AI Director Broadcast Knowledge

1. System Overview

Sim RaceCenter automates live iRacing broadcasts. AI Director selects camera/scene sequences every 10–30 seconds.

Components: Race Control (operator config + AI pipeline) · Director App (executes sequences against OBS, iRacing, Discord, YouTube)

Rig roles:

• Driver Rig — publishes telemetry only; never receives commands
• Media/Director Rig — sole sequence executor

Broadcast loop: Operator checks in → Planner generates template library → Executor polls every 10–30s → fills best template → Director App executes against hardware.

2. AI Tiers

Tier 1: Planner (once at check-in)

Generates 20–30 SequenceTemplate documents for all expected broadcast scenarios.

Inputs: intent registry, hardware health, session config (drivers, car numbers, OBS scenes, camera groups), operator sequences, race context, Race Director's Notes, Session Summary

Tier 2: Executor (every 10–30s)

Selects best template; fills all ${varName} placeholders with concrete live values.

Inputs: all session templates, live race state (flags, leaderboard top-20, battles, driver history, recent events), race context from Director (session type, track, laps remaining, pitting cars, current OBS scene, battles), pending operator commands (always highest priority), Race Director's Notes, Session Summary

Output: fully-populated PortableSequence ready for immediate execution.

3. OBS Feeds

Two video source types. Every sequence must use the correct feed.

Driver Onboard rules:

• A-list source — use at higher frequency than Race Director (≈2:1 ratio)
• Do NOT use when driver is in pits — view is static overhead

Race Director rules:

• Always issue both obs.switchScene AND broadcast.showLiveCam together when targeting a specific car
• Best for: wide shots showing gaps, blimp transitions, field cars with no onboard scene, pit stops

Intent Mapping

Sequence Patterns

Battle (both SimRaceCenter drivers):

obs.switchScene → Driver_A_Onboard    system.wait 10000ms
obs.switchScene → Driver_B_Onboard    system.wait 10000ms
obs.switchScene → Race_Director + broadcast.showLiveCam carNum:A camGroup:TV2    system.wait 8000ms

Solo driver feature:

obs.switchScene → Driver_A_Onboard    system.wait 15000ms
obs.switchScene → Race_Director + broadcast.showLiveCam carNum:A camGroup:Chase    system.wait 10000ms
obs.switchScene → Driver_A_Onboard    system.wait 10000ms

Field car (no onboard scene):

obs.switchScene → Race_Director + broadcast.showLiveCam carNum:42 camGroup:TV1    system.wait 12000ms

4. Sequences & Intents

PortableSequence — universal wire format. Ordered steps; each step = intent + payload.

system.wait is the only blocking step. All other intents are fire-and-forget. Always insert system.wait after every obs.switchScene and broadcast.showLiveCam. A sequence without waits fires all commands simultaneously.

Variable placeholders: ${varName} resolved by Executor before delivery. Unknown intents → skipped. Unresolved required variables → step skipped.

Priority

5. iRacing Domain Knowledge

Session Types

Race Types

• Sprint (15–45 min): Fast pacing, frequent cuts
• Endurance (1–24 hrs): Slow mid-race; pit strategy emphasis; intense at start/end
• Heat Racing: Narrative continuity across heats
• Time Trial: Solo; split comparisons

Multi-Class Priority

• Cover leading class unless another has more dramatic action
• Show class interactions when faster cars lap slower ones
• Track each class lead battle simultaneously

Flag States and Required Broadcast Response

Caution rule: Hold on incident ≥10–15s before cutting away.

Camera Groups

Session-specific — reported by iRacing at check-in (groupNum + name, e.g. 3:"TV2", 8:"Pit_Lane_Fixed"). Generic names like "TV1" are illustrative; always use session-provided IDs.

Camera group types:

Camera variety rules:

• Same camera group: max 3 consecutive uses
• Rotate ≥4 drivers per 2 minutes
• Static:dynamic ratio 3:1; Blimp/Scenic as transitions only

Shot Pacing

Sprint pacing: Start 2–3s → Early 5–8s → Mid 8–15s → Late 5–10s → Final lap 3–5s

Cut when: new battle, incident, leader about to be passed, contender pitting, shot >20s, nothing interesting.

Don't cut: overtake in progress, car mid-corner in dramatic moment, active close battle, hot lap, shot <3s.

Telemetry Thresholds

Standard Camera Sequences

Battle: TV2 (corner entry, both cars) → TV1 (wheel-to-wheel) → Chase (attacking car) → TV2/TV3 (result)

Leader spotlight: TV1/TV2 (establish) → Cockpit/Chase (personal) → TV3 wide (show gap)

Incident: Nearest cam → hold 10–15s → show effect on others → multiple angles for significant incidents

Pit stop: Pit Lane cam (from entry) → hold entire stop → rejoining → check position

Narrative Phases

6. Race Event Types

Structured facts from simulator rigs. Driver names are resolved on-rig — AI always sees real names, not simulator indices.

Category 1: Lifecycle Events

Category 2: Flag Events

Require immediate broadcast response. Do not cover unrelated content while a priority flag is active.

Category 3: Lap & Sector Events

Category 4: Position & Battle Events

Category 5: Pit & Strategy Events

Category 6: Incidents & Safety Events

Category 7: Identity & Roster Events

Category 8: Environment Events

Cloud-Synthesised Events

Generated by Race Control after correlating data from multiple rigs. Higher-level insights not visible from a single rig.

Event Reasoning Patterns

• BATTLE_ENGAGED persisting → sustained narrative, extend coverage
• OVERTAKE then BATTLE_ENGAGED → overtakee fighting back; stay on this story
• Back-to-back PIT_EXIT for battling cars → possible undercut; check lead
• LAP_TIME_DEGRADATION without PIT_ENTRY → driver in trouble or conserving; anticipate action
• FOCUS_VS_FOCUS_BATTLE → strongest single signal; both drivers are our team
• DRIVER_SWAP_INITIATED → cut to that driver's scene for the handover

7. Editorial Guidelines

Operator-Set Context

Race Director's Notes — pacing preferences, signature shots, hardware quirks, track-specific camera recommendations. Always apply; overrides all defaults.

Race Session Summary — rivalry, championship stakes, broadcast tone. Use to weigh which drivers/moments matter most.

Operator intent beats default rules.

Race Phase Detection

Templates designed for the current phase should score higher in selection.

Structural Rules

• Narrative arc required: establish → build → action → reaction → resolve
• Open with wide/medium establishing shot before tight close-up
• TTS must reference specific driver names and race context — not generic
• Vary hold times naturally across steps
• Max 2 consecutive steps with same camera group