SimVibe (SimXperience)

[HoiHman]

HoiHman...

Anything new to report on testing/quality of this and benefits/differences in the configuration modes. What games so far does it work best with?

Simvibe works best in : Iracing, rFactor, Gamestock car, These are the games that have the most effects available. All the Codemasters games seem to work pretty good too, but there are still some issues

I'm still on an older beta build and i'm waiting for the next build, hoping that some issues that i have are resolved in this newer build.

 

[HoiHman]

Releasedate is set on:

30 September 2012

 

[wajdi1977]

Is a one BKG2 enough or I need another one for SimVib?

 

[HoiHman]

Simvibe works fine with one tactile transducer, but if you have multiple you can position the desired effects better.

 

[museumsteve]

All being well it'll be available tomorrow No sign of a price yet.

 

[LogiForce]

I find it strange that there is no price mentioned by now. Maybe it will be very expensive and they don't want people to run away frightened of the price. heh

 

[museumsteve]

Simvibe works best in : Iracing, rFactor, Gamestock car, These are the games that have the most effects available. All the Codemasters games seem to work pretty good too, but there are still some issues

I'm still on an older beta build and i'm waiting for the next build, hoping that some issues that i have are resolved in this newer build.

Have you tried any simbin racers mate?

 

[fatkrakr]

I remember reading somewhere about the price and thinking it was way to high. I keep thinking it was $150, but Im not sure of that.

 

[museumsteve]

I remember reading somewhere about the price and thinking it was way to high. I keep thinking it was $150, but Im not sure of that.

lol...good luck with that

I cant imagine it being more than $20 ($30 at a real push)

 

[fatkrakr]

Like I said I dont remember the price, but do remember dismissing the option because it seemed way to much.

 

[fatkrakr]

Now that I think about it , it may have been buying an extra sound card, the seperate amps and all the tranceducers is why I decided it may be to expensive.

 

[LogiForce]

Now that I think about it , it may have been buying an extra sound card, the seperate amps and all the tranceducers is why I decided it may be to expensive.

Well, it works with a single amp and transducer. For example, a single Buttkicker Gamer 2 kit with your onboard soundcard for simvibe and an more expensive one for sound.

I mean, you can slowly expand/upgrade from the basics. Rome wasn't build in a day either you know.

 

[HoiHman]

Have you tried any simbin racers mate?

Yep, it works great with race 07, GTR revolution and also with the new raceroom racing experience trailer

No word on the pricing yet, but i'm guessing $99,- or something in that range.

If you look at the amount you have to spend for good tactile feedback on tactile transducers, equalizers and amps, the extra 99 bucks would be well spend.

We betatesters get free one time licence, so we can update at no cost

But i would spend a 100 bucks easily to get this very awesome piece of software 👍

 

[museumsteve]

Yep, it works great with race 07, GTR revolution and also with the new raceroom racing experience trailer

No word on the pricing yet, but i'm guessing $99,- or something in that range.

If you look at the amount you have to spend for good tactile feedback on tactile transducers, equalizers and amps, the extra 99 bucks would be well spend.

We betatesters get free one time licence, so we can update at no cost

But i would spend a 100 bucks easily to get this very awesome piece of software 👍

I wouldn't spend $100 on software that simply translates data from someone else's games/software. Xsim2 is free and does the same thing but for motion.
Money isn't the issue, it would be the principal.

 

[HoiHman]

I wouldn't spend $100 on software that simply translates data from someone else's games/software. Xsim2 is free and does the same thing but for motion.
Money isn't the issue, it would be the principal.

I hear what you're saying Steve, but after using simevibe for 2 months now, i beg to differ.

The work that simexperience has put into this program and the way it works, i believe it would be worth it. We should also keep in mind that the market for this program is pretty small and we SHOULD be glad that a company has developed something like this.

IT WILL CHANGE THE TACTILE FEEDBACK AS YOU KNOW IT NOW

But again, i have no info on the pricing

I'm already making plans for expanding my three zones tactile feedback with the simvibe chassis mode (one transducer on every corner) this will give me the multi dimensional tactile feedback.
This will require me to completely rebuild my rig, but i think it will be worth it.

It all depends on the support for the upcomming race games.

 

[museumsteve]

I guess we'll see what the price is tomorrow

 

[LogiForce]

I am personally hoping for a price of around 80 euros. Which is a bit more then your normal retail AAA class game, but very reasonable for a niche product like this.

When going over 80 euros the threshold to get into (what I see as a more proper form of) tactile for people will be too high.

I mean... 150 euros for a BKG2, then a simple X-Fi card will cost another 50. That's already 200. So with Simvibe as well you already are set back 280 euros or more to get started with the basics. Excluding bits and bobs you might need to mount the BKG2 to your rig.

I think going beyond 80 euros might be bad for Simvibe as they won't quickly draw in new customers into the tactile world, and thus they'd have to do with the people who already got the equipment for it. And as far as I know, that aren't many across the world. Though I can be mistaken.

 

[Mr Latte]

At a guess, $50 would be a likely target and maybe even as low as $25.

Having committed to the potential of this early and wanting to maximise it with some experimentation and creative thinking. Call me crazy but since announced here's the additional hardware I've added for Simvibe not including previous purchases:

1x Clarke Tactile Platinium TST 429
2x Clarke Tactile Silver TST 239
8x Clarke Tactile TI 300
4x Clarke Tactile TI 200
4x Buttkicker LFE
2x Behringer EP 4000 amplifer
1x Behringer EP 2500 amplifier


Using the Buttkicker LFE at 950w RMS from the Behringer EP4000 on each corner is certain to really shake things up with a forcefull tactile. These Buttkicker will reach as low as 5Hz and my aim is to utilise them for the extremely low effects only.

I'm excited with the idea in attempting to go further than relying on a single brand/model and try experimenting in using secondary/repeat sets of tactile also incorporating the Clarke TST 239 for the 4 corners as well. That is something I haven't read any of the beta testers trying yet or Berney mentioning but look forward to seeing what others also look to test or use.

Perhaps having the Clarke models set for maximising detailed tactile effects and rely on BK for the low end frequencies. Combing both should not only give a more detailed tactile but might enable both types of tactile products be configured to perform better than if on their own. Oh the possibilities....

So much testing to look forward too but with the aim in achieving pretty much as highend tactile performance as possible.

My main concern is with the soundcards as it is not clear yet which/what is the best way to utilise 3 soundcards. Perhaps dual internal and onboard or dual internal with USB?

 

[LogiForce]

That would be a nice price to be honest, 50.

Also why not use 3 USB when you already will be using 1 USB anyways?
It's not like the soundcard will have to do much work anyway. All the calculations should be done by the CPU since it's going through Simvibe. At least that is my guess, as I wouldn't know what the soundcard would have to do anyway. It's not like you need any special surround effects added or have Dolby or DTS signals decoded.

 

[Mr Latte]

Already purchased dual high end Asus sound-cards earlier this year and are installed, so working well together in windows with no issues.

Have seen that Creative are offering a new high end model in the ZxR which is likely to perform well similar to the ASUS. I was however looking at the Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro as a USB option however for a 3rd card.

Potential Configuration:
1. Asus Phoebus (Game Audio - Speakers)
2. Asus Xonar (Simvibe Chassis)
3. Creative USB (Simvibe Extensions)

 

[LogiForce]

Already purchased dual high end Asus sound-cards earlier this year and are installed, so working well together in windows with no issues.

Have seen that Creative are offering a new high end model in the ZxR which is likely to perform well also to the ASUS. I was looking at the Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro as a USB option however.

1. Ausus Phoebus (Game Audio - Speakers)
2. Asus Xonar (Simvibe Chassis)
3. Creative USB (Simvibe Extensions)

Just try it first with the stuff you have and the onboard. You can always buy a card quickly enough.
What I would definitely try and check is the difference between the Xonad and Onboard by plugging the wires in one and then the other. If you don't feel ant difference then you can just stick to onboard. However, if there is a difference you should consider an extra card.
I would personally prefer to use the same card for the tactile setup, that way it will be easier to setup. The thing is that each model of soundcard has a different power output, but there is even a bigger difference in the sound dynamics. Which is more important as you'd have more trouble to equalize the vibrations between the chassis and extensions using your equalizer. And I am sure you can still tweak then Simvibe output to some extend using an equalizer as at is still just an analog sound signal. But of course this can be done in the software too, but maybe an EQ can be used for fine tuning.
Since you are a perfectionist, Latte... that might be something you will look into as well at some point. Though HoiHman should know better if this is possible then I do.

 

[HoiHman]

From the website:

Due to unforseen compatibility issues with our new shopping cart, the SimVibe launch will be postponed until 10/7. Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience.

 

[Mr Latte]

From the website:

Due to unforseen compatibility issues with our new shopping cart, the SimVibe launch will be postponed until 10/7. Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience.

Not surprised on a delay with it being so quiet, thanks for letting us know.

Just try it first with the stuff you have and the onboard. You can always buy a card quickly enough.
What I would definitely try and check is the difference between the Xonad and Onboard by plugging the wires in one and then the other. If you don't feel ant difference then you can just stick to onboard. However, if there is a difference you should consider an extra card.
I would personally prefer to use the same card for the tactile setup, that way it will be easier to setup. The thing is that each model of soundcard has a different power output, but there is even a bigger difference in the sound dynamics. Which is more important as you'd have more trouble to equalize the vibrations between the chassis and extensions using your equalizer. And I am sure you can still tweak then Simvibe output to some extend using an equalizer as at is still just an analog sound signal. But of course this can be done in the software too, but maybe an EQ can be used for fine tuning.
Since you are a perfectionist, Latte... that might be something you will look into as well at some point. Though HoiHman should know better if this is possible then I do.

Well first thing for me is avoiding conflicts with my hardware drivers and perhaps motherboard drivers or other software. When the Simvibe software is released and more information is available then perhaps using on-board for "extensions" might be fine but rather than being the "perfectionist" you refer to me being. My aim is to ensure all components and installation are to a high standard, too much money and time has already been invested to cut any corners now.

Regards EQ etc, time will tell if using them is much real need or benefit over what the software achieves. You don't have that option with consoles which was always a reason to use EQ. Their are still reasons to incorporate such for tweakers into their builds and those wanting even more optional control.

Of course it brings disadvantages with over complicating the installation/configuration as well as making lots of manual changes. It is certainly much easier to do that with a touch screen and Simvibe software than it would be getting up and altering various independent EQ sliders.

However Berney has not really stated his own findings for the optimal hardware or configuration. Partly because it may very much be a personal preference and tactile I believe very much is anyways.

I find it interesting seeing how the community will adapt it and look to take it further or at least to utilising like myself a high standard in hardware for it. Also great as it will bring many new people to what tractile can offer.

 

[LogiForce]

From the website:

Due to unforseen compatibility issues with our new shopping cart, the SimVibe launch will be postponed until 10/7. Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience.

Hmmm... sounds like a company we all know who did basically the the same (install new website critical systems on a launch day). Fanatec?

Oh well, will check back well after that new launch date. I wouldn't want any issues with my payment, so I will let others test it before me.

 

[HoiHman]

Simvibe is released for all current simcommander 3 users.

Just hit the update button. The public release will still be in two days

F1 2012 and Raceroom racing experience have been added.

 

[the_greeze]

Simvibe is released for all current simcommander 3 users.

Just hit the update button. The public release will still be in two days

F1 2012 and Raceroom racing experience have been added.

Nice 👍 Will be checking this out when I get home from work. Just when I thought I'd finished all my rig mods...

 

[museumsteve]

Nice 👍 Will be checking this out when I get home from work. Just when I thought I'd finished all my rig mods...

Look forward to hearing your impressions mate

 

[the_greeze]

I'll need to get an additional soundcard first mate But yeah, will certainly be checking this out.

 

[HoiHman]

Nice 👍 Will be checking this out when I get home from work. Just when I thought I'd finished all my rig mods...

Don't say i didn't warn you LOL

If you have an onboard soundcard, you can use it too

 

[left888]

I'll need to get an additional soundcard first mate But yeah, will certainly be checking this out.

Just pick up an el cheapo sound card. I said it way back then we don't need a $300 sound card to run telemetry and Berney said as much over at the iRacing.com forum.

BTW Simon how's the rig coming along, it's been months since we raced.