B24Fox wrote on 2023-04-07, 00:52:Force Feedback in NFS II SE under Win98SE, ONLY natively works with the "Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel" (Gameport version).
Hi!
Please take a look at this topic.
Re: Old ForceFeedBack api (IFORCE/IFORCE2)
A video (or even an description) of the wheel responding to game commands would be of great value.
B24Fox wrote on 2023-04-07, 00:52:So... It's been 2 years, and a lot has happened. Also lately I've been really starting to wonder if this hobby is actually a sa […]
So... It's been 2 years, and a lot has happened.
Also lately I've been really starting to wonder if this hobby is actually a sane thing or not..
But anyway..
6 steering wheels later (coz if something's worth doing, then it's definitely worth obsessing about 🙄 ) , I can finally put this topic *ahem*obsession, to rest:Force Feedback in NFS II SE under Win98SE, ONLY natively works with the "Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel" (Gameport version).
Not with the USB version. And not with the Logitech WingMan Formula Force [E-UA2] (nor SERIAL or USB).And it does so "out of the box" with no special drivers installed or anything like that.
Microsoft SideWinder Software v3.02 is the latest that properly supports Gameport peripherals, and that is what I used. And it just WORKED!You only have to be mindful to also have the MIDI port/protocol turned on, not just the gameport. (In my case, with integrated audio, I turned it on in the BIOS).
Otherwise FF will not work. ... Also sometimes FF can still be moody, and not work simply out of spite and to piss you off... but all you have to do, is unplug the gameport, and plug it back in while in the "Game Controllers" menu. That usually fixes it.A pleasant surprise with the gameport version of this wheel, is that compared to the USB version, FF does not glitch AT ALL in NFS3.
With the USB version FF will randomly let the wheel loose, and only come back to normal when you hit something. Or other times starts pulling in one direction for no reason.
The Logitech WingMan Formula Force has waaay less of this problem; and it's linkage is indeed tighter and has less play, which makes the FF much more believable and direct.
But the only one that was 100% glitch-free, was the Microsoft Gameport version.Will also test with NFS 1 SE when I have the chance, and will post the results here.
All the best to everyone! : )
Testing 6 different wheels to find out only 1 of them worked? I feel I cannot thank you enough for your great work. 🙏
luedeia wrote on 2023-04-16, 15:41:Hello everybody. I clearly remember using, in 1997, the American Anko AVB Force Feedback Racing Wheel (GC-FBW1) in that game and the force feedback worked perfectly on Windows 95 . No I remember if I used the Serial or USB input (I think it was Serial). PC Pentium 233 mmx , Voodoo 1 , 32M RAM. I think there is something in Windows 98 ( I don't know if it has to do with Directx ) that prevents the FFB device from being detected in this game..
Thank you so much for your testimony. If that Anko GC-FBW1 works, maybe the Anko GC-FBW7 Mag Turbo Force Feedback Wheel will work too.
ShakirBB wrote on 2023-05-04, 03:50:Testing 6 different wheels to find out only 1 of them worked? I feel I cannot thank you enough for your great work. 🙏
There are other users here, who have done INFINITELY more for the retro community 😉 But I'm very glad to be of service! 😄
ShakirBB wrote on 2023-05-04, 03:50:Thank you so much for your testimony. If that Anko GC-FBW1 works, maybe the Anko GC-FBW7 Mag Turbo Force Feedback Wheel will work too.
Would be very interesting if you manage to get hold of one of the two Anko AVB wheels!
I'm quite curious if they work well with NFS2SE , but also how they fair against the Microsoft and the Logitech, in general usage.
ShakirBB wrote on 2018-08-23, 07:06:I got force feedback working with Need for Speed II Special Edition (NFS II SE) using this setup: […]
I got force feedback working with Need for Speed II Special Edition (NFS II SE) using this setup:
- Oracle VM VirtualBox Version 5.2.18 r124319
- Ubuntu Version 16.04.5 LTS Xenial Xerus i386 with latest updates, VirtualBox Guest Additions and USB
- zaps166 NFSIISE cross-platform wrapper version 1.2.4
- Logitech Driving Force Pro
Configured "nfs2se.conf" inside the ".nfs2se" directory hidden in my Home directory after first launch.
Changed "#Joystick0AxisValueShift=8448" to "Joystick0AxisValueShift=6336" to narrow the dead zone at the center of the X axis (Axis 0). 8448 was too narrow for me.
Changed "#Joystick0Axes=0,12,13,14:0,1,1,1" to "Joystick0Axes=0,1,2,3:0,-1,1,1".
"#UseSpringForceFeedbackEffect=0" can be changed to "UseSpringForceFeedbackEffect=1" to activate the steering wheel spring effect, but I found it irritating at default settings.
Effect strength is adjustible in the force feedback options menu. You can feel collisions, gear shifts and loss of traction.
Granted, the above post is really really old, but it helped put me on the right path to getting FFB in NFS II SE to work.
Here is my full step by step to getting this to work. Hope it helps someone else
Build the base VM
Using Oracle VMware Workstation 16 pro
install Ubuntu Version 16.04.5 LTS with latest updates, VirtualBox Guest Additions and USB
let VMware do easy setup and set the hard disk space to 20GB (as min for Unbuntu is 10Gb, so this gives room for all the updates that will be needed to make the game work)
for reference, it uses 2 CPUs and 4gb of memory, could probably reduce the memory needs
install Open VMware Tools installed to support Host to Guest USB devices input and other devices, etc...
Requirements of zaps166 Need For Speed™ II SE - Cross-platform wrapper:
32-bit X11 (libX11.so.6, libXext.so.6, libXinerama.so.1, libXrandr.so.2, libXxf86vm.so.1, libXss.so.1),
To check whether Ubuntu is running a 32-bit X11 (X Window System), from terminal window, use commmand
xdpyinfo | grep "bits per pixel"
If the output shows "32 bits per pixel," it means you are running a 32-bit X11 server. If it shows "24 bits per pixel" or another value, it means you are running a different color depth.
I didnt need to do this, but to update X11 and related packages
sudo apt update
sudo apt install tasksel
To change the display resolution to a higher setting in Ubuntu after installing the X11 window system, you can use the "Displays" settings or the xrandr command.
The following worked to fit my 27inch screen
xrandr --output Virtual1 --mode 1920x1440
Requirements of zaps166 Need For Speed™ II SE - Cross-platform wrapper:
game requires at least OpenGL 2 or 1.1 (depends on executable)
To check whether Ubuntu is using a 32-bit version of OpenGL, you can use the glxinfo command, which provides detailed information about the OpenGL configuration on your system.
I just decided to install the latest anyways (which ended up being (mesa-utils is already the newest version (8.3.0-1).)
sudo apt install mesa-utils
use the glxinfo command to gather information about OpenGL
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"
To update Git submodules in Ubuntu (or any Linux distribution), you can use the git submodule command. Submodules are typically used to include external Git repositories
for some reason I did this and I ran the following, and it found it was not installed
git submodule update --init --recursive
to install
sudo apt install git
Next we need a GCC or Clang compiler on Unbuntu to compile something. come back and update these notes once I figure it out later in the build screen capture of terminal commands used
Install the GCC compiler along with the necessary build tools by running the following
sudo apt install build-essential
then Install Clang
sudo apt install clang
to check clang version (mine was clang version 3.8.0-2ubuntu4 (tags/RELEASE_380/final))
clang --version
Next, we mount the host share to copy over NFS2SE files from the host
to enable mounting of virtual drives
mount | grep vmhgfs
then create the mount source and destination
sudo vmhgfs-fuse -o allow_other -o auto_unmount .host:/DHost /mnt/DHost-shared
Use the files GUI program to copy the files from the computer/mnt/DHost-shared to
Home/Games/needforspeedseii
NFS 2 SE manual install
insert original CD-ROM with "Need For Speed II SE" (or mount/unpack CD image),
copy FEDATA and GAMEDATA including all root files from NFS II SE CD to a Need For Speed II SE folder
iso here if dont have CD https://www.myabandonware.com/game/need-for-speed-ii-se-a4a
may not need to do this, as this is a Unbuntu install, but I would as the wrapper is treating it as a windows program
rename the install.nfs file to install.win in the Need For Speed II SE folder
install zaps166 Need For Speed™ II SE - Cross-platform wrapper with 3D acceleration and TCP protocol.
zaps166 NFSIISE cross-platform wrapper version 1.2.4
zaps166 nfs2se-win32.zip
or
nfs2se-linux.tar.gz
aka, extract it into the root of the game folder
Next, we need to covert all the game file names to lowercase
change directory in terminal to the Home/Games/needforspeedseii folder
then in terminal window
./convert_to_lowercase FEDATA GAMEDATA
say yes to set permissions
I didnt need to do this, but I should have renamed the files in the root of the game to lowercase as well
Next check that libxinerama1, libxrandr2 and libgl1-mesa-glx are on the latest. This shouldnt be needed, as Unbuntu will already have the latest of these, but just incase run
sudo apt install libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 libxinerama1:i386 libxrandr2:i386
the version I saw were
libxinerama1 is already the newest version (2:1.1.3-1).
libxrandr2 is already the newest version (2:1.5.0-1).
libgl1-mesa-glx is already the newest version (18.0.5-0ubuntu0~16.04.1).
Next, install the joystick test program to confirm g27 wheel can be seen by Unbuntu, and to get its axis, buttons, etc.
sudo apt-get install jstest-gtk
Run jstest to see wheel setup
jstest-gtk
or
jstest -event /dev/input/js0
Run jstest calibration if need be
jscal -c /dev/input/js0
fix large dead zone gap in steering
Configured "nfs2se.conf" inside the ".nfs2se" directory hidden in my Home directory after first launch.
modified the nfs2se.conf file that is used to configure how the game works with devices installed on the OS
For my g27 wheel, I modified the Joystick0AxisValueShift to = 8500. This eliminated the large dead zone GAP that the game natively creates.
fix for clutch vs gas pedal
Removed the clutch pedal (was interfering with throttle), as a usable axis by modifying the Joystick0Axes to = 0,2,3:0,0,1. This set axis 0 to wheel, 2 to gas and 3 to brake. And then the last 3 numbers for 0 for normal range, 0 for normal throttle travel, and 1 for half axis travel
using the NFS game menu, I set steering sensitivity to 1/3 range, thereby reducing the 900 degree turning range down to somewhere in the 300 degree range
In the end, while the force feedback does not provide the same level of feedback found in NFS 3, the force feed back that NFS 2 does provide to me, adds a bit more fun when scraping/hitting the edge of the track, being rammed by / or ramming other cars, crashing, or hitting sign posts and other objects.
I got it working on Windows XP using modern USB Thrustmaster T500 steering wheel. Just had to install 2013 Thrustmaster driver (TT2013 EXE) and use zaps166 NFS II SE wrapper for win32: https://github.com/zaps166/NFSIISE/releases ...force feedback is much more fun. It would be cool if Asus 3d glasses on Geforce 3 would work, but due to wrapper it does not render stereo screen properly on CRT (maybe dgVoodoo wrapper would work, but force feedback works only using the wrapper - opengl 1.0).
