Best Wreckfest Settings for Thrustmaster TMX / T150
Wreckfest is an arcade racing game first and foremost. It's not really designed to be played with a wheel, but it works pretty well nonetheless.
Like most games, the default settings for the Thrustmaster TMX and T150 don't work very well, but are easily fixed. By default, the steering angle is too large and the force feedback is way too strong. Even fixed, though, the force feedback isn't very good. It's much more about immersion than giving actual car information. This isn't the kind of game that really needs much more than is provided, however, so it's still a lot of fun.
In this guide, we will first look at the settings you need to set in the Thrustmaster Control Panel, if playing on a PC. Then we will look at the in-game settings to improve the force feedback.
Thrustmaster Control Panel Settings
Wreckfest doesn't provide a good way to change the steering angle, so we will have to change it in the Thrustmaster Control Panel instead. 540° works very well and matches the on-screen wheel closely.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Rotation | 540° |
| Overall Strength of all forces | 100% |
| Constant | 100% |
| Periodic | 100% |
| Spring | 100% |
| Damper | 0% |
| BOOST | Off |
| Auto-Center | by the game |
Spring is not used by Wreckfest, so the value actually doesn't matter. Some games require Spring to be on for their force feedback to work, so I keep it at 100% as a general rule.
Damper, on the other hand, is used, but it only makes the wheel a bit heavier at low speeds, which isn't helpful in this game.
BOOST should always be turned off. For an in-depth look as to why, see my BOOST Force Feedback Analysis.
Wreckfest Settings
The force feedback in Wreckfest is very limited. As such, there is only a strength setting that can be used to control the feeling in the wheel.
In Settings > Advanced:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Force Feedback | 30% |
| Steering Dead Zone | 0% |
| Steering Saturation | 100% |
| Steering Sensitivity | 0% |
| Steering Speed Sensitivity | 0% |
| Accelerator Saturation | 100% |
| Accelerator Dead Zone | 0% |
| Brake Saturation | 100% |
| Brake Dead Zone | 0% |
Force Feedback is the strength of all forces. Setting this too high makes the wheel very heavy and hard to turn. Some tracks and events will feel better with an even lower force feedback.
It's also important to set the Accelerator and Brake Saturation to 100% to use the full range of your pedals.
Conclusion
The force feedback is not the greatest in Wreckfest. Certain events are better than others; the traditional races work quite well, but the demolition derbies are much more difficult. Overall, I prefer playing with a controller, but it's been fun seeing how well I can do with a wheel.
Let me know if you have any comments or questions.