Does V-Drift support a steering wheel and pedals?

[CSlash]

I wasn't sure whether to put it here or the "extra features request"
forum, because if it already supports, I look like an ass. You see,
I was thinking about getting a steering wheel to play driving games
with a little more realism, but I'm trying to find a game (for linux) that
supports it. So far, this one seems the coolest and most probable
to support it. I wanted a game with the coolest 3D, least cartoon-ish,
and has the best simulation of what you would find in the real thing.
Most of these other racing games for linux feature penguins riding
go-carts, which is cool, but not for me. Bottom line: I need a game of this
nature, and I need to be able to use a steering wheel with it.

(Keyboard is not variable, mouse is too akward, and joystick
is not (in my opinion) real enough (You wouldn't find a joystick
in a real car, of course) )

Thanks for the help!

[CSlash]

Note: This is a two part question, "is this the game for me"
"and does it support a steering wheel?"

Thanks again!

[joevenzon]

Not only does VDrift support steering wheel and pedals, it's really hard to drive without them (or at a minimum a dual analog stick gamepad) because of the complex physics model.

If you're familiar with windows driving simulations like GTR, VDrift aims to be something similar. Right now I'd list VDrift's major shortcomings as:
* less complex graphics, although it holds up pretty well
* the car physics settings aren't all as refined so although the physics engine is up to snuff, some cars don't handle realistically (though you're free to tweak them to your heart's content; they're human readable text files)
* the number of play modes is pretty minimal... it only really supports doing time trials/practice and sort of single races (limited number of opponents, no collision with opponents)

VDrift does support a clutch pedal, but it's not heavily tested. There's also some (very) experimental force feedback support on linux only.

[alex25]

* the car physics settings aren't all as refined so although the physics engine is up to snuff, some cars don't handle realistically (though you're free to tweak them to your heart's content; they're human readable text files)

the engine behaviour in the refactor branch is kind of wrong right now. you can start the engine in any gear and it won't stall. previously you had to be in first gear to start the engine.

--alex--

[joevenzon]

the engine behaviour in the refactor branch is kind of wrong right now. you can start the engine in any gear and it won't stall. previously you had to be in first gear to start the engine.

With autoclutch enabled, it will disengage the clutch and allow you to start the engine in any gear, as with a real car. Is this not the behavior you were expecting? By the way, in the refactor you can get an idea of what the state of the clutch is by looking at the gear number display; it gets brighter when the clutch is engaged and slightly darker when the clutch is disengaged.

[alex25]

With autoclutch enabled, it will disengage the clutch and allow you to start the engine in any gear, as with a real car.

that's fine, but if i start the engine in 7th gear going up the hill i expect it to stall really fast. it doesn't right now. instead, the car accelerates very slowly but eventually it reaches high speeds. i don't think this is very realistic.

--alex--

[joevenzon]

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Chevr...174276.htm

Check it out: at 1:35 Jeremy Clarkston starts a Z06 corvette from a standstill in 5th gear and takes it up to 160 mph without changing gears.

[CSlash]

I keep searching for steering wheels on ebay, and only get the wheel
and pedals, so I just assumed there was no such thing as a gearshifter.
I am interested to know where (online) I can get one (I already
tried "googling" for usb stickshifts, and only got results pertaining
to the usb storage device with the same general name, this is why I
need a link.) But, it would be nice to have one and a clutch, so
I can continue learning to drive even when I'm not at the wheel behind the
moment.

[CSlash]

I guess what I'm looking for is to make my own hyperstimulator
from linux, complete with e-brake, steering wheel, shifter, clutch,
the works. But I need:

a) to know how I can purchase these things

b) whether they're compatible with this program,

c) how much I'll probably wind up paying, and

d) how well it works all-in-all (or if some other
linux software (free) would suit the usage
better)

[joevenzon]

I've heard good things about the Logitech G25. People have gotten it work with VDrift, but it seems to take a little fiddling. There's a great thread in this forum that has the info you'd need.