If you’re new to F1 2021 or you’ve just never understood force feedback, then this is the guide for you!
Photo credit: Codemasters / EA
F1 2021 provides players with a variety of options when it comes to force feedback. The customisability is a very useful tool, but for many it also seems confusing and hard to comprehend. As such, we’ve come up with this beginners guide to force feedback in F1 2021, including an introduction to force feedback, how you should be using it, couple of specific setting recommendations too!
If you want to see some more F1 2021 guides, take a look at our guide hub here!
What is Force Feedback?
Force feedback is what we call the vibrational response your wheel or gamepad gives you when you do certain things on track. Ever felt your controller rumble when you run across some gravel? That’s force feedback in action.
In F1 2021 there are a few different aspects of the force feedback system, which can be found in the force feedback and vibrations page of the controller settings menu. The first of these is on track effects, which refers to things such as marbles and dust on a circuit, as well as lumps and bumps. These features don’t play a massive role in F1 2021, with the exception of some bumps in the road.
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Then there are the rumble strip effects. These tend to be a little overzealous in F1 2021 but they serve to alert you to the fact that your tyres are currently on some kerbing. Off track effects refer to the feeling of grass and gravel under your car, like in the example we gave earlier.
Wheel damper is perhaps the most important aspect of the force feedback system, as it gives you information about the grip levels of your tyres. Finally there is the understeer enhance feature, which gives a clearer indication as to when your car is understeering. This can be useful for those who struggle with this issue in particular.
How should I use Force Feedback?
Some applications of force feedback, like the example given above, are more designed for overall immersion than to give you a competitive edge, but some of the more subtle vibrations can be very important when it comes to getting the most out of your car.
It’s important that you understand why you are receiving force feedback at any given moment, at least on an instinctual level. Otherwise the information is relatively useless. If you really want to build an understand you can turn on and off certain aspects of the force feedback, so you can see what differences they make for yourself.
Most of all, what you need to do is to pay attention to your vibrations. If you drive without traction control, for instance, feeling vibrations as you try to lay down the power can give you a crucial indication that you need to ease off of the throttle lest you spin out. React to the feedback the game gives you, and adapt to it.
Which Settings Should I Use?
This is a tough question to give one answer for. In truth, different players will thrive with different force feedback settings, and it also depends heavily on what you’re using to drive. One recommendation is to lower the on track and off track effect levels.
For the former, on track aspects such as marbles don’t cause a significant loss of grip in F1 2021, so the feedback you get from it can cause you to be more cautious than you need to. As for the off track effects, well, it should be pretty obvious to you when you’re off track regardless!
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In their place, raise your wheel damper levels. As we mentioned earlier, for most people this will be the most important part of the force feedback system, so giving it priority in the settings will force you to pay it more attention! However, be careful not to turn it so high that it gives you ‘false positives’ where you feel a loss of grip that is hardly even there.
At the end of the day, the best thing you can do is experiment. Tweak the settings one way or another and then drive a few laps, before repeating the process. You should soon find the setup which is right for you!
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