rec.autos.simulators

Having built several wheel-pedal combo's I would like to see
papyrus  or gp2 implement an option for a clutch.  The Y1 axis is
free and a clutch could easily be implemented.  It would highly
improve pit stops, doing 180's, standing starts, and even
heel-toeing going into braking zones.
In F1GP if you depressed the gear shift button it disengaged the
drive shaft and was similar to declutching, but in NASCAR and
ICR2 it is like they have an automatic transmission.  If you have
ever seen real race drivers when they spin they are able to make
a 180 degree turn in the length of their car by locking the
steering wheel and dropping the clutch.  You can't do this in
ICR2 and NASCAR because when you are stopped you are at 2000 rpm
and the very bottom of the torque curve.

I saw somebody mention thrustmaster with feedback, does anybody
have any info on this?

                                        John Buckley

The GP500 wheel/pedal unit is being developed with a clutch, and if you
look at this month's GP2 section of Sim Racing News, you can see that
GP2 has a clutch facility already. Another new feature heralded by
GP2....(although actually Geoff used this in "Revs" many years ago, and
to a lesser extent in F1GP, so it's not new for him).

Cheers!
John

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I seem to remember that Geoff Crammond's original single seater sim
"Revs" had a clutch button - it was therefore possible to stall the
car. Many people thought that this sim was too complicated for the
average user, so I guess this is why he did away with the clutch
button in F1GP. However, I agree that it would be an interesting
thing to add to a game - any steering wheel supporting this system
could incorporate the clutch mechanism as an analog lever behind the
steering wheel (like many of the current F1 cars have, e.g. Ferrari,
McLaren). The clutch would only be needed for getting the car moving
from a standing start (and spin turns etc..) for a F1 simulation, of
course, because of the now standard semi-automatic gearbox.

Fraser

<snip>

Revs used a clutch of a very basic form. While the change-up or
change-down key was depressed, the clutch was disengaged. Hence,
quick taps on the keys were required to make the best gear changes.

However, the only non-arcade simulator I'm aware of that actually
allows a discrete clutch pedal is 'Saloon Cars' for the Acorn Archimedes
range, when using analogue controls (steering, accelerator, brake and
clutch all analogue). Unfortunately, I've never been able to try the
game with these controls, so can't say whether the addition of a 'real'
clutch enhances the gameplay or not.

William
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Ron Bird