Gamepad Support - Analysis, Suggestions, Wishes

I am still not sure. I tried PC2 and visually it looked very similar. But the feeling is better in AMS2. It's not raw at all, but doesn't look bad. Maybe I played AMS2 too much recently. Good thing to me is I can drive probably any car in the game without problems which is new to me. It could be the good accommodation.

 

Did you try reducing speed sensitivity even more? I find that helps with counter steering but it is necessary to increase damping to compensate or the car will be over sensitive. If you are using the stick to steer then you could also try extreme high and low values of steering sensitivity as in most games 50 is linear and higher than that will give slower initial inputs then faster longer ones and vice versa.

 

I suppose that the game is trying to replicate a steering wheel. You simply can't turn a car steering wheel lock to lock in the same time as you can flick a thumbstick side to side, so the game is trying to simulate the realistic rotation of a steering wheel. I can see where you are coming from, but at the same time I think there is a case to be made for having it realistic as well.

 

I use sensitivity at 50 and damping at 0 like I do in every game I play, that's not the problem, the problem is that the built-in filters keep slowing down my inputs and by the time the in-game steering wheel turns the amount I want it's already too late and I've spun out. I've already tried different values of steering sensitivity, speed sensitivity, and controller damping, but whatever value I try there's always built-in filters/dampers that cannot be turned off and mess up the steering. There should be the option to fully disable all filters/dampers, enable raw input, and fine tune from there like I can do in other games.

I've watched lots of onboard footage and I can tell that the way the in-game steering wheel moves in AMS2 is not realistic at all, it moves way too slowly, controls feel laggy. In real life drivers can turn the steering wheel much quicker than I can in AMS2 with the current built-in filters/dampers. Also in real life I often see drivers making quick small corrections all the time, that's not something that's currently possible to do in AMS2 since the built-in filters/dampers always slow down my inputs. Obviously I'm not going to flick the analog stick from side to side in a race, in other games such as rF1, AMS1, ACC, etc, I use small precise inputs and often make quick small corrections. I don't want the game to numb down my inputs, I want to have full control of the car like I do in AMS1 and in other games I play.

More testing done with the controller settings quoted above.
Nurburgring GP, Porsche GT3, Caterham Superlight, Ultima GTR Race, F-V10 G1, F-V10 G2 (F-V10 G2 with custom setup, all other cars with default setup). Caterham Superlight is a very nice car to drive in AMS1 but a tricky car to drive in AMS2 because of the laggy controls. I remember reading that the F-V10 G1 was broken after one of the recent updates and I'm guessing that still hasn't been fixed since the car feels very unpredictable. The other cars drive ok but I can still notice all the same controller issues.

Maybe for other players who use tap steering, or low steering sensitivity, or high speed sensitivity and/or high controller damping whatever changes Reiza implemented made a difference. For me with my driving style and my controller settings the controls in AMS2 feel exactly the same as they were before this update, the built-in filters/dampers are still there and cannot be turned of, and there's basically no vibration. I see no reason to keep testing, but I'll gladly give another try if Reiza implements any significant changes.

 

It's interesting to see the different ways to set the steering filters - like you say I'm one of those who tend to have quite high damping (65), and lower sensitivity (35) and that's with assists on. I'll try your opposite settings and see how it feels.

 

I still have a custom curve and definitely forced dead zones using "wheel" and gamepad profiles (using gyro input) , also steering is still delayed, switching games to one that does accept raw input raw is still night and day.
Still hoping for raw input so we can tune on controller side (with steam profiles).
If you set up your controller to only output on the horizontal plane and think it "feels" better / more responsive , try remapping your axis , sometimes the vertical input gets "stuck" in the game logic completely altering the input curve on the horizontal plane as well (generally making it more responsive).

 

I have pretty much the same settings as you. I'm curious to know your feelings with opposite parameters.

 

I agree with @FS7, it's a bit slower. I tried rF2 to compare and it's much faster. The thing is if you set damping to 0, it should be very fast rate. On the other hand I played this year Gran Turismo 7 and Grid Legends and they are worse. AMS2 is so good game I don't care about it now and this speed is rather OK to me.

Bad thing is new C8 has 20 degree lock and it's too much. I know, it's not racing car but it's not easy to drive on a gamepad.

 

I was just playing AMS1 with the controller setting quoted above, F-V10 at Nurburgring GP.
Setting all the rates at 100 feels just right for me, controls feel very responsive with zero lag/delay. Just out of curiosity I lowered all the rates to 50 and I did a few laps, and even with all the rates at 50 controls in AMS1 feel more responsive than AMS2 with controller damping at 0. The way it is currently with the built-in filters/dampers playing AMS2 with controller kind of feels like playing a FPS with mouse acceleration enabled, there's some weird delay in the inputs.

 

I've been trying out some of FS7's suggestions and it has been quite interesting. So with the curves and damping all off, zero deadzone etc I expected it to be a twitchy, uncontrollable drive but it was surprisingly compliant, to the point where it didn't feel significantly different to my previous high damping/low sensitivity settings. What did seem to make a difference was setting the thumbstick as a wheel and calibrating it as such, that was a good tip and feels nicer so thanks to FS7.
I'm starting to realise FS7's point about underlying damping being present now; it's movement about the centre where I notice it more, and I've been making comparisons with Gran Turismo to try and pinpoint some improvement suggestions. For me and my style of playing when I use a pad GT7 is the gold standard - I'm a wheel user really so I don't have great pad skills, so I run with all assists on, which is probably the more casual player profile. What GT7 manages to do really well is replicate the feel of driving with a wheel, so the small corrections you make without even thinking are somehow taken care of and you have a smoothness and precision to place the car that gives confidence.
In GT7 if you make the tiniest smooth movement around centre it replicates it exactly, no deadzone no damping. But if you make a big dramatic movement it's more damped and delayed. If you release the stick from full lock as the wheel returns to centre it's damped even more keeping the car stable.
In AMS2, small smooth movements around centre feel like there is still damping/deadzone even if this is zero in the settings, and I'm guessing this is FS7's big beef. They also feel equally damped in both directions.
I tried AMS1 and the gamepad control did feel really good, with that very sensitive control around centre that GT7 has and it handled very well with very little tweaking.
All this testing was done on Steam Deck by the way and I have been really enjoying playing this way. I reckon if Reiza can improve the tiny movements around centre then it will be just about perfect.

 

Agreed, making quick small corrections is pretty much impossible in AMS2 because of the built-in filters that cannot be turned off.
I've been doing races against AI in AMS1 in the past few days, and the whole time I'm playing AMS1 I'm amazed how in AMS1 I can make quick small corrections (moving the analog stick around 1-2mm) and catch slides way more easily than in AMS2, and I can also react to AI's unpredictable moves way better in AMS1 than in AMS2 thanks to the more responsive controls.

 

Hello there. Try steam controller layout setting anti-deadzone for left stick. Maybe that will help a bit? I did not have to do this because my controller is old and left stick movement is pretty sensitive as it is. Xbox 360 wired controller. Left stick moves on that controller more than others. Little bit of wandering left to right. I tried other gamepads and came to solution that if I ever replace my current controller I will need to tweak that anti-deadzone setting. Try both sens in 75, damping 0 and deadzone 0. It's not perfect but it works for me. Before I had steer sens 40 and speed sens 60, then 50 both and now those are 75 both. Had to tweak a lot and test. Now I'm guite happy with these settings.

 

I'm always puzzled whenever people suggest messing around with Steam controller settings in AMS2. I use the same controller settings in all my racing games (sensitivities, deadzones, damping, rates, etc). In games such as rF1, rF2, GTR2, Race 07, R3E, GSCE, AMS1, AC, and ACC my Xbox 360 controller works fine with no filters/damping and no input delay, controls feel very responsive in those games (I never needed to mess around with Steam input in those games, all of them work fine with the in-game controller settings). But in games such as F1 games, PCars1/2, and AMS2, using the same controller settings I use in the games mentioned before controls feel laggy and unresponsive, with built-in filters that mess up and slow down my inputs, and even after trying literally every single controller setting in-game I cannot get controls to feel responsive as in games such as AMS1. If I use the exact same controller settings in both AMS1 & AMS2 controls should feel the same, not responsive in AMS1 and laggy in AMS2. That doesn't seem like a Steam input issue, it seems like an issue with AMS2 and/or the way controller inputs are handled by the Madness engine.

 

To myself F1 2022 (no speed sens setting, PS5 version) and both project cars games (console versions) have way worse controller support than AMS2. Though haven't tested AMS2 controller settings in project cars 2. Many times I have tried some settings but then uninstalled game.

That steam controller setting was just suggestion. It doesn't hurt to try.

I have played all of those games you mentioned. All games have at least great controller support. Okay rF2 doesn't have rumble. AMS2 have good controller support in my opinion. Rumble could be better. I have adapted to those settings what have been available to me. It took 2.5 years to perfect my settings in AMS2. At least is drivable now and behaves pretty well.

We are all different kind of players so what works for me maybe not working for you. I know the frustration when something is wrong and doesn't click correct way in racing games when it comes to controller settings.

I hope reiza do something about controller support to improve it further.

Cheers!

 

AMS1 gamepad control is surprisingly good I think, very Gran Turismo like to me. It was a bit of a faff getting the game running on the Steam Deck (need constant keyboard to navigate the game) but once I got on track it was very satisfying and it belts along at 60fps.
This is for a game that is unsupported on Deck according to Steam, so it shouldn't even run at all.
Although once you get back into AMS2 you certainly appreciate a well designed UI that is almost fully functional with a pad

 

I redid the pad tests after the last update and I must say that I am rather satisfied. Of course, it is possible to refine the direction which sometimes may seem too abrupt and to add filter options. But I like what Reiza offers today.
On the other hand, I must say it but I have a problem with certain gt3 and gt4 which are too lively, the BMW gt4 is the worst for me. I have less difficulty running a Formula 1 car than some GTs, it's relatively unpleasant

 

I tried many games again and it looks like AMS2 has mostly rather low steering rate (with maximum slider settings). So maybe a bit tuning of it could help? You don't need to program anything, just tune steering rate slider in the game.

 

How are you guys finding AMS2 on digital devices since 1.4.8?

Initially it seems to me the newly updated cars are less twitchy/over responsive to inputs and it´s possible to use lower damping and speed sensitivy value but perhaps it´s because they are mostly single seaters.

 

I am gamepad player and using xbox 360 controller. Damping 0 and speed sens 75, steering sens 75. Cars handle quite well in my opinion.

 

wish : add more option to set the gamepad settings so that we can experiment.
Also would be great to have something like ffb_custom_settings.txt working with gamepad so that we could also try to trigg event (bump, rumble, road,...) as vibration variation level.

edit: also had to mention is it really very good with gamepad with 1.5, adding some road felling as subtile vibration would just be perfect !