Am I the only one who hates the DFP???

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Just gonna add my piece to this thread, but will echo statements made already. DFP rules. I got it with GT4 and have used the DS2 for two player games when I am at my friends house. DS2 is dull. DFP is soooo much fun. I just enjoy driving round the 'Ring feeling every single bump and camber. You just don't get it with the DS2.

I will never forget the feeling I had when I managed to hold a huge slide near the end of a lap round Trial Mountain reverse in an Opel Speedster. Lift-off oversteer, helped by the hill, I held it from the corner exiting the tunnel all the way to the next corner. A gaming moment to savour. I managed this after about two hours getting used to the wheel.

I think that's another difference; the feeling of satisfaction when you get it right. I honeslty believe that GT4 is the best game I have ever played in 20 years of gaming. And I also believe that the wheel has a part to play in that. I am quicker than I'll ever be with a DS2 now.

After watching some videos posted here I thought the noise it made would really annoy me, but I don't really notive it now. If you keep the lines smooth (which is what I believe Mr Yamauchi wants you to do), then you won't really hear it either.

The only downside is the reverse thing. Why we can't downshift to reverse is beyond me...
 
it took me a couple days to really get comfortable playing GT with a wheel. I have been playing with wheels on the PC for years...for some reason, it just took me a sec to adapt to the wheel for GT4. I would recomend getting a wheel if you want a driving experience. Personally, it feels like i'm more in tune with the game using a wheel; its more fun. I am good with a DS2, but its not as immersive.

Also, I only have a regular Driving Force wheel, and for the $15 i paid used for it, you can't beat it. It works perfectly. I have it mounted on a wooden tv-dinner stand(old one i got for free). you can pull it up to any chair and be comfy. so for $15 I got a sweet setup.

PS- For everyone that doesn't like the 900, or doesn't think its necessary if you dont have a wheel, the DF is around 200º from lock to lock. you don't even need all that, unless you are going around a super tight hairpin, or saving some major oversteer.
 
Sorry for Me Too post, but turn down the Feedback to Medium until you get used to it. And if you are spinning more than 300 degrees, are you Rally or Draft Racing?
 
i love it, i got it 4 days ago, and yes its EXTREMELY difficult at first, but you do get used to it, and one of the first things i've learned is that you dont use that whole 900 degrees, you can't or you'll spin out. but ya the only problem i've found is that you do have to go so crazy with it and i shake my whole dresser around when i do some really hard racing but other than that its amazing. oh and i leave it on %60 cuz 100's just too crazy on really fast cars.
 
Last week a friend of mine loaned me his DFP wheel. I used it for about eight hours over two nights.

I've been using a Mad Catz MC2 Universal wheel for over two years. I went back and forth between the two several times, using them to drive a Pescarolo C60 LMP car on the Sarthe track (the one with the chicanes).

I turned off Active Steering and selected Mild force feedback. After many hours with the DFP, and feeling very comfortable with it, I came to some conclusions that a lot of people on this forum are not going to like to hear.

I'm currently working on a post that I hope the moderators will allow me to make as a new thread. In it I will try to relate, as best as I can, why I was unable to come within two seconds of my Mad Catz lap times with the DFP. Suffice to say for now that it was absolutely not a matter of getting used to the DFP. I was completely used to it. There is no doubt in my mind that the control afforded me by the Mad Catz is quicker, easier to work with, and actually more realistic than the DFP.

Short version: The "softer" response of the MC allowed me to correct for mistakes much easier than the "harder" response of the DFP. I could keep the Pescarolo on the track better with the MC than the DFP, and could therefore go faster with it.

I'll post the thread as "Why the Mad Catz wheel results in faster laps than a DFP".
 
One plus point for the fanatec wheel I'm using till the dfp arrives (when will that be... grrrrr) is that you can adjust the dead zone, the sensitivity and the resistance to turning it.

Can the DFP be similarly adjusted?
 
The DFP forces you to change your driving style in many ways. With the DS2 I could break very very late, crank the stick left or right and still make the turn.
Can't do that with the DFP because cranking the wheel takes tremendous effort. DFP slowly molds you to have a more graceful driving style.. early braking, gentle throttle, and light steering input.
The 'weight' of the DFP is actually great. For those of you who find it heavy have been spoiled by the now very common power steering feature in almost all cars. The weight, feel, and effort put into turning the DFP is very similar to how a car with no power steering would feel.
My Elise has no power steering and it takes considerable effort to drive the car at low parking speeds. But once you get up to speed the steering ligthens up... only to get heavy again when turning hard/fast. The DFP feels just like this.

I thought about getting my money back the first night I tried the DFP. I couldn't do anything in GT4. My car spun out everytime I got hit by a car... or everytime I tried to ride the high kerbs. But all that's changed after 1 week.

I'm very positive I can crank out faster laps with the DS2. But that's because the player can have a far more brutal driving style to attack circuits with using the DS2.
 
controller = baby ****.. it's the biggest assist in the game.. :p

the wheel is easy to handle.. u're probably taking corners at like crazy speeds.. i would assume u take corners or turns at slower speeds in ur real car, ye?

it's so easy to control. took me like 30mins to get used to and a few days to get almost as good as my times with my controller.

what i've done to make reverse easy (this is gran turismo's fault for making a seperate reverse button), is to assign shift down (the stick up) to reverse, and handbrake is shift up (the stick down). i use the paddles to change gears which helps me not to turn the steering wheel so much as i try to keep my fingers near the paddles at all times.

also, dont just swing the wheel when going into a corner, try it in real life, u can spin ur car jsut like in GT if u have a rear wheel drive. smooth turning etc is the key :d

simple as a pimple
 
1991MustangDECH
My biggest beef with the DFP is that the steering is so slow. Attempting to correct (or maintain) a lurid drift with the DFP often results in a big spin because you can't counter-steer fast enough because you're fighting the FF.

NOTE to Logitech: the steering goes LIGHT when the car starts to rotate... it doesn't load up such that you can't turn the wheel.

That, combined with searching for the reverse button after a spin (which could be anywhere with 900' steering) can be a real piss-off.
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that's true, steering goes real light IRL. to help do this in GT4, i first set the DFP to 60% force feedback (press R3, select, left paddle - the left light on the wheel should flash only ONCE, flash twice = 100% feedback). then i turned down the feedback in GT4 settings.

for the reverse button, see my last post above :o
 
SouL
The 'weight' of the DFP is actually great. For those of you who find it heavy have been spoiled by the now very common power steering feature in almost all cars. The weight, feel, and effort put into turning the DFP is very similar to how a car with no power steering would feel.
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winner. I love the worm and roller steering of my old bimmer. and dual carbs (drool) anyways... it would be interesting if the logitech wheel for gt5 release would be able to change steering emulation type dependant on the car you were using.
 
mbavaria30s
winner. I love the worm and roller steering of my old bimmer. and dual carbs (drool) anyways... it would be interesting if the logitech wheel for gt5 release would be able to change steering emulation type dependant on the car you were using.
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Agreed. I drove my brothers old civc for a while, and it had no power steering..It was a blast...way more fun to drive IMHO. Felt like I had more control.

And in the next DFP, I'd love to see the steering change with the cars in GT5, as well as eliminate the sound of the motors. And have the wheel return to center faster...

Then, I could die a happy man.
 
asparagus
ExigeExcel
Can't you set reverse to a button?
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PROBABLY FOO
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What the hell!

I hate how you can't just downshift from first into reverse.

Fooey.

It's better to just not screw up; wouldn't you agree?
 
YOU ARE NOT ALONE !!!
i play mostly at night and the NOISE is unbearable !!!!
way noisier than my earlier driving force pro and about the 900° I'm not that happy with them also counter steering looks a bit hard to me and I'm used to do it in real life and we've got no racetracks where I live so I'm mostly talking about "safe" sliding not crazy D1 stuff ! since when do you have to make 2 turns to counter a "slight" rear wheel slide?!?!? maintaining a stable FR looks a bit hard to me ingame with the DFP :/ wouldn't be here to post if reality was like the DFP when I was on the Nurburgring lol

also I find that the throttle is too touchy if I want to drive a beast like the Amuse Carbon R I don't really see the benefits I almost must not touch the throttle not to wheelspin :/ but maybe this car is just too much... I'm gonna try to drive the Carbon R with my good old driving force pro monday and I'll post what I think of both in GT4.

edit :
oh I must add that to keep the car stable at 120mph+ the DFP is great there the 900° really helps and give a somewhat realistic feedback (except maybe GT4 "road tires" feel like winter tires too me lol)

edit2:
I sense a dying weblink ;) : http://ae86levin.free.fr/ueo_style-1.wmv
D1 drifter showing his drifiting skills on a straight line.

hmmkay maybe the DFP isn't tha much when you see reality but a real wheel is moving a LOT smoother than the noisy grinding feeling the DFP has....
 
I've had mine for a day now, biult a custom cockpit for an old workout bench, looks abit like a go cart now, anyway i couldn't do anything at first but now im starting to get used to it. I tried rallying but that is WAY to hard its just crazy!
 
I owned the wheel for two weeks. It would have been one day if i used it the first day i had it instead of taking it on holiday with me.

I took it back because of the common brake jamming on/not working at all problem.

It was an awesome experience while it lasted, but i just can't afford to shell out that sort of money again and on top of that i'd have to buy a table and seat so i can use it properly.

So i'm just going to stick with the DualShock2 from now on. It is pretty easy to play the game with it.
 
1991MustangDECH
My biggest beef with the DFP is that the steering is so slow. Attempting to correct (or maintain) a lurid drift with the DFP often results in a big spin because you can't counter-steer fast enough because you're fighting the FF.

NOTE to Logitech: the steering goes LIGHT when the car starts to rotate... it doesn't load up such that you can't turn the wheel.

That, combined with searching for the reverse button after a spin (which could be anywhere with 900' steering) can be a real piss-off.

Otherwise... it's great. As long as you don't mind losing the occasional race because you spin... in a situation that would be EASY to correct with a controller... or in real life.
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Exactly! This is my biggest issue with the wheel, and probably the reason I use it so infrequently - if you need opposite lock when it's time to correct back to straight ahead you end up off in the gravel. Turning down the FF just defeats the bloody point of having an FF wheel.
 
For me and all the other PC sim gamers who had the wheel way before gt4 came out... these arguements seem so old and annoying. Yes the wheel does not spin fast enough at times. But the cars in gt4 are more sensative than the Real life counterparts (not talking about WRC cars) so drifting is not hard at all really.

It just takes practice. The wheel does not spin fast enough on its own realisticly (D1 cars anyone :) ) Deal with it. Learn to have smoother, quicker and less wastefull steering inputs, proper throttle control is also key...


Best thing about the Wheel for the pc is the lock is adjustable and so is the FFB. PD/logitech could have at least made the lock change depending on the car.....
 
dfp rocks, will never use controller

edited by moderator, Advertising = banned
 
dfp definitely sucks I put on my Logitech WingMan Formula GP back and it's a LOT more fun to drive with it.
Steering FF is a lot more realistic and smooth it makes no noise what more can you ask ?
the only minus is that the FF effects when the road is bumpy or other stuff like that really isn't great but the feeling when you over-steer or you have the weight shifting is so much better who cares about the road bumps ?

Also the 900° was a nice idea but half-done it just doesn't work sorry :
1) the wheels and steering wheel self-center when you accelerate going out of a corner you don't have to turn the wheels back in reality, DFP hardly does it right.
2) the force feedback is constantly fighting your movements even when in reality the steering is supposed to go light, it's more like you drive a 27tons tank than racing cars

Sorry I just drove back form work like I almost do everyday "oops" at 110mph on a 60mph road and not only on straights and no no no the DFP doens't simulate anything realistic it just sucks suck sucks ans sucks.

And for Christ's sake the NOISE is UNBEARABLE utterly unacceptable.
With the nosie and the poor feeling I say that the force feedback system of the DFP is a real failure and that with a different mechanical system the 900° could have been great..what a shame.
DFP = 👎
old Logitech WingMan Formula GP = 👍
 
The DFP is the best wheel ! Don't know why the other people have issues with it, but for me it's the best !

So here's my thoughts :

1. Played GT1. GT2 and GT 3 with DS2 ... enjoyed it alot
2. Bought GT4 and DFP together, and it rules ! It really feels like GT4 was written for use with the DFP, as one feels every little bump on the track.
3. Tried DFP with 100% force feedback, but it's too much then, playing on 60% rather.
4. Wheel noise gets less as wheel gets worn in, and gets less while you play and it "warms" up ...
5. Make volume louder to cancel out noise in any case !
6. Reverse is a mission if wheel is turned as well ... and then you've lost the race already ...
7. My DFP turns back a bit actually when through a turn, so it's not that hard turing it straight again ...

So all in all I think it's a great wheel, but takes some getting used too I must admit ... but I think I'm already faster with it than with the DS2 ... will never race any game again without the wheel ! 👍
 
Does anyone use the stick-shifter on the DFP? I started using mine shortly after getting GT4 and found it to be a lot more fun. Only problem is now it seems to be a little broken, since whenever I downshift it often jumps two or three gears at a time (which should of course result in my engine blowing up and my gearbox disintegrating onto the road...I guess PD didn't think to simulate this ;) )

Anyone else have this problem? I'll be taking back for a replacement soon (still under warranty) but just wandered if I was alone on this one.
 
I have heard of people with the same problem of the gears going down more than 1 gear when using the stick shifter ... but my problem with it is that 1 hand is not on the wheel anymore then ... and that makes driving much more difficult I'd say ... but as far as your problem, I have heard of other people with the same issue ... let Logitech sort it out ...
 
ZeratulSG
Does anyone use the stick-shifter on the DFP? I started using mine shortly after getting GT4 and found it to be a lot more fun. Only problem is now it seems to be a little broken, since whenever I downshift it often jumps two or three gears at a time (which should of course result in my engine blowing up and my gearbox disintegrating onto the road...I guess PD didn't think to simulate this ;) )

Anyone else have this problem? I'll be taking back for a replacement soon (still under warranty) but just wandered if I was alone on this one.
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I always used the stick, Ive noticed it only shift multiple gears if I flick it or just let it go and it bounces.

I dont have to take my hand off the wheel to shift in most cases my fingets reach easily.
 
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