Enjoy Automobilista with gamepad!

Discussion in 'Automobilista - General Discussion' started by Renoista, Apr 9, 2017.

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  1. Renoista

    Renoista Member

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    Hi all

    Few days ago I tried Copa Petrobras and it was instantly obvious that Reiza makes “the real” stuff. Than comes Automobilista Steam sale and here we go :)
    Now to gamepads.

    Every racing fan dream about gaming room setup with triple monitor, racing wheel, pedals etc. Reality for many of us is that we have limited space-time-laps to enjoy this masterpiece and that mean playing Automobilista with gamepad.
    Despite trying all of the different .ini hacks and settings tricks, steering with analog stick was twitchy and over sensitive. It's not the problem that car is not drivable, but crazy cockpit wheel rotations is totally destroying immersion.

    I resolved the problem by mapping (with Xpadder on PC or Enjoyable on Mac) left Gamepad stick to keyboard keys. That way Automobilista can apply nice and smooth digital steering (which can be adjusted per car) and now wheel steering feels good.

    So, to not go trough all of the hassle, is it possible that Reiza add option for controllers to treat analog input as digital (something like "Use Keyboard Rates For Analog” option in rf2), and make it more accessible and enjoyable for gamepad players.

    Hope this request is not against “hard core sim” rules ;)

    UPDATE! Analog controls for PS4 Dualshock controller
    PS4 controller setup for Automobilista
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2019
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  2. FS7

    FS7 controller filters off please AMS2 Club Member

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    I'm pretty sure you can fully customize controls in AMS, including using d-pad for digital steering (personally I don't like that type of setup).
    Besides adjusting sensitivity & deadzones, something that improved controls considerably with my Xbox360 controller was to use custom steering rotation (300 for open-wheelers, 360 for everything else, anything higher than that makes cars incredibly difficult to control to me). Your issue with "crazy cockpit wheel rotations" might be related to that.
     
  3. Renoista

    Renoista Member

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    Yes. I used even 180 custom wheel rotation, analog filter and all other tips for rf1 engine but steering with left analog stick was never smooth enough.
    Binding stick axis to keyboard AMS treat it as digital input and than it can be adjusted with "digital steering rate" to have nice and smooth wheel feeling.
    Can I say, just like in GT and Forza :)
     
  4. Jakerock

    Jakerock New Member AMS2 Club Member

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    "Binding stick axis to keyboard AMS"
    Could you explain what you mean by this please?
    When I adjust the digital steering rate, nothing changes.
    I think if I could make this work it would help with the very twitchy steering I am experiencing with my Thrustmaster GPX LightBack.

    I wish that there was a sensitivity setting for dampening the acceleration and braking curves...
    Also very twitchy even with a good controller like this...
     
  5. Renoista

    Renoista Member

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    Here is tutorial for Xpadder



    And You only need to do it for left stick / steering.
     
  6. Lorencini

    Lorencini Luciano Lorencini AMS2 Club Member

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    I use the amazing Xbox 360 Speed Wheel, and it's fantastic!



    Worth every penny. It's way more precise than a joypad, increadibly simple to setup (it's plug and play), way cheaper than a good wheel, and works just fine in Windows 10. When I travel, I use it with my notebook, in order to create a "mobile cockpit" :)

    If you're interested, I've made a profile file for it, works like a charm since rFactor days.

    Regards!
     
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  7. Paul_73

    Paul_73 Member AMS2 Club Member

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    I have a G27 which I like, but lately I've played AMS more and more with a Steam Controller. The gyro steering works really well.

    I have an Xbox speed wheel like Lorencini and it works well with AMS, too.

    .
     
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  8. Sektor

    Sektor Member

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    How is the lag, and how comfortable are you with shifting and looking back?
     
  9. Lorencini

    Lorencini Luciano Lorencini AMS2 Club Member

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    I feel no lag at all. The movement in controller is in perfect sync with the wheel on screen.

    IMO it is way more precise than a common xbox 360 joypad.

    Check out the button disposition I've set:

    EDIT: Download my custom INI file: Dropbox - XBox Speed Wheel Lorencini.ini

    speed-wheel-config.jpg

    Important to notice that I've inverted the Gear up and down buttons. That's because I've acceletare with my right hand index finger, so use the right hand thumb to also gear up while hitting the gas was overloading my right hand. Same thing with Brake/Gear Down combo. So, with inverted gears, I can distribute the paralel inputs in both my hands.

    Normally I use the virtual mirrors in AMS, so rarely I look behind. But I've kept the button mapped just in case.

    The first and second days you will experience tired arms. Then, you get use to it. Normally I rest my elbows close to my body, so I minimize the effort. But, if used for long periods (up to 2 hours straight with no rest), you can experiente sore shoulders. It is advisory to do some arm strecthing between sessions.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2017
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  10. Sektor

    Sektor Member

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    Thanks, i might go with this, i don't have the time or place to handle a wheel.
     
  11. Jakerock

    Jakerock New Member AMS2 Club Member

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    Are the triggers progressive on that cool thing?
    Would love something like that for travelling.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2017
  12. Lorencini

    Lorencini Luciano Lorencini AMS2 Club Member

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    Yes, both triggers, and their size is much bigger than a regular xbox 360 trigger.
     
  13. Paul_73

    Paul_73 Member AMS2 Club Member

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    Since Lorencini mentioned it, I've dug my Xbox Speed Wheel out of the drawer and played with it for awhile.

    The natural steering rotation is about 200°. That's too wide for my taste on this kind of controller, so I brought it in to 90-100° using the Steam overlay controller config tool. I also applied a slight negative dead zone to get rid of the weird native dead zone. (I originated my config with Reiza's Xbox settings. That dead zone might not be there if you base it on a wheel. Also, this is different that the "dead zone" slider.)

    The triggers are kind of strange. They are large and comfy and have a long throw, but only the first half of the throw is used. I experimented with things in-game and in the Steam overlay config thing, but never could get it to use the entire length of the trigger's movement. (Pressing it halfway registers as a full press.)

    I think, for me personally, the Steam Controller will stay my go-to non-wheel controller. The gyro steering is solid (just like the Speed Wheel), but it's other features just go way beyond, IMO. The triggers aren't as long, but they are accurate and work as expected.

    .
     
  14. Lorencini

    Lorencini Luciano Lorencini AMS2 Club Member

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    @Paul_73 here, take my custom ini file:

    Dropbox - XBox Speed Wheel Lorencini.ini

    I don't use Steam Overlay tool. My triggers function full course (not just the first half). I've have set the dead zone and sensibility since 2015, in rFactor days, worked fine in GSCE and still works very good in AMS.

    Buttons are set according to button mapping I've posted earlier in this post.

    Give it a try and then give me feedback.

    Everybody else, feel free to try it to!
     
  15. Paul_73

    Paul_73 Member AMS2 Club Member

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    I loaded up your controller config, but the triggers were still wrong. It turns out it needed to be calibrated in the Windows Game Controllers thing. After that, the triggers performed the same on my config as yours.

    In the Game Controllers thing in Windows, the triggers do a clean 0-100% with very high accuracy, but in-game there's still a small gap where it hits 100% when the trigger is pulled about 90%. The regular Xbox controller (freshly calibrated, too) does the same thing. In actual gameplay it isn't noticeable.

    The Speed Wheel is a good substitute for a wheel and is a good price.

    .
     
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  16. Biucci

    Biucci New Member AMS2 Club Member

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    When having problems with controllers calibration, you can try DIView to check what's going on and to actually tune the minimum and maximum of each axis (and also the 50% If i'm not wrong, it would most probably affect the linearity of the axis itself).

    Download link

    Niels' explanation video
     
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  17. Paul_73

    Paul_73 Member AMS2 Club Member

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    I tried DIView, but when I try to enter anything into the calibration fields I'm told to "Enter a valid number between 0 and -1."

    Niels' explanation makes sense, but it won't accept any values. If I leave the numbers the same, I get the "valid number" message. If I click "restore defaults", I get the "valid number" message. The only button that seems to work is "cancel".

    Ulitmately, it doesn't matter to me, but now I'm curious. Any ideas?

    .
     
  18. Sektor

    Sektor Member

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    Got xbox 360 wireless wheel, feels great, 1 problem thou, no vibration
    Any suggestions?
    Btw, i have to use third party software to separate throttle and brakes axis, does it work for you with regular drivers? Generally you cannot have throttle and brakes acting together with xbox 360
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2017
  19. Lorencini

    Lorencini Luciano Lorencini AMS2 Club Member

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    About xbox 360 wireless speed wheel, based on my own experience:

    1 - no vibration in rFactor/GSCE/AMS. In R3E works fine tough.

    2 - throttle and brakes does NOT work together in rFactor/GSCE/AMS. But it works like a charm in iRacing and R3E.
     
  20. Sektor

    Sektor Member

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    I had vibration in AMS with xbox 360 controller, it should be similar if not the same to have it with the speed wheel.
    I use this workaround for split axes.
     

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