soundscream
Member
You can sell them off.
The Thrustmaster TX and upcoming T300 base pedals are crap, you should have no issue finding someone to buy them.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
PC Racing Sims
- Thread starter mclaren777
- Start date
You can sell them off.
The Thrustmaster TX and upcoming T300 base pedals are crap, you should have no issue finding someone to buy them.
marvelharvey
Member
Hmm, if the v2 pedals have reliability issues then yeah, maybe best to keep hold of the T500 pedals for the time being.
Thanks
Thanks
Betta Lines
Member
I should also mention that I've had many problems with the T500 wheel base too, so I don't know whether it's really any more reliable than the Fanatec.
Yeah, I figured as much. Just wanted confirmation I guess..!
Did your parts for the homebrew buttkicker arrive yesterday as planned?
Be very interested to hear how the build went and what your impressions are of its thumpabilityness (my word). Also how you mounted and connected it. I almost pushed the button on a Gamer2 today but could build one from the same parts as yours for half the price.
Big Takeover
Member
I'd go with the Thrustmaster TX wheel, or better yet if you can wait, the PS4 equivalent (T300) which should be going on sale sometime in the not too distant future. The biggest reason to step to the T500 is the pedals. That's the extra they're changing you for over the TX. The bases are different, but the performance is very similar.
Really though, I'd probably wait and see what Fanatec is going to do. I know a few of us were hoping they'd do a direct drive wheel for reasonable money. That would be something worth waiting for.
got a shipping notice that the transducer is arriving wednesday. however, I'm really waiting on my seat to arrive. Once it arrives, I have a weekend or so amount of work to be done on it before I can install the transducer. Namely I have to build a platform for the chair to sit upon.
I'll provide plenty of pictures, however, just like I did when I built my arcade machine on GAF.
Ah, fuck it. I just went and ordered a Buttkicker Gamer 2 LE.
I love faffing about with homebrew mods but having to order the parts from the US (to get sensible prices) carried added risk, considerable delay and no doubt monumental ball-ache if anything didn't arrive or didn't work. I decided to go with the neater all-in-one package of the Gamer 2 to get out-of-the-box functionality and the convenience of the wired remote, plus the added security of a UK vendor. It'd be easier to mount, easier to set up and easier to sell if I don't get on with it. Plus it looks like a sexy bit of kit.
The homebrew version would have been half the price but I had some winnings from the World Cup burning a hole in my pocket so decided to push the button.
Still very, very interested to hear how your build goes though. Looking forward to it.
I'll post up my impressions when the Gamer 2 arrives, hopefully at the weekend.
Finally received my TX Wheel this morning. Haven't had time to properly try it before leaving for work but my first impression of the rim is definitly better than I expected. Except for the fact that it's all plastic (that's a downgrade coming from a Fanatec wheel!) the rim feels confortable and the buttons are easily accessible.
I am planning on getting the F1 rim eventually tho.
I am planning on getting the F1 rim eventually tho.
I guess, if nobody minds, I'll use this topic to post info about my cockpit build since I can't start a topic myself.
Today, I went and got some 3/4" plywood to mount my seat on. Plywood can actually be pricey to buy in a good, thick slab, I had priced a 4'x4' piece of birch at $60. Go with a poor quality wood, and you'll need to Spackle during sanding or else it could splinter.
So, what I did was drive around to construction sites and talked to the contractors. Houston, Texas is booming right now, and there are tons of job sites in the city. Anywho, I struck gold on the first site I visited - asked the foreman if I could buy a piece of plywood from him and explained my project. He thought it was amazing (especially the bit about VR) and flat out gave me a spare 2'x4' piece of birch plywood. I offered him some cash but he told me to just take it.
Beautiful piece of wood, it's got a nice finished side, no need to spackle. I plan on sanding this weekend and painting.
My car seat also has shipped. No clue when it will arrive, but it's the last piece of the puzzle. I'll post some pics this weekend when I'm sanding and painting. I'm also going to build the stand for my flight stick this weekend.
Today, I went and got some 3/4" plywood to mount my seat on. Plywood can actually be pricey to buy in a good, thick slab, I had priced a 4'x4' piece of birch at $60. Go with a poor quality wood, and you'll need to Spackle during sanding or else it could splinter.
So, what I did was drive around to construction sites and talked to the contractors. Houston, Texas is booming right now, and there are tons of job sites in the city. Anywho, I struck gold on the first site I visited - asked the foreman if I could buy a piece of plywood from him and explained my project. He thought it was amazing (especially the bit about VR) and flat out gave me a spare 2'x4' piece of birch plywood. I offered him some cash but he told me to just take it.
Beautiful piece of wood, it's got a nice finished side, no need to spackle. I plan on sanding this weekend and painting.
My car seat also has shipped. No clue when it will arrive, but it's the last piece of the puzzle. I'll post some pics this weekend when I'm sanding and painting. I'm also going to build the stand for my flight stick this weekend.
Big Takeover
Member
Very nice. Be sure to post pics when you get it all put together.
Talking about homemade cockpits, people occasionally share their project plans at The Way I Play. There are some great racing rigs on display there. We'll worth a visit. I'm on my phone so can't link easily, but Google it.
Maybe someone can post a link?
Edit : http://www.thewayiplay.com
Maybe someone can post a link?
Edit : http://www.thewayiplay.com
TJP
Member
So, my Buttkicker Gamer 2 LE arrived today, next-day delivery which was a nice bonus.
It was a doddle to set up, truly plug 'n' play, and I already had the Playseat socket mod installed so start to finish took maybe ten minutes. Got it splintered off the active sub feed from my Yamaha receiver.
Had a quick blast on FM4, GT6 and AC and abso-fucking-lutely loved it. There is no way I'll ever be able to go back to driving without it. I switched it off after half an hour and it was like "where the fuck did my game go?".
If you've got a racing rig you need a transducer. You might not know you need one, but trust me: you do. The Gamer 2 is supposed to be entry level but I already had to turn it down to reduce the effects. I can only imagine what the guys running stereo transducers (or even one at each wheel) must be feeling.
I'm in the UK so had to pay a mighty £150 for mine, but for you US guys the price is, what, $130? Or you can set up a stereo set of non-buttkicker tranducers for the same money.
Just do it.
It was a doddle to set up, truly plug 'n' play, and I already had the Playseat socket mod installed so start to finish took maybe ten minutes. Got it splintered off the active sub feed from my Yamaha receiver.
Had a quick blast on FM4, GT6 and AC and abso-fucking-lutely loved it. There is no way I'll ever be able to go back to driving without it. I switched it off after half an hour and it was like "where the fuck did my game go?".
If you've got a racing rig you need a transducer. You might not know you need one, but trust me: you do. The Gamer 2 is supposed to be entry level but I already had to turn it down to reduce the effects. I can only imagine what the guys running stereo transducers (or even one at each wheel) must be feeling.
I'm in the UK so had to pay a mighty £150 for mine, but for you US guys the price is, what, $130? Or you can set up a stereo set of non-buttkicker tranducers for the same money.
Just do it.
Would love to try one, but I doubt I'll buy anything more (except possibly an OR) in terms of "sim" stuff until I have my own place where I can dedicate a room to it. I already rarely use my playseat+T500 because I don't like to drag it around and my monitor is far back so it's hard to see sometimes. Same thing with my joystick and flight sims. I enjoy playing them but the joystick adds so many wires and is just a pain it's not worth it.
I was hoping you tried running it through your sound card, I'm having issues getting it to work right. Running the shakers through the receiver worked great and was easy enough.
Now that I've got a fairly capable gaming PC to play these racing sims, it would seem the next logical step would be to assemble a proper racing rig. Right now I've got my CSR wheel and Elite pedals mounted to a computer desk and play on a 50in plasma. My question for my fellow sim racing GAF'ers is this- which would you choose if you could only pick one- a triple screen configuration with a cockpit, or would you opt for an Oculus Rift set up?
Yeah, my 'gaming' (LMFAO) laptop is HDMI'd into the receiver so all audio emerges from that. Don't you need a second sound card if driving a transducer directly? Not sure.
It really is quite remarkable how much the Buttkicker enhances the racing experience. It's exceeded all of my expectations.
I would wait for final OR version, then decide.
Got my GTEye brake mod for my G27 today. Managed to install it without taking the base off or anything(didn't have a screwdriver that could reach some of the screws on the bottom). Was a bit fiddly to figure it out, but I got it to work and then it was pretty damn easy.
I got this mod because I heard it wasn't too stiff and was useable for barefeet/socks and without needing to hardmount the pedals. That may be a little optimistic. Granted, I'm in a roll-y chair(on carpet) so its not exactly the ideal seat for sim racing, but with the stock G27, it worked fine. With the mod, though, I'm definitely getting pushed back. I have to stick my guitar amplifier behind me so I'm kept still, but it works.
So fired up Assetto Corsa to give it a whirl. The extra resistance was immediately obvious and almost felt a little too stiff in the first 25% of travel or so in that I barely felt the pedal moving. So light braking is still a tad on the vague side, but still an improvement from before at least. Its the heavy braking where it works wonders. Driving the X-Bow, which is very easy to lock-up(or was for me with the stock brake spring), I found myself much more comfortable pushing to the threshold. You really have to give it some beans to lock up now, the extra resistance providing a natural deterrent. ABS cars that require flat 100% pedal pressure is still something I'm adjusting to since that requires a pretty heavy foot, but I'm getting used to it. Bottom line is that it feels like I'm stopping a real car now. That extra resistance gives the feeling that there's a big chunk of metal that I'm having to slow down.
So I'm quite happy with that.
But I'm almost more happy with my new throttle spring. I switched the brake spring to the clutch(which is also nicer feeling, but not super important) and then the clutch spring to the throttle pedal. I always thought the throttle pedal was way too light and it made it less than ideal to modulate. But now it feels great. I'm much more confident with it and am even catching slides better by being apply the right amount of gas, which was catching me out quite a bit before. The pressure required to hold it at 100% is a bit high and we'll see how it goes when I need to drive for more than 15 minutes at a time, but for now, I love it.
Glad I got this. Pedals feel transformed overall. Still need a bit of work getting used to it but I already feel I'm much more 'at one' with the car now, as cliché as that is. Ridiculous value for just £18.
I got this mod because I heard it wasn't too stiff and was useable for barefeet/socks and without needing to hardmount the pedals. That may be a little optimistic. Granted, I'm in a roll-y chair(on carpet) so its not exactly the ideal seat for sim racing, but with the stock G27, it worked fine. With the mod, though, I'm definitely getting pushed back. I have to stick my guitar amplifier behind me so I'm kept still, but it works.
So fired up Assetto Corsa to give it a whirl. The extra resistance was immediately obvious and almost felt a little too stiff in the first 25% of travel or so in that I barely felt the pedal moving. So light braking is still a tad on the vague side, but still an improvement from before at least. Its the heavy braking where it works wonders. Driving the X-Bow, which is very easy to lock-up(or was for me with the stock brake spring), I found myself much more comfortable pushing to the threshold. You really have to give it some beans to lock up now, the extra resistance providing a natural deterrent. ABS cars that require flat 100% pedal pressure is still something I'm adjusting to since that requires a pretty heavy foot, but I'm getting used to it. Bottom line is that it feels like I'm stopping a real car now. That extra resistance gives the feeling that there's a big chunk of metal that I'm having to slow down.
So I'm quite happy with that.
But I'm almost more happy with my new throttle spring. I switched the brake spring to the clutch(which is also nicer feeling, but not super important) and then the clutch spring to the throttle pedal. I always thought the throttle pedal was way too light and it made it less than ideal to modulate. But now it feels great. I'm much more confident with it and am even catching slides better by being apply the right amount of gas, which was catching me out quite a bit before. The pressure required to hold it at 100% is a bit high and we'll see how it goes when I need to drive for more than 15 minutes at a time, but for now, I love it.
Glad I got this. Pedals feel transformed overall. Still need a bit of work getting used to it but I already feel I'm much more 'at one' with the car now, as cliché as that is. Ridiculous value for just £18.
Pedals are so important for feel and control. A lot of people don't realise this.
I never want to relinquish my Clubsports.
Did you have the spring around the right way? I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but it might.
Glad you had success with the rest of it (and overall) though. It's such a ridiculously simple and cheap mod that I can't get over how much it transforms driving. Possibly the best single mod for the G27 (that doesn't cost the earth).
Glad you had success with the rest of it (and overall) though. It's such a ridiculously simple and cheap mod that I can't get over how much it transforms driving. Possibly the best single mod for the G27 (that doesn't cost the earth).
Its definitely the big reason I've never been happy with any wheel I've used before. Pedals were just awful.
G27 pedals aren't crap by any means and were a big improvement over what I've used before, but this mod makes them go from 'adequate' to 'good'.
I'm sure the Clubsports are in another league still. Very jealous.
I cant imagine the spring direction matters that much, but I put the brake spring with the closer coils at the bottom like recommended. I suppose it makes sense that you put the strongest resistance part at the point with the strongest 'base' for the most linear/stable tension.
And yes, a stupidly cheap and easy mod to do. I'm very surprised it wasn't closer to this from stock.
Oh snap. This is different to what I was thinking they were. So this could be attached to an office chair too, right?Quick noisy phone pic of my BKG2, mounted under the Playseat.
Shake dat ass!
You fired it up yet?
bee
Member
completely agree, i used g25 pedals with bodnar cable and nixim mod, then t500rs pedals with skateboard bush mod, now on clubsport v1's, the load cell brake is in a different league to the mods really although they are still way better than the stock pedals themselves
I almost bought a buttkicker a year or so ago then realised there wasn't anywhere to clamp it to my chair at the last minute before clicking buy lol, still looking into getting some generic bass shakers and just drilling them into the back of this chair
changed my setup recently, here's my th8rs with civic type r gear knob clone (£7 ebay no adaptor needed) and righton short shift plate, the plate is highly recommended, great quality if a little pricey, the short shift and blanking off that pesky 7th gear is totally worth it though
So it sounds like it works pretty well then!
Oh yeah. Posted some quick thoughts above.
Man. Do y'all think this is too much if I have neighbors on the other side of my wall?
Betta Lines
Member
If you're on the ground floor it would probably be ok but a suspended floor could transmit the vibrations across a little too well. Depends how solidly-built the property is I guess.
It's technically silent, but shakes the shit out of everything in the immediate vicinity. Not sure how well it works with an office chair (I could test it on my Aeron, but have cable-tied all the leads to my rig now) but reports/reviews are excellent. YouTube is full of them. You can, of course, tune and dial the effects up and down if things get mad. Unless you game with headphones I imagine the game audio (especially the bass feed that drives the BK) would get to your neighbours before any thumping would. They might just assume you're having excellent sex, anyway. Walk like John Wayne every time you see them to reinforce the illusion.
Edit: Bear in mind my whole rig is connected, ie the seat, wheel and pedals are all mounted to the same metal frame, so vibrations get transmitted throughout. I feel it in my feet and hands and not just in my torso, so the illusion of being in a fast car with a beefy engine is all the more pronounced. I'm not sure how much the all-body effect would be reduced when the chair is isolated from those other components. Best check some specific reviews.
BTW, it's awesome with first person shooters too (I do all my gaming in the racing rig)
completely agree, i used g25 pedals with bodnar cable and nixim mod, then t500rs pedals with skateboard bush mod, now on clubsport v1's, the load cell brake is in a different league to the mods really although they are still way better than the stock pedals themselves
I almost bought a buttkicker a year or so ago then realised there wasn't anywhere to clamp it to my chair at the last minute before clicking buy lol, still looking into getting some generic bass shakers and just drilling them into the back of this chair
changed my setup recently, here's my th8rs with civic type r gear knob clone (£7 ebay no adaptor needed) and righton short shift plate, the plate is highly recommended, great quality if a little pricey, the short shift and blanking off that pesky 7th gear is totally worth it though
I just learned to deal with that "pesky" 7th gear haha. Though I almost never miss a shift from 4th to 5th nowadays. A short throw plate might be pretty good though, especially with the older F1 cars (oh god, so much shifting) since I always go for as much realism as possible when it comes to sims, no cheating with paddles if the car itself doesn't have them
.Yea, after reading some reviews and watching some videos, there's no way I could get away with one of these. I'm in a kind of townhome that was split up to make two flats and my neighbors are right on the other side of my bedroom wall(where I'd have this setup). Shame, cuz it sounds amazing and something I'd really love.
And yea, I bet its great for shooters, movies and music.
Fuck.
EDIT: I also don't have a really solid desk and I bet it would rattle the hell out of my monitor.
Big Takeover
Member
Kyalami, nice. One of my favs.
Ooh, I went there about 35 years ago when we lived in Sith Iffikah. Haven't seen it in a racing game/sim before.
Big Takeover
Member
Took me a second
Old school folks will have strong bond with it from the seminal late 90's sim Grand Prix Legends. It was the first race of the season so it got lots of play time.
The layout GSC is going to use is the same as the GPL one. The track was partially redesigned sometime in the early nineties, I think. If it has shown up in other games (not including mods) it would have been a different layout, and most likely in a motorcycle game as WSBK raced there quite a bit.
marvelharvey
Member
Anyone got any good monitor recommendations for a triple-screen racing rig? I like the BenQ EW2440L because of its incredibly thin bezel, but it's only 24" (I'd go 27" as a minimum, 32" max) and doesn't have VESA mounts. 1080p is fine.
Edit: the AOC i2769Vm looks promising link
27", HDMI, pretty thin bezel, VESA, £200...
Edit: the AOC i2769Vm looks promising link
27", HDMI, pretty thin bezel, VESA, £200...
bee
Member
so i got rid of my t500rs, great wheel, not so great reliability and fan noise. the logitech 50% flash sale a while back sparked the move really, a G27 direct from logitech for £135, sold the pedals/shifter and got the wheel for £90 got a wheel adaptor and fitted a 320mm wheel, will do for now, still pretty good.
the shifter i mentioned above, it's really good now, may get a short shaft for it aswell but i can't see me upgrading this for 10+ years, same with the clubsport v1's (£120 from ebay) can't recommend them enough, depending on reliability (lol fanatec) won't be changing these for years, the wheel however.....
http://www.bsimracing.com/simxperience-accuforce-wheel-sneak-peek/
my next wheel for sure, looks amazing, putting money aside already
many options really, i've got an nvidia surround setup with 3 old LG W2363D monitors (lol bezels), 120hz is essential now for me as the difference in smoothness is ridiculous but of course this limits you to TN panels apart from that 240hz VA one.
one of those 21:9 34" monitors could be a different option?
personally, having owned an oculus dk1 and triple screen, oculus completely blows triple screen out of the water, if the increased resolution, screen quality and refresh rate in the dk2 improve the experience like i think they will (i.e you can actually see where you're going, shitty 720p dk1) then i'll almost certainly sell this triple setup for 1 x 27" 120hz and 1 x 4k ips/va and a dk2 rift, a rift is certainly another option to consider
got a wheel adaptor and fitted a 320mm wheel, will do for now, still pretty good.the shifter i mentioned above, it's really good now, may get a short shaft for it aswell but i can't see me upgrading this for 10+ years, same with the clubsport v1's (£120 from ebay) can't recommend them enough, depending on reliability (lol fanatec) won't be changing these for years, the wheel however.....
http://www.bsimracing.com/simxperience-accuforce-wheel-sneak-peek/
my next wheel for sure, looks amazing, putting money aside already
many options really, i've got an nvidia surround setup with 3 old LG W2363D monitors (lol bezels), 120hz is essential now for me as the difference in smoothness is ridiculous but of course this limits you to TN panels apart from that 240hz VA one.
one of those 21:9 34" monitors could be a different option?
personally, having owned an oculus dk1 and triple screen, oculus completely blows triple screen out of the water, if the increased resolution, screen quality and refresh rate in the dk2 improve the experience like i think they will (i.e you can actually see where you're going, shitty 720p dk1) then i'll almost certainly sell this triple setup for 1 x 27" 120hz and 1 x 4k ips/va and a dk2 rift, a rift is certainly another option to consider
Yep, we'll all be playing VR in a few years time, absolutely no doubt about that. I know that any panel investment now will be a short-term fix. I'm really torn about whether to bother or just to wait it out. Got a few more months before I need to decide.
So 120 fps makes a big difference, huh? Worth the extra?
Edit: that wheel. Jesus.
I think if sim racing is one of the main reasons you're building a PC, then yes, go 120fps. Just keep in mind the power requirements and if you want 3x1080p/120fps, you'll need some serious horsepower.
Yeah, scary power. It worries me.
So my seat finally arrived, I now have everything and can put it together this weekend. The inside of the seat arrived damp, so I've got it propped open with a big box fan airing it out, I'm going to leave it like that for a few days to get it dry before trying to clean it up some more.
As usual with home projects, there is a problem. The seat I got doesn't have a board along the back of the frame like i was expecting, it's just filled with cushion with a metal frame surrounding it. I'm going to have to get another piece of thin pressed wood to bolt onto the frame to hold the transducer, which means I'll have to remove the upholstery which should be interesting, lol. Worse comes to worse, I may mount the transducer on the bottom although I'm hoping I can mount on the back.
As I said, I'll keep posting updates throughout the project in this topic. Hopefully I can finish by next week.
As usual with home projects, there is a problem. The seat I got doesn't have a board along the back of the frame like i was expecting, it's just filled with cushion with a metal frame surrounding it. I'm going to have to get another piece of thin pressed wood to bolt onto the frame to hold the transducer, which means I'll have to remove the upholstery which should be interesting, lol. Worse comes to worse, I may mount the transducer on the bottom although I'm hoping I can mount on the back.
As I said, I'll keep posting updates throughout the project in this topic. Hopefully I can finish by next week.
Looking forward to it. Don't sweat the transducer position too much if it causes complications - mine is under the seat and works great.
Thats my fall back plan, but I've heard it works so much better mounted to your back. I'll try some stuff out but I just might have to mount it to the bottom of the seat.
I sat in the seat yesterday before going to bed and pulled my racing wheel stand up close and just closed my eyes while holding the controls. It was so awesome.
Some nice Simbin titles with huge discounts on Bundlestars: http://www.bundlestars.com/store/