All assists off while racing on a DS3. HOW do you do it?

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VyPeR

VyPeR

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It's very difficult racing on a ps3 controller with all assists off. My question to you DS3 users, just how do you manage to race effectively on a controller? Maybe it's time to buy a steering wheel.
 
Well, I use the accel/brake on the right analog stick (since GT2). That make my accel a lot smoother than on the R2/L2 triggers or the x button, for example.

Being smooth, try to feel your car weight and traction. Even with a DS3, its possible. Just needs some practice =)
 
Yep, I also have reassigned accel and brake to the right analog stick.

Not only does that give you excellent throttle control, but also it frees up the shoulder buttons L1 / R1 for manual gear shifting without your hands feeling cramped after a minute or two.

Of course using this method you lose the ability to make a very quick transition from braking to accelerating, and you can't apply the brake softly to control your acceleration out of a corner after the apex.

If you're using a Dual Shock though, I can't see a better setup.
 
It's a slow path full of patience, try reducing the assists by stages... with patience...

If you turn all off at once, will not be a happy moment.
 
i basically did it the hard way. i turned them off the day i got the game, learnt to drive and havent used them ever since.

probably not very helpfull i know.

basicaly what im saying is the only way to learn is by doing it. just turn them off, start out in a slow car, learn how to control it, move up the stages. dont go from all aids on to turning them off and jumping in an LMP car.
 
VyPeR
It's very difficult racing on a ps3 controller with all assists off. My question to you DS3 users, just how do you manage to race effectively on a controller? Maybe it's time to buy a steering wheel.
Click to expand...
Recently I've been using a DS3 and I manage to race successfully with all aids off (and controller steering response set to 6 + real grip reduction).

I steer with the left stick, brake/accelerate with the back triggers (left = brake, right = accelerate) and shift gears up and down with respectively the X and Square buttons. I also occasionally use R1 for the handbrake (often useful as an emergency "turn" control in tight curves, for example Curve 1 on London Short).

In order to be able to brake without the ABS you need first to set up a front biased brake distribution. The usual choices for me are 5/2, 7/3 and 9/4, which all represent a 66.6/33.3% brake distribution. Lately I've come to use 7/3 which means that with comfort soft tires on most cars you will lock front tires at about 60-65% of the total brake trigger pressure (on a flat road and no extra aerodynamic effect). Keep in mind that tire grip might vary depending on many factors and it's important that you are always able to lock them to be sure to have the maximum stopping force at your disposal.

When braking, I usually press the left trigger almost all the way down, just above the tire locking threshold (this varies depending on the total brake force set up), then I immediately modulate pressure by quickly releasing it to what to me seems the ideal grip threshold. This, again, might vary dynamically depending on tire grip.

A trick for increased control is to use the "bumper" view. From there, thanks to the big dials, you can see very clearly the red and blue bars representing brake/throttle controls. They are a very important reference point, especially for braking. Another one (especially, again, for braking, which is kind of tricky to master) is paying much attention to tire noise.

MikeTheHockeyFan
Yep, I also have reassigned accel and brake to the right analog stick.
Click to expand...
In that way you can't do "left foot braking", which can be a very effective manuever with the ABS disabled.
 
MikeTheHockeyFan
Yep, I also have reassigned accel and brake to the right analog stick.

Not only does that give you excellent throttle control, but also it frees up the shoulder buttons L1 / R1 for manual gear shifting without your hands feeling cramped after a minute or two.

Of course using this method you lose the ability to make a very quick transition from braking to accelerating, and you can't apply the brake softly to control your acceleration out of a corner after the apex.

If you're using a Dual Shock though, I can't see a better setup.
Click to expand...

Yep! Forgot to comment about the gear change buttons on L2/R2. Definitelly a classic GT setup =) But its true about the braking thing.
 
VyPeR
It's very difficult racing on a ps3 controller with all assists off. My question to you DS3 users, just how do you manage to race effectively on a controller? Maybe it's time to buy a steering wheel.
Click to expand...

I managed by mapping the throttle and brakes to the L2 and R2 (R2 = throttle, L2 = brake), and shifting w/ the right analog stick. So far, TCS off has been a bit easy for even race cars, but not for wheelspin-heavy cars, like LMPs. So I set it to TCS 1 or 2, but I still spin out or input a bit too much throttle sometimes, with or without TCS. I have ABS to 1 as I can't feather the brake as good as throttle, for some reason. And have Steering Sensitivity to 1, as I like smooth driving. But sometimes I would go down or up for certain cars or tracks.

And totally agree with Shirakawa. I basically do all of those, except Brake Bias, as I still don't understand it as much..
 
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Not that hard. I'm using some of those trigger extensions because my hard would always slip from the gas, the default DS3 triggers are awful.
 
As much as you probably won't like this answer, have a go at the license tests again. The only way to become more comfortable with all assists off (have ABS = 1 though) is to practice. You will get the feel for it. Up to you whether you want to use the buttons, R3 or shoulder buttons for acceleration, braking.
Trust me, the license tests are great at learning the feel of the basiscs.
 
I've kept the default controller settings from GT1 till now, and have years of practice.

There is plenty of advice I could give you, but it's always the same regardless of what you're using (DS3 vs. wheel)

1. Breathe.
2. Make small adjustments.
3. Time Trials, time trials, time trials
4. visit www.drivingfast.net to improve your technique.
5. Go back to #1 and repeat.
 
7Sins
As much as you probably won't like this answer, have a go at the license tests again. The only way to become more comfortable with all assists off (have ABS = 1 though) is to practice. You will get the feel for it. Up to you whether you want to use the buttons, R3 or shoulder buttons for acceleration, braking.
Trust me, the license tests are great at learning the feel of the basiscs.
Click to expand...

Licence tests have Skid Recovery Force default ON. That's no good.
 
R2 - Gas R1 - Shift Down
L2 - Brake L1 - Shift Up

Makes it easier for throttle/brake control when you have to feather or maybe slightly apply brakes or gas. Some people call it the Need For Speed setup or whatever but it works for me even with no assists. And I do all modes from drift, track, drag.
 
Have been using the controller the last few weeks for convenience and it has gone well, personally I find driving aids to be more of a hindrance than help as the car doesn't react as you expect.

As for how? Practice. Been doing this since the very first GT!
 
Your best bet is to take a rather slow car (250-350hp) and practice driving with all assists off (I personally keep ABS on 1 since the PS3's triggers don't have as much "range" as the 360's) on sports medium or soft tires (or hard if you want a bit of a challenge).

After you feel abit comfortable, try stepping up to 450-550hp on sport softs or racing hards. Then go with 600+ with racing hard, medium, or soft.

Reason why I suggest grippier tires is because with a DS3, you'll always be slower and less accurate than drivers with wheels. Call it a crutch or a handicap, but DS3's need it to be competitive. Besides, who wouldn't go for the best tires :sly:.

I've been racing since roughly the end of the second week after launch (first week was occupied by going CA for thanksgiving). It's just something you have to practice, like driving IRL. You can't just go out and immediately be the best driver there is without practicing and pacing yourself.
 
Don't go crazy on the acceleration! Either use the right stick or R2 (I still use the X button) and try to give it half throttle so you don't spin out of those corners. Takes some practice. In some fully tuned cars I find it impossible with a DS3 and turn TCS to 1 or 2.
 
Cosbuster
Not that hard. I'm using some of those trigger extensions because my hard would always slip from the gas, the default DS3 triggers are awful.
Click to expand...

What I use, am in the Intercontinental GT500 Championship and am currently 5th in the tabe after 9 races,(Only DS3 user in it) so I can mix it with the very fast steering wheel users no problem.

Its all about "feel"! If you can't "feel" the car then you will find it hard!
 
Competing with serious wheel users its really a matter of experience/practice and being smooth.

Because if you enter 5 lap races you will not have much of a problem, but in longer races with 12-15 laps and over, tire wear is a lot more noticeable for DS3 players because its a lot harder to be as smooth on cornering as wheel users.

But with practice, you can do it! :)
 

Here is the controller setup I use along with some tips.

- L1 = Look back.
- L2 = Brake.
- R1 = Bring up RA menu. [If you don't use this, I highly recommend it. Great for adjusting brake balance, torque distribution and such on the fly.]
- R2 = Gas.
- R3 = Turn ghost on/off.
- Left joystick - Steer.
- Square = Shift up.
- X = Shift down.
- Circle = Hand brake.
- Triangle = Reverse.
- Dpad up = Cycle RA menu up.
- Dpad left = Adjust RA selection -.
- Dpad down = Cycle RA menu down.
- Dpad right = Adjust RA selection +.

- Having a 'feel' for the car and listening to it is key. You have to able to do those 2 things in order to succeed. In all honesty they are probably the 2 most important things to succeed.
- I use the trigger extensions, highly recommend for DS3 driving.
- Use of the bumper cam will help a heck of a lot.
- First use automatic transmission until you get the basics down and learning the feel and sound, then move to manual if/when you are comfortable.
- I run all assists off and ABS at 1.
- I generally run controller sensitivity at 2, as it is not so sensitive so I don't over compensate. Depending on the car I may have a different sensitivity level.
- Be smooth with steering, gas, and brake. It will take practice, but it eventually becomes muscle memory.
- Don't use the driving style of full gas or no gas and full brake or no brake. You must learn how to use pressure on each to adapt.
- Always use this rule for corners, it will always yield better results. 'Slow in, fast out.'
- Yes, wheel users generally have faster laps but with practice you can run with some of them.
- Whoever it was that said use racing tires, DO NOT do it. It will only hinder your learning. It will teach you to rely on the tires.
- Don't use anything better than sports soft to learn on, in fact I would suggest to learn on sports hard. Think about it, learn on not sticky tires means you will do better on sticky tires. Learn on sticky tires means you will have a harder time with not sticky tires.
- Take a less powerful car to learn on, don't jump into a supercar and give it a shot.
- When I started no aids, I just took them all off, hopped in a mediocre car and learned from there. I would recommend a FR with about 250-300 hp. Something that has just enough to kick the rear out a little bit so you can learn and get a feel for it all. As much as I hate the car and think it's garbage, the one I learned all aids off was the SS Edge Camaro. [The Edge Camaro was NTSC DLC.]

Lastly, in case there is any doubt to what I'm talking about, take a look at the D3 second place. Mostly everyone uses a wheel there, I am one of the FEW that use a DS3.

I hope that anything I have said helps you out in some way.
When you get used to it, you will start running considerably faster times and won't go back.

-----

EDIT:
You don't have to do this but it will help sooooo much.
TUNE the car.
By tune I don't mean adding upgrades, like 99% of the people on this forum think thats what tune means.
I mean actually tune susupension, downforce, lsd, etc.
If you don't tune, head over to the tuning forum and grab a tune from there. It may not fit your driving style so you may have to fiddle with a couple things to your liking.
I cannot stress enough the impact a good tune can have. It can make your car so much better and feel like something better.
 
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R2 = accelerate
L2 = brake
X = shift up
square = shift down


I have a driving force GT wheel, but am most of the time to lazy to set it up it, so my primary controller is the DS3 since a while know.

I took away the driving aids when i used my wheel, so i learned how to handle the cars. Once u know, what the cars charackteristics are, there is no problem driving them with the DS3 (all aids off too).
 
I learned by doing a 23 lap in a Super GT Calsonic GTR at Indianapolis, no SRF, or Driving line with a manual transmission, then again with no traction or ABS (though I never quite got the hang of it). Do it in arcade mode in a race on professional level (so the opposition are all in Super GT cars (only works for arcade only cars). I did that a while ago, even now I still use ABS (always, even on the odd occasion that I can get my wheel out, I still use ABS)

My controls are
Right analog up (acceleration)
Right analog down (brakes)
Triangle (Reverse)
Circle (handbrake)
 
MikeTheHockeyFan
Yep, I also have reassigned accel and brake to the right analog stick.

Not only does that give you excellent throttle control, but also it frees up the shoulder buttons L1 / R1 for manual gear shifting without your hands feeling cramped after a minute or two.

Of course using this method you lose the ability to make a very quick transition from braking to accelerating, and you can't apply the brake softly to control your acceleration out of a corner after the apex.

If you're using a Dual Shock though, I can't see a better setup.
Click to expand...

Agree'd, throttle control with the analog is the best!
 
First of all start of testing cars in the 400 - 500 PP range. When you move up in power it can get quite difficult to control acceleration so my two cents for you are:

Move ballast to rear of car.

Use manual gears (I use X and Sqre) and early shift to give yourself traction.

Use either triggers or analogue for acceleration. If your using triggers buy attachments for them

And just be gentle with the acceleration, it wont take long for you to get the feel for the car in the corners and you'l be away then.👍
 
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Mhhh I can see that many people choose to use "digital" controls for throttle and brake... I really don't do that, because I has found the analog sticks more sharp to control the throttle and brake.
I only has change the default to the oposite (left control throttle/brake, right control steering).
 
L3--Steering
R3--Throttle/Brake (only use it for throttle)
L2--Brake
L1--Look Back
R2--Shift Up
R1--Shift Down
O---Handbrake
▲---Reverse

Change from that setup a few weeks ago, also changed to manual and no aids ever, at the same time. Took some getting used to, and occasionally I mess up and hit the wrong button at the wrong time. I feel I've gotten much better, even though I still suck online. Had been using same button config since GT2, didn't play GT1.
 
i just keep the stock setup, have been since GT1...but i can never use the analog stick to control my braking...so just the square button and use the analong for gas on long straights or just alternate when my thumb is getting tired from X
 
he didn't ask for tips, he was just wondering how some DS3 players can drive good with a controller
 

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