F1 2012 PC Noob in need of CSW advice

[whaletail]

A month ago I was safely playing Forza & F1 2012 with my CSR-E using an amalgam of wheel/in game settings from RD and the Codemasters forum. I thought setting that up was a battle. My only computer experience was learning OS X on my MacBook Pro.

After browsing far too widely within RD, I've now built myself a pretty fast PC and an Obutto R3volution cockpit. TBH, I can't believe the PC managed to POST, let alone boot into Windows 7 and launch F1 2012. I hate to be annoying but this may be the first of a number of posts related to setting up a stable PC sim-racing experience.

I am using a CSW/Formula Rim & CSP V2 hard mounted to the Obutto.

My biggest concerns initially are:

1) Although I never felt that amazing sense of "weight" in F1 201X on Xbox that the best driving games impart -- where the car really feels connected to the road surface (as opposed to floating above it) -- F1 2012 on PC feels very odd. Not floaty per se, but still frictionless. I guess I don't feel the grip very much at all, but am hopeful.

2) The steering feels both slow, and slow to respond to my inputs. I think this contributes mightily to my above issue. It feels like the wheel is setup with a low steering angle/lock. It also feels fairly heavy. This markedly contrasts with the amazing steering imparted by the CSR-E + Formula Rim on Xbox.

I understand that PC simming will require my effort and patience, but should be uniquely rewarding once stable. I was finally inspired to climb the PC gaming mountain by all of your posts on RD, so I'm hopeful you guys/girls/women etc. can help me setup a proper foundation.

I'm not looking for that magic setting, but I thought perhaps you all might be able to provide some general insights (assuming my concerns aren't nonsensical) regarding how I might alleviate, at least partially, some of these issues.

Although familiar with both the wheel & in game settings from my Xbox days, I'm very unfamiliar with the CSW settings. I've also heard that wheels feel very different with PCs than consoles. For these reasons and more, I'd like to hear from you guys before wildly changing settings on my own.

Sorry for the longwinded post and perhaps vague descriptions, but I'm happy to provide any additional hardware or other info if asked.

Thanks in advance for any insights proffered, and thanks to everyone (& the RD staff) for being such a knowledgeable and helpful community.

Henk

 

[Giancarlo Pigati]

Hey Henk,

I'm surprised no one has replied to your post, I think people are already looking into F1 2013 and forgetting last year's game. In any case, my suggestion to your 2nd issue would be to browse this forum's threads until you find one with your wheel's manufacturer in the title (try the Search feature). That's what I did a few months ago - I had to test about 3 or 4 wheel setups but eventually I found one I liked and have been using it ever since.

I don't know what to tell you about the 'not feeling the surface' issue you have with the game. Problem being that I think you're looking for a sim-like experience out of a game that is not a sim at all. F1 2012 and really, all the titles in the series, have never been a sim nor will they ever be so... They're not Arcade per-se but they sit closer to that than a true sim. So I don't know that you can expect those sort of things out of this game.

I love the F1 series, don't get me wrong... But if you want something that is really life-like I would suggest other PC Titles instead

 

[whaletail]

Giancarlo-

Thanks for the advice. As a mediocre Forza driver finally switching to PC, I'm a little intimidated by the PC learning curve associated with both sim racing and developing a stable gaming platform itself. By the latter I mean, coming from consoles and Mac OS X, which are both (to varying degrees) "they just work" walled gardens. PC architecture, I'm discovering is very open but with that comes the need to learn a lot as you can have such disparate experiences with similar hardware. Understanding how to install mods, let alone the games themselves, adjusting graphics settings, and simply learning to use Windows itself has been very rewarding, but often overwhelming.

F1 2012, being a console port, is less "open world" than e.g. iRacing or rFactor, so I'm trying to get used to running that stably. With less wheel settings to adjust etc. it provides (I hope) an intermediate stepping stone such that iRacing won't be as frustrating/intimidating as it would were I to have jumped right in. I'm also trying to learn how to optimize and use Windows properly before jumping into the mods I'm already salivating over. Understanding where files install on the C Drive, and learning what the different file extensions mean seems important if I want to get the most from the experience.

Just building a PC and my Obutto R3volution from parts was an ultimately rewarding experience, but it certainly featured some moments of utter frustration. Now I want to justify those expenses of money and effort with a commensurate amount of fun.

Finally (and I apologize for the monologue), I've been able to adjust both the wheel and in-game settings such that the car actually feels, at least to a reasonable extent, connected to the track. Originally the car felt weight less, and the light steering was way too sensitive. After a shift way too far in the other direction, the Force India (career mode) chassis feels very close to my ambitious expectations. Thankfully, F1 2012 has fewer options (I presume) than many hardcore sims, and hopefully I'm learning some sim racing basics that will help me keep my head above water when I begin a sim like iRacing.

Perhaps soon, however, while I'm busy striving to keep the Solstice out of the gravel, you'll have the opportunity to blow by me in iRacing.

Henk

 

[Giancarlo Pigati]

Actually, I think F1 2012 is the racing game I play the most. I don't really do iRacing or other sims... I do like my racing games to be a bit arcadey (not a lot but just enough). So if you ever want to race in F1 2012, just add me on Steam and we'll do it. Otherwise, you can also check the league I organize: http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/forums/pc-saturday-league.55/

We just finished Season 1 and we'll be doing a Mini-Championship while we wait for F1 2013. So yeah, have fun with your setup!