A trip down memory lane and why even a crap wheel is better

[Hoofy]

... better than a gamepad.

I was rummaging through stuff in my spare room the other day and found my old Playstation 1 wheel. It's a crap, no-rumble, no-FFB, creaky plastic wheel. I probably paid about £20 for it back in the day when my graduate salary was just £12k. I still have my PS2 connected to my downstairs TV (32" I think) for watching old DVDs so this evening I thought I'd have a go to decide whether I should spend more on a wheel for Assetto Corsa and decided to go for a trip down memory lane with some old racing games.

Started with GT4 and could not get the wheel to work. Then tried GT3. It just acted like there was no controller attached to it. Same for Toca Race Driver. Now I remember why I retired the wheel and went back to gamepads.

So I decided to start from the other end. Dusted down the PS1 games - Gran Turismo, obviously, chosen first. Sadly, way too pixelated to enjoy it on such a big widescreen TV BUT it did begin to feel right. Felt like I would have to work at getting accurate and I didn't want to stare at such awful graphics. Maybe it was the aging wheel that meant it wasn't very easy to drive.

And then I tried Colin McRae Rally - the original PS1 version! With the view set right (bonnet cam; cockpit mode made me feel like I was sitting in the backseat - think about FOV) and the sound turned up, and with the grubby pixelation, it was perfect. Having a larger screen really helped with the immersion. The lack of accuracy you get when on a loose surface meant the dodginess of the wheel wasn't an issue. I forgot how much fun it was even without FFB or even rumble!

So I will be getting a cheapo wheel until I can bring myself to pay over £100 for a wheel!

Edited by Hoofy on Thursday 4th January 21:55

[craste]

If you can save your pennies get a Thrustmaster t300rs, yes it sounds like a top of the range dildo but my god you’ll have a smile on your face when you use it almost as much as if .

No let’s not go there.

[Elysium]

If you are going to spend any money I would recommend a VR set up.

Project Cars 2 or Assetto Corsa on an oculus rift is something else, even with a basic Logitech wheel. I still have a g25, which must be 8 years old.

[Hoofy]

Both wayyyy too expensive.

Ok, one thing I like about CMR on the PS1 with a newish TV - it looks like I'm looking through a grubby windscreen.

I've now tried TOCA, TOCA 2 and GT2. Whilst the steering wheel works, it just feels like I'm racing through a Monet painting!

[born2bslow]

Hoofy said:

Both wayyyy too expensive.
!

You say that now but if you get hooked be prepared to spend lol 😂

I’m seriously hooked and could have bought a trackday car for the same money. The difference is I can put in as many laps as I want whenever I want and still be home for dinner. Not the same as real life but still a good rush of adrenaline, enjoy!

[ShampooEfficient]

Get a smaller telly. Like it was in the old days!

[Hoofy]

born2bslow said:

Hoofy said:

Both wayyyy too expensive.
!

You say that now but if you get hooked be prepared to spend lol ??

I’m seriously hooked and could have bought a trackday car for the same money. The difference is I can put in as many laps as I want whenever I want and still be home for dinner. Not the same as real life but still a good rush of adrenaline, enjoy!

Yeah, it does feel like a trackday even with a gamepad. Can't believe after 20 odd years of playing racing games, I've finally learnt the Nurburgring circuit!

[Hoofy]

ShampooEfficient said:

Get a smaller telly. Like it was in the old days!

Haha, yes, that probably does make sense but then it feels less immersive.

After posting the OP, I then linked it up to my PC's smaller screen (a TV) and it's slightly better. It's also at a better height for playing.

[skinny]

You can pick up something like a logitech driving force gt for £50, 2nd hand ps3 with gt6, dirt rally, F1 etc for maybe £100 or so (tho I haven't looked recently).

Should be a decent step up for very little outlay and keep you going for a good while.

Plus you can get all the streaming stuff on ps3 like Netflix, iPlayer etc and blu-ray player

[Hoofy]

skinny said:

You can pick up something like a logitech driving force gt for £50, 2nd hand ps3 with gt6, dirt rally, F1 etc for maybe £100 or so (tho I haven't looked recently).

Should be a decent step up for very little outlay and keep you going for a good while.

Plus you can get all the streaming stuff on ps3 like Netflix, iPlayer etc and blu-ray player

Interesting. Well, I already have Assetto Corsa on PC so will look at the wheel as it sounds pretty cheap considering!

[Vipers]

Sorting out the loft the other day, came across this, bought it New around 1976for £16 so it's 42 years old, been in the loft for eons of time.

Put a plug on it, got an old colour TV down from the loft and plugged it in, worked fine, memories.

[chris285]

skinny said:

You can pick up something like a logitech driving force gt for £50, 2nd hand ps3 with gt6, dirt rally, F1 etc for maybe £100 or so (tho I haven't looked recently).

I have this on my PC and use with dirt rally and project cars, as stated night and day to gamepad where on PC in the 'A' class cars which are F1 basically it was almost undriveable on my xbox 360 controller. I can actually drive them on the steering wheel, granted i didn't spend much time on gamepad but same on steering wheel and much easier to get to grips with

Edit - Oh and it cost me £40 of argos vouchers i think to a mate when i got the current logitech g27

[Bullett]

I'm looking at clearing out some old kit.
I have a used G25 wheel, shifter and pedal set which is modded with a Nixim brake upgrade and a Bodnar cable upgrade.
Suitable for PC use as it stands. Works on PS3 as well but you'd need to put the original cable back (which I think I have somewhere).
Was working fine last time I used it, I just upgraded to a T300 then some Fanatec pedals.
Standard ones go for about £100 on ebay which is what I'm looking for.

[Steve Campbell]

Colin McRae on PS1 !! Yes !! That was the game that really got me into racing games. I made a wooden contraption strapped to a chair to hold the wheel together so I could play. I now have new "version" of the wooden contraption strapped to an Ikea chair for the T300 RS wheel, PS4 and VR headset :-)

[sgtBerbatov]

I saw on Reddit last year someone had fixed a mouse on to a stool, and used it as a wheel for Euro Truck Simulator. Looking at it I think it's obvious even a non-wheel/cheap cobbled together jobby would be better than a gamepad!

As for Grand Turismo, still for me the pinnacle of the series was GT2/GT3. GT4 was too hard, GT5 was pants, GT6 was a good game but too much choice. Now with the new GT I find myself with a demo game because I can't/won't pay for PlayStation Plus. Meaning I'm stuck to doing silly challenges offline.

[Hoofy]

sgtBerbatov said:

I saw on Reddit last year someone had fixed a mouse on to a stool, and used it as a wheel for Euro Truck Simulator. Looking at it I think it's obvious even a non-wheel/cheap cobbled together jobby would be better than a gamepad!

As for Grand Turismo, still for me the pinnacle of the series was GT2/GT3. GT4 was too hard, GT5 was pants, GT6 was a good game but too much choice. Now with the new GT I find myself with a demo game because I can't/won't pay for PlayStation Plus. Meaning I'm stuck to doing silly challenges offline.

Mouse on a stool?? I can't visualise this as a wheel.

I'm not too bad with a gamepad for Assetto Corsa but the Stability Control is set to 50% or it's too difficult. I mean:



Nordschleife Tourist circuit. Not bad.

GT1 was the hardest. Not sure about GT4. Seemed fine for me?

[Matt Cup]

Hoofy said:

sgtBerbatov said:

I saw on Reddit last year someone had fixed a mouse on to a stool, and used it as a wheel for Euro Truck Simulator. Looking at it I think it's obvious even a non-wheel/cheap cobbled together jobby would be better than a gamepad!

As for Grand Turismo, still for me the pinnacle of the series was GT2/GT3. GT4 was too hard, GT5 was pants, GT6 was a good game but too much choice. Now with the new GT I find myself with a demo game because I can't/won't pay for PlayStation Plus. Meaning I'm stuck to doing silly challenges offline.

Mouse on a stool?? I can't visualise this as a wheel.

I'm not too bad with a gamepad for Assetto Corsa but the Stability Control is set to 50% or it's too difficult. I mean:



Nordschleife Tourist circuit. Not bad.

GT1 was the hardest. Not sure about GT4. Seemed fine for me?

It’s true and a bloody brilliant idea. Great hack!

https://youtu.be/pa-_CLER5zg

[sgtBerbatov]

Matt Cup said:

Hoofy said:

sgtBerbatov said:

I saw on Reddit last year someone had fixed a mouse on to a stool, and used it as a wheel for Euro Truck Simulator. Looking at it I think it's obvious even a non-wheel/cheap cobbled together jobby would be better than a gamepad!

As for Grand Turismo, still for me the pinnacle of the series was GT2/GT3. GT4 was too hard, GT5 was pants, GT6 was a good game but too much choice. Now with the new GT I find myself with a demo game because I can't/won't pay for PlayStation Plus. Meaning I'm stuck to doing silly challenges offline.

Mouse on a stool?? I can't visualise this as a wheel.

I'm not too bad with a gamepad for Assetto Corsa but the Stability Control is set to 50% or it's too difficult. I mean:



Nordschleife Tourist circuit. Not bad.

GT1 was the hardest. Not sure about GT4. Seemed fine for me?

It’s true and a bloody brilliant idea. Great hack!

https://youtu.be/pa-_CLER5zg

That's the badger!

And GT1 was hard. But I could never get past the drivers license bit in GT4. I pissed GT2, 3, 5 and 6. But GT4? Nope. Never happened for me.

[Hoofy]

sgtBerbatov said:

Matt Cup said:

Hoofy said:

sgtBerbatov said:

I saw on Reddit last year someone had fixed a mouse on to a stool, and used it as a wheel for Euro Truck Simulator. Looking at it I think it's obvious even a non-wheel/cheap cobbled together jobby would be better than a gamepad!

As for Grand Turismo, still for me the pinnacle of the series was GT2/GT3. GT4 was too hard, GT5 was pants, GT6 was a good game but too much choice. Now with the new GT I find myself with a demo game because I can't/won't pay for PlayStation Plus. Meaning I'm stuck to doing silly challenges offline.

Mouse on a stool?? I can't visualise this as a wheel.

I'm not too bad with a gamepad for Assetto Corsa but the Stability Control is set to 50% or it's too difficult. I mean:



Nordschleife Tourist circuit. Not bad.

GT1 was the hardest. Not sure about GT4. Seemed fine for me?

It’s true and a bloody brilliant idea. Great hack!

https://youtu.be/pa-_CLER5zg

That's the badger!

And GT1 was hard. But I could never get past the drivers license bit in GT4. I pissed GT2, 3, 5 and 6. But GT4? Nope. Never happened for me.

Haha, bloody hell, I see. Made me laugh but I guess it does work. Wonder if I can do similar for my wheel PS1 wheel, a mouse and Assetto Corsa on the PC?!

Can't remember how far I got in GT4 TBH.

[skinny]

I gave my dad my old DF:GT as I bought him AC for his PC this xmas. Seems to be working fine tho I haven't tried it yet.