]. ''TORCS'' is designed to enable pre-programmed [[Artificial intelligence in video games|AI]] drivers to race against one another, while allowing the user to control a vehicle using either a keyboard, mouse, or wheel input.<ref>[http://torcs.sourceforge.net/index.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=1 About TORCS] on torcs.sourceforge.net</ref>

==History==
===Development===
Development of ''TORCS'' began in 1997 by Eric Espié and Christophe Guionneau as a [[two-dimensional|2D]] game called '''''Racing Car Simulator''''' ('''''RCS'''''). It was influenced by and based on ''[[RARS]]'' (''Robot Auto Racing Simulator'').<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=29N9AwAAQBAJ&dq=rars+torcs&pg=PA99 Evolved to Win] by Moshe Sipper, {{ISBN|978-1-4709-7283-7}} (2011)</ref> When Espié and Guionneau acquired a [[3dfx]] [[graphics card]] for game development, they made the first [[3D computer graphics|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://torcs.cvs.sourceforge.net/torcs/torcs/torcs/doc/history/history.txt?revision=1.1&view=markup |title=TORCS project history|work=[[SourceForge.net]]}}</ref>

===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 [[Multiplayer video game#Networking|network multiplayer]] mode, improved [[physics engine]], enhanced car interior detail, and replays.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://torcs.sourceforge.net/index.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=30#c1_5|title=TORCS FAQ: "What are the future plans?"|date=6 February 2020}}</ref>

==Reception and impact==
In December 2000 [[CNN]] placed ''TORCS'' among the ''"Top 10 Linux games for the holidays"''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041206174427/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/12/20/linux.games.idg/index.html Top 10 Linux games for the holidays] by Lee Anderson on [[cnn.com]] (December 20, 2000, [[Internet Archive|archived]])</ref> ''[[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.<ref>{{cite web | last = Diehl | first = Mike | title = Free Games for Linux | work = [[Linux Journal]] | date = 2007-10-18 | url = http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000435 | accessdate = 2007-12-04}}</ref> The game has gained substantial popularity; between 2000 and 2017, it was downloaded over 2.9 million times via [[SourceForge.net]] alone.<ref>[https://sourceforge.net/projects/torcs/files/stats/timeline?dates=2000-03-19+to+2017-05-25 stats 2000-03-19+to+2017-05-25] on [[sourceforge.net]]</ref>

===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.

Faculty from the [[University of Würzburg]] and [[Politecnico di Milano]] host two AI competitions, the ''Simulated Car Racing Championship'' and the ''[[Demolition derby|Demolition Derby]] Competition''; the latter uses a patched ''TORCS'' server.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.coboslab.psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de/competitions/|title=Simulated Car Racing Competition 2010: Demolition Derby|author=COBOSLAB, [[University of Würzburg]] |accessdate=2010-04-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406033332/http://www.coboslab.psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de/competitions|archivedate=2010-04-06}}</ref>

===TORCS forks===
''TORCS'' has been [[Fork (software development)|forked]] into several projects, for example ''[[Speed Dreams]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Speed Dreams home page|url=https://www.speed-dreams.net/en/}}</ref> originally known as ''Torcs-NG''.

===Use in research===
Due 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 [http://torcs.sourceforge.net/index.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=30#c6_2 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."

==See also==
{{Portal|Video games}}
* [[List 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 development

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|TORCS}}
* [http://torcs.sourceforge.net/index.php TORCS website]
* {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130414112510/http://www.berniw.org/trb/index.php The TORCS Racing Board]}}

[[Category:AmigaOS 4 games]]
[[Category:Linux games]]
[[Category:MorphOS games]]
[[Category:AROS software]]
[[Category:Racing video games]]
[[Category:Programming games]]
[[Category:Open-source video games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in France]]