Generic Controller advanced settings

Hey everyone. How's it going?
I know this thread has been tossed around too much, but I'm still struggling with the steering of the car that I can't even get passed the novice 2. I don't have a wheel so I use the PS4 controller. The problem is I don't understand the meaning of the options under advanced controls. If you could please explain what each of these items(speed sensitivity, gamma, etc.) mean and what is the best amount for them, I would really appreciate it.
Cheers guys

 

As I noticed the controller settings are really important. They make up several seconds per lap and have a really big influence on how good you can counter steer and hold your car on track even if it starts bouncing.

Further I noticed that here are many threads with something like: "Hey here are my settings, they are really good for all cars." And I could not drive a single clean round with this settings. That is because everybody need different settings.

So I decided to show you my way to get good controller settings. Maybe even this way to get them is the wrong way for you and you have to do it different. I don't know, we'll see.

Let's get startet:

#How to improve your personal controller setup?

I suggest to switch to the cockpit perspective, when you make settings, even if you don't want to drive from there later. If you then want to drive some fast rounds switch back to your preferred perspective.

The reason is, that you get a better feeling for what your in-game wheel does with your input and you can then make better decisions on what to change. So the process should be: Change something --> test it --> change something --> ... bla bla bla

In this guide we simply want to start with your actual settings and improve them step by step depending on what you feel while driving. But first let me explain what the settings do, because sometimes you can change more then one setting to get the same effect, but the different ways will give you different side effects.

#What does all the settings do?
##Steering Speed
The higher this value is, the faster you in-game steering wheel is able to turn.

Decrease value: slower in-game wheel rotation resulting in a better controllability in turns.
Decrease to much: steering to slow to react to oversteering or other critical situations
Increase value: faster in-game wheel. Better reaction to oversteering etc. less controllability while normal turning


##Gamma?

Look at the diagram. The x-Axis is your Analog Stick movement 0 (middle) to 1 (right) the y-Axis is the resulting steering angle (wheel rotation) from 0 (straight) to 1 (max right). As you can see with gamma = 1 (red) this dependency is linear. With gamma = 4 (green) it is less sensitive at the beginning and super sensitive at the end.
(This are may the wrong functions. So the diagram is just to get it explained. =) )
Increase value ==> less sensitivity (more detailed control) near the middle of you stick's moving range. More sensitivity (less detailed control on the outer moving range).
Decrease value ==> equal sensitivity (equal detailed control) over the complete moving range.


##Filter
The filter setting effects the "smoothness" of you input. For example:

Your controller sends your input every 10ms. So AC gets something like [0, 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, ...]. Without the filter (value = 0) the game just reacts to the last input it gets. There is nothing bad about that, as long as you have a super steady hand and a super precise controller.
But if this is not the case even if you desire an imput of [0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, ...] there could be something like [0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.7, 0.5, ...], because of an inaccuracy of you controller or because you sneezed or something . What AC normally would do is let the car steer from 0.5 to 0.7 an then back to 0.5 which could result in an unstable car.
So what the filter basically does is: It calculate the average of you last inputs. So if this [..., 0.5, 0.5, 0.7, 0.5, ...] happens, it uses the 0.7 not as a 0.7 but maybe as a 0.51. The higher your filter settings value is, the stronger this effect is. So with filter = 0 a 0.7 stays a 0.7, with filter to 0.5 it will be something like 0.6 and with filter to 1 it will make a 0.5 out of the 0.7 so it wont steer at all. (Yep, really, tested it some days ago.)
But be careful the higher you set the filter value, the more lag you get, because it reacts slower to your input. That's because it needs some more inputs until the average of you last inputs reaches you desired input.

Increase value: smoother control, more input delay / slower steering
Decrease value: reduce delay / faster steering, less smooth control

##Deadzone
This setting should define a area from the middle to the outsides of your analog stick to that the game does not react. If this start working sometimes or already works for you, use this to get rid of the area of your analog stick where is no drag to move it back to the real middle point.


##Speed Sensitivity
This settings reduces the maximum steering angle dependent of the actual speed of your car. The fast you drive, the lower is you maximum steering angle (the less your in-game steering wheel can move).
A higher value means a stronger effect. 0 deactivated it.

Increase value ==> gives you a better control over you steering because more movement of your stick is needed to get the in-game steering wheel to rotate a specific distance.
Increase to much ==> You can't steer enough to drive through a turn with the highest possible speed
Decrease value ==> allows a higher steering angle
Decrease to much ==> let you steer to much in a turn ==> much tire wear, less grip on front wheels etc.




#Improve

All your settings come down to one single trade-off: Smoother steering (which may allow you to drive through turns faster because of your smoother input) vs. Fast Reactions (which make it possible to react to oversteering and enable you this way to react to critical situations more accurately.

So what is your problem with your actual settings:

##I have problems to steer smooth enough through entering or leaving a turn. / I can't adjust my steering smooth enough while I drive in a turn. / I can't steer enough.
1) You can't drive a straight? OR Your car is steering without you touching your stick? OR Your car starts sliding without you steering while breaking even with ABS?
1.1) If deadzone setting works ==> increase your deadzone value a bit.
1.2) If deadzone does not work ==> increase gamma value a bit.

2) It is hard for you to begin the steering. The car starts steering to fast / the steering is to sensitive at this moment.
2.1) The overall steering is slow and smooth enough ==> increase gamma a bit
2.2) My overall steering is to fast.
2.2.1) I just want to slow it down a bit ==> decrease steering speed a bit
2.2.2) I can feel / see, that the in-game wheel is reacting to too small input changes ==> increase filter a bit.
2.3) My overall steering is to sensitive (little input has a too big effect) and I think the in-game wheel is turning to much for this turn (a lower steering angle would be enough for this turn) ==> increase Speed Sensitivity a bit.


3) I can't steer enough to get the turn. (My tires have enough grip, just can't steer enough at max steering angle, wheel at max rotation) ==> decrease Speed Sensitivity

4) While exiting the corner (and accelerating while exiting) I cant handle to release the steering in a smooth way. / There is a point where the steering is reduced to much.
4.1) My overall steering is to sensitive (little input has a too big effect) and I think the in-game wheel is turning to much for this turn (a lower steering angle would be enough for this turn) ==> increase Speed Sensitivity a bit.
4.2) else decrease gamma a bit.

5) The steering does not react to the first movement of my analog stick ==> Decrease Gamma a bit.

##I can't react to oversteering / My steering is to slow, to react to critical situations.
1) Steering is really really to slow for counter steering
1.1) I think there is a little delay between input and the reaction of the in-game wheel ==> decrease filter
1.2) I think the in-game wheel is just rotating to slow: increase steering speed.
2) I can't steer enough to counter steer ==> decrease speed sensitivity a bit

3) I can't find the right amount to counter steer. (I steer to much or to less)
3.1) I steer to much. (You can catch the car at first, but then slide away in the other direction)
3.1.1) I generally steer to much in turns. Less steering angle would be enough to get the turns. ==> increase speed sensitivity
3.1.2) I just want to counter steer a bit, but the reaction is to big ==> increase gamma a bit


3.2) I steer to less. (You can't catch the car even if you react like a ninja)
3.2.1) if you think you reach your max steering angle fast enough but it is just not enough ==> decrease speed sensitivity a bit
3.2.2) if you think the max steering angle is enough, but you do not reach it fast enough ==> decrease filter a bit or increase steering speed a bit
3.2.3) just the first "half" of the steering speed is to slow, then it is fast enough ==> decrease gamma a bit



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"CHANGELOG"

initial Guide.
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Actually I can't think of more. If you have a specific problem with your settings which is not listed here (and it is not car setup related) just ask it here and I will try to help you and add it to the list.

Hope it will help you to improve your settings or even find some fitting ones for you.

Looking forward for your feedback and improvement suggestions. =)


The up coming patch is going to change the settings for the controller so I would wait for it then calibrate...

 

Thanks for this post , I have now with this information managed to set my controller up to perfectly suit my style.

 

This was by far the best reply ever
Thanks dude

 

Not my work, Frikky2 did all that , but happy to point you in the right direction - enjoy your newfound control, Happy Racing