Steering Wheel or controller

[Nokiafan07]

I'm pretty new to GT3 and I have a hard time getting the cars to go around the corners fast enough and without going off course and getting behind. I don't know if it's my settings on the cars or I'm just not good enough of a driver. I got my A,B,IA licences. They where all Bronze pretty much but I didn't care. All that mattered to me was that I did them. So I figured if I can do them they why can't I play on these track like Grand Valley Speedway without loosing horribly even with a car that is much faster then the rest of the cars in the game..

So I wondered of if a Steering Wheel handles the car better then the controllers do ?

 

[Hugo Boss]

At the moment you're just not good enough... It's nothing to worry about though, we've all gone through those stages . If you want to become a fast driver, you've got to keep on practicing and you'll be able to follow and even beat the AI sooner than you think 👍

With a steering wheel it's even harder to drive than with the DS2. You can't countersteer as well as with the DS2 and you'll spin out easier. But when you're experienced enough to use a wheel, you'll notice it's more enjoyable to drive!

 

[opelgt1969]

For myself I can't use a controller at all (too old) to learn. If you don't have the money for a nice wheel (I have a G25) you can find one on ebay real cheap. Just be sure that the wheel that you buy will work on your system. I find that a wheel gives you a more "driving" feel.

 

[FoolKiller]

A wheel is a cruel mistress. I have a DFP.

As someone who played with a DS2 until this past Christmas I can tell you that adjusting to a wheel has a learning curve. Since you are fairly new and still learning the game and the physics in general you may not have as much trouble adapting as I did.

Once I got used to the wheel I did better. My times are improved and while I haven't tried redoing any licenses on GT3 I have gone back on GT4 and have found that I can now get golds when I had mostly bronzes before.

The thing to remember is that a wheel is more precise so it is easier to do things correctly, but when you do make a mistake it is much less forgiving. My racing lines are smoother and the pedals allow me to balance my throttle and brake much better, however when I make a mistake I have to fight the force feedback and it takes more effort to countersteer and correct. With a DS2 a mistake means simply moving your thumbs less than an inch.

If you asked me I would say that you should have a wheel because you will be improved overall.


As for getting better at the game, it takes time. There is a learning curve because it is not an arcade racer that lets you just whip through turns at whatever speed possible. It requires some fine tuning of both teh car and your driving style. If you can't afford a wheel then try using the analog sticks rather than the buttons (I suck at the analog sticks in driving games, btw) or learn to precisely modulate your throttle, brakes, and steering by taking full advantage of the fully analog buttons. Don't push them all the way down, because it is the same as slamming down on the gas and brakes and jerking the wheel all the way over as far as it will go. Few people can truly do this well, but those of us who can perform better.

 

[Le Mans]

Hi,
I started with the DS, later on i was so hooked so i bought a steeringwheel.
(logitech force feedback etc). It became even better when i bought a Hyper stimulator cockpit.
A steering wheel improved my times and above all my racing lines are more smooth you have better control over throttle and brakes.

So i would suggest take a racing wheel and the fun really starts.

Keep on practicing and have fun.

remco

 

[breakpoint]

Im sticking with others in saying that you just don't have the skills as of yet. If you haven't already go into the settings and set up your controller for using the brakes and the gas on the analog sticks. I steer with my left one and the brakes and gas are on the right analog stick. This just gives you much better control over the D-pad and buttons do. I don't own a steering wheel as of yet. Im waiting until the PS3 price comes down and getting a PS3, so there is no point in me buying a wheel for my PS2. I do pretty good with my controller though. I don't grip race anymore because i completed the game years ago and then picked it up one day and started drifting in it. Completely new game now.

 

[Bulldozer]

When it comes to wheels don't do what I did. I bought the cheapest thing I could find which was a wheel/pedal combo from Gamestop. It sits in your lap and that just didn't work at all. There's a chance it might be decent if I can attach the wheel to a table, but I'm not getting my hopes up. In the meantime I switched back to the DF2.

Anyway, I don't think the learning curve is easier with a wheel, it might actually be a little bit harder when you're starting out.

I agree that you should use the right thumbstick for throttle and brake instead of the buttons. It's especially important for high-powered cars because you don't always want to apply 100% of the gas. It's true that the buttons are pressure sensitive, but most people feel like they have more control with the thumbstick. You can change that in the options menu.

One driving tip: just try slowing down more before you get to the corner, and try to do most of your braking in a straight line. Your car is faster than the other cars, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can take corners faster. In fact, you have to brake more, because you're dropping from 150 mph to 50 mph and the other cars just have to drop from 100 mph to 50 mph (just for an example). And it's a little hard to actually sense how fast you're going, so take it easy at first.

Better to stay on the road and gradually speed it up, than to keep running off the road and never improve.

Good luck!

 

[Nokiafan07]

I have gotten better. I can handle Grand Valley with my Escudo but it's on amateur level. I've even teaked the car so it can go around the corners better and faster. Currently the top speed it stays in a corner on the test track is 268mph. After it gets out of the corner it goes up to 180-182mph before it reaches the next corner. I'm getting 1.25 lap time. I did the math and if I keep racing and getting 25k each time I can get 200k a hour.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

When it comes to wheels don't do what I did. I bought the cheapest thing I could find which was a wheel/pedal combo from Gamestop. !

This is what I did...looked at the price of a good wheel, then looked at the price of a Mad Katz (which was almost $100 cheaper at EB Games).

In any event it wouldn't have mattered which one I bought...I don't like the idea of sitting at a friggin' desk while I game so I returned my wheel after a couple days. Dual-shock does the job and I can sit back in my armchair and relax.

....well, if you can call twisting and squirming in your seat as you race "relaxing" that is.

I have gotten better. I can handle Grand Valley with my Escudo but it's on amateur level. I've even teaked the car so it can go around the corners better and faster. Currently the top speed it stays in a corner on the test track is 268mph. After it gets out of the corner it goes up to 180-182mph before it reaches the next corner. I'm getting 1.25 lap time. I did the math and if I keep racing and getting 25k each time I can get 200k a hour.

You're using the Excuse-o in the Amateur League? Sorry bro, that's way overkill. You just need more practice...Gran Turismo is a game of skill and Escudos are cheat-machines.

 

[Nokiafan07]

True it's a cheat machine but It allows me to win and get used to the track. I havnt got to the pro leg yet as I have the painfull task of trying to get the IB lience. I know thats going to take hours. The last one on B took me several atemps over a period of days to get just a bronze. I'm not really good at the game yet. I think what I need to do is go race on the course without any cars on the track. That way I can learn the car and learn how fast or slow to on sections of the track. What car would be best for me as beginner. I have a Viper teaked out and a Mazda that can get up to 240mph.

 

[breakpoint]

Not only is it overkill but if you take a lesser car you can get much better lap times. That thing doesn't handle for crap. You could take a car with half the hp or even less like a Altezza and you would get better lap times. Just because you can blast in the straights doesn't mean im not going to pass you up while you are slowing down in that corner

 

[FoolKiller]

True it's a cheat machine but It allows me to win and get used to the track. I havnt got to the pro leg yet as I have the painfull task of trying to get the IB lience. I know thats going to take hours. The last one on B took me several atemps over a period of days to get just a bronze. I'm not really good at the game yet. I think what I need to do is go race on the course without any cars on the track. That way I can learn the car and learn how fast or slow to on sections of the track. What car would be best for me as beginner. I have a Viper teaked out and a Mazda that can get up to 240mph.

Don't feel too bad. My wife can't pass the first test.

Go do some time trials with slower cars. Take them slow at first to learn your racing lines. Then speed up and get your braking zones worked out. Once you get your basics down the tests will make more sense and using faster cars is a matter of reacting faster.

 

[Nokiafan07]

Well some of the test I breeze through and I get a bronze on 2-3 try. The ones where they make you go in the huge circle then do it again on a wet track. It didn't take me long to figure out how fast to go around the track. I did it purely with hardly touching the brake. I just keep punching the gas repeaditly to keep the car a certain speed. The IA was a little tricky but I managed. The IB looks harder and I can only Imagine the super. I can't wait to try the super speed way endurance. Take the "cheat machine" on it and see how many times I can lap the car's. Might be only once as I'm asuming the cars are going to be much more powerfull.

 

[FoolKiller]

I can only Imagine the super. I can't wait to try the super speed way endurance. Take the "cheat machine" on it and see how many times I can lap the car's. Might be only once as I'm asuming the cars are going to be much more powerfull.

There is quick money to be made here.

If you have a rubberband.......well, I'll let you Google that one.

 

[Orion]

Or use a toothpick on the X button.

 

[Duke]

I'm pretty new to GT3 and I have a hard time getting the cars to go around the corners fast enough and without going off course and getting behind. I don't know if it's my settings on the cars or I'm just not good enough of a driver. I got my A,B,IA licences. They where all Bronze pretty much but I didn't care. All that mattered to me was that I did them. So I figured if I can do them they why can't I play on these track like Grand Valley Speedway without loosing horribly even with a car that is much faster then the rest of the cars in the game..

So I wondered of if a Steering Wheel handles the car better then the controllers do ?

Your problem is not the wheel or controller - it's lack of experience. What you use to make your driving inputs is not as important as the inputs you make. You just need more practice in order to develop a feel for what speed feels like, and what speed is appropriate. The common saying in real racing circles is "new drivers are fast in the slow turns, and slow in the fast turns".

You'll get over it with practice. Switching to a wheel will not be a magic bullet in GT3 (unlike in GT4, where it makes a bigger difference; but even there, it's not a fix-all). I made it through GT3 100% and all gold licenses using a DS2.

Your attitude towards the license tests is also a big part of the problem. Whether you like them or not, the license tests teach you exactly how GT3 expects you to drive. You should not settle for less than silver in any test. Gold can wait, but silvering all your tests will teach you a lot about how to drive in GT3. There's a big jump between bronze and silver - in most cases if you keep the car on the track, you can get bronze, but silver takes a little skill. I strongly suggest you go back and practice until you've got them all silver or better.

[edit] I've just read some of your subsequent posts, and the third problem you have is that you're picking (or making) cars that have waaaaaaay too much power. Straight-line speed is NOTHING - it's the least important factor of the game, far and away the least important. If you dump engine mods into a car without dialing in the suspension (or even learning how to drive it in stock form) first, you're guaranteed to spend a lot of time in the kitty litter or bouncing off walls. You just need to learn how to get the most out of cars in stock form - once you do that, you'll know how to get even more out of them with some modifications.

 

[FoolKiller]

[edit] I've just read some of your subsequent posts, and the third problem you have is that you're picking (or making) cars that have waaaaaaay too much power. Straight-line speed is NOTHING - it's the least important factor of the game, far and away the least important. If you dump engine mods into a car without dialing in the suspension (or even learning how to drive it in stock form) first, you're guaranteed to spend a lot of time in the kitty litter or bouncing off walls. You just need to learn how to get the most out of cars in stock form - once you do that, you'll know how to get even more out of them with some modifications.

Definitely listen to this. When I start out a GT game and am scraping for money the first upgrade I make is suspension, then tires, then brakes, then transmission. That will allow me to fine tune the car to handle well enough to take on anyone in the curves.

Even after I have money I rarely put on additional power (even though I will own the parts), because there is only so much power that a car can handle within its physical boundaries. On a race where additional power is needed I rarely give it more than an exhaust and/or chip upgrade. I was just mentioning how I tried a power upgrade for a car in a race series in GT4 and found my lack of downforce still left me struggling, performing worse actually.

 

[Nokiafan07]

There is quick money to be made here.

If you have a rubberband.......well, I'll let you Google that one.

Oh I know that trick and have used it for a couple laps when I doing test over and over to generate cash. I guess one way to win a race is look @ what cars the games uses for that track and study how fast they go and that. I can use that to pick my car.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

True it's a cheat machine but It allows me to win and get used to the track. I havnt got to the pro leg yet as I have the painfull task of trying to get the IB lience. I know thats going to take hours. The last one on B took me several atemps over a period of days to get just a bronze. I'm not really good at the game yet. I think what I need to do is go race on the course without any cars on the track. That way I can learn the car and learn how fast or slow to on sections of the track. What car would be best for me as beginner. I have a Viper teaked out and a Mazda that can get up to 240mph.

Practicing with an Excuseo is fine. Racing with one is not and I'll tell you why. All you're doing is blasting down straights, getting far ahead of the Ai cars instead of learning how to react to them. And you're (no doubt in my mind) slamming plenty of walls, attacking corners with a wild manner that has nothing to do with the racing line you should be learning to take. You'll become a better racer overall if you allow yourself to drive along with the ai instead of blasting away from them. You'll eventually figure out ways to get around the ai cars without relying on super-power or bashing. Trust me.

You will lose some races of course. But losing only teaches you how to WIN in the next race, know what I mean?

...But it's your game and I'm just making a suggestion. I have yet to see any race (even in the pro-league) in which an F1 or Escudo is required to win...except for the final Formula One races of course.

Also, using a rubberband is not racing, it's being lazy and cheating! In GT4 you can make the argument that B-spec drivers are essentially doing the same thing as rubberbands at Super Speedway...but B-spec driving actually does require a bit of planning to perform successfully and hence it doesn't always work as planned.

 

[KAMKA-Z]

I'm pretty new to GT3 and I have a hard time getting the cars to go around the corners fast enough and without going off course and getting behind. I don't know if it's my settings on the cars or I'm just not good enough of a driver. I got my A,B,IA licences. They where all Bronze pretty much but I didn't care. All that mattered to me was that I did them. So I figured if I can do them they why can't I play on these track like Grand Valley Speedway without loosing horribly even with a car that is much faster then the rest of the cars in the game..

So I wondered of if a Steering Wheel handles the car better then the controllers do ?

I feel that the wheel is essential to my enjoyment of the game. I wouldn't have even been interested in the PS2 if there weren't racing sims and wheel/pedal controls to go along with them. I'd already been driving for years before arcade racing games arrived. I have no interest in driving with a joystick. I wanted to come as close as possible to replicating the experience of some of the better arcade driving games. The big Sega Rally games come to mind. I'm just a bit oldschool.

You can get by pretty well with a cheap madcatz wheel, but I strongly recommend setting up in a natural driving position. My setup has evolved into a budget cockpit using an old car seat, and I finally got the wheel solidly mounted.

Even with the wheel and pedals it does take time to get the feel of the game and learn the fast lines through the corners. At over 85 % complete, I'm still discovering faster ways to take certain corners in the game.

It does sound like you could stand to smooth out your driving style a bit though. The Excuse-o is a handful even with the wheel. Those S License tests will make you drive smooth. You can learn lots from the Miata Time Trial too.

 

[Firemedic]

Your attitude towards the license tests is also a big part of the problem. Whether you like them or not, the license tests teach you exactly how GT3 expects you to drive.

This is SO true! The license tests are not just something to "get through" so you can go race enduros. They are "lessons" that teach you skills that you will use the rest of the game.

[edit] I've just read some of your subsequent posts, and the third problem you have is that you're picking (or making) cars that have waaaaaaay too much power. Straight-line speed is NOTHING - it's the least important factor of the game, far and away the least important.

Again, so true! Braking, learning to do so effectively and early is much more important than raw HP.

I had to learn these lessons myself. I won an F1 in the Super Speedway enduro, and then used it in every race I could, to pummel the AI. Until I realized that I was cheating myself out of the sheer joy of racing. I now try to enter cars that are similar to the AI, and am disappointed if I win by more than a few seconds.


Trust us....learn to drive, not just drag race. You will get so much more enjoyment out of the game.

Cheers

 

[Nokiafan07]

True but even the AI car's do not drive as good as you would during the license. They hit walls and that.I rather learn to drive the track on my pace then be told you have to do it with in a what seems impossible time limit. I think I would learn the track quicker if I'm enjoying it and interacting with other cars. I've already noticed you get a speed boost if you use the slingshot effect with a car in front of you.

 

[FoolKiller]

True but even the AI car's do not drive as good as you would during the license. They hit walls and that.I rather learn to drive the track on my pace then be told you have to do it with in a what seems impossible time limit. I think I would learn the track quicker if I'm enjoying it and interacting with other cars. I've already noticed you get a speed boost if you use the slingshot effect with a car in front of you.

The thing is that if you are using an overpowered car you aren't learning teh track and you shoot past the other cars so fast that you don't really interact with them any more than you would be interacting with a wall (just not htting it). With an overpowered car you aren't learning your proper racing lines and braking zones because you have to brake much earlier or you overshoot your line and possibly even the track. Besides, the license tests are not about learning the tracks, that's what practice and time trials are for. The license tests teach you about driving the cars with the physics engine.

And trust me those time limits are not impossible. Plenty of people have all golds to prove it. When you start out in any license test the first time you feel like it is an impossible time limit because you are so far down. I only had one gold on my first try and maybe five silvers. I had plenty where it felt nearly impossible to get the speed and control balance just right to make those times because you want to try and go faster to reach that time, but end up going of the track (FAIL). Once you improve you start to nail the lines properly and can hold speed through the turns, making a high-powered car completely unnecessary because you don't need to accelerate as hard, allowing your driving to become smoother for the next curve.

Always remember that power is not as important as control. Even in oval racing where there is a lot of high powered gunning it for high speeds a turn taken badly can lose you an entire second or more, which will take the better part of an entire lap to recover from no matter how powerful the car itself is. In a road course it can be even worse because you may not have the chance to recover that speed until you come to a tight turn that means everyone else has to slow down to your speed or you can take a turn perfectly into a long straight, allowing you to regain your momentum.

Watch professinal racing on TV. None of those guys have a car that is grossly over powered. There are rules against it. Yet somehow in a series like Le Mans you will have people winning by multiple laps sometimes. If the rules keep your car equal then what allows for that kind of difference? The skill of the driver and how well his car works with him. The license tests will push you to be like that.



If for no other reason learn to drive and win in slower cars because there will be damage effects down the line and the last thing you will want to be is the guy that gets a DNF every race because his Escudo plowed into a barrier as all the Civics smoothly turn by.

And I do have to ask what the point in learning how to use a draft in order to slingshot past a car is if your car is already more powerful anyway. Drafting is a great technique when you have an equal or less powerful car as it allows you to overtake when you normally couldn't. In a powerful car all it will do is give you even more speed as you shoot into the corner.

 

[Duke]

And trust me those time limits are not impossible. Plenty of people have all golds to prove it.

Me being a prime example. I'm definitely 3rd tier in the WRS, but I have all golds in GT3. Now, I didn't get all gold until after I completed 100% of the game. But I did have all silvers early on. Just getting the license with bronze really won't teach you much but the most basic techniques. If you work until you silver everything, you'll have developed enough skill to have a decent game against the AI without relying on bringing your bazooka to every knife fight.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

If you work until you silver everything, you'll have developed enough skill to have a decent game against the AI without relying on bringing your bazooka to every knife fight.

....like bringing a broadsword and gladiator suit to spring picnic!

...like bringing Johnnie Cochran Jr. to defend you at traffic court!

....like bringing a jug of Wild Turkey to a wine-tasting soiree!

...like hiring System of a Down to play a nursery school!

 

[Nokiafan07]

Me being a prime example. I'm definitely 3rd tier in the WRS, but I have all golds in GT3. Now, I didn't get all gold until after I completed 100% of the game. But I did have all silvers early on. Just getting the license with bronze really won't teach you much but the most basic techniques. If you work until you silver everything, you'll have developed enough skill to have a decent game against the AI without relying on bringing your bazooka to every knife fight.

I couldn't do silver on everything. It would take me months.. I rather go on a track with no car's and no time limit and get a feel for the car and the track.. Once I'm familiar with both I should have a better understanding of corning and should be able to interact with other car's. Then possibly I could get silver or gold on the exams..To much pressure the other way and it gets frustrating. I even tried the low exam cheat and it didn't work.. I'm gonna check to see if I got the codes right. I printed out the codes so I didn't have to put them on my phone and run up to the comp and double check the codes.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I couldn't do silver on everything. It would take me months.. I rather go on a track with no car's and no time limit and get a feel for the car and the track.. Once I'm familiar with both I should have a better understanding of corning and should be able to interact with other car's. Then possibly I could get silver or gold on the exams..To much pressure the other way and it gets frustrating. I even tried the low exam cheat and it didn't work.. I'm gonna check to see if I got the codes right. I printed out the codes so I didn't have to put them on my phone and run up to the comp and double check the codes.

Forget about cheat codes 👎 if you're doing time trials on an empty track you're heading in the right direction my friend 👍 Cheat codes are a waste of time.

When Ayrton Senna set his world record at Monaco/Cote d'Azur do you think he did it by hooking a Gameshark up to his car and pressing up some codes? NO! What about Jim Clark? What about Alain Prost? no no no. I mean you don't have to be as good as these guys...but practice is always better than Gameshark cheats.

 

[GrumpEone]

I used to use one of two driving wheels, one was this great hand-held controller with a forced return wheel, and the other was a mount-to-a-table style wheel with levers on the sides of the wheel which worked great for gas/brake. both worked great until my 1st run PS2 died. When I replaced it with a 3rd Run PS2 neither wheel was recognized by the system, as well as my gameshark (plug into mem card slot style) and shark-port. So now I just use the analog controller, which has much less control of your car.

Forget about cheat codes 👎 if you're doing time trials on an empty track you're heading in the right direction my friend 👍 cheat codes are a waste of time.

when Ayrton Senna set his world record at Monaco/Cote d'Azur do you think he did it by hooking a gameshark up to his car and pressing up some codes? NO! What about Jim Clark? What about Alain Prost? no no no. i mean you don't have to be as good as these guys...but practice is always better than gameshark cheats.

FYI - Having better technology in your car is quite the same as a GS. Look at NASCAR for example, you could put the best driver ever in a poorly engineered Car with a bad Pit Crew and he will never win a race ever. The best teams stay up on technology, hire the best, and bend or all-out break the rules if they can get away with it!!