Implementation:CARLA simulator Carla EpisodeSettings

Knowledge Sources	CARLA
Domains	Simulation Configuration, RPC Serialization
Last Updated	2026-02-15 05:00 GMT

Overview

EpisodeSettings is an RPC-serializable class that configures the simulation episode parameters including synchronous mode, rendering, physics sub-stepping, and streaming distances.

Description

Defined in the carla::rpc namespace, this class (~158 lines) holds all configurable episode-level settings:

• synchronous_mode: whether the client controls simulation stepping
• no_rendering_mode: disables rendering for faster simulation
• fixed_delta_seconds: optional fixed time step (std::optional<double>)
• substepping: enables physics sub-stepping with configurable max_substep_delta_time and max_substeps
• max_culling_distance: distance-based actor culling
• deterministic_ragdolls: deterministic ragdoll physics
• tile_stream_distance / actor_active_distance: streaming and activation distances in meters
• spectator_as_ego: whether the spectator acts as the ego vehicle

The class supports UE4 conversion (with cm-to-m unit conversion for streaming distances), equality operators, and MsgPack serialization.

Usage

Use this type to configure or query the simulation settings for the current episode via the CARLA client API.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: CARLA
• File: LibCarla/source/carla/rpc/EpisodeSettings.h

Signature

namespace carla {
namespace rpc {

  class EpisodeSettings {
  public:
    bool synchronous_mode = false;
    bool no_rendering_mode = false;
    std::optional<double> fixed_delta_seconds;
    bool substepping = true;
    double max_substep_delta_time = 0.01;
    int max_substeps = 10;
    float max_culling_distance = 0.0f;
    bool deterministic_ragdolls = true;
    float tile_stream_distance = 3000.f;
    float actor_active_distance = 2000.f;
    bool spectator_as_ego = true;

    EpisodeSettings() = default;
    EpisodeSettings(bool synchronous_mode, bool no_rendering_mode, ...);

    bool operator==(const EpisodeSettings &rhs) const;
    bool operator!=(const EpisodeSettings &rhs) const;

    MSGPACK_DEFINE_ARRAY(...);
  };

} // namespace rpc
} // namespace carla

Import

#include "carla/rpc/EpisodeSettings.h"

I/O Contract

Field	Type	Default	Description
synchronous_mode	bool	false	Client-controlled stepping
no_rendering_mode	bool	false	Disable rendering for performance
fixed_delta_seconds	std::optional<double>	nullopt	Fixed time step (nullopt = variable)
substepping	bool	true	Enable physics sub-stepping
max_substep_delta_time	double	0.01	Maximum sub-step delta time
max_substeps	int	10	Maximum number of sub-steps per frame
max_culling_distance	float	0.0f	Distance-based culling threshold
deterministic_ragdolls	bool	true	Deterministic ragdoll physics
tile_stream_distance	float	3000.0f	Map tile streaming distance in meters
actor_active_distance	float	2000.0f	Actor activation distance in meters
spectator_as_ego	bool	true	Spectator camera acts as ego

Usage Examples

#include "carla/rpc/EpisodeSettings.h"

carla::rpc::EpisodeSettings settings;
settings.synchronous_mode = true;
settings.fixed_delta_seconds = 0.05; // 20 FPS fixed step
settings.no_rendering_mode = false;
settings.max_substeps = 10;

// Apply settings via client RPC

Related Pages

• Environment:CARLA_simulator_Carla_Simulation_Runtime