Goal: build your first robot, select it in Practice, and see it hold still.
You need a working TORCS development build with game data installed and a C++ compiler. Complete the project's ./configure, make, make install, and make datainstall workflow first. Use an installation prefix writable by your development account. Confirm that you can launch the game normally.
Open a terminal in the TORCS source root: the directory containing configure, Make-config, and src/. In a double-nested checkout this is torcs/torcs/. Run all build commands below from that directory.
Copy the supplied starter to your working driver directory:
If src/drivers/tutorial1 already exists, use your existing copy. Keep the name tutorial1 for now. Edit files in this working copy, rather than the documentation's reference copy.
This builds the stationary checkpoint and installs it into your configured TORCS installation. The Makefile uses the exported headers and libraries from your development build. Wait until the command finishes and the terminal is ready for another command. If you see an error, use the help section below before starting the game.
Launch that TORCS installation. If its launcher is in PATH, use:
Otherwise, use the full path to your installed launcher, such as /home/yourname/torcs/bin/torcs.
Your car should stay still. That is success! The skeleton deliberately holds the brakes. You now know how to build a robot and get TORCS to load it.
Next: Chapter 1 — Make It Drive. Come back to the short rebuild instructions below when the chapter asks you to try the driving code.
Leave the Practice session and return to the menu. TORCS unloads the driver when the session ends, so you can keep the game open. Then run this from the source root:
This selects driving.cpp instead of skeleton.cpp. Start a new Practice session with the same driver and track; TORCS loads the rebuilt module. Use this command again after each edit to driving.cpp.
Continue making your robot drive.
From the source root, copy the new example into its own working directory:
If that directory already exists, use your existing copy. Leave the current Practice session and return to the menu, then build and install:
Select Tutorial 2 on CG Speedway number 1 in a new Practice session. This example deliberately makes a small driving mistake at the start. Chapter 2 — Get Back on Track explains what to watch for.
After edits to recovery.cpp or practice.cpp, save and use the same build command. The Chapter 1 driver remains available as Tutorial 1.
From the source root, copy the new example into its own working directory:
If it already exists, use your working copy. Leave the current Practice session, then build and install:
Select Tutorial 3 on CG Speedway number 1 in a new Practice session. Chapter 3 — Choose Your Speed explains what to observe. After changes to speed.cpp or braking.cpp, save and use the same build command. The earlier drivers remain available for comparison.
From the source root, copy the steering example into its own working directory:
If it already exists, use your working copy. Leave the current Practice session, then build and install:
Select Tutorial 4 on CG Speedway number 1 in a new Practice session. Chapter 4 — Steering and Trajectory explains the comparison. Edit steering4.cpp for lookahead experiments and speed4.cpp for later speed experiments. Save and use the same build command after each change.
This chapter adds traffic decisions and a reference pace driver. Assemble a new working folder from its files and the supplied Chapter 4 helper sources. From the source root:
If the folder already exists, use your working copy. Copy the helpers from the supplied examples so earlier experiments do not change this chapter's baseline. The assembled folder contains everything needed to compile both modules.
Leave the current session, then build and install both drivers:
Follow Chapter 5's Quick Race instructions. The drivers appear as Tutorial 5 and Tutorial Pace. Each module controls one car; no multiple-robot registration is required.
For the main experiments, edit traffic5.cpp. tutorial5pace.cpp contains the reference opponent's speed cap. Use the same two build commands after edits.
The final checkpoint contains every helper source. From the source root:
If the directory already exists, use your working copy. Leave the active session, then build and install:
Follow Chapter 6's six-lap Quick Race exercise. Select Tutorial 6; the earlier tutorial modules are not needed for the solo exercise. The optional traffic exercise can use Tutorial Pace or an ordinary opponent. Edit tutorial6.cpp for starting fuel and pit.cpp for the pit/strategy settings, then use the same rebuild command.
The downloadable tutorial6.zip contains the same complete folder. If using that download, extract its tutorial6 directory under src/drivers/ before building; it needs no helper-copy step.
From the source root, create a separate working copy of the complete example:
If it exists, use your existing working copy. Alternatively extract the download's tutoriala folder under src/drivers/. Leave the active session, then build and install:
This installs the module and tutoriala.xml, default.xml, and g-track-1.xml. Select Tutorial A for Appendix A's baseline race. Edit default.xml or g-track-1.xml in your working copy for the experiments. Save, leave the session, and use the same install command before starting a new session. XML-only changes need deployment, not recompilation. The command's installation output shows the actual configured data destination, ending in drivers/tutoriala/.
Editing the installed XML directly also works for a quick experiment, but the next installation replaces it from your working copy. Preserve your changes there. When adding a new track file, add its name to SHIP in tutoriala.mk.
The complete example includes both exported images and editable artwork. From the source root:
Use your existing working copy if the folder already exists. Alternatively extract the download's tutorialb folder under src/drivers/. Leave the current session, then build and install:
Select Tutorial B for the graphical appearance exercise. The installation copies car1-stock1.rgb and logo.rgb beside the driver's XML in the game's data directory, under drivers/tutorialb/. The compiled module is installed separately. Read the command's output for the configured destination.
For painting, edit the sources in artwork/, export the two runtime images into your working folder, leave the session, and run the same install command. Images are copied even when the C++ objects are up to date. Start a new session to see them. The editable XCF and SVGs stay in the working folder and download; the game only needs their exported SGI images.
The supplied images use the module-level directory. If you later add individual index folders, extend the installation rules for those files and directories.
From the source root, create a working copy of the complete final checkpoint:
Use your existing working copy if it already exists, or extract the download's tutorialc folder under src/drivers/. Leave the active session, then build and install the single module:
The build includes driver.cpp and installs shared configuration and the team logo. It also recurses into 1/ and 2/ to install each robot's settings and body texture. Keep those directories and their Makefiles together when copying the checkpoint.
Select Tutorial C Red, Tutorial C Teal, or both for Appendix C's exercises. Both entries come from the same module; build it once. C++ changes affect the shared implementation and need rebuilding. Individual XML/image edits need installation and a new session, using the same command. Add new individual runtime files to that directory's SHIP list. The editable artwork remains in the source folder and archive.
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Build cannot find headers or libraries | The initial TORCS development setup may be incomplete. Ask your teacher or the community for help and include the error text. |
| Installation fails with a permissions error | Ask your teacher or the person who prepared TORCS to check that your account can install its rebuilt driver. |
| Tutorial 1 is missing | Run the same TORCS installation that you installed into; check that the car1-stock1 game data is present. |
| The old behaviour persists | Save the file in src/drivers/tutorial1/, leave the session, check that the rebuild succeeds, and start a new Practice session. |
Still stuck? Questions and feedback explains where to ask. You do not need to diagnose the problem first.
For installation troubleshooting, the module is installed beneath the library directory's drivers/tutorial1/, and its XML beneath the game-data directory's drivers/tutorial1/. The configured paths are in Make-config. The normal launcher unloads drivers between sessions; the developer -k option disables this, so do not use it for the tutorial's rebuild loop.
1.14.0 