F1 2014 Override Input Device

krunk7 · Dec 18, 2014

Hello,

i'm playing on a keyboard (yeah), and obviously playing the game is not the same as it would have been on the wheel. Supposedly, by setting override input device to steering wheel, wheel movements/steering should be replicated on a keyboard, right? Well, not in my case. When I set the override input device to steering wheel, turning goes nuts. Even with the slight touch on a keyboard, the wheel (ingame wheel) steers completely to that side, whether It's right or left (advanced wheel settings are all set to 0).

Does this happens only to me or there's a fix to it?

Graham Laing · Dec 18, 2014

You should leave that setting alone.

The two settings 'Steering Wheel', and 'Game Pad' are for those devices, not to simulate those devices. As you are not using either of two devices, you should leave the setting at it's default.

Your turning is going 'nuts' when set to steering wheel, because using that setting removes the damping effect build in to the game for keyboards and game pads. When the using a wheel the car is pretty unresponsive to your input unless you use that setting.

Game pads and keyboards are not particularly good input devices when precision is required.

Game Pads - Even though they use analogue (good) sticks for steering, they have such a limited range of movement, it's hard to be precise when steering. You will have constant over-steering (think of zig-zagging when trying to go in a straight line), because there is not enough fidelity in those small stick potentiometers. So the 'Game Pad' setting helps damp out some of that over-steering, smoothing the input so that you can steer more accurately.

Keyboards - An even worse input device because it's digital (bad). You are sending a series of on-off pulses to the game. They are full ON and full OFF. So it's hard left and hard right each time you press a key. Same goes for the throttle and brake. Full throttle or No Throttle. Full Braking or No Braking. All this on/off stuff needs to be damped out and smoothed to make the car drivable.

Using a device setting that doesn't match your device, will give you what you got. Instead of a smoothed, damped signal being sent to your car steering to make it drivable, you've got no smoothing or damping being used (because steering wheels don't need it). So when you steer right ........... you indeed go HARD right. Making the car undrivable.

It is also for this reason that wheel users must use the 'Steering Wheel' setting. You see posts in the forum, "help my car won't turn in to the corner". Most of the time the reason is that they haven't set that setting. So their steering inputs are so smoothed and damped, they can't turn the steering fully when needed.

Cheers

krunk7 · Dec 18, 2014

Oh, alright then, thanks on clarification.

Another thing, as I've been following quite few racing leagues on F1 2014, I've noticed the players who are racing on a pad, seem to have kind of the same smooth movement as they were on a wheel. I do, in fact have a pad of my own, and I'm not quite able to accomplish that kind of steering. I've seen threads on forums, more precisely this one, where players are suggesting pad users to use override steering wheel to make the races more equal. I'm not quite sure how is that possible since if I would put override steering wheel on my pad, I'm would get the same ''full lock left or right'' as I would get on a keyboard with that option on.

Mind clarifying it for me?

Graham Laing · Dec 18, 2014

I can't clarify I'm afraid. After all there is a wide range of pads available, and I guess some are better than others.

I am guessing that the 'more equal' argument is from wheel users that hate the idea of a pad user getting a free 'assist' i.e that smoothing and damping.

"It's not a fair race .... boo! hoo! ...... you've got a steering assist"

Apart for that, it's what you are used to. Everyone is different, some wheel users like a slower wheel, but very precise, and may set their wheel rotation to 540 degrees or the full 900 degrees many wheels have (turn a lot for little steering input). Some like 360 degrees, or a very responsive 180 degrees (turn a little for a lot of steering input). The same probably applies to Pads, and let's face it, if you have no choice you learn to use what you've got, and might become pretty good at it.

I can only generalise here, and try to give idea why these setting are there.

I've tried a pad, I absolutely hated it, and would never use one again. My pad is only good for arcade games as far as I am concerned, games like Blur. Any driving game which needs modicum of skill would have to be a wheel for me.

I am not slagging off pad users here. Many have grew up with them and have consoles, so their usage is second nature to them. I couldn't use one for a first person shooter either, but console users get an aiming assist in those games generally, for much the same reason why this game has a Game Pad setting, I assume

As for keyboards for driving ....... I won't even go there

....... times have changed

krunk7 · Dec 19, 2014

I've been playing with the advanced wheel settings a bit and I somehow managed to replicate wheel movements on a keyboard to some extent. Obviously the movements aren't as smooth as they would have been on a wheel but I'm satisfied.

Thanks for your effort and quick responses.