New BMW LMDh headlines latest Le Mans Ultimate update

As revealed last week, Le Mans Ultimate’s latest update dropped today (10th June 2024), bringing the BMW M Hybrid V8 to the official game of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The BMW arrives as a free addition – and includes this year’s one-off 24 Hours of Le Mans ‘art car’ livery – with other features like replays, driver labels and radar added as much-needed quality-of-life improvements.

Race start procedures have also undergone a major overhaul, with standing starts now usurped by a Assetto Corsa Competizione-aping rolling start system, helping eliminate any confusion over formation lap car placement.

Although this is a big improvement on the previous system, the LMU development team has reported known issues with rolling starts at Sebring, with players encouraged to report any other bugs directly.

In a surprise move, a range of Coach Dave Academy set-ups will also be made available for players to try for free in-game, albeit just for Hypercars at the moment.

How do you think Le Mans Ultimate is progressing? Join the discussion in our Discord server.

Le Mans Ultimate June Update patch notes

New Features

Replays

• Replay controls are now available in three sections of Le Mans Ultimate. You can access them during a race through the watch option on the monitor screens, by using the instant replay keybind (default “r”) while on the track in Race Weekend, and by loading into past sessions via the main menu.

Driver Labels

• Driver Labels have been introduced to displaying a driver’s name above the car. This feature offers customisation options in gameplay settings, allowing you to choose when the labels are shown – whether during Single Player, Multi Player, or Always. Additionally, you can easily toggle this feature on and off while on the track simply by pressing the Tab key.

Radar

• We have incorporated the highly requested proximity-based Radar into our HUD to offer users insights on possible hazards, blind spots, and challenging corners when navigating the track. This is optional and can be turned on and off in the settings menu.
• Shows on track cars, and cars active in the pit lane
• Only shows cars very close to the user
• Shows yellow when a car is nearby, and red when alongside and close enough to be nearly colliding

Improved Race Starts

• Race start procedures have been reworked and improved to provide a clearer experience for our users. This includes a few new UI elements to help ensure the driver is in the correct location on the track and following the rules of the formation lap.
• New HUD elements for instructions during formation laps
• Improved penalty management:
• Drive Through penalties for poor behaviour, however allows users to get back into position in the case of minor incidents
• Disqualification for extremely poor behaviour
• Disqualification for leaving the pits before red lights when not taking the start. This is due to the potential to make extreme amounts of time up.
• Improved management of drivers not taking the start online.
• Improved management of cars being slow or crashed, and allowing the field to pass them with out penalisation.
• Management of crashed or exceptionally slow cars, and being allowed to pass them.
• Disabled damage before the race starts
• Green lights show on screen in the HUD
• Audio prompts for going to the grid, and when the green flag is shown

Coach Dave Academy Setups

• We have now partnered with Coach Dave to help expand the setup options available for free to our users for Hypercars with more due in future.

Feature Improvements

Netcode

• We have been diligently working in substantial refactoring of our Netcode. Although this may not be immediately noticeable to our users, it will lay a more robust groundwork for our development team to incorporate upcoming features and fixes.

General Fixes and Improvements

General

• Added the ability to “Fill Grid”, this will run with a higher number of entries in classes with the most unique cars possible.
• Hypercar class will run with 2023 Le Mans grid, + unique hyper cars from 2024 (BMW, 12 Porsche, 83 Ferrari)
• LMP2 & GTE classes will load 2023 Le Mans grid with this setting
• Game will balance enabled classes evenly for the size of the track
• Improvements to car select screen
• Added the ability to select cars by year
• Condensed car select icons to only show for the current car
• Added Thrustmaster LCD Support
• Added a time out on opening mas files, so that if they become corrupted, the game does not stay forever stalled
• Various crash, performance and micro freeze fixes

Gameplay

• Disabled blue flag penalisation by default
• Added ability to adjust what position cars are on track to enable blue flag at pit exit. This ensures the light is accurate at Spa pit exit, and also the user can not drive until the field has passed.
• Fix for timing to work correctly on first lap out of the pits when paddock is not near the start finish line
• Fixed issues with fixed setups not applying correctly online
• Fixed an issue where a player’s car would not rotate in the pit box if there was another immediately behind
• Disabled automatic fuel suggestion after pitting which would result in Hypercars having their fuel ratio incorrectly changed
• Adjusted grids on fast rolling starts so they are more spread out
• Scaled down the strength of steering help so that what was previously low, is now high.

Graphics / Visuals

• Onboard cameras will now show interior correctly of cars, so you can see mirrors and the wheel display
• Fixed mirrors being white at night when disabled
• Fix for path based cameras jumping around on switching to them first frame
• Fix for a car joining the server changing your view when looking behind
• Fixed issues swapping from borderless to windowed.

Physics

• Added physics calculations for front wing stall
• Added tyre slip curve developments
• Ensure LMDh always have SOC when in pits
• Disabled damage when in the pit box (other cars hitting you, will not damage you – but will damage them).
• Fixed an issue with motor maps not working as intended

AI

• Fixed sudden AI crashes at times, such as when crossing the start line on race starts
• Fixed AI above 100% not being as fast as they should

UI / HUD

• Fixed an issue with being able to exceed 100% in a player’s profile for various stats (e.g. DNFs)
• Fixed order of cycling of MFD
• Fixed negative sector times showing on MFD
• Improved Cockpit Readout options, with the ability to align and force units.
• Disabled translations on cockpit displays.
• Fixed motor map and regen levels not displaying
• Refined Driver Name abbreviations in UI and HUD
• Fix for time zones showing wrong start time in event schedule
• Various UI fixes

Car Updates June 2024

Hypercars

• Rebuilt tyres using latest updates. This improves the accuracy of the carcass stiffness as the tyre heat is generated. Also includes a better way to simulate (incorporate masses) from the inner liner. Tyre warmup has also been very slightly increased as part of the changes.
• Implemented new code feature which allows contact pressure sensitivity to be altered at different sliding speeds and temperatures. The result is the tyre produces better feedback. The tyre also ‘grips up’ with a different characteristic particularly as the tyres warm.

Oreca LMP2

• Updated tyres using the latest updates. This improves the accuracy of the tyre’s carcass stiffness as heat is generated. Also includes a better way to simulate from the inner liner (by incorporating masses). Built to a higher level of detail to be more in-line with hypercar tyres meaning stiffnesses and contact patch profiles are more accurate. The tyre has a tighter overall ‘lateral / longitundinal’ spring rate due to a small change in construction, which helps reduce the optimum slip angle to be more accurate.
• We have also activated the feature already present in hypercar tyres that ensure the slip curve has more realistic drop-off beyond the peak.
• Finally, we implemented a new code feature which allows contact pressure sensitivity to be altered at different sliding speeds and temperatures. The result is the tyre produces better feedback. The tyre also ‘grips up’ with a different characteristic particularly as the tyres warm.

GTE

• Applied latest tyre model slip curve developments which were previously only on Hypercars, ensuring a more accurate drop-off beyond the peak slip angle. Additionally low temperature tyre performance has been slightly reduced, ensuring more caution must be taken on cold tyres.
• Finally, we implemented a new code feature which allows contact pressure sensitivity to be altered at different sliding speeds and temperatures. The result is the tyre produces better feedback. The tyre also ‘grips up’ with a different characteristic particularly as the tyres warm.

Vehicles – Detailed Notes

Hypercars

• General
• Added 2024 teams
• Added track-specific tyre compound restrictions
• Added 2024 tyres styling to 2024 teams
• Use real world per-track BoP as a new base for ongoing BoP update
• Adjusted air reference conditions for engine power curve
• Adjustments to aero sensitivity to ride heights
• Adjustments to engine throttle map
• Adjustments to TC maps
• Updates to default setups
• Added Coach Dave Academy setups
• New collision sound values
• Changed throttle input behaviour for sample playback

BMW M-Hybrid LMDh

• Initial release

Cadillac V-LMDh

• Fixed small body mesh smoothing issue
• Darkened steering wheel hud a little

Ferrari 499P LMH

• Updated seat movement limits
• Updated RPM LEDs to match optimal shift point

Glickenhaus SGC 007 LMH

• Adjusted driver LODs
• Updated seat movement limits
• Reversed engine mixture map order, so 0 (the lowest) is now for Safety Car
• Adjusted engine power curve between idle and 4000rpm

Peugeot 9X8 LMH

• Re-enabled driver lods
• Updated seat movement limits
• Added 2024 teams(Qatar only)

Porsche 963 LMDh

• Adjusted driver LODs
• Updated seat movement limits
• Fixed front collision points being too forward

Toyota GR010 LMH

• Updated seat movement limits
• Added 2024 teams

Vanwall Vandervell LMH

• Updated seat movement limits
• Fixed spelling mistake in low detail chassis lod out
• Reversed engine mixture map order, so 0 (the lowest) is now for Safety Car

LMP2

• Oreca 07 LMP2
• Updated seat movement limits
• Minor swingman cam fix
• Changed how we display differential settings in garage (a word instead of a sign)
• Updated to latest tyre
• Reduced AI wet front tyre wear
• Updated Default Setups
• Adjusted diffuser’s sensitivity to ride heights
• New collision sound values
• Changed throttle input behavior for sample playback

GTE

General

• New V.07 Tyre Model
• Added new front wing sensitivity curve
• Allow the ability to take no fuel during pitstops
• Updated Default Setups
• New collision sound values
• Changed throttle input behaviour for sample playback

Aston Martin Vantage GTE

• Fixed rain drops not showing on side windows
• Fixed body showing dirt all the time
• BOP adjustment: +2% engine at LM, -10kg at LM
• BOP adjustment: +5L fuel capacity at non-LM tracks
• Added front wing stall effects

Corvette C8.R GTE

• Updated seat movement limits
• BOP adjustment: +1% engine at LM
• BOP adjustment: +12.5kg at non-LM tracks,: +4L fuel capacity at non-LM tracks

Ferrari 488 GTE v1.23

• Fixed number plate clipping at higher lods
• BOP adjustment: +10kg at LM, +3L fuel capacity at LM
• BOP adjustment: +12.5kg at non-LM tracks, +4L fuel capacity at non-LM tracks
• Added new front wing sensitivity curve
• Minor update to refuelling time at LM
• Onboard at 60 mph bad sample loop fixed

Porsche 911 RSR GTE v1.23

• Updated seat movement limits
• Fixed spelling mistake with driver LOD
• BOP adjustment: +10kg at LM, +2L fuel capacity at LM
• BOP adjustment: +12.5kg at non-LM tracks
• Added new front wing sensitivity curve

Circuits

All Tracks

• Updated fast rolling start location, recommended lines and fast rolling start grid spacing.

Spa Francorchamps

• Updated Pit Exit Blue Light on track location (keeps pit exit closed for longer on race start)