FFB question

[dave kirk]

Hi,
I have looked through some of the other posts I could find concerning this but there seems to be some conflicting answers,
What settings work best for SPRING and DAMPER
I have tried 0% - 50% - 100% and although I like the weighty feel of 100% more I am definitely losing some of the subtle feedback.

I am running a Thrustmaster TX

Thanks for your help

 

[Marcel Offermans]

Both spring and damper settings should be left at 0% for the best possible force feedback from the car.

Let me explain both settings:

• Spring adds a centering spring force that increases linearly with rotation. It literally makes your wheel want to rotate back to the center position. The more you turn it, the bigger the force that will want to move it back. In the days before force feedback, wheels often used a physical center spring so they could provide some feedback to drivers. Nowadays, the forces calculated from the physics of the car do a much better job at that, providing you with a center force when you drive at speed (which is partially dependent on your actual car setup, for example caster settings) and not providing you with one if, for example, your car is standing still. So leave this setting at 0%.
• The damper makes the wheel "resist movement" making it heavier to turn in general. The faster you turn, the more it will resist. Again, this type of effect is not needed, as the physics will provide this kind of feedback when necessary. The only reason to add a bit of damping would be if your wheel starts vibrating when you are driving and provide a small steering input. This can happen because of delays in the input handling and a small amount of damping will counter that effect. So start with this at 0%, and only if you experience the effect above. Try a fast straight and at speed provide a bit of input for the wheel, then see/feel if it stabilises again and if not, add 10% damping and try again. Always try to get away with as little damping as possible though as it "muffles" the feedback in general.

Hope this helps.

 

[dave kirk]

Both spring and damper settings should be left at 0% for the best possible force feedback from the car.

Let me explain both settings:

• Spring adds a centering spring force that increases linearly with rotation. It literally makes your wheel want to rotate back to the center position. The more you turn it, the bigger the force that will want to move it back. In the days before force feedback, wheels often used a physical center spring so they could provide some feedback to drivers. Nowadays, the forces calculated from the physics of the car do a much better job at that, providing you with a center force when you drive at speed (which is partially dependent on your actual car setup, for example caster settings) and not providing you with one if, for example, your car is standing still. So leave this setting at 0%.
• The damper makes the wheel "resist movement" making it heavier to turn in general. The faster you turn, the more it will resist. Again, this type of effect is not needed, as the physics will provide this kind of feedback when necessary. The only reason to add a bit of damping would be if your wheel starts vibrating when you are driving and provide a small steering input. This can happen because of delays in the input handling and a small amount of damping will counter that effect. So start with this at 0%, and only if you experience the effect above. Try a fast straight and at speed provide a bit of input for the wheel, then see/feel if it stabilises again and if not, add 10% damping and try again. Always try to get away with as little damping as possible though as it "muffles" the feedback in general.

Hope this helps.

Thanks buddy, the most comprehensive response I've seen, this really helps, I suppose I will sacrifice some of the "weight" feel for better feedback

I do quite abit of go-karting and I was trying to get a similar weight feel to that, I suppose a DD wheel would be the only way to get full range of feedback and also more weight, I better get saving

 

[Marc Collins]

Thanks buddy, the most comprehensive response I've seen, this really helps, I suppose I will sacrifice some of the "weight" feel for better feedback

I do quite abit of go-karting and I was trying to get a similar weight feel to that, I suppose a DD wheel would be the only way to get full range of feedback and also more weight, I better get saving

The "buddy" who replied knows a bit about what he is talking about

You probably did not realize you just got a reply from the boss of Studio 397!

 

[dave kirk]

The "buddy" who replied knows a bit about what he is talking about

You probably did not realize you just got a reply from the boss of Studio 397!

no way! now I'm a little embarrassed lol

 

[Marcel Offermans]

Thanks buddy, the most comprehensive response I've seen, this really helps, I suppose I will sacrifice some of the "weight" feel for better feedback

I do quite abit of go-karting and I was trying to get a similar weight feel to that, I suppose a DD wheel would be the only way to get full range of feedback and also more weight, I better get saving

You're welcome, and yes it is hard to replicate the full force of the steering wheel of a go-kart with your Thrustmaster wheel. I can definitely recommend a DD wheel if you are fortunate enough to be able to afford it. Still, finetuning the settings for your wheel and specific cars can still get you a long way. Turning up the forces too high will introduce "clipping" at some point (where you reach the maximum force the wheel can produce when the game would still like to do more) and that really destroys the feedback, so there's what you need to balance.

 

[dave kirk]

You're welcome, and yes it is hard to replicate the full force of the steering wheel of a go-kart with your Thrustmaster wheel. I can definitely recommend a DD wheel if you are fortunate enough to be able to afford it. Still, finetuning the settings for your wheel and specific cars can still get you a long way. Turning up the forces too high will introduce "clipping" at some point (where you reach the maximum force the wheel can produce when the game would still like to do more) and that really destroys the feedback, so there's what you need to balance.

I really appreciate your response, I have only had the game a week or 2 and I am massively impressed by the game and your team, I actually emailed your tech guys about a different topic and I got a very speedy response and the gentlemen I was emailing was incredibly helpful. I really wish your studio all the best and hope that with the new developments the fan base grows.
I have now tweaked the settings to the optimal for my wheel, I used the ffb meter to get the minimum possible clipping and the feedback is great, I can feel the limit of the grip better on RF2 than any other game.

 

[Paul Bennett]

I had my TX damper set at 5%, which was advised by a very reputable reviewer. Have dropped it to zero now, only got the wheel on black friday still fine tuning.
@Marcel Offermans

 

[Kenneth Jurmann]

Both spring and damper settings should be left at 0% for the best possible force feedback from the car.

Let me explain both settings:

• Spring adds a centering spring force that increases linearly with rotation. It literally makes your wheel want to rotate back to the center position. The more you turn it, the bigger the force that will want to move it back. In the days before force feedback, wheels often used a physical center spring so they could provide some feedback to drivers. Nowadays, the forces calculated from the physics of the car do a much better job at that, providing you with a center force when you drive at speed (which is partially dependent on your actual car setup, for example caster settings) and not providing you with one if, for example, your car is standing still. So leave this setting at 0%.
• The damper makes the wheel "resist movement" making it heavier to turn in general. The faster you turn, the more it will resist. Again, this type of effect is not needed, as the physics will provide this kind of feedback when necessary. The only reason to add a bit of damping would be if your wheel starts vibrating when you are driving and provide a small steering input. This can happen because of delays in the input handling and a small amount of damping will counter that effect. So start with this at 0%, and only if you experience the effect above. Try a fast straight and at speed provide a bit of input for the wheel, then see/feel if it stabilises again and if not, add 10% damping and try again. Always try to get away with as little damping as possible though as it "muffles" the feedback in general.

Hope this helps.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but rf2 takes no impact on changing the Damper/Spring setting in the driver, right? I mean in the controller.json both entries are 0 or 0.1 (which is like 0). So there shouldn't be a difference right?

PS: You can clearly feel the difference in AC & RR though....