rec.autos.simulators

I decided to get the MSFF wheel and I was very impressed with the wheel in
whole.  But my only problem is I can't go anywhere near as fast in GPL as I
could with my old wheel.(about 4 seconds off my normal pace).

With everyother racing game my times are the same but in GPL I am struggling
to keep the car on the track.  Seems like when I first got the demo :-).

Looks like I'm going to have to keep the old Thrustmaster wheel for GPL and
use the MSFF for all the other racing games I have.

Are you guys having any problems with lap times and GPL with the MSFF?

Brian

When I first used my MSFF wheel with GPL, I had the self-centering set on
"high", thinking that it felt most realistic and enhanced car stability. On
a lark, I decided to try the centering at a lower level and I saw an
immediate and fairly significantly improvement in my lap times. I realized
that the centering force was not well-suited to my "saw at the wheel"
driving style, slowing transitions, turn-in, etc.

Though there was a short period during which I adjusted to the heightened
sensitivity, I eventually eliminated all force of any kind with the wheel
and find that that works best for me. Give it a try. Perhaps it might help.

Hope to see you at NTT Zandvoort on Monday!

Jack Rambo

I started GPL with a MSFF and wondered why  I sucked on VROC. Then I took it
back and got a Thrustmaster nascar pro AND my $79 and I was seconds quicker
everywhere. The MSFF just does not have the reaction time when the centering
force is high. Too low and you have to think too much about centering it
yourself. It has great pedals and shift paddals tho.

I just did exactly the same - replaced a Thrustmaster Formula 1 (Nascar
Pro) with an MS FF wheel and found exactly the same. I seemed to be
driving like a newbie again.

Stick with it though, with a bit more track time you will find the old
touch returning. After a few days my lap times began to come down as I
readjusted to the different feel of the new wheel. There's nothing wrong
with the Sidewinder wheel, it's as though you had just started driving
an unfamiliar car, it takes time to adapt.

(Hee Hee - here I am talking about 1967 Ferraris, Lotuses and BRMs in
terms of familiarity - Ohhh the irony!)

Even after a few days, however, I am still having problems getting used
to changing gear with buttons instead of the stick shift on the
Thrustmaster. With the old wheel I had the timing just right - push gear
shift first, then lift off the pedal a fraction of a second later due to
the slight delay as the driver goes through the motions of changing
gear, then back on the gas. But now the gear change seems to happen
almost instantaneously, and I can't lift off the pedal at the right
moment. Result - I keep blowing engines because of over revving.

This is probably my biggest problem with the Microsoft wheel - it just
doesn't feel right changing gear with buttons instead of a stick in
these old cars!

Incidentally, someone on this newsgroup mentioned using pieces of foam
to improve the feel of the brake pedal. I cut a piece off an old mouse
mat, about 20mm x 50mm, rolled up tightly with a cable tie through the
middle and wrapped with duct tape to keeps its shape, then attached it
to the underside of the brake pedal so it acts as a buffer (if you look
at the pedals you should see what I mean). Huge improvement! Out of the
box, the pedal has a long travel with constant spring rate until it hits
the buffer, this can make it difficult avoid locking the brakes, with  a
bit of extra padding you get shorter travel and rising spring rate as
the brakes bite. Experiment with different sizes and shape and you will
find something that works for you.
--
Chris Poole

I started with a TM F1 and quickly (relatively) got good lap times, but when
i got the MS wheel after breaking the TM, my laptimes increased a bit. I put
this down to getting used to using a different wheel, but have struggled
since to get better laptimes, so it looks as though a new wheel is in order,
just for GPL. Shame, because the MS is so accurate.
--
Ian Parker

ICQ   21772592