rec.autos.simulators

by **J M. Hort** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

>>I've got MS FF Sidewinder Wheel in March for my birthday.

>>Got it from www.technomatic.co.uk and arrived the next day.
>>Also try www.insight.com - they are good as well - I get a lot of
>>hardware from them.

>>Which games have I used:
>>TOCA 2 - brilliant
>>NFSIII - brilliant
>>Grand Prix Legends - no FF, but a good wheel for it
>>Colin MCRAe Rally - with the new patch, very good
>>Carmageedon II - OK
>>test Drive 5 - Very Good
>>Ultimate Race Pro - OK
>>MS Monster Truck Madness - supplied with wheel - very good
>>MS Cart Precision Racing - supplied with wheel - OK

>>MS Midtown Madness is comiung out and I suppose it should work well
>>with that

>>Just make sure it is firmly seated.

>>It should cost you no more that 110 over the internet - you may over
>>the odds at shops, especially PC World

>>If you need any more help, please feel free to contact me

>>Matthew

>>For all your Railroad Tyoon II needs visit U.K. Rail Express at
>>http://www.racesimcentral.net/

>> ###########################
>> |#| [~~~~ #########
>> | |_[]__[_ [~~~~~~~~] [~~~~~~
>> | ------ ] ] [http://www.racesimcentral.net/
>> | ------ ] ] [http://www.racesimcentral.net/
>> { ------- ]__] [http://www.racesimcentral.net/~jmhorton/index.html
>> _|____________]-[________]-[______
>> /_o o O O o o o o o o o o

>How many buttons does it have, and how heavy is it?

>How stable does it feel?

>Griffin, the Slayer

Six buttons + two paddles
very stable if you clamp it to a stable point, though the pedals will
slip on carpet sometimes!

Matthew
For all your Railroad Tyoon II needs visit U.K. Rail Express at
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

###########################
|#| [~~~~ #########
| |_[]__[_ [~~~~~~~~] [~~~~~~
| ------ ] ] [http://www.racesimcentral.net/
| ------ ] ] [http://www.racesimcentral.net/
{ ------- ]__] [http://www.racesimcentral.net/~jmhorton/index.html
_|____________]-[________]-[______
/_o o O O o o o o o o o o

by **Griffin, the Slay** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

>I would say yes! Allthough with the original pedals my best lap in the
>Lotus around Watkins Glen was in the high 1.09's which really aint
>half bad! The stock Logitech pedals arent really all that bad BUT the
>CH pedals are Much Better. Funny thing though I've yet to beat that
>record with the CH pedals as I'm still in the process of re-learning
>how to brake agian! ( Aint fired up GPL for over a month until I set
>it up with the CH pedals and I've only been using them for about 2
>days now)

Wouldn't it be neat if there was a pedal set which came with software
which could control how far down the computer recognises the pedals
when pushed? You could then set it so that no matter how hard you push
on the brake pedal, it would only brake as hard as it does JUST before
the wheels lock in GPL, giving you the optimal brakes?

Perhaps this isn't a good description. Let me know if I should put it
another way.

Griffin, the Slayer

by **Griffin, the Slay** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

On Thu, 20 May 1999 07:46:15 -0500, "Chris Schletter"

>> I've noticed that the clutch in Viper Racing and GPL is analogue, so
>> are there any FF wheels with a good clutch pedal?

>Nope, not yet. ALthough, since GPL recognizes 11 axii, you can always
>configure an old joystick to act as an analogue clutch. :)

How can you plug two game controllers (wheel and stick) into the same
computer at one time?

Griffin, the Slayer

by **Griffin, the Slay** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

>>>I've got MS FF Sidewinder Wheel in March for my birthday.

>>>Got it from www.technomatic.co.uk and arrived the next day.
>>>Also try www.insight.com - they are good as well - I get a lot of
>>>hardware from them.

>>>Which games have I used:
>>>TOCA 2 - brilliant
>>>NFSIII - brilliant
>>>Grand Prix Legends - no FF, but a good wheel for it
>>>Colin MCRAe Rally - with the new patch, very good
>>>Carmageedon II - OK
>>>test Drive 5 - Very Good
>>>Ultimate Race Pro - OK
>>>MS Monster Truck Madness - supplied with wheel - very good
>>>MS Cart Precision Racing - supplied with wheel - OK

>>>MS Midtown Madness is comiung out and I suppose it should work well
>>>with that

>>>Just make sure it is firmly seated.

>>>It should cost you no more that 110 over the internet - you may over
>>>the odds at shops, especially PC World

>>>If you need any more help, please feel free to contact me

>>>Matthew

>>>For all your Railroad Tyoon II needs visit U.K. Rail Express at
>>>http://rrtii.future.easyspace.com

>>> ###########################
>>> |#| [~~~~ #########
>>> | |_[]__[_ [~~~~~~~~] [~~~~~~
>>> | ------ ] ] [http://rrtii.future.easyspace.com
>>> | ------ ] ] [http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/urc.yorkshire/index.htm
>>> { ------- ]__] [http://www.NetcomUK.co.uk/~jmhorton/index.html
>>> _|____________]-[________]-[______
>>> /_o o O O o o o o o o o o

>>How many buttons does it have, and how heavy is it?

>>How stable does it feel?

>>Griffin, the Slayer

>Six buttons + two paddles
>very stable if you clamp it to a stable point, though the pedals will
>slip on carpet sometimes!

>Matthew
>For all your Railroad Tyoon II needs visit U.K. Rail Express at
>http://rrtii.future.easyspace.com

> ###########################
> |#| [~~~~ #########
> | |_[]__[_ [~~~~~~~~] [~~~~~~
> | ------ ] ] [http://rrtii.future.easyspace.com
> | ------ ] ] [http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/urc.yorkshire/index.htm
> { ------- ]__] [http://www.NetcomUK.co.uk/~jmhorton/index.html
> _|____________]-[________]-[______
> /_o o O O o o o o o o o o

Does it come with any software, like Gravis products do?

Griffin, the Slayer

by **Trip** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

> How can you plug two game controllers (wheel and stick) into the same
> computer at one time?

Any number of ways. If you have a PDPI gameport, you can plug as many as
four separate 4 axis 4 button controllers into it. Each one will be
recognized and calibrated in Windows.

If you only have a standard analog gameport, you can also plug a USB
controller in at the same time and have both recognized. One guy here at
the office has a Sidewinder Precision Pro in his USB, a Logitech FF wheel
in the serial port, and a Wingman Extreme in the gameport.

I've got an Act Labs RS wheel, a Wingman Extreme, a 2 axis 2 button stick,
and a TM GP wheel all plugged in to my PDPI here at work. At home I've got
a TM Nascar Pro and a TM F22/TQS/RCS combo on my PDPI.

Trips
D. Bell on VROC

by **Neil Rain** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

> > How can you plug two game controllers (wheel and stick) into the same
> > computer at one time?

> Any number of ways. If you have a PDPI gameport, you can plug as many as
> four separate 4 axis 4 button controllers into it. Each one will be
> recognized and calibrated in Windows.

> If you only have a standard analog gameport, you can also plug a USB
> controller in at the same time and have both recognized. One guy here at
> the office has a Sidewinder Precision Pro in his USB, a Logitech FF wheel
> in the serial port, and a Wingman Extreme in the gameport.

> I've got an Act Labs RS wheel, a Wingman Extreme, a 2 axis 2 button stick,
> and a TM GP wheel all plugged in to my PDPI here at work. At home I've got
> a TM Nascar Pro and a TM F22/TQS/RCS combo on my PDPI.

OK, but how do you use a combination of a wheel from one manufacturer
and pedals from another (eg. FF wheel plus TSW pedals) within the same
game?

Presumably you need to do something to make the game think the two
controllers are actually different axes on the same controller?

by **Pat Dotso** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

> > I've got an Act Labs RS wheel, a Wingman Extreme, a 2 axis 2 button stick,
> > and a TM GP wheel all plugged in to my PDPI here at work. At home I've got
> > a TM Nascar Pro and a TM F22/TQS/RCS combo on my PDPI.

> OK, but how do you use a combination of a wheel from one manufacturer
> and pedals from another (eg. FF wheel plus TSW pedals) within the same
> game?

> Presumably you need to do something to make the game think the two
> controllers are actually different axes on the same controller?

You *could* do that with a program called Virtual Stick.
It comes free with the PDPI game card.

Luckily, as an earlier poster said, GPL using direct
input will recognize multiple controller devices. As
long as they are configured in the Win9X controller
menu, you can calibrate all of them in GPL. Then, just
assign the axis or button from whichever controller
you want to use to the GPL control (steering, gas,
or whatever), in any combination you want.

--
Pat Dotson
IMPACT Motorsports
http://www.impactmotorsports.com/pd.html

by **Randy Cassid** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

Use a game that has good controller support :-) Once the customer has
properly configured their devices in the Game Controllers control
panel, it's pretty easy for the game to ask DirectInput to tell it
about all the connected controllers. It's then just a matter of
presenting the user with a method of assigning a controller (axis,
button, key) to a controlled function (gas, brake, wave arm....).

Randy

by **Pat Dotso** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

> Wouldn't it be neat if there was a pedal set which came with software
> which could control how far down the computer recognises the pedals
> when pushed? You could then set it so that no matter how hard you push
> on the brake pedal, it would only brake as hard as it does JUST before
> the wheels lock in GPL, giving you the optimal brakes?

> Perhaps this isn't a good description. Let me know if I should put it
> another way.

I think there is a joystick utility that might
allow you to do this, but...

You could do the same thing by calibrating your
pedal normally, then putting some sort of removable
stop under your pedal (it would need to be removable
so you can re-calibrate later). Then you'll only
get partial brake pedal throw/partial braking power.

That's kind of what people are doing with
racquetballs. It gives you more resistance as
you push the pedal further, but still allows
full brake pedal travel. I think this is a
better solution.

--
Pat Dotson
IMPACT Motorsports
http://www.impactmotorsports.com/pd.html

by **Griffin, the Slay** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

But wouldn't that depend on the type of pedals they have? I'm not sure
if I would be able to stick a tennis ball under mine.

Griffin, the Slayer

by **Greg Cisk** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

>OK, but how do you use a combination of a wheel from one manufacturer
>and pedals from another (eg. FF wheel plus TSW pedals) within the same
>game?

>Presumably you need to do something to make the game think the two
>controllers are actually different axes on the same controller?

It will work if one device is USB and the other is analog. And the
game allows you to use winbloze joystick ID's other than #1.

--

Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com

by **Greg Cisk** » Fri, 21 May 1999 04:00:00

Correct! I have my Logitech Formula Force configured on ID#2
and F1RS sees it and uses it with not problem. All analog joysticks
connected to a conventional gameport must be configured on ID#1.
I know that it would be no problem to configure my TM T2 on ID#1
and my Logitech on ID#2 and let F1RS use the Logitech wheel
and T2 pedals. The only problem is that this isn't necessary since
there is nothing wrong with the Logitech pedals :-)

--

Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com

by **Neil Rain** » Sat, 22 May 1999 04:00:00

> >OK, but how do you use a combination of a wheel from one manufacturer
> >and pedals from another (eg. FF wheel plus TSW pedals) within the same
> >game?

> >Presumably you need to do something to make the game think the two
> >controllers are actually different axes on the same controller?

> It will work if one device is USB and the other is analog. And the
> game allows you to use winbloze joystick ID's other than #1.

Thanks for the info - BTW, I've just received my PDPI card and I noticed
that they have a "Virtual Stick" utility that allows you to combine
inputs from several gameport devices so that they appear to be a single
device with more axes, so it looks like it can also be done with
multiple analogue devices.

by **Trip** » Sat, 22 May 1999 04:00:00

> OK, but how do you use a combination of a wheel from one manufacturer
> and pedals from another (eg. FF wheel plus TSW pedals) within the same
> game?

> Presumably you need to do something to make the game think the two
> controllers are actually different axes on the same controller?

Depends on the game. A properly coded game will accept input from any connected
and calibrated controller axis. For the games that don't, the PDPI card comes
with a utility called "Virtual Stick" that allows you to specify any four axes
from all available and combine them into a virtual four axis controller that
appears to games to be a single controller.

Trips
D. Bell on VROC

by **Trip** » Sat, 22 May 1999 04:00:00

> I think there is a joystick utility that might
> allow you to do this, but...

You're probably referring to the CTFJ utility which allows scaling of the X
and Y axes. If however, the brake is on any other axis (which ALL separate
brakes are) the CTFJ utility can't do any scaling on it.

I managed to achieve this effect by adding a second potentiometer in series
with my brake pot. During calibration process in GPL I'd depress the brake
fully, then dial in a bit more resistance with the extra pot. After
calibration I'd then reduce the second pot back to zero. GPL then expected
more resistance from the brakes than the pedal could deliver on its own. By
carefully adjusting the exact amount of extra resistance applied during the
calibration phase, i could achieve very reliable no-lock threshold braking
at full pedal mash.

Only problem with that method was that I felt it would be sleazy to use it
for online racing.

I switched to the ball under the pedal method once I started racing online.
I'm actually liking it better than the extra pot method. Rather than a
tennis or squash ball, I use a half of a "superball" (one of those high
bounce solid *** balls you see in the 25 cent vending machines at the
supermarket) It provides a VERY firm pedal resistance right before
threshold.

Trips
D. Bell on VROC

rec.autos.simulators

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)

Which FF Wheel to Buy - that is the question! ;)