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Do you think Touch by itself could make for good Steering Wheel Simulation?

CrashFu
Consultant
You know, like hands out in front of you, pantomiming holding a wheel?

I ask, because like most of us I am definitely getting Touch when available, and I'm interested in games like Project Cars and DiRT and whatever other cool driving games come out, buuuuuut I'm not sure I have an adequate space to set up a proper racewheel peripheral  (or if I want to invest that kind of money in something I'll only use for a few games).

Plus, I could imagine games where you'd both use a wheel AND occasionally want a hand free to manipulate other things.  Like a combat driving or GTA-style game where you could fire a handgun out the window while you drive, or a Kart Racer where you'd use Touch to aim / throw items.  Using touch to activate buttons on a vehicle dashboard or grab the stick-shift / e-brake could be cool, too.

I'm imagining a system like.. you put your hands close enough to the wheel and press in one of the grip buttons to hold on, and then the nearest part of the wheel is anchored to that hand's movement until the grip button is released or the hand is moved too far away.   Problems:  What to do if both hands are on the imaginary wheel and move unevenly? Does one become the dominant hand and the other not really affect the wheel as long as its attached, or do the movements of the two hands get averaged out in some way?   Keeping your hands steady and in place would be easy enough while they're in view, but would it be too hard to keep your place when looking away?

I'll be very interested to know if any devs are experimenting with something like this once they get Touch in their hands.
It's hard being the voice of reason when you're surrounded by unreasonable people.
23 REPLIES 23

Greenfire32
Heroic Explorer
No. I don't. Why? Because this:

It was cool at first, but then your arms got tired and eventually it actually started to hurt to play.

So...no. I do not think holding your hands out in midair is going to be "enough."

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
I'm not big on race games but when I have enjoyed it, I realize that the "resistance" on the steering column makes a world o' difference. I would assume that the Touch can be configured to function better than the XBox controller for racing simulation; but neither would be as good as a well-built steering column.

Then again, all things are possible in the matrix :#

tommet
Expert Protege
In short - No.  I don't think it would make for a good steering wheel simulation.  On the WII and WII U, holding a controller in a wheel does not feel remotely like a steering wheel.  I don't think anything will beat a good old fashioned steering wheel.

CrashFu
Consultant
Ah, but I always thought the Wii wheel was a lot of fun, even if it didn't feel realistic (and was sized for actual babies, not giant-handed full grown adults like myself).

Would have been a lot better if Wiimote tracking in general was more accurate.. nothing like trying to powerslide left on rainbow road and having the game inexplicably think you were trying to turn the exact opposite direction and launch you into the abyss.  Presumably that would not be an issue with Touch, because it has such accurate tracking (and generally speaking, most people would have the tracking camera somewhere in front of them, where it would have a clear view of outstretched hands..

Then again, gamepad users in mario kart wii always had a huge advantage over wheel-users, which would apply to any game where a Touch-based control scheme was alternate to gamepad or hotas..

But the Wii wheel was still fun.
It's hard being the voice of reason when you're surrounded by unreasonable people.

tommet
Expert Protege
Fun, maybe.  Adequate simulation - No.

tommet
Expert Protege
Fun, maybe.  Adequate simulation - No.

CrashFu
Consultant

tommet said:

Fun, maybe.  Adequate simulation - No.


Depends on if you're talking a simulation of driving a car, or a simulation of using a steering wheel.

'cause like, obviously, if I had a steering wheel I wouldn't need to simulate it.. 

But even if I DID have a racewheel, how would I use a motion-control device along with it, unless it was something I could just set on the chair/table beside me and pick up / put down as need be, or I make a point of dedicating a single hand to always hold the wheel and the other hand to always holding the motion controller..

Edit:  Another reason why simulating vehicle controls via motion controls would be valuable, you could have games that contain both vehicle segments AND on-foot segments.  A racewheel setup is great if you're playing a game where 100% of your time is spent in the car, driving the car, but it wouldn't be practical to have to kick it aside and pick up your other controllers if you want / have to leave the vehicle.

Edit 2: Or if a game supports different vehicles that don't all use the exact same type of controls.  Like if you had both cars and planes.  Being able to fake them all with motion controls means not having to buy and swap between multiple peripheral sets to go from one to the other, you just keep the Touch in hand and you're ready for anything.
It's hard being the voice of reason when you're surrounded by unreasonable people.

KennyJennings
Protege
I'm envisioning something that you can clamp onto your desk connected a pole that spins the same way as a wheel. You could attach the touch controllers on either end of the pole (possibly by sliding them into rings on either end of the pole) so you would feel like you were holding a wheel, and you could take the controllers out if you wanted to do something with your hands besides steering.

Edit- I'm just realizing this doesn't make any sense just by reading it. I'll try and make a 3d model of some kind so no one has to try and understand what I typed above, lol.

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
I feel like every professional Mime on the planet would answer, Yes.