OS X Feral has announced F1 2012 for the Mac!

imacken said:

So, the FF works does it?
Yes, I noticed that 'freethewheel'.
Are the buttons on the shifter mappable OK?
I don't see how this is usable without the buttons. I mean, I use the buttons for KERS, DRS, look left, look right, look behind and car status.
I don't want the 900 degrees either.
At this rate, I'll be sticking with the PC version in Parallels which works very well.

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If you DO NOT use FTW program, all the buttons on the separate shifter are mappable in F1 2012. All 4 black, red and d-pad all work. Everything except the gated shifter works. But again, the buttons on the wheel itself only work as 2 buttons on either side without FTW.

I do not use the FTW program in F1. But it works pretty well on other games. I am working out how to get all of the features of the wheel now incorporated into ASD.

Does the FF work as normal though?
Still trying to get my head around the fact that the 6 buttons are reduced to 2. Why would that be, I wonder, if all the other buttons are mappable.

imacken said:

Does the FF work as normal though?
Still trying to get my head around the fact that the 6 buttons are reduced to 2. Why would that be, I wonder, if all the other buttons are mappable.

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I am not sure why natively the 6 buttons on the wheel itself only work as one right and one left. But in F1 2012, all the buttons on the separate shifter mount besides the gated shifter work and are mappable to anything.

Oh yeah, the FFB works as well as the PC version IT SEEMS. But it does seem that I have to play around with the settings more to get it right. It has also been a while since I played the PC version so I could be wrong. But it is definitely better than the PS3 version!

Thanks again.

Can I ask again, does the force feedback work OK? Do the settings work?

On the button issue, having the main buttons unmappable is a showstopper for me. It's no good having 'view' buttons on the shifter. They need to be available on the main wheel for instant access.

I've tried calling Feral, but I guess they must be gone for Christmas already!

imacken said:

Thanks again.

Can I ask again, does the force feedback work OK? Do the settings work?

On the button issue, having the main buttons unmappable is a showstopper for me. It's no good having 'view' buttons on the shifter. They need to be available on the main wheel for instant access.

I've tried calling Feral, but I guess they must be gone for Christmas already!

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The force feedback works well in my opinion. You use the Override Input Device setting it to steering wheel in the game and all of the FFB options are available just like the console and PC versions.

As far as the buttons on the wheel, I think the best course of action would be to use FTW, which will make the wheel and all buttons totally compatible with the game, then change the steering saturation settings of the wheel to make it only around 270-300 degrees of rotation. This should give you what you want. It will be really no different than the PC version and you can map all of the buttons.

This Feral Support Page should give a good intro to this...

OK, I tested what I told you to do in my last post and here are the findings...

It works great and all the buttons and pedals work perfect. BUT, I did find an issue. When using the FreeTheWheel program, I have a much harder time getting the FFB to respond correctly. It does not seem as good.

I've just started with the game, and there 2 things I would say immediately:
1) all the buttons are fine. All 6 buttons on the main wheel work individually, and the other 8 plus d-pad also work fine. So that's good.
2) Force feedback is very poor. there is only some resistance in the wheel, no environmental effects, e.g. kerbs, at all!
3) can't get the settings right at all so far. The Feral suggestion of 1,63,10,0,0,0,0 just don't work for me at all. What are you using?
I'll keep experimenting for a while and post back.

After an hour or two, I now feel:
1) I get all the buttons working OK without FreeTheWheel. Not sure why you have the problem with the 6 main buttons, but certainly no issue here. They are all mappable and work fine.
2) I see that the Feral suggestions for Advanced settings, relate to when FTW is used.
3) I can't see any benefit at all with FTW, so I don't use it.
4) I use all values set to 0% (as in the PC version) in advanced setting, and the steering is just as per the PC version,
BUT
5) I can get NO force feedback at all. This is a killer for me. There must be a way of sorting this out. If I could get this working, I'd be very happy with the Mac version.
Graphically @ 2560x1440 on my i7 3.4GHz, Radeon HD6970M with 16Gb RAM it runs extremely smoothly and looks just as good as the PC version.
It's just the Force Feedback!

OK, the 6 buttons on my G27 wheel definitely are only working as one (1) right and one (1) left here without FTW. They work as buttons 7 and 8. But the FFB is good here without FTW also. There is not much in the way of 'tarmac' feedback, but it still lets me know when the traction is slipping or when I am off the road.

Are you plugging your wheel in after you start your computer or do you leave it plugged in all the time. May seem like a strange question, but my G27 reacts differently each time, so I always plug it in after the computer has started. There were many times that I would leave it plugged in and would get 900 degree rotation and the buttons would work, but FFB would be spread around the 900 degree and would barely be noticeable. Plugging the wheel in after the computer started, or simply unplugging it and pluggin it in again fixed this.

I may do some videos so others can see.

After another few hours of testing here are my findings:
1) you're right. Plugging the wheel in and out produces different inconsistent results. Sometimes the buttons work and sometimes they don't. This means resetting controls regularly. Why should this happen? A real pain!
2) FTW produces more consistent results in that respect, and the only change that I have to make in Advanced settings is the Steering Saturation from 0% to 65%. All other settings I keep the same with or without FTW, i.e. 5% for Steering Linearity, and 0% for everything else. Still, it's a (minor) pain to have to run FTW each time the wheel is unplugged or the Mac is restarted.
3) Minor point, but the rev lights don't work either.
BUT, I get no Force Feedback at all, with or without FTW.
I am really p***** off about this, as it destroys the whole experience.
There is resistance in the wheel until the computer gives me control, e.g. at the beginning of a Time Trial session, but then, it's just floppy, no wheel resistance, no kerb effects, etc. etc.
Unfortunately, it looks like Feral support went on holiday after Thursday, so there will be no joy there. Bad timing on their part - a day after the major game was released!

imacken said:

After another few hours of testing here are my findings:
1) you're right. Plugging the wheel in and out produces different inconsistent results. Sometimes the buttons work and sometimes they don't. This means resetting controls regularly. Why should this happen? A real pain!
2) FTW produces more consistent results in that respect, and the only change that I have to make in Advanced settings is the Steering Saturation from 0% to 65%. All other settings I keep the same with or without FTW, i.e. 5% for Steering Linearity, and 0% for everything else. Still, it's a (minor) pain to have to run FTW each time the wheel is unplugged or the Mac is restarted.
3) Minor point, but the rev lights don't work either.
BUT, I get no Force Feedback at all, with or without FTW.
I am really p***** off about this, as it destroys the whole experience.
There is resistance in the wheel until the computer gives me control, e.g. at the beginning of a Time Trial session, but then, it's just floppy, no wheel resistance, no kerb effects, etc. etc.
Unfortunately, it looks like Feral support went on holiday after Thursday, so there will be no joy there. Bad timing on their part - a day after the major game was released!

Click to expand...

Yes, I have made a habit of plugging the wheel in after the computer goes to desktop because for me it gives me the same results every time. But the 6 buttons do not work correctly. It's crazy, I have been racing with wheels on PC since the early 90's and on the Mac since 9.2 and have tried almost every wheel and have now programmed my own game around the little amount of fully supported wheels the Mac has and it never ceases to amaze me how things are all over the place with this. I have recorded HID sessions around the same wheel when leaving it plugged in and get different results 1 out of every 5 times. When plugging it in after the computer goes to desktop, that number is much more consistent. That is why in the support section of my game I suggest plugging the wheel in after the computer has started. It works much better for my game.

I am not sure why you have no FFB! You're right, I would not be able to play the game without FFB. That is a main point in using a wheel! You need to feel what the car is doing to race consistently and get better laptimes. You have NO FFB at all? If you let the computer start and go to desktop, then plug in the wheel, DO NOT use FTW, you should definitely be getting FFB. I have very good FFB especially when hitting the kerbs!


Here are my G27 wheel settings for anyone interested...

1. First, again, I plug my wheel in AFTER the computer has gone to desktop.

2. Override Input Device Type - Steering Wheel

3. ADVANCED WHEEL SETTINGS
Steering Deadzone - 1
Steering Saturation - 0
Steering Linearity - 40
Throttle Deadzone - 0
Throttle Saturation - 0
Brake Deadzone - 0
Brake Saturation - 0

4. FORCE FEEDBACK OPTIONS
Feedback - On
Environmental Effects - 50
Feedback Strength - 100
Wheel Weight - 10

JaguarGod said:

I am not sure why you have no FFB! You're right, I would not be able to play the game without FFB. That is a main point in using a wheel! You need to feel what the car is doing to race consistently and get better laptimes. You have NO FFB at all? If you let the computer start and go to desktop, then plug in the wheel, DO NOT use FTW, you should definitely be getting FFB. I have very good FFB especially when hitting the kerbs!

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FTW or no FTW, I get absolutely no FF effects at all. Doesn't matter what the FF settings are. Absolutely nothing.
I have no problems at all with the FF in the Windows version of this game.
I really wish I could sort this out.

Hopefully it is retina ready, and gives it native 2880x1800 support.

TweakOnline said:

Hopefully it is retina ready, and gives it native 2880x1800 support.

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It isn't I'm afriad, however it runs at 1920x1080, everything nearly maxed pretty damn smoothly.

imacken said:

FTW or no FTW, I get absolutely no FF effects at all. Doesn't matter what the FF settings are. Absolutely nothing.
I have no problems at all with the FF in the Windows version of this game.
I really wish I could sort this out.

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I am assuming that FFB works fine in other Mac racing games like Dirt 2?

JaguarGod said:

I am assuming that FFB works fine in other Mac racing games like Dirt 2?

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To be honest, I've never tried another Mac driving game. They are always far too late. I tend to play stuff on Bootcamp, or more recently in Parallels 8. I have found that with PD8 and Windows 8, the performance is ALMOST as good as Bootcamp, and there is no rebooting hassle. F1 2011 and 2012 both run perfectly well in PD8 @ my native 2560x1440 res.
Are there any free (or cheap) games that I could try out to see if it's a system thing or F1 2012 specific?

imacken said:

To be honest, I've never tried another Mac driving game. They are always far too late. I tend to play stuff on Bootcamp, or more recently in Parallels 8. I have found that with PD8 and Windows 8, the performance is ALMOST as good as Bootcamp, and there is no rebooting hassle. F1 2011 and 2012 both run perfectly well in PD8 @ my native 2560x1440 res.
Are there any free (or cheap) games that I could try out to see if it's a system thing or F1 2012 specific?

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OK, this makes more sense. I am now going to assume that you have not installed the FFB kext. Apple left out the FFB kext in Lion and Mountain Lion for some unknown reason. But it can be installed quite easily. Without it, you will not get FFB on your Logitech wheels. And the Logitech wheels are the only wheels that can utilize it on OSX.

Go to my Auto Sport Driving Support Page Here for installation instructions.

NostalgiaLane said:

It isn't I'm afriad, however it runs at 1920x1080, everything nearly maxed pretty damn smoothly.

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At bootcamp it runs great on my MBPr 15'' at ultra with 2880x1800!

JaguarGod said:

OK, this makes more sense. I am now going to assume that you have not installed the FFB kext. Apple left out the FFB kext in Lion and Mountain Lion for some unknown reason. But it can be installed quite easily. Without it, you will not get FFB on your Logitech wheels. And the Logitech wheels are the only wheels that can utilize it on OSX.

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You are a star! That was it! Now, without FTW, I get all FF effects. In fact they are too strong, I have to turn the settings down. (Why on earth is the Logitech kext not in Lion/ML?)
But, as you said, there is no FF when using FTW.
So, it's a case of having either FF or all the buttons working. FF wins hands down each time! So, it's bye-bye to FTW.
Still, we need the buttons to work and FF both in and out of FTW.
Who's responsible for getting these 2 things working?
Well done. Thanks a lot.

imacken said:

You are a star! That was it! Now, without FTW, I get all FF effects. In fact they are too strong, I have to turn the settings down. (Why on earth is the Logitech kext not in Lion/ML?)
But, as you said, there is no FF when using FTW.
So, it's a case of having either FF or all the buttons working. FF wins hands down each time! So, it's bye-bye to FTW.
Still, we need the buttons to work and FF both in and out of FTW.
Who's responsible for getting these 2 things working?
Well done. Thanks a lot.

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You're welcome. I spend a lot of time going through this to make sure people on OSX can try to race as closely as possible to Windows players. We do not have a lot of hardware that works like it does on the Windows side, so when we get the chance, we have to make sure everyone knows.

Have fun. Maybe sometime soon we will get these wheels working fully.

JaguarGod said:

Have fun. Maybe sometime soon we will get these wheels working fully.

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Who should we lobby about this? Apple? Logitech? Game developers?

JaguarGod said:

@Ddyracer
Yes, there is vehicle damage and it is pretty good!

@imacken
Yes, the G27 still has the problem with the buttons, but once you install the FFB kext and dial in the FFB settings to your liking, the FFB is pretty good. But Feral has released a new piece of software in their support section for the G27 and other Logitech wheels called "FreeTheWheel". This unlocks the wheels "native" mode and all of the wheel, including the 900 degree rotation and the gated shifter, works. The only issue here is that it does unlock the 900 degrees and F1 cars don't use it. You can give it a try though.

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Any paintwork scratches and dents?

Ddyracer said:

Any paintwork scratches and dents?

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Well, the wings break apart and things like that. You'll even notice the front nose get damaged, but for some reason I have noticed that it may not show unless you use the look-behind showing the whole car.

I try not to crash into anything or the opponents, so I have not seen the full range of crash damage, but I am sure there are a lot of youtube movies on it as it has been out for a while on consoles and PC.

JaguarGod said:

Well, the wings break apart and things like that. You'll even notice the front nose get damaged, but for some reason I have noticed that it may not show unless you use the look-behind showing the whole car.

I try not to crash into anything or the opponents, so I have not seen the full range of crash damage, but I am sure there are a lot of youtube movies on it as it has been out for a while on consoles and PC.

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I like racing games just to troll around in damage. Hope there is paintwork scratches i want that.

Did someone tried this on his / her MacBook Pro Retina?