Equal gearboxes and steering wheels during online play

[Slawomir Judek]

Hi. Does anybody know if AC will have something, I don't know an application, a file, whatever, controling what gearbox and steering wheel drivers use on a server? Maybe some restrictions that only people with this steering wheel or this can enter a server, with this type of gearbox and this. Also I think that controling in-game steering lock and profiler degrees of rotation will be a good idea. Is it possible at all? I heard that LFS has something similar. Is it true?

 

[Vinicius Matheus]

In most sims, people race with no regard as to the real steering angle of the simulated race car and that is slightly annoying to me... perhaps an option to lock the steering wheel angle server-wide could be implemented. That would level the playing field a bit more tho I don't see how this could be done.

 

[William Levesque]

Well, seeing we'll get proper tyre physics, if other people want to burst their tyres to dust with ridiculous steering ratios, then they shall be my guests

 

[Jorge Alves]

Maybe that can be one of the "modders job" like "lapper" did in LFS. We could there restrain drivers to wheels, h-shifter box, and manual clutch racing the mini "UFR"

... its was quite restritive and only few drivers did participate but the few of us who did had great times ... one of the bests i had in Simulator Racing knowing everyone there was racing as real as possible

 

[Slawomir Judek]

Let's be honest. There isn't too many drivers who really want to race as close to reality as possible. We can't account on people's honesty that they will be racing with the same steering lock, gearbox, etc. as in real life. We also know that this game is for wide range of people but, for God sake , if not Assetto Corsa then what other game can really care about this very small group of simracers. I believe that this title (Assetto Corsa), not from the very beginning but after several updates and modifications, can make virtual racing a craft and not another lapping, towing, crashing and pressing esc button game. It's not the problem that mode for "wider range of drivers" will be implemented, no, but it would be a problem for me if, let's call this "hardcore mode" won't be developted and taken into consideration seriously (as far as I know this mode will be implemented). I have no idea how to do this but if, like Jogre said, modders could do the "lapper" then developers from Assetto Corsa would do something simmilar or even more detailed as well and their goal should be to implement as many things adding realism as possible, in my opinion.

 

[Ian Strom]

I get wanting to race with like-minded people who have all the same toys. I really do. But you need some leeway in the settings otherwise you will be alone on the track.

What if I did not race with you because you did not use TrackIR? (or do you? but you get my point)


Any restrictions need to be flexible to the requirement of the server admin and the people racing on it. So as long as that happens, I would like to see some of these options. (just do not limit to certain brands of wheel or anything that would require frequent updates from the devs ten years from now.)

 

[Damien Wintz]

I personally think that restricting people with specific hardware is a bad idea. It is shrinking even more an already extremely small player pool.
The best way to have fair races is to "penalize" people who don't operate the car as they should be. For instance, if you use paddles on a manual car, it should artificially create a lag when shifting. Same thing should go if you can't blip, etc.

For steering lock, I don't think there is a way of checking if the lock angle is the same in the wheel as the one set in the game's config... So the solution to avoid "cheaters" would be to force the on-screen display of the wheel, so that it creates a discomfort when what the player sees is not what happens on his wheel, of you see what I mean.

 

[William Levesque]

Actually, it's what they did, if you pay attention to what Aris said countless times

 

[Slawomir Judek]

Well, I want admin of a server to have a possibility to restrict seetings I mentioned before. I don't care that 90% of servers won't use it. It's not my problem. However, people who really want to race with equal steering wheels, gearboxes, etc. should have the possiblity. Again, I repeat, it should be an option, an admin wants to use it, great, he doesn't - ok, he's choice.

 

[Slawomir Judek]

I get wanting to race with like-minded people who have all the same toys. I really do. But you need some leeway in the settings otherwise you will be alone on the track.
What if I did not race with you because you did not use TrackIR? (or do you? but you get my point)

I think, it won't be difficult to find 20, 25 drivers with the same steering wheel or with different steering wheels but with the same degrees of rotation, etc. TrackIR I use but it's a different thing, because you move your head left and right and you can configure your buttons on the steering wheel with thesame effect. Hovewer, this stupid virtual mirror should be banned .

 

[Ian Strom]

You need the virtual mirror if you want to use what is generally recognized as a realistic field of view.
Unless you sit a few inches away from your massive display or have six large displays in front of you.

I cannot drive while only seeing a postage stamp of road in front of me, but some do. *shrug*

 

[William Levesque]

For us poor souls who can only afford a single screen, virtual mirrors are a must.

I don't want to run at 120FOV just so I can see the damn mirrors.....

 

[Slawomir Judek]

I also use one screen. Ok, I have TrackIR but still, some cars don't have center mirror. Then you have only sideways mirrors which, if you don't have TrackIR or something simmilar, you can check with your buttons on the steering wheel. In this case virtual mirror in the middle of the screen gives you unfair advantage, being able to see, control almost all the time and giving you the feeling you know what is going on behind you. If a car has a center mirror then usually it's located and it's big enough to control it with normal FOV. Still I have a feeling you think I want to banned everything, no. I just want to have these options available for this very little group of drivers who wants to race in conditions closer to reality. As I said, magiority of servers, leagues, etc. will have a lot of options available, like in the simulators, people are currently playing. It's ok. Their choice. It's not a problem for me and I respect that. Hovewer, I'm more then 100% sure that we'll find about 20 drivers in whole simracing community who want to race in closer to reality conditions and with the same steering wheels. And it also should be taken into consideration by the developer respected and implemented.

 

[William Levesque]

In real life you can easily look at your mirrors without stopping to glance at what's ahead. On a screen, by pressing a button you lose focus. Try doing that in a braking zone when you want to assest where the other guy is !

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for proper driving, but stuff like virtual mirrors are a must when you play on a screen, much more realistic if you don't have 3 screens. Those who use the look right/left buttons to look at their mirrors are a complete hazard to everyone, because as I said, you stop paying attention to where you are going completely, and you need to actually press the key to look, aswell as maybe changing gear ? C'mon....

 

[Slawomir Judek]

And how about open wheelers then? They don't have center mirrors. Should all with one screen use virtual center mirror then? I can't agree that people using buttons are a complete hazard as I had been doing that for a long time since I purchased TrackIR and I didn't have any problems and I had never wrecked at anybody. I hope we both are talking about center virtual mirror, right? I'm not talking about sideways virtual mirrors which can help you spot cars on the right and left an very close to your car but can't help you with what is exactly behind you. By the way, you wouldn't have to join servers like that if you don't want

 

[William Levesque]

It's just a matter of common sense, you can't replicate what you see in the real car unless you have 3 monitors. To argue about the center mirror is pushing it a bit to be honest.

Although I do like the idea of having servers set-up with cockpit view, real degrees of rotation/steering ratio and transmissions, these are things you can easily simulate in a sim racing game compared to what is done in real life. (Although the shifters still are somewhat toyish, unless you pay 500+$, and the pedals have less travel, especially the clutch which also has no physical biting point...)

 

[Slawomir Judek]

I think it's just a cultural discussion. And we shouldn't compare real equpment with steering wheels we have. Let's hope settings adding realism and making the game more difficult will be implemented in Assetto Corsa or Rfactor 2.

 

[Nathan Robinson]

I think it's just a cultural discussion. And we shouldn't compare real equpment with steering wheels we have. Let's hope settings adding realism and making the game more difficult will be implemented in Assetto Corsa or Rfactor 2.

I dont think making a sim more difficult means it's more realistic. Most drivers will tell you it's easier to drive a real race car than some of these sims. I dont believe we can ever simulate hte true feeling of a racecar, so people just want it to be hard to drive. That way they feel some sense of accomplishment that they can do something not everyone can do. If you want to run races where the virtual center mirror isn't allowed than that's your right, but I wouldnt want to be in a race like that. The virtual center mirror provides more awareness, which under the limitations of sim equipment, is a great thing. I'm sure the process of checking your mirrors in a real f1 car is fairly simple but in a sim it isn't that simple at all (depending on FOV). I feel that trying to make everything realistic may actually hinder the realism of the racing. I'd rather be trying to pass someone who is using a virtual center mirror and knows exactly where i am, than someone who is guessing on a few side mirror glances. Seems more dangerous and unrealistic to me.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

I dont think making a sim more difficult means it's more realistic. Most drivers will tell you it's easier to drive a real race car than some of these sims. I dont believe we can ever simulate hte true feeling of a racecar, so people just want it to be hard to drive.

Imagine driving a real car without G-forces on your body. Do you think that would be easy?
Should games be made easier because you can´t feel G-forces or should the game replicate reality as best it can, regardless of G-force?

"so people just want it to be hard to drive."

I doubt it....

 

[Nathan Robinson]

Imagine driving a real car without G-forces on your body. Do you think that would be easy?
Should games be made easier because you can´t feel G-forces or should the game replicate reality as best it can, regardless of G-force?


I doubt it....

I never said they should be made easy, it's just that making it more difficult doesnt make it more realistic. If you're having to work harder on the wheel and pedals than you would in real life, just because you cant feel g forces, that doesnt make it very real at all either. There is an argument from both sides, and I dont want it to be easy, I just want it to be immersive and have real life characteristics.

Edited; oops