Which steering wheel?

[fossmin]

Looking to buy a steering wheel  that will work on both MAME and emulated console games? Will a G29 work universally with all these systems? I am hoping you don't need several different wheels. Sorry newbie here.

Thanks

[BadMouth]

Any PC wheel will work with both MAME and other emulators.  They are all pretty standardized and show up as a directinput controller.

I like Logitech wheels because the Logitech Profiler software can change your settings on the fly when it detects an exe running.
This is handy because Model 2 emulator requires your pedals to be marked separate (show up as separate axis) in windows while some older PC games require them to be marked combined (on same axis).  Profiler can change this on the fly for you.

No experience with the G29, but upon it's launch the general concensus around here (among people just looking at it) was that it is overpriced and doesn't offer any real improvements over the G27.

The only issue with the G25/G27s is that the clutch pedal axis can cause problems while mapping the controls in a couple emulators and some older PC games.
(You have to hold it down exactly halfway to keep it from registering when you are trying to map the other controls)

[BadMouth]

Avoid xbox360 wheels.  While it's possible to use the wheel on a PC, the force feedback will not work.
 

[fossmin]

I have a Logitech G29 that I just bought and I am trying to set a couple of MAME games. At this point I have only set up a couple games. I set up Special Crime Investigations and it seems to work pretty well. On Super Monaco GP when I hit the gas pedal the wheels on the car turn left and when I hit the brake the wheels turn right. I can't get the car to accelerate. In Pocket Racers, the steering wheel is way to sensitive. I pretty much just bounce curb to curb. Also in this game the car at full acceleration when the gas pedal is not depressed and the acceleration goes down as the pedal is depressed.

I did not receive a CD with this wheel. Is it necessary or beneficial to go to the Logitech website and download the driver for this equipment?

Thanks

Gerry

[BadMouth]

I have a Logitech G29 that I just bought and I am trying to set a couple of MAME games. At this point I have only set up a couple games. I set up Special Crime Investigations and it seems to work pretty well. On Super Monaco GP when I hit the gas pedal the wheels on the car turn left and when I hit the brake the wheels turn right. I can't get the car to accelerate. In Pocket Racers, the steering wheel is way to sensitive. I pretty much just bounce curb to curb. Also in this game the car at full acceleration when the gas pedal is not depressed and the acceleration goes down as the pedal is depressed.

I did not receive a CD with this wheel. Is it necessary or beneficial to go to the Logitech website and download the driver for this equipment?

Thanks

Gerry

It sounds like you don't have a good understanding of how analog controls work in MAME.
This isn't like the joystick games where you can just hook up a joystick and play all the games.
Those had a universal standard (JAMMA)

There was no standard for driving games.  The potentiometers in the games could have been wired backwards or in a different order, etc.
Every game requires a different sensitivity setting.
Every game needs set up and calibrated individually to get the controls working properly.

First read the MAME section of the setup guide stickied at the top of this forum.
Get it working with the settings in MAME first, then download Logitech profiler to use with other emulators.

Profiler can only have one setting for MAME.exe so it can't help you on individual games.
The MAME setting for profiler should include centering feedback enabled and rotation reduced to 270 degrees.
(you can just do this in windows while getting started though)

[fossmin]

I have and I am trying, but a lot of it is like reading French. I read a few random posts everyday, just so I can try and learn the lingo. It is not coming easily.

Thanks

[BadMouth]

Start out by limiting your wheel rotation to 270 degrees and marking the pedals as separate in windows controller options.

Then set your mame.ini settings as stated in the stickied thread.

Launch a game that you know originally had a 270 degree steering wheel like Outrun or Cruisin' USA (some of the 360 degree won't play correctly no matter what settings you use because the wheels need to spin endlessly without stops).

Press TAB in MAME and map the steering and gas.  Do not map the brake.  If the brake is mapped to an axis, unmap it.
(see the stickied thread about not mapping the INC and DEC options!)

Play the game and verify the gas pedal is working correctly.  If it is not, reverse the axis for that pedal in MAME's analog options (also in the TAB menu).

Once the gas pedal is working correctly, map the brake pedal. 
Play the game and verify the brake pedal is working correctly.  If it is not, reverse the axis for that pedal in MAME's analog options (also in the TAB menu).

[terminator2k2]

some very good advice there BadMouth , ive just started with mame driving games, and didn't even know about the analogue menu....

I got a few setup, but need to have a read up on cruis n usa and cruis n world....the brake or accelerator didn't want to play game...even though they seemed ok in the service menu....

[Howard_Casto]

Check out my software diary.    It's usually the digital pedal interfering with the analog one even though they shouldn't... so be sure to clear those out as well.

[terminator2k2]

ill check it out tomorrow, ive just set up virtua racing with mamehooker for the vr lights...its only super....does the game support force feedback? that's another thing I need to read up on..how to use mamehooker for force feedback....

[Howard_Casto]

very few games in mame have FF hooked up, but nearly all model 2 and model 3 (supermodel) games have ff in their respective emulators.

[BadMouth]

ill check it out tomorrow, ive just set up virtua racing with mamehooker for the vr lights...its only super....does the game support force feedback? that's another thing I need to read up on..how to use mamehooker for force feedback....

Noob answers are almost always in the stickied driving cab info thread....

Force Feedback - Not supported in MAME.  FFB is supported in a number of other emulators (see below). 

  Outputs - Shaker motors and lights (view buttons, race leader, etc) are possible with Howard Casto's Mamehooker
                 It works with MAME and Supermodel.  Also works with M2Emulator when running Howard's Troubleshooter 2 app.

So no ffb in Virtua Racing or any other game in MAME.

Games that just had simple shaker motors may or may not have useable output from MAME.

[Howard_Casto]

I would honestly like to add it to a few, but me and the mame team don't see eye to eye these days.  That's not a knock on them or anything, I just have a hard time contributing to a project that now has goals drastically different than my own. 

[Fursphere]

#disclaimer

I moved from arcade racing games to PC based simulator / "simcade" games

#end_disclaimer

I started with (and still have) the Logitech G27.  For its price point, it can't really be matched by anything else, and you should still be able to find them for $200 US if you shop around.  (although i just did a quick google search and it seems everywhere wants $300 for them...  hmm).   

The G29 is a G27 for more money WITH LESS features.  (the manual shifter is an addon for like $40, where it was standard with the G27)

I ended up upgrading to the Thrustmaster T300RS wheel, I haven't looked back. (And the T3PA Pro pedals, and the TH8A shifter).   Its significantly more money for the whole setup - but if you're considering moving from arcade games to PC based sim games at some point, you might want to consider it....   

I mostly play Dirt Rally and Project Cars on the PC side of things. 

The only thing I miss from Logitech is the profiler software.   Which the G29 doesn't have if I remember right.  The fantastic profiler softer only works with the G25/G27.  /sigh   (I think Joy2Key can handle all the mapping I'd need, but I haven't tried it yet...  mostly due to laziness)

Just my $0.02   

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah the general consensus seems to be that the 29 is a downgrade.  The problem is because of this the 27's price has started to raise.  I was hoping to get one at a discount since the new model had came out... boy did I get fooled.   

I'm still on the cheap-o gt for now... mostly because I'm doing some pretty heavy mods and only when I get all the kinks out of my experiments would I be willing to hack up a more expensive unit.  But you know, for arcade games at least, it gets the job done pretty well.  The force feedback is a tad bit weak, but I can fix that soon enough.