Steering Ratio

[Axel Slingerland]

Since I got this game I have asked about the steering a number of times, and commented about how (in my opinion) the driving model in ETS2 reminds me of a boat. The reason I've said that is because I used to have a boat sim and the driving model in that game is what driving the trucks in ETS2 reminds me of. I've asked how to make it drive more like the way the steering worked in Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel does. Up until Monday I was using a Logitech Dual Action Gamepad, and a lot of people () told me that it would be better if I got a wheel. Now I have one (a G27) and it's not better. In fact, it's not only worse, it's much worse. But I think I have been asking about it in the wrong way. So let me try to put it another way.

Let's look at it like a ratio. So let's say that the gear steps are units, and that the current ratio of turning is 1 to 20. I turn the wheel 1 unit, but the truck's wheels turn 20 units in the game. How can I make it more like 1 to 5 or even 1 to 1? In HT:18WoS, I think it was 1 to 1.

[Unco]

I wrote about this here:

viewtopic.php?f=109&t=1406

For 1:1 ratio, set it to 780 degrees.

[Axel Slingerland]

I tried that and it required too much turning of the wheel to make the tires turn. It seems like the lower you set the degrees of rotation to, the less you have to work to make the tires turn, and the higher you set the degrees of rotation to, the more you have to work to make the tires turn. It seems to work best for me at about 320°. I don't have to fight to control it so much, but it still turns a lot for a small amount of turning, thus it still drives like a boat.

What I am most likely looking for is a setting in the steering settings that will allow the truck to turn a little when I turn the wheel a little. As in if I turn the wheel 1°, the truck turns 1° instead of 20° or 30°, like it always does. I got used to it with the gamepad, and would turn the way I wanted to go, then the opposite way to compensate for the oversteering. But with the wheel, if I do that I end up bouncing back and forth across the highway between the guardrails. Or off of cars, trucks, fences or buildings, etc. What ever happens to be there. Not to mention, sooner or later you have to turn corners. It seems like every time I go to turn a corner, I always end up in a head on collision with whatever vehicle is waiting at the traffic light or stop sign at the corner.

Maybe I will get used to it like I did with the gamepad. But I still prefer the HT:18WoS steering set up. It was much easier to handle. You don't have to compensate for every move you make.

[Unco]

I think you'll find that most people who play with steering wheels, have them set to 780 degrees rotation. This gives a 1:1 ratio. i.e. The steering wheel in the game mirrors the movement of the physical steering wheel controller.

Have a search around and see what settings other people are using. http://topdeskle.altervista.org/scs/search-scsforum.php

[Axel Slingerland]

I'm one of those Bumper Cam people... I don't care if the steering wheels match or not since I don't look at that. That isn't the 1 to 1 ratio I need. It took me a few days to get the gamepad set up in a way that I liked, then a few days to get used to it, so I guess I just have to do the same thing with the wheel.

I'll say this though... I can most definitely see why so many people like this wheel. Is it stout or what? This is by far the best wheel I will ever see. Now I just need one of these:

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That, or a truck cab... [ external image ]

[n4gix]

Ax, try adjusting the non-linearity until you find a happy medium. This will allow for finer control at shallow angles (such as when at highway speed), progressing to larger movement ratio as the steer angle increases.

I have my non-linear response curve set nearly to maximum, simply because I have only a CH Yoke with which to steer! Before I found and set this, even at a modest 30kph just sneezing would twitch the truck into a guardrail, or clip anything I was trying to pass...

[abasstreppas]

Bill, I thought you were more used to pedals when steering

[n4gix]

Well, after driving in ETS2 for a few hours, going back to work in FSX or Prepar3Dv2.2 is a bit confusing, since now my feet are used to working the pedals for brake and accelerator, and my hands are trying to use the yoke for steering while taxiing...

[DicheBach]

Can someone offer a definition of "Steering Non-linearity"? "Steering sensitivity" seems pretty obvious, but it might be good to get an actual developer definition of that too.

Here is how I cope with WASD to steer and mouse to look and shift.

1. Turn "non-linearity" to middle and leave it there. I don't know if this has any effect on WASD steering but that is what I do.

2. When on highway or areas where I will be maintaining >50 km/hr turn "Steering Sensitivity" to about 4 or 5 (meaning 4 or 5 clicks to right of the far left of the pole; I assume "zero" is farthest left and 100 is farthest right?)

3. When nearing my drop off, as in IN the town and getting close to having to do a few 90-degree turns and what not, turn sensitivity to about ~25 or 30. I find that the responsiveness of the truck backing into the parking spot is much more like I'd imagine 'realistic' to be with sensitivity.

4. On next load, after I have pulled out and am back on city streets, either leave it at 25 to 30 until I feel like I'm getting too fast and wobbling, or switch it to ~12 to 15 until I get out onto the high speed motorway.

With that process, I can pretty much deliver everything early and cause wrecks pretty rarely. Passing other trucks on a curving motorway at 100km/hr using WASD is a bit 'white knuckle, and involves a bit of stiffening in the seat, tunnel visioning on the game and rhythmically making gentle A-D-A-D taps to keep adjusting it to stay between the lines, i.e., not exactly fun. But it works!

Maybe what you would like is to adjust your wheel sensitivity for different speeds like I do for WASD?

[Axel Slingerland]

When I was using the gamepad to steer, I had to have the non-linearity at 0% and the sensitivity at about 15% to 20%, otherwise I would crash every time I turned at all. Now with the wheel, I have non-linearity at 100% (and feel I could use even more if it was available) and there is no sensitivity setting anymore. The slider does nothing now.

But the way I have it set now, considering that the Logitech Profiler Degrees of Rotation seems to have taken the place of the sensitivity slider, the higher I set it the harder it is to turn the truck. Or rather, the more I have to turn the wheel to get the truck to actually turn. So I experimented a bit and finally set it to 320°, and that makes it so that as long as I am on a relatively strait to wide turn road with no sharp corners I am fine even at high speeds. But for city driving where there are 30° to 90° corners, I have to turn very slowly and carefully, otherwise I end up nose to nose with whatever vehicle may be sitting at the corner or even doing a full 360° turn if there is nothing to hit.

But slowly but surely, I will get used to it. The biggest problem for me is remembering what the button settings are. There's just so many of them...
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