Hello,

Straight to the point.. I got mouse and not long time ago bought a gamepad as well.

I am comfortable with mouse and got no problems with it... but that means I can't control throttle properly what can be an issue when it comes to powerful cars, or simply trying to get the maximum out of the car in corners or wherever.

So my question would be whether I should try and get used to using game pad with which I can control throttle quite precisely but it seems like steering is tricky.. and I'm not sure if it's because I'm not used to it or if it's just not as good as using mouse for steering?

Ok, would it be possible to fit a wheel on the table, leaving some space for myself too .. obviously

.. few horrible pics, but you'll get the idea...
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5403/img1205.jpg
As ya can see the table is a bit stupid... then there'd be a problem to sit back away from the table - as I assume I'd need more space if I had a wheel mounted on the table...Mainly because I've got that armchair thingy behind the proper chair
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/4655/img1206u.jpg

and would the wheel actually fit nicely o nthe table? so that I would have it directly in front of the screen...?

Does she know you watch her with those binoculars

I'd try every option to bring the pad's steering to be sufficiently smooth, but would stick to mousing if that failed. At least you can reduce button control rate for smoother throttle and brake on powerful cars, even if it means you have to be patient to not fry the clutch. Axis sensitivity, analogue steer smooth, dxtweak, less steering lock and stuff like that could help, but I've never used a pad axis for steering so can't say much else about that.

Yep, definitely, that's what the binoculars are used for!

Well so far I've been struggling with the game pad, mainly because there's some sort of "death zone" at the center point of the joystick which is a bit annoying if you're trying to be really precise... probably that made no sense :/

Anyone who owns G25 could tell me whether there would be space for me and the wheel?

Have you tried toggling the remove deadzones setting in controls > axes / ff? DXTweak2 might also be able to get rid of it if you tweak the steering axis graph.

Quote from NotAnIllusion :

Have you tried toggling the remove deadzones setting in controls > axes / ff? DXTweak2 might also be able to get rid of it if you tweak the steering axis graph.

I did play with the settings a bit, but I meant the deadzones on the gamepad itself. As the controllers always "comeback" to the center, therefore the centre isn't as responsive as 'fine steering' with mouse.

The depth of the G25 (i.e. how much table you need) is roughly 17 centimetres. It looks like you could fit it to that table but you'd need to move the keyboard out of the way (you'd have to move it to a location where you could access it when you're racing anyway plus it's wireless so it doesn't seem like an issue).

edit: Added a picture (excuse the dust)

Tha, and does it seem like I'd have enough space to sit back ? *as there's an armchair behind me*

I made an stupid measure

Put my thumb under the table, and the other fingers over it, and thats exactly my driving position with G25.

I supose this should be a standard measure in human body hehe

Quote from amp88 :

The depth of the G25 (i.e. how much table you need) is roughly 17 centimetres. It looks like you could fit it to that table but you'd need to move the keyboard out of the way (you'd have to move it to a location where you could access it when you're racing anyway plus it's wireless so it doesn't seem like an issue).

edit: Added a picture (excuse the dust)

Thanks for the addition of the picture, the amount of space it'd would take on teh table I don't think would be a problem, as I can move they keyboard otu of the way and so on. Could someone measure and tell me how much space the wheel takes with the shifter lengthwise ?

+ does it stick out a lot from the table

The shifter is about 3-4 centimetres deeper than the G25 wheel unit. It sticks out from the table a few centimetres less than the wheel unit.

is there any particular reason why you dont use the gamepad for acceleration and braking and the mouse for steering?

Because it's physically impossible to hold a mouse and gamepad?

Pad in left, mouse in right. Pad triggers for looking and mouse buttons for shifting. I'd say it would be very uncomfortable to use a pad with one hand for long periods of time though.

I have thought of that, but I'm not gonna shift with the mouse, I've tried and did not like it... + I tend to use mouse buttons for horn + flashlights ; )

And yeah.. I think it would be rather uncomfortable lol

For Game pad steering
Some actual values might help of course.

If its too sensitive,

Controls >> Wheel Turn 90 deg
Controls >> wheel turn compensation 1.00

Misc >> analog steer smooth to a high value, max is 0.95.
The higher the number the slower the virtual wheel turns around as you move the stick.
(I use about 0.8 which is quite responsive, but not too twitchy for me)


My controller which is a PS3 Clone USB Logitech Wireless has no dead zone at all. I tried out another brand once that looked like the original boomerang design for PS3, can't remember the name... But it had a small dead zone and made controlling the car completely impossible. If you have a dead zone built into your sticks then this might be making it hard for you.

Also if you have trained on mouse for a long time it will take equally a long time to get good at joypad.

For Wheel

If you put the wheel at the front of the desk the keyboard will sit nicely on the left side where there is extra space to put it. It's easier (on your back) to type on the side with one hand than reach over the wheel to type out in front. IMO.

It takes just a few seconds to detach the wheel from the desk with its deskmount nuts.

Put your PC box up against the left wall for more feet space.

For me the normal sitting/typing position is about 10cms from my body to the desk.
You only need the chair to go back about 30 cms from the normal sitting/typing position for a wheel. A chair with a even a small tilt back will mean you will not have to slide it back as far.
I think you have enough room.

edit: I am 175cms or 5'9"

first post here hello all!

anyway i use gamepad at the moment, dont really find any problems with steering
settings i use:
wheel turn 90
wheel turn compensation 1.00
button control rate 2
and analogue steer smooth 0.00

dont know if it will act the same on your gamepad though, im using a madcatz 360 ripoff for the time being.

as ive been using this for a few weeks, how long does anybody think it will take to get used to a wheel when i eventually get one? few weeks maybe once i get paid

Welcome to the forum Well personally I don't think it will take anything to get used to a wheel as it is sort of.. the most natural way of controlling a car, I assume? Unless you don't drive in the real world and you're planning on using the clutch + shifter properly ? What should take some time to get used to... (If you'll be getting G25 or something like that) ...

I think it takes longer to get used to gamepad/mouse as it is a more unusual way of controlling.

But if it's just a wheel with up/down shifter.. + throttle and brakes I don't think it would take any time getting used to that?

Once you've learnt to drive to a reasonable standard with any controller, it will feel like it's taking forever. It took me a fairly "long" time, certainly more than weeks and I ended up going back to mouse for serious races every now and then. Time taken to relearn shouldn't really be an issue, in the end it'll take as long as it takes but will be worth it because it's a WHEEL

yea i know how to drive in the real world
but i mean its not like i drive around like i drive in this game
i guess it wont take that long then, only one way to find out isnt there

Well of course it takes time to gain skills in this game and get used to driving like a crazy man... but you shouldn't be having trouble with the actual controller (wheel in this case). It's just gonna be a matter of experience in racing in the actual game I think..

I would say (from experience with this)

Save your money, and buy a wheel, you have plenty of desk space, and if you need any more than you can easily clean off your desk just a bit to make a touch more space, but I promise you have plenty.

I was using a wireless Xbox 360 controller, and never got online.. for two reasons.
One I was at school.. internet was terribly slow the times I was playing so I would lag out near instantly.
Two the controls were so hard, it was near impossible for me to be consistent, now.. I'm not saying it's not possible, but getting used to a gamepad takes much more time than it would with a wheel and pedals.


Now, on to space wise again.

Take your computer box, move it to the left from where it is, that way you have leg room and can face it directly. Now you can have your keyboard off to your left a little bit, and a wheel will fit there in front of your monitory very easily, plus then you don't have to reach over the wheel to hit F9 F12 or type something, now it's.. right next to you which is much easier.

I vote for save your money and buy a wheel, it's worth it, I've had my Momo Racing wheel for 5 years now, besides a few issues with the pedals I have fixed myself.. no problems at all! Plus if you look around you can get them for really good prices!

I guess I could manage to get a wheel... seems like the cheapest I could get g25 for would be around 120 quid.. or so... How about 2nd hand market? Not worth taking the risk?

Also Personally I'd like to have the gearstick on the left instead of the right... But I don't think that'd be the most ideal layout on my table... if I got g25... would be quite curious to learn to shift properly + clutch...

What wheels would you recommend?

Momo (Racing Force) has a detachable stick, which can be placed on either side. G25 has a completely separate shift unit that you can place where you want.

Quote from NotAnIllusion :

Momo (Racing Force) has a detachable stick, which can be placed on either side. G25 has a completely separate shift unit that you can place where you want.

Yep... but I don't think I actually could have the stick on the left side of the wheel.. as then the wheel wouldnt be directly in front of the screen : ) Oh well...

Anyway any comments about wheels are welcome... the last one I had was when i was around 7-9 years old... so in other words.. haven't got clue about the wheels right now