Best Automobilista 2 Settings for Thrustmaster TMX / T150
Automobilista 2 is an interesting simulator with a lot of unique cars not seen in many other games. It plays great with a wheel. While it's been in development, the force feedback system has continually improved until now it stands among the best. For the Thrustmaster TMX and T150, the default force feedback isn't terrible by any means, but it tends to be a little muted and fairly heavy, making the cars a little harder to drive than they ought to be.
We can fix some of these issues by using a custom force feedback file. A lot of the cars in this game are not easy to drive and I often struggled to control them. Using this new force feedback file added enough information to the wheel that made it much easier to figure out what the car was doing and get better control of them.
In this guide, we will install this custom force feedback file and look at the best settings to use in the Thrustmaster Control Panel and in-game.
Custom Force Feedback
Download the file rFuktor 5.0.1K.zip from this post on the Reiza Studios Forum.
Unpack the zip file and copy the file: ffb_custom_settings -Tumi SC Pro tweak.txt
to: Documents\Automobilista 2
Rename it to ffb_custom_settings.txt, replacing the original file.
This file was created by Kuku Maddog and tweaked by tUMi to raise some of the forces. Despite being created for a direct drive wheel, this works very well for the TMX and T150 by adjusting some of the force feedback settings instead of using the recommended values that come with the file.
Thrustmaster Control Panel Settings
Automobilista 2 automatically sets the proper steering angle for each car in the game, so you can leave the Thrustmaster Control Panel set to the maximum.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Rotation | 900° (TMX) 1080° (T150) |
| Overall Strength of all forces | 100% |
| Constant | 100% |
| Periodic | 100% |
| Spring | 100% |
| Damper | 100% |
| BOOST | Off |
| Auto-Center | by the game |
Spring and Damper are not used by Automobilista 2, so can be set to any value without issue. As a general rule, I leave these at 100% since there are some games that require them.
BOOST should always be turned off. For an in-depth look as to why, see my BOOST Force Feedback Analysis.
Automobilista 2 Settings
In Options > Controls > Configuration:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Steering Deadzone | 0 |
| Steering Sensitivity | 50 |
| Throttle Deadzone | 0 |
| Throttle Sensitivity | 50 |
| Brake Deadzone | 0 |
| Brake Sensitivity | 35 |
| Clutch Deadzone | 7 |
| Clutch Sensitivity | 50 |
I removed the Throttle and Brake Deadzones, but that's personal preference. You may also want to lower the Throttle Sensitivity, since many of these cars require delicate throttle control.
In Options > Controls > Force Feedback:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Custom |
| Gain | 100 |
| Low Force Boost | 70 |
| FX | 40 |
| Damping | 0 |
Gain is the maximum power you feel in heavy cornering, for instance. Since the custom file we are using was designed for much more powerful wheels, this can be left at the maximum without any major clipping issues.
Low Force Boost is the force in the center of the wheel. This helps you feel many of the lighter forces.
FX is the feeling of bumps and kerbs. You may want to adjust this based on the car and track. It can get annoying if the track is particularly bumpy.
Damping adds weight to the wheel. This doesn't make a huge difference, it's a very light force. These wheels don't need damper forces most of the time, so I turn this off.
Conclusion
Automobilista 2 has come a long way over the course of its development. The force feedback has improved a lot and they keep improving other aspects of the game as time goes on. There are a lot of cars and tracks that I haven't raced with in other games, so it's been a lot of fun trying them all out.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments.