Changelog #

Brief summary of the most significant additions to Vehicle Physics Pro over time.

Full development details are available via GIT revision logs (VPP subscription required):

• Vehicle Physics Core (Professional Edition)
• Vehicle Physics Core (Enterprise Edition)
• Specialized Assets (Enterprise edition)
• Sample Assets (all editions)

Release notes and upgrade guides:

• SDK v9.5 Release Notes

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This page is updated from time to time.

Check out @VehiclePhysics on X for weekly updates. The hashtag #VPPDev shows the recent developments.

Now in the develop branch (2024): #

These features are working in the PERRINN 424 project, available on GitHub.

Kinematic suspension model

• Simulation of the suspension geometry for true wheel motions.
• Configuration of instant centers, instant axis, roll center.
• Unsprung mass.
• Steering axis and caster via configurable kingpin.
• Hard collisions (wheel rim) and soft collisions (tire).
• Separate suspension and tire stiffness properties.

Advanced tire contact patch

• Compute the contact patch out of several contact points.
• Vertical tire stiffness.
• Longitudinal (radial) and lateral tire stiffness properties.
• Carcass simulation (relevant when riding kerbs).
• Tire deformation.
• Elastic adherence when stopped.

Tire Friction Model 2.0 (SDK V10 alpha)

• Advanced industry-grade tire friction model: slip ratio, slip angle, load function.
• Detailed editors with graphic charts for analysis.
• Scriptable Tire Friction architecture: custom tire friction models may be implemented and used seamlessly.
• New realtime telemetry plots: Slip Ratio, Slip Angle, Wheel Torque.
• Reorganized telemetry data widget with slip and ground material properties always visible.
• New traction and steering aids designed for this model.

Scriptable Wheel Collision model

• New VPP WheelCollider component completely replacing Unity's.
• Custom wheel collision models may be implemented and plugged into VPP vehicles.
• Vehicles may use different wheel collision models simultaneously.

New Input Devices Manager

• Learn and configure any device in minutes
• Support any number of simultaneous devices
• Load and save device setup to file / JSON
• As simple to use as current Unity Input
• Support for hot plugging devices

Electric MGU (Motor Generator Units)

• Parametric torque maps
• Efficiency factor
• Regenerative braking
• Front-rear axle balancing
• Detailed editors with graphics charts
• Combination with mechanical brakes

Advanced telemetry system

• Multiple channels with different update frequencies and ranges
• Easily extensible from vehicle components (VehicleBehaviour)
• Different chart types: time/distance based, scatter plots, histogram

Engine-independent code (in process)

• Custom API exposing all elements and features required by VPP.
• Interoperability with the equivalent elements in the host engine (i.e. Vector3, Transform...)
• Math, physics, graphics, application, etc.
• All engine-dependent code resides in a single location. Easily portable to other engines.

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September 2024 - SDK V9.5 #

Significant changes in the stable branch (master) of Vehicle Physics Pro.

See the Release notes for the SDK v9.5 for more details and upgrade guide.

• New contact point model
• Improved wheel integration model
• Improved rolling friction model
• New Electric Motor model (MGU)
• Improved force feedback model

January 2024 #

• New VPP Wheel Collider component completely replacing Unity's WheelCollider.
• Custom Wheel Collision Models may be implemented as vehicle add-ons and used by VPP.

September 2023 #

• Started working on the foundation for upcoming engine-independent developments in Vehicle Physics Pro. Initially, a new wheel collider implementation replacing Unity's WheelCollider will be developed on top of this foundation. Other Wheel contact models will follow. In the long term, this will allow porting VPP to other engines in the future.

  More information:
  https://twitter.com/VehiclePhysics/status/1706293552571920804
  https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@VehiclePhysics/111261878091480607

August 2023 #

• New VPTirePressureEmulator component which emulates changes in the tire pressure by modifying wheel radius, suspension rates, and tire friction.
• New panning feature in Orbit camera mode. Also new initialization options. (Post)
• New VPWindAudio component featuring a better model to simulate the wind audio volume. (Post)
• New dual torque map model for MGUs in 100% electric cars, allowing to configure front-rear power balance with a single settings file. (Post)
• New empty scene which uses built-in lighting settings added to the Examples repo. This scene doesn't require or generate a separate lighting file in Unity 2021+.
• New features for the LapTimer component: best lap, ideal lap, lap list. (Post)

June 2023 #

• The FFB component VPWheelDeviceInput can now actively limit the wheel's range when configured to a value larger than vehicle's steering wheel range.

May 2023 #

• New electric motor block for electric/hybrid vehicles (Post)
• Precise torque control in the new electric motor block allowing accurate Traction Control (TCS). (Post)
• New sensor implementation for reading accurate telemetry values from the powertrain.

April 2023 - SDK V9.4 #

• New force feedback effect in VPWheelDeviceInput to simulate vibrations due to engine stall.
• New example scrips for new features: GearRangeLimit.cs, SetEngineRpm.cs.

January 2023 #

• New Motor Grader Control component to control all the features and mechanisms of a motor grader (Tweet).

December 2022 #

• New methods ResetTargetPosition and ResetTargetRotation in VPVehicleJoint to teleport the rigidbody to a given position or rotation of the joint without physics effects.
• Major improvements in the Vehicle Joint component for stability and consistency.
• New Actuator classes to simulate mechanisms with vehicle joints (Example: motor grader).
• New Linear and Rotary actuator classes to simulate articulations in mechanisms.

November 2022 #

• New IAudioSourceSettings interface that unifies the audio settings of all audio sources in a vehicle.
• New components MasterAudioSourceSettings and AudioClipSource to configure multiple audio sources in the vehicle easily with the audio settings centralized in a single place.
• VPAudioExtras and VPTireAudio components now make use of the centralized audio settings.

August 2022 #

• New gearbox range override setting in the Data Bus. Allows add-on components to define a custom range of gears in the gearbox.
• New DirectInput Buttons component to read inputs from buttons in any DirectInput device.
• New virtual methods in VPWheelDeviceInput to allow custom implementations of input and force feedback algorithms.

June 2022 - SDK V9.3-R2 #

• Major DirectInput review for reliability. Among other improvements, now supports hot device connect/disconnect.
• New rumble effects for steering wheel devices.
• New event method UpdateVehicleInput in VehicleBehaviour to implement vehicle input. This ensures the input devices to be read and applied to the vehicle within the same simulation step.
• New gearbox options to protect the engine by shifting up above the given Max Rpm.
• VehicleBase now exposes angular accelerations.
• The Professional edition is now compatible with IL2CPP scripting backend.

March 2022 - SDK V9.3 #

• New front / rear differential lock settings allowing to specify which differential(s) should be locked or open. Databus
• Improved downshifting in Limited Drive Modes (D1-D5), allowing better use of engine brake. Gearbox
• New Steering wheel range property per vehicle. Steering
• New physical steering wheel range setting (configuredWheelRange) in the device input components.
• New force feedback rumble effects based in engine rpm, speed, and suspension bumps.
• Major DirectInput overhaul: support device reconnection, improved reliability, more force feedback effects.
• New rpm scaling property in VPAudio. Better handing of engine rpm audio.

Check the file Changelist.txt in the Unity project for compatibility-breaking changes.

2021 #

December 2021 - SDK V9.2 #

• New Limited Drive modes (D1-D5) in automatic gearbox. These modes work like the regular D mode but using up to the specified gear only (i.e. up to 3nd gear in D3). Gearbox
• New Variable Vehicle Cargo component that simulates cargo in any vehicle easily by modifying mass and center of mass.
• New DirectInput Steer, Pedals and Shifter components to configure individual DirectInput devices separately, each device providing a different functionality.

September 2021 #

• New Multi-vehicle telemetry display allowing convenient analysis of multiple vehicles at once. This is specially useful to monitor articulated and multi-articulated vehicles. Tweet

July 2021 #

• New 6x6 driveline layouts for vehicles with three driven axles.
• New: VPP source code may now be built to assemblies by importing an unitypackage with the assembly definitions.

June 2021 #

• New Aerodynamic Drag Models added: cubic, mixed. Allows matching the simulated aerodynamic profile with actual data.
• New Power Analysis Tool for analyzing the effects of the aerodynamic and rolling drags with the speed. Tweet

February 2021 - SDK V9 #

• Vehicles now support Floating Origin and soft reposition with preservation of the physics state.
• New Hard Reposition feature for translating/respawning vehicles while restarting their physics state.

2020 #

December 2020 #

• New UpdateAfterFixedUpdate event in VPVehicleBehavior. Called only on those Update events that happen right after a FixedUpdate event.
• New Combined Retarder Brake option in the brakes section to apply retarder brake automatically from the brake pedal.

November 2020 #

• Fixed wheel suspension issues caused by Unity/PhysX faked sprung mass model.
• New VPAudioExtras component for additional sound effects, starting with engine starting sound.

October 2020 #

• New VPWheelFrameMonitor component for calculating ride heights and roll angles.

August 2020 #

• New Max Distance parameter in VPVehicleJoint for limiting the maximum distance allowed between anchor points.
• New Limit Reverse Speed option in Speed Control section.

June 2020 #

• New Vehicle Creation Tool for easily creating a working vehicle with all the essential components out of a 3D model.
• New Inertia Tensor Matrix feature allowing to configure inertia using an actual inertia tensor matrix.
• New Throttle Sensitivity setting for automatic gear shifts based on throttle pressure.

April 2020 #

• New Aerial Control system for hydraulic aerial devices (ladder, basket, stabilizers).

March 2020 - SDK V8 #

• Unitypackages are now provided for downloading Vehicle Physics Pro and configuring the Project Settings. Learn more
• Tire friction model improved providing smoother and much more realistic behavior. Video
• Anti-roll bar improved for better control at high speeds. Tweet
• New ground rumble effects providing physics relief effects on flat geometry. Tweet
• New Transmission Efficiency parameter in the Driveline to simulate power loss due to internal frictions. Tweet
• New VPTireAudio component providing accurate tire skid audio per-wheel independently.

February 2020 #

• New fast and accurate Spline projection and distance measurement methods. Video
• New PID-based VPTargetChaser component for precisely follow a moving target. Video
• Spa-Francorchamps example track reworked and simplified.

January 2020 #

• New bucket auto-leveling system in excavators video.

2019 #

November 2019 - SDK V7 #

• New component VPVehicleToolkit providing an useful high-level interface to the most commonly used vehicle features.
• New support for the Fanatec Podium Wheel Base DD2 steering wheel.
• Added support to 3D vehicle models oriented in any axis, not necessarily "front +Z".
• New camera movement option in first person (driver) view.
• Splines may now be imported from CSV files.

October 2019 #

• New electric vehicle controller providing precise simulation of electric motors with regenerative braking. Tweet
• Added support CXC motion cueing systems. Info on CXC
• New automatic spring and damper setup via context menu option in the VPWheelCollider component.
• New example scripts for writing custom input logic, custom wheel effects and custom handling setup.
• New components to precisely configure timing and inertias in the excavator controller.

August 2019 - SDK V6 #

• The City scenery reworked, including a 5km (3mi) long, 6-lanes highway for high speed tests. Twitter announcement
• New Sport Coupe Demo scene featuring the new Sport Coupe car in the improved The City scenery.
• New Simtools motion platform support. Info on Simtools
• VPP Demos now include support for D-BOX and Simtools motion platforms.
• New Spline component with integration with Unity's Timeline. Includes path-follow components to drive the vehicles. Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Youtube video
• New clutch type: Torque Converter Limited

July 2019 #

• VPP Demos: new Configuration dialog with camera settings (FoV, head motion).
• New graphic chart component for monitoring the kinetic energy (add-on to VPPerformanceChart).

June 2019 #

• DirectInput and XBoxInput can now handle multiple devices at the same time.
• New diesel-electric vehicle controller.
• New diesel-hydraulic vehicle controller.
• New excavator loader control script.
• New component VPTireFrictionMultiplier for applying a friction ratio to the tires.

May 2019 #

• Improved the Xbox input component now providing customizable smooth steering.
• Improved the Custom Cameras feature, now allowing several cameras to share the same activation key.
• UI: Ignition Key UI for switching the engine on/off with mouse or touch. Added to the demos.

April 2019 #

• New VPP Demos Released! Available for PC/Windows and Mac OS X.
• New Optimal gear shift calculation feature. Computes the exact point where shifting up (or down) provides more acceleration than current gear. Used in the Ascari Demo.
• UI: Timer display component provides sector times.
• UI: Quick Start pop up.
• UI: Toolbar for the Telemetry Chart.
• UI: Gear Mode Selector for automatic transmissions.

March 2019 #

• New auto-shift in reverse gears option, in both manual and automatic transmissions.
• UI: Driver Assists panel showing the available assists and allowing to selectively disable them.

February 2019 #

• New EnergyProvider component that simulates energy consumption from vehicle subsystems such as power steering, alternator, hydraulic systems, etc.
• UI: Simple UI for displaying the inputs received by the vehicle (throttle, brake, clutch, steering).
• UI: Procedurally generated gauges for speed and rpms adapting to the specific ranges of each vehicle.
• UI: Generic dashboard showing speed, rpm, stall lights, handbrake, warning sign.

January 2019 - SDK V5 #

• New Engine Curve Fitting Tool providing a procedure for configuring the Engine curves based on real curve data. Unity menu > Tools > Vehicle Physics > Engine Curve Fit Tool.
• New rpm limiter mode selector in the engine. The new Injection Limit reduces the throttle to keep the rpms under or at the limit. Previously, only Injection Cut mode was available to cut throttle at small intervals.
• Compatibility Upgrade that requires applying a patch (included) to the Unity project. More information

2018 #

November 2018 - SDK V4 #

• New VPAdvancedDamper component for detailed bump / rebound damper settings.
• Updated vehicle JPickup v2: The JPickup 3D model has been completely reworked (hierarchy, materials, spare parts...)

October 2018 #

• New Vehicle Inertia settings included as essential part of the vehicle controller.
• Updated vehicle L200 Pickup Truck: 3D model reworked (hierarchy, materials).

September 2018 #

• New throttle mapping curve feature in the Engine block providing a smooth engine control along all the throttle range.
• Improved fuel consumption model based on a much more precise engine load calculation.

August 2018 #

• New MatchInertia utility to help rigging complex multi-body vehicles (i.e. excavators).
• Improvements in a variety of components: VPWheelCollider, VPVehicleJoint, VPSolidCargo.

July 2018 #

• New VPSolidCargo component for easily configuring the cargo in the vehicle (volume, mass and position).
• New VPWeightData telemetry component that displays the weight per axle or group of axles.
• New bump stops feature preventing the suspension to reach its limits.
• New Truck Audio prefab with complete audio settings for trucks.

June 2018 #

• New VPChassisInertia component that configures a specific set of colliders to represent the inertia of the vehicle chassis. The inertia defines the understeer / oversteer behaviour.
• Support for the Logitech G29 steering wheel.

May 2018 #

• New individual Clutch block that may be inserted in any point of the driveline (note that this block is not a replacement for the standard clutch, which is part of the Engine block).
• New block debugger component that shows the state values of each block in the driveline.

April 2018 - SDK V3 #

• New snapshot save / restore feature. Allows to save the full state of the vehicle and completely restore it later. Very useful on automated tests.
• New engine type: Synchronous Drive. Simulates a synchronous electric motor that enforces a specific RPMs in the output applying up to a given amount of torque.
• Support for D-BOX motion platforms [D-BOX site]. The new add-on component VPDboxOutput sends all the vehicle telemetry and state to the D-BOX API.
• New dual-drive steering vehicle setup for caterpillars (TrackVehicleController). Supports smooth speed transitions and neutral rotation.
• New Bulldozer controller (VPBulldozerController) for simulating this very special type of vehicle: engine, torque converter, locked differential, two clutches and two caterpillars.

March 2018 #

• New components for designing and implementing automated vehicle tests.
• New automated tests: acceleration times, braking time and distance.
• New feature to export telemetry data to CSV for further analysis. This is especially useful in automated tests.

2017 #

December 2017 #

• New minimal build mode keeping the essential vehicle features only.
• Unity menu integration (Component > Vehicle Physics).

November 2017 - SDK V2 #

• Major reorganization of files and folders
• New driveline helper script for easily building common drivelines.

June 2017 #

• Support for Multi-body vehicles. Wheels may now belong to different rigidbodies in the same vehicle.

April 2017 #

• New component VPTireFrictionModifier for configuring tire friction for specific wheels.
• New damper calculation replacing PhysX's (faulty by design)
• New high-level component for managing the vehicle settings in a comprehensive way (i.e. safe, sport, race...)
• New experimental bike controller (two-wheeled vehicle)
• New leaf spring suspension simulation.

March 2017 #

• Suspension may now be modified via vehicle add-ons (VehicleBehaviour).
• Major suspension improvements.

February 2017 #

• New VPXboxInput component for simulating gamepads and other devices via XInput.
• Support for Thrustmaster T500RS steering wheel.

January 2017 #

• New component for non-linear speed gauges (i.e. Volkswagen Scirocco).
• New VPLiquidCargo component for simulating sloshing liquids in confined tanks (liquid cargo, fuel tank...)

2016 #

December 2016 #

• Custom camera modes: different camera configurations may now be specified per vehicle.
• Significant performance optimizations based on the profiler data.
• New VPSelfDrive component designed to be the building brick for AI and autonomous vehicles.

November 2016 #

• Electronic Stability Control (ESC). Applies the brakes to individual wheels asymmetrically in order to counteract oversteer / understeer.
• Anti-Spin Regulation (ASR). Allows the vehicle to move when one of the traction wheels loses grip. In such case, brakes are applied to the wheel with less traction.

September 2016 #

• New Steering Aids: limit the steering angle with speed, automatic counter-steering.
• Added order of execution for the VehicleBehaviour Update and FixedUpdate methods.
• New camera auto-FoV feature in the LookAt mode.
• New Speed Control Aids: cruise speed, speed limiter.

August 2016 #

• New Replay system with rewind & continue, playback forwards / reverse, jump, fast forward / reverse, save and load.
• New VPHeadMotion component for easily setup the driver's view with inertial movements.

July 2016 #

• Traction Control System (TCS). Limits the tire slip by reducing or suppressing engine torque.

May 2016 #

• New vehicle component protocol. Vehicle add-on components now inherit from VehicleBehaviour for keeping in sync with their host vehicle.

April 2016 #

• New fuel consumption model for combustion engine
• New VPVehicleJoint component for easily rigging articulated vehicles
• New VPDeviceInput component [documentation] for using any DirectInput device including force feedback
• New anti-roll bar component providing suspension linkage between two wheels
• New dynamic suspension component for adjusting suspension with load dynamically

March 2016 #

• New VPPerformanceDisplay component [documentation] providing live performance charts for a variety of data from the vehicle.

February 2016 #

• Anti-lock braking system (ABS) [video]. Releases the brake pressure in each wheel to prevent wheel slip.
• New VPDamage component for modifying meshes and wheels with impacts.

January 2016 #

• Major code refactoring.

2015 #

November 2015 #

• New retarder brake feature. Mostly used on transport
• New inspector drawers for blocks and components

October 2015 #

• New drag factor for the ground materials.
• New experimental mass scale factor.

September 2015 #

• New ground materials feature: grip, visual effects, audio effects.
• Support for the Logitech G27 steering wheel.
• New visual effects component: dashboard lights and gauges, steering wheel, brake lights, reverse lights.

August 2015 #

• New wheel sleep feature. Keeps the vehicle perfectly steady on slopes.
• New custom gravity feature.

From 2010 to 2015 #

Code name: NinjaVehicle

• Engine (incl. torque curves, inertia, idle control, stall)
• Clutch (incl. torque converter)
• Gearbox (incl. manual, automatic, auto-shift, parking mode)
• Steering (incl. ackerman, toe, multi-axle steering)
• Transmission (incl. differential and transfer case settings)
• Axles (incl. brake circuits and steering modes)
• Differential (incl. open, locked, viscous, LSD, torsen)
• Wheels (incl. tire friction, suspension)
• Direct drive motor
• Telemetry
• Brakes
• Aerodynamics
• Dynamics solver
• Vehicle Controller inspector