Script Guide
by AndroidXP
Introduction
With the release of patch V in December 2006, the LFS developers introduced a new scripting system, quite similar to the implementation seen in most first person shooters. Generally, it allows the automation of common tasks, customisation of options on a per-car basis as well as simple toggles to change the binding of keys (and more). This guide is aimed to give you a general understanding of the LFS script system as well as a few examples for simple scripts.
How to use
Basics
Script files have the extension ".lfs" and can be found under <LFS install dir>\data\script. To edit these files, simply open them with a text editor of your choice (Notepad, etc). You can also create new script files, just make sure they have the right extension. If you want, you can even organize your scripts into subdirectories to keep the place clean.
In general, each line in the script file represents a command that is executed by LFS, going from top to bottom. The only exception are empty lines, and lines that start with "//", which are treated as comments and thus ignored. Basically you can imagine the system as LFS reading each line, writing it into the chat window and hitting return. Of course it is not exactly like that, but it should give you the general idea.
Reserved filenames
While you can generally name new script files however you want, a few names have a special meaning to LFS. All affected files already exist in the script folder when you first install the patch, so as long as you don't move or overwrite any files everything will be fine.
- autoexec.lfs
- Like the name suggests, this script is executed automatically every time LFS starts and is thus the ideal place to initialize your scripts.
- CAR.lfs, SKINID.lfs
- "CAR" being replaced with one of the three-letter car shortcuts (see here or below), or "SKINID" being replaced by the 6-character vehicle mod SkinID, these scripts are executed everytime the corresponding car is selected in the garage - for example if you select the XR GT Turbo, LFS will execute "XRT.lfs". They are usually used for car specific settings, like a custom FOV or force feedback strength.
- road.lfs, sequential.lfs, paddle.lfs
- Even though these filenames are neither reserved nor automatically executed, they are worth mentioning as by default they are run from inside the CAR.lfs scripts. Their main purpose are custom settings that should apply to cars with a certain shifter type. Road.lfs is the equivalent to cars with a H-gate shifter, sequential.lfs to a sequential stick shifter and paddle.lfs to having paddles. If you have a wheel that supports such shifter types (like the Logitech G25 for example), then these script files are handy to automatically change the shifter setup so it fits the currently selected car.
- To match the cars to their gearbox, they should be assigned as following:
| Road: | UF1, XFG, XRG, XRT, RB4, FXO, LX4, LX6, FZ5, FZR, UFR, RAC |
| Sequential: | FBM, FOX, FO8, MRT, XFR, XRR, FXR |
| Paddle: | BF1 |
Commands
The following commands are just an excerpt of the more commonly used ones.
A list of all commands can be found under <LFS install dir>\docs\Commands.txt.
Options & Miscellaneous
/run [scriptname] - run a script (data\script\scriptname.lfs),
e.g. "/run myScript" or "/run myFolder\myScript"
/say [message] - same as typing a chat message
/echo [text] - show text (only on local screen)
/fov [degrees] - field of view
/ff [0-200] - force feedback strength
/wheel_turn [degrees] - specify turn angle of controller
/autoclutch [0-1] - turn autoclutch off / on
/gccut [0-1] - throttle cut on upshift **
/gcblip [0-1] - throttle blip on downshift **
/shifter [auto/sequential/shifter] - shift type
/view [fol/heli/cam/driver/custom] - select view
/view [save/reload] - save or reload current custom view***
**NB: gccut and gcblip were removed with a recent patch (patch Y).
***NB: new command since patch Z19
Binding & Executing Commands
Binding /axis [axis] [function] - e.g. "/axis 2 throttle" (to unbind, use -1) /invert [0/1] [function] - e.g. "/invert 1 brake" /button [button] [function] - e.g. "/button 5 shift_up" (to unbind, use -1) /key [key] [function] - e.g. "/key Q handbrake" /ctrlf [num] [text] - change shortcut text, e.g. "/ctrlf 1 hello" /altf [num] [text] - change shortcut text, e.g. "/altf 1 bye" Simulating key presses /press [key] - simulate key press /shift [key] - SHIFT + key /ctrl [key] - CTRL + key /alt [key] - ALT + key
Parameter reference
Function names for the /button and /key commands steer_left, steer_right, steer_fast, steer_slow throttle, brake, shift_up, shift_down clutch, handbrake, left_view, right_view, rear_view horn, flash, reset, pit_speed, tc_disable, zoom_in, zoom_out reverse, gear_1 - gear_7, ctrl_f1 - ctrl_f12, ignition To find out the number for a controller button, go to Options > Controls and press the button in question. You will see the button # and currently assigned function in the middle right part of the screen. Function names for the /axis and /invert commands steer, combined, throttle, brake lookh, lookp, lookr clutch, handbrake, shiftx, shifty Parameters for the key press commands (press / shift / ctrl / alt) Letters A to Z Numbers 0 to 9 F1 to F12 up, down, left, right space, enter, esc, tab less, more (< >) or (, .) depending on your locale
Examples
On a general note: as you might have noticed from the command listing, it is currently impossible to bind other script commands to a button; for example, "/button 1 /say hello" wouldn't work. Luckily we can use the text shortcut keys (Ctrl+F1-F12, Alt+F1-F12) for this, so we can use "/ctrlf 1 /say hello" (which binds "/say hello" to Ctrl+F1) and then "/button 1 ctrl_f1" (binds the press of Ctrl+F1 to button #1). However, this also means that you have to give away a few of your shortcut keys for the scripts, which shouldn't really be a problem, considering there are 32 available shortcuts total (24 bindable via scripts).
"F9 > F10 > F11 > F12 > Off" Toggle
Shortcut keys used: Ctrl+F12
The basic idea of this script is, that we want to have one button (for example on the wheel) cycling through the F9-F12 menus. To accomplish this, we need five scripts plus an entry in autoexec.lfs.
For this script we will use the Ctrl+F12 text shortcut for our cycle, and bind button #0 (whichever button that is on your controller) to execute it. The multiple usage of the /press command ensures that the menu is properly displayed, in case a menu was already opened manually beforehand. For example, if the F11 menu is already open and we would run viewF11.lfs without pressing the F9 key in it, it would just close the F11 menu instead, which is something we definitely don't want to happen in the heat of a race.
It will work like this:
- Button 0 -> Ctrl+F12 -> viewF9 -> press F9 + rebind Ctrl+F12 to run viewF10
- Button 0 -> Ctrl+F12 -> viewF10 -> press F10 + rebind Ctrl+F12 to run viewF11
- Button 0 -> Ctrl+F12 -> viewF11 -> press F11 + rebind Ctrl+F12 to run viewF12
- Button 0 -> Ctrl+F12 -> viewF12 -> press F12 + rebind Ctrl+F12 to run viewOff
- Button 0 -> Ctrl+F12 -> viewOff -> turn off menu + rebind Ctrl+F12 to run viewF9
- ...
viewF9.lfs
/press F10 /press F9 /ctrlf 12 /run viewF10
viewF10.lfs
/press F9 /press F10 /ctrlf 12 /run viewF11
viewF11.lfs
/press F9 /press F11 /ctrlf 12 /run viewF12
viewF12.lfs
/press F9 /press F12 /ctrlf 12 /run viewOff
viewOff.lfs
/press F10 /press F9 /press F9 /ctrlf 12 /run viewF9
autoexec.lfs
/button 0 ctrl_f12 /ctrlf 12 /run viewF9
Indicator Control
Shortcut keys used: Ctrl+F10, Ctrl+F11
This example shows a simple way to comfortably control the indicators with two buttons. You need three scripts and a few entries to autoexec.lfs, shortcut keys used are Ctrl+F10 and F11. The indicators will work as follows; first press of left button activates left indicator, second press deactivates it. Vice versa for the right button. Switching between left and right is possible. For ease of use, the script will output green arrows indicating the currently selected mode into the chat area.
By using the same logic and adding another script, it is also easy to implement the control of the hazards by a third button.
indicateLeft.lfs
/press 7 /ctrlf 11 /run indicateStop /ctrlf 10 /run indicateRight /echo ^2‹ ‹ ‹
indicateRight.lfs
/press 8 /ctrlf 10 /run indicateStop /ctrlf 11 /run indicateLeft /echo ^2› › ›
indicateStop.lfs
/press 0 /ctrlf 10 /run indicateRight /ctrlf 11 /run indicateLeft /echo ^8Off
autoexec.lfs
/button 16 ctrl_f11 /button 18 ctrl_f10 /ctrlf 10 /run indicateRight /ctrlf 11 /run indicateLeft
Automatic shifter configuration (for Logitech G25/G27 users)
Shortcut keys used: None
To automatically adjust the controller bindings for the shift mechanism used by the currently selected car, all you have to do is modify the existing road.lfs, sequential.lfs and paddle.lfs as shown below.
Optionally you can also add re-bindings of whatever you want to use the free shifter/paddle buttons for. For example, when using the shifter unit, my right paddle acts as handbrake and the left one as horn, whereas when using the paddles, pulling the sequential stick is the handbrake and pushing sounds the horn. Doing this maximises the capabilities of the few easy-to-reach buttons on the G25; these re-bindings are not included in the example scripts.
road.lfs
/button 8 gear_1 /button 9 gear_2 /button 10 gear_3 /button 11 gear_4 /button 12 gear_5 /button 13 gear_6 /button 14 reverse /shifter shifter /autoclutch 0 /echo Shiftmode: H-Gate
sequential.lfs
/button 9 shift_up /button 8 shift_down /shifter sequential /autoclutch 0 /echo Shiftmode: Sequential
paddle.lfs
/button 4 shift_up /button 5 shift_down /shifter sequential /autoclutch 1 /echo Shiftmode: Paddles
Brake balance adjustment (increase/decrease)
Shortcut keys used: Ctrl+F11, Ctrl+F12
A simple, one-key adjustment of brake balance either front or backwards, without having to navigate through the F11 menu and using the arrow keys to adjust. After each brake bias change, it also goes back to the F9 menu to show tyre temperatures (as most racers use this while racing). Change buttons 6 and 5 to your preference to assign the functions. Echo command messages are just informative, can be deleted. Be aware, the key binding runs every time LFS is launched, therefore when changing controller devices (when button number mapping might change), make sure to double check the key number.
bb_increase.lfs
/press F11 /press right /press F9 /echo ^1SCRIPT: ^8Brake Balance +1, back to F9
bb_decrease.lfs
/press F11 /press left /press F9 /echo ^1SCRIPT: ^8Brake Balance -1, back to F9
autoexec.lfs
/button 6 ctrl_f12 /ctrlf 12 /run bb_increase /button 5 ctrl_f11 /ctrlf 11 /run bb_decrease
