The online racing simulator
#1 - nikec
MS Sidewinder FF wheel - force feedback too stiff/heavy
Hey, chaps.

Got a used Sidewinder FF wheel (usb version) for 10 euro locally last week and the force feedback works decently in Assetto Corsa under 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate despite the wheel being 20 years old and the lack of MS driver support since Win 98.

LFS (latest 0.6T) is a different story, though. The wheel is recognized as a 270 degree Sidewinder and with FF @ 100%, 0 wheel turn compensation and dead zone removal enabled the wheel is way too stiff/heavy when turned either direction regardless of the car moving or not, quickly centering itself when released. The in-game FF settings also do nothing when changed, meaning FF level can't be adjusted or enabled/disabled neither while driving nor in the options menu.

The situation is the same both under 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate with generic drivers (since the 4.0 MS drivers install but crash when accessing the wheel setup page) and 32-bit Windows XP SP3 with Sidewinder drivers 4.0 installed, maximum FF level and return-to-center tension off and a custom settings profile saved in the Sidewinder setup panel (which is constantly running in the background).

I guess it is a hardware limitation considering the wheel age and I am well aware that a DFGT is the bare minimum for decent racing experince when using a steering wheel, although I expected the core LFS FF to be partially similar (in principle) to Assetto Corsa even with this ancient controller.

Will appreciate any thoughts.

Best regards!
Attached images
sidewinder-ff-forces.JPG
sidewinder-ff-settings.JPG
This wheel should be working perfectly since LFS and most other racing games are using Direct Input API for FFB effects developed by Microsoft in 1999.
#4 - gu3st
Weird to bump a 3 year old thread.
Yeah, I was searching for some threads by name, I was not looking at dates, good point for next time Smile
Resurrecting this thread: I have brought my MS sidewinder ff wheel from the dead on Win10, and facing the lack of tuning for forces issue. Thing is I cannot find any older versions of the driver. Help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
I can try to find my driver CD, but if i remember correct there was no way to make them work for Win10. I tried some things like finding parameters in registry but didn't go much further as nothing that the internet suggested wasn't really working and not long from that i managed to source myself another G27 Big grin

Bit funny though, i remember some games' adjustments like wreckfest had an effect on how the ffb behaves but every other game had same issue of centering spring being too strong if FFB was set too weak

FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG