Experiencing problems with GT4, controller issues. Has anyone had problems like this?

T

Tokyo Drifter

59
I was *so* happy to finally be able to buy Gran Turismo 4, but I was well aware that some problems have been reported with the game. Well, now I think I am having a problem and need to know if anyone is having problems like this.

The controller seems to be cutting in and out, I was looking through the cars in the Arcade mode (decided to get a quick feel for the new game there before diving into anything else) and then during an arcade race, "Go!", and the controller just stopped working. My car got going, then no more gas and it rolled to a stop while I was left behind. This happened again, and again, and again. I am trying to use the original PSX / PS1 controller with this game because it is what I have used with all the GT games. I know that the old control is not meant to be used with the new games inparticular, so I tried to plug in my PS2 controller and it would not respond period.

Now, I am not sure that GT4 is at the core of this problem, it might be something with the console or the controller but I wanted to see if anyone else was having anything like this happen to them in order to help figure out what is happening to me.

I turned on another game after that and the control still didn't respond. Then it came back and all has been well since then. The PS2 control, that is. The PSX control has worked with every other game so far except for games that demand the use of a PS2 control before they even load up.

It might not be GT4, but I don't know what to think at this point. If anyone else has had any controller issues with the game, let me know.
 
I haven't had any issues with this myself, but it sounds like the controller port itself could be going bad (how aged is your console?), or is just very dusty. If you have a can of compressed air handy, try dusting around in there as well as the connecting end of the controller. If you're using an extension, verify that everything's connected firmly there and check that the controller is seated well in the port on the console. One loose edge can cause your controller to randomly cut in and out in a similar fashion.

HTH,
Z.
 
Just guessing, because I don't have a PSOne controller to try, but it sounds like the controller setup is wrong, i.e. wrong buttons set for gas and brake. Also, if you're using the stick for gas and brake, is the controller in analog mode (the light should be lit?)

If you're using buttons for gas and brake, I don't think the old controllers were pressure sensitive. The button was either on or off, not variable pressure.

I have heard somewhere that you can use the older controllers, but not as the first controller. That one has to be PS2-specific. (I've heard.)
 

Z.: I have thought it might be possible that the control port is going bad. I have plugged the PS2 control into the port many times, only to experience the control not recognizing. The buttons do not work, and the red light for the analog never comes on. A game store recommended making sure the control was plugged in before turning the system on because: "sometimes the system has trouble seeing a new control," when it's already associated with the control plugged in before. I tried that and for awhile, it seemed to work fine. (Before I got GT4, with other games) but then the problem came back.

The strange part is that this is the first time the PS-X / PS-One control has ever not worked. I use it with GT3, R-Racing Evolution, and SRS (yes, I know, cheap NFSU knock off, my mistake). It has always functioned perfectly, even when I used it as my main control for awhile initially. I've never seen it not function until GT4.

Some of the parts of the console are dusty, this was a gift from a friend but the control port and everything seems to be alright.

The console itself is not that old. I've had it for about .. wow, a year or a year and a half I think and no more but it might have been a bit longer. I don't think I've had it two years though, so. Friend had just bought the console brand new and through a slight mix up, I ended up getting it from him but he told me to go ahead and keep it. So the unit should be almost brand new.

The only other problem to note is that the A/V plug in, the connection to the PS2 itself has been known to cut out and I have to nudge it to get my visual back on the screen. Sounds like a similar problem to the control.

Cosmic: Well, it's good to know someone uses the PS1 controller. You using the original analog dual-shock control from the PSX or the slightly newer ones for the little portable PS-1?

wfooshee: The control set is correct, what happens is the button works for a few seconds and then will randomly stop working. I had gas and brake fine for a bit and then .. nothing .. so the control is setup right.

I am aware that the old controls are not pressure sensitive, that is why I use it in the first place. The PS2 control I have does not feel pressure sensitive to me at all. You either push the button down firmly and hold it that way all the time or you get zero response from the button, so it's basically the same thing. It's either on or it's off. So rather than have to use a control where I have to mash the button down, I decided to use the PSX control which does not require such pressure applied to it to get it to respond.

When I turned on GT3 the first time, I was using the PS2 control and I thought there was something horribly wrong with the game because the car wouldn't turn, period. The so-called pressure sensitive directional pad was not responding to any steering input without being pushed down quite firmly. This caused me to switch to the PSX control, where even a slight tap gets you instant response and GT3 felt instantly better, never had another issue with that again.

Also, "I have heard somewhere that you can use the older controllers, but not as the first controller. That one has to be PS2-specific. (I've heard.)" -- That's a new one on me but who knows, maybe? The newer games might need to see a PS2 dual shock control plugged in. Some games strictly require the use of a PS2 control and if one is not plugged in, the game does not load until there is one. GT4 loaded up fine with the PSX control plugged in, all the other games so far that needed a PS2 control have displayed a request for the PS2 control before the game ever loaded.



So far, what I do know is this. The PS2 control has had issues with the system not seeing it after it was plugged in, this has been happening for atleast a month or so now. Since then, it has only happened with the PS2 control, never with the PSX one. The PSX control has functioned perfectly, ever time and I've used it quite a bit since then. Until GT4, the control not responding or cutting out has only occured with the PS2 control. However, since the problem is random, it is possible that it has just never randomly chosen to happen when the PSX control was plugged in.

I just need to try and somehow figure out what the exact problem is because I do not want to have to take back GT4, I've been anxiously anticipating this game for as long as many of you have probably. But this problem started with GT4, I mean, the PSX control not functioning.

If anyone else has any other thoughts, do post them. I'll turn on GT4 in a bit and give it another try, maybe this was just a random thing? -- Is it possible that GT4 might just be a bad copy? But then a bad copy wouldn't ignore the control would it? That'd have to be something the system does, right?
 
I can't tell you what the problem is, but I'm sure it's NOT the fact that you're using a PSone controller. I have been using one and I'm about 57% done with the game and no issues. I don't like the pressure sensitive buttons either :yuck:
 
Dont know what the problem is either but i had a similar sort of thing happen. I was using a DS2 control and one day it started stuffing up. The screen during races would flicker sometimes and when going through looking at cars in the car lots it would randomly go back and foward like someone was pressing triangle and X alternatively. Strange thing is it would only do it in some, not all, parts of the game. But it definately was a controller fault.

So i went and stole my sisters control now its all good!
 
my ps2 controller does the same thing. it happened worse playing gt 3. i think mine has something to do with the cord, as in where it connects to the controller or near the input. moving it around pushing it inward normally helps. im not really sure
 
I use a racing wheel but the first time I used a controlle (pressure sensitive PS2 model) when playing against a friend, I had something strange happen to me. Everything was going fine until at one point where the car suddenly started braking while I was accelerating.

Also, when playing with my wheel, from time to time I will be chugging along like normal and the car might suddenly slam on the brakes without my doing. I have also encountered problems with the gas pedal as well, ranging from getting a half-a-second late response to a full 4 seconds late response. The wheel situation is probably just my pedals but I did find the controller problem quite odd.
 
:indiff:
Roy Batty: Yeah, the control feels too stiff and makes steering feel impossible to me sometimes. The joystick is a no go, I always end up pushing it too far. So the PSX control has always been best, I'll use rapid and gentle taps to keep the car right on it's line with ease. Good to see someone else who uses it!

luda_3g: You had something happen with the controller too, huh? You got another controller and it was fine from there on? Yeah, it seems like this PS2 control of mine has some issues. But it was .. very strange .. to see the PSX controller start acting up because it's worked faithfully with the PS2 all the time.

997 gt-3: Does the same thing? You mean cuts out and leaves you with no control over what's happening? That's happened to me numerous times with the PS2 control, just never with the PSX control until now.



I actually have GT4 on right now and have the PS2 control plugged in, so far I have yet to experience any problems whatsoever with the control cutting out or acting up in any way. It was an initial thought of mine that maybe GT4 doesn't warn you, but is not meant to work with the PSX Control after all but since a few people are using it. I guess it can be used.

I now think that maybe the control not working, was the same basic problem that was happening with the PS2 control and since it happens completely at random, it just never happened with the PSX control until last night, giving me a scare that there was something wrong with GT4.

I was concerned because I saw a few issues brought up on the boards here with GT4 not working correctly with some PS2s due to their age. Someone said something about being told he had to buy a brand new PS2 or he would not be able to play GT4 period. Several other people told him that they had older units too and had no problems. So maybe what he was told was just stupidity on the part of some store clerk at a game store or something.

I am about to switch back to the PSX control and give it another try with GT4. We'll see what happens this time but if I must, I think I can live with the PS2 control, though for me, this control makes turning and cornering a pain in the ass.
 
I had this problem too, but it usually happens during the middle of the race, and only happen once, once i go to the port and push it in more, it will be fine as long as I dun unplug it. I have the new PS2 slim, and new controller. I am guessing the reason i encounter this problem is because i opened my PS2 once, and so i might have loosen the controller port.
 

FuryX21: Sorry, I like to respond to everyone if possible, somehow didn't see your post. That is extremely weird. That almost sounds like a game related problem, doesn't it?

boa129: You have a brand new PS2 and you had problems? I guess that means it has nothing to do with the age of mine, huh? I don't know whether or not the problem would happen because you opened it. Why did you do that anyway? I have opened my regular PSX atleast two or three times without a problem. Can't remember what made me do it exactly but I've done it before.


Well, I went back to the regular PSX controller and everything was working. Save for one oddity, right when I plugged in the normal PSX control, there was a lag in the first input of the controller but from there on, everything was fine.

I neglected to mention the controller was also NOT moving from car maker to car maker in the arcade car selection screen too. It happened at random, you'd be fine and then move the control button and just that once, nothing. Then it would be fine for a bit, then the same problem, it did this for awhile away the first time I had the game on.

I've only had the game on twice since I bought it. Once last night where all those problems happened, and then again just now to see if anything had changed.

It sounds like a lot of people are running into odd things happening with GT4. Is it possible maybe that the game itself has several bad copies floating around?

I don't know how the CD and the game itself could have any influence over the control but then there are games that can see which control is plugged in and go: "Before playing this game, you must plug in a PS2 dual shock control." So, I guess they do have some interaction with the controller.
 

I totally forgot to mention something else strange! When I went back to enter into an actual race, to give the PSX control some more time to either work right or mess up again. It might have been just my imagination, but I could swear there was sudden frame lag. When you go to a race track, it shows that movie of the course just above it. That movie was .. lagging, like it was skipping frames every few moments. I don't think it was doing that when the PS2 controller was plugged in.
 
I have that issue with GT4 only, for unknown reasons my controller would not recognize inputs, out of the blue, so i would move the cord and it would snap back to work, the thing is the PS2 doesn't not recognize this as being unplugged and pauses the game, it just keeps playing as though i stopped using the controller. WEIRD. THIS IS A BRAND NEW SLIM PS2.

Another thing i noticed, Dual-Band and GPRS enabled cellphones make controllers go crazy, my phone was near my controller cable and the phone was doing it's continuity uplink thing and just like that the on screen cursor started moving around like crazy, i thought i may have pressed a wrong button. really odd.
 
SavageEvil
I have that issue with GT4 only, for unknown reasons my controller would not recognize inputs, out of the blue, so i would move the cord and it would snap back to work, the thing is the PS2 doesn't not recognize this as being unplugged and pauses the game, it just keeps playing as though i stopped using the controller. WEIRD. THIS IS A BRAND NEW SLIM PS2.

Another thing i noticed, Dual-Band and GPRS enabled cellphones make controllers go crazy, my phone was near my controller cable and the phone was doing it's continuity uplink thing and just like that the on screen cursor started moving around like crazy, i thought i may have pressed a wrong button. really odd.
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You had a PS2 controller, with a cord, not a cordless signal controller (Do they even make those anymore?) and a Cell Phone drove it nuts? That's strange. Was it transmitting a wireless signal? I mean, I'm not sure what you mean by "uplink thing," so. I have a wireless Router in here. But how could a wireless device mess up a PS2 control? That is *extremely* odd.
 
Yes, Ive got an odd problem with my DS2 controller (one of the pressure sensitive ones) The left hand arrow on the d-pad is not half as sensitive as the right??!! Its really hard to explain but fast right hand corners can be taken at speed with minimal slippage of tires and left hand corners are taken rather more violently with the car jerking and basically drifting round. The best way to describe it is the right turn d-pad is presure sensitive and the left is not and operates as an on/off switch. Its like this on all tracks and all cars - ive also swapped to my older DS2 pad and that has the smae problem so I assume its a problem with my PS2 (More likely)or GT4 -less likely unless anyone else knows what im talking about??
 
my ps2 controller was doing the same thing it would be working then lose all control of car or truck and the analog red light keep flickering stay go back off it was weird so i went and bought a new mad cats controller. But im getting a mad cats wheel that works with ps2 and xbox will that mess up too?
 
Cosmic: Well, it's good to know someone uses the PS1 controller. You using the original analog dual-shock control from the PSX or the slightly newer ones for the little portable PS-1?
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I'm using the original analog dual-shock control from the PSX ;)
 
Cosmic
I'm using the original analog dual-shock control from the PSX ;)
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Why?? You must have horrific problems with locked brakes and wheelspin... whoever says the pressure-sensitive buttons dont work aren't trying hard enough. It took me a while to adjust, but I found it better. Well, each to their own...

my PS2 controller is wrecked - too much abuse over the years. My brother's, the one i use most, has the lead almost coming out (you can see the actual wires). My other one, the select button doesnt work. Time for a new one i think...
 
RenesisEvo
Why?? You must have horrific problems with locked brakes and wheelspin... whoever says the pressure-sensitive buttons dont work aren't trying hard enough. It took me a while to adjust, but I found it better. Well, each to their own...

my PS2 controller is wrecked - too much abuse over the years. My brother's, the one i use most, has the lead almost coming out (you can see the actual wires). My other one, the select button doesnt work. Time for a new one i think...
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Well , your last part of your post explains everything.

my PS2 controller is wrecked......
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So it definitely sounds as if something is up with GT4 making controllers act crazy. I find it highly odd that so many other people are having these problems, especially when they don't have these problems with any other games. GT4 has a mind of its own.
 
I'll bet you $10 that it's not the game.
Have had this problem from time to time. At first I did think that it was a major glitch, but on further inspection I found that it was just my connector port clogged with some dust. Try to clean the suckers out with some canned air and a old tooth brush.
If it still gives you problems then it must be your cord. I had one PS2 controller go bad on me just due to the fact that when I finished playing for the night I would wrap the cord around the controller, over time it pulled the cord away from the connectors.
 
Elduchey
I'll bet you $10 that it's not the game.
Have had this problem from time to time. At first I did think that it was a major glitch, but on further inspection I found that it was just my connector port clogged with some dust. Try to clean the suckers out with some canned air and a old tooth brush.
If it still gives you problems then it must be your cord. I had one PS2 controller go bad on me just due to the fact that when I finished playing for the night I would wrap the cord around the controller, over time it pulled the cord away from the connectors.
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But it just seems highly unlikely that all of the people on here having this problem all happen to suddenly have problems with their controller port after playing GT4. If I'm not mistaken, owners of the slimline PS2 are having the problem as well.
 

Whoa, I didn't check this thread for a day and look at all the new posts. I almost assumed I wouldn't see anyone else posting on this thread.

RenesisEvo: "You must have horrific problems with locked brakes and wheelspin..." -- I am using the original analog PSX controller as well and was told the same thing by a so-called friend of mine, that I would have horrible problems with the same things you are claiming and for the records, I have encountered ZERO problems with locking up the brakes or wheelspin.

FuryX21: Yes, someone posted earlier on the thread that he has a brand new "slim" PS2 and is encountering the same problem that I am talking about. I have had problems with my PS2 controller cutting out at random and the red analog light going off but this NEVER happened with the original PSX control any time I used it with any game until GT4, that's when my PSX control suddenly began giving me problems. It definitely appears to have started with GT4, I won't rule out the possibility that there is something wrong with the connection port but to have no problems whatsoever with a control and then, bam, suddenly have them with a brand new game seems rather odd to me.


HOWEVER, since starting this thread, I have actually had no further problems with the controller acting up. It seems like it was a fluke that happened the first time I turned the game on and then never again. Of course, it sounds like this is a random problem with most of the people who have posted here and it does not have happen every single time, so just because it hasn't happened to me again yet doesn't mean that it won't happen again.

I'm still inclined to look more at GT4 than I am at the console or the connection port. I believe that my PS2 control is bad, and am considering contacting Sony about it since I bought it brand new from a store, that means that any complaints I have must be taken up with Sony themselves. So I would brush it off as a bad controller problem if the problem had occured with my PS2 controller, because it's been cutting in and out a lot lately, probably for about a month now.

But the PSX control has worked perfectly with every game, every time, and has never failed me once since I plugged the PS2 in the first time. I have been using the PSX controller with every racing game I have, and as mentioned, this includes GT3 too. GT4 is the first time I've had my PSX control give any trouble at all and apparently, I am not alone with strange controller complaints.

This isn't my only complaint with GT4 either, I cannot seem to find where it is and who mentioned it but someone was saying that during the beginning of races the screen would shake and shudder violently, I've seen this happen now for myself. Who let that problem slip through the cracks when they were testing the game? Did they test the game at all? Surely that problem would have been noticed and then should have been fixed. Toss in Online play being dropped, and then seeing the same lack of information on cars like "-------- horsepower" on many of the cars. I am sure some of the horsepower/torque numbers for the older cars would be hard to find but when you consider that they did have to call around and make sure they had permission to use all these cars, from the people who made them, surely those people would have records and numbers for every car they've ever made. I can find a lot of the missing horspower and torque numbers online in a few minutes.

I'm feeling somewhat disappointed over all with the controller issue initially, the screen shaking violently during the start of numerous races. (Is this happening to everyone or just a few people?) The lack of numbers on a lot of the cars. Considering how long this game was delayed, I don't know about anyone else here, but I think these problems should have been fixed before it was finally released.

Oh! And the fact that in an interview the creator promised a realistic Driver-AI to replace the clumsy, and often insane CPU cars in the other GTs up until now. This was another broken promise, I see very little improvement over the previous games in the behavior of the computer controlled cars. I'm spoiled by the far superior driver-AI in R-Racing Evolution from NAMCO. That AI has moments where it seems to be asleep at the wheel but 90% of the time, the computer cars drive and react to each other and you very much like real drivers. Cut infront of a computer controlled car and the computer controlled car will hit the brakes in reaction to you and avoid slamming into you. If you try a move like that in GT4 you will get rear-ended by the CPU car still, try and take the corner closer to the inside than the CPU car and you get side-swiped. Now why did NAMCO manage a reasonably intelligent AI but GT4 could not? GT4 seems to be better but not by enough.

I'm still very much a fan of GT games once they got their act together after GT1, and I am fine over looking the lack of the Driver-AI and missing Online play but it is the screen shuddering and the string of control problems that seem to be linked to GT4 that have me asking one question ..

What do we do? I don't really think it's fair that I should pay 50 dollars for a game that clearly has problems.

What do you guys think? Are you going to keep the game and ignore the problems you're having (for those people who are having problems) or try and do something about it and if so, what? I'm thinking about calling Polyphony Digital (right?) and telling them I'm unhappy with the game.


Phew, went off on a bit of a rant there, sorry for being so long-winded.
 

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