Accomodating both wheel and gamepad players in racing games and sims is always a tough challenge for any developer. For F1 23, EA Sports and Codemasters introduce Precision Drive, which is aimed at controller racers - and it seems like the creators of the latest Formula 1 game are on to something with it.
Image credit: EA Sports
Hitting apexes consistently and making small adjustments to your steering input are usually much easier on a wheel and pedal setup, at least once you are used to it. A controller's analog stick offers a much smaller range of steering, and tweaking the settings in a way that they feel just right can be a matter of hours of trial and error - if not more. In some titles, getting to this point is even close to impossible. Precision Drive could be a pad player's best friend in F1 23, however.
The system is enabled by default in the pre-release version, and while no adjustments can be made to it just yet, this is something that is going to be included in the full game, as per the first Deep Dive video. The provided settings do show the system's potential, however. To see for ourselves if it improves car control on a gamepad, we tried Precision Drive using a wireless Xbox One controller and no assists at a rather tricky circuit - Imola.
Of course, the first few laps felt a bit awkward, but what immediately stood out was the absence of jerky steering wheel movement. Instead, the animation looked natural, and it did not feel like this was just for the looks, either. Precision Drive is not a steering aid in the classic assist sense, but rather a way to get smoother input out of a gamepad the way the driver prefers it.
While the non-chicane turns were not much of a problem anymore after a few laps, the left-right and right-left combinations proved a bit trickier to get right, especially without violating track limits. However, nailing those apexes meant that we were not too far off our lap times from when we used a wheel and pedals. Most importantly, it did not feel the slightest bit frustrating, but rather motivating to keep going and improve. Even small slides could be corrected, which was unexpected, but very positive.
More control for better on-track battles - Precision Drive feels promising already. Image Credit: EA Sports
Once players are able to adjust and tweak parameters of Precision Drive to suit their preferences better, it should prove even more helpful in providing players with better control over their cars - which should improve gameplay in lobbies with mixed grids of drivers with wheels and with pads considerably.
Image credit: EA Sports
Hitting apexes consistently and making small adjustments to your steering input are usually much easier on a wheel and pedal setup, at least once you are used to it. A controller's analog stick offers a much smaller range of steering, and tweaking the settings in a way that they feel just right can be a matter of hours of trial and error - if not more. In some titles, getting to this point is even close to impossible. Precision Drive could be a pad player's best friend in F1 23, however.
The system is enabled by default in the pre-release version, and while no adjustments can be made to it just yet, this is something that is going to be included in the full game, as per the first Deep Dive video. The provided settings do show the system's potential, however. To see for ourselves if it improves car control on a gamepad, we tried Precision Drive using a wireless Xbox One controller and no assists at a rather tricky circuit - Imola.
Challenging Chicanes
Getting the approach to the Tamburello and Villeneuve chicanes just right is essential to a good lap time and not easy even on a wheel, so the circuit seemed like a perfect test track among those included. After a few reference laps using a wheel and pedals, we switched to the controller, and the Xbox One pad has two presets included in the controls settings already.Of course, the first few laps felt a bit awkward, but what immediately stood out was the absence of jerky steering wheel movement. Instead, the animation looked natural, and it did not feel like this was just for the looks, either. Precision Drive is not a steering aid in the classic assist sense, but rather a way to get smoother input out of a gamepad the way the driver prefers it.
While the non-chicane turns were not much of a problem anymore after a few laps, the left-right and right-left combinations proved a bit trickier to get right, especially without violating track limits. However, nailing those apexes meant that we were not too far off our lap times from when we used a wheel and pedals. Most importantly, it did not feel the slightest bit frustrating, but rather motivating to keep going and improve. Even small slides could be corrected, which was unexpected, but very positive.
More control for better on-track battles - Precision Drive feels promising already. Image Credit: EA Sports
Verdict
If the early preview of Precision Drive is any indication, EA and Codemasters might be onto something in regards of bridging the gap between wheel and controller players. The system managed to avoid feeling artificial, but is actually helpful with the default settings provided in the pre-release version of F1 23.Once players are able to adjust and tweak parameters of Precision Drive to suit their preferences better, it should prove even more helpful in providing players with better control over their cars - which should improve gameplay in lobbies with mixed grids of drivers with wheels and with pads considerably.
