Details on the Force Feedback in Forza Motorsports 2!

By Dan Greenawalt

"When we set off to create Forza Motorsport 2 on the Xbox 360, we knew we had to up the ante on realism for console racing simulators. To that end, a big part of our next-gen racing experience lies in the use of controller rumble and wheel force feedback to completely immerse the player. Racing in the real world is a multi-sensory experience with drivers relying on a well-integrated stream of visual, auditory, vestibular, and haptic information -- everything from the sound of the wind and tires to the pressure of the brake pedal and engine vibration traveling up through the steering column – to let them know how their car is performing. For the last couple weeks here at Turn 10, we’ve been fine-tuning the force feedback implementation in Forza Motorsport 2 using the Microsoft Wireless Force Feedback Wheel. In the process, I’ve written a whitepaper on why force feedback is so important to the overall racing simulation package. Below are a few abstracts from the article…

• Visual and audio cues are simply not enough to convey reality. Forza Motorsport 2 uses haptic interfaces to reproduce a realistic sensation of driving. Whether you play our game with a rumble-enabled controller or a full racing cockpit with force feedback wheel setup, Forza Motorsport 2 gives you tactile cues to improve your game.
• Force feedback is the primary language between car, road, and driver. Force feedback is an extremely useful haptic interface. It provides real-time info on several key aspects of Forza Motorsport 2’s physics model. Obviously, force feedback simulates the steering wheel torque created by having the front tires on different terrain types, such as asphalt, rumble strips, or grass. It also simulates load balance between tires as well as slippage.
• Without simulating “aligning torque,” your force feedback is useless. When driving a car in real-life, aligning torque is what your hands “feel” in the steering wheel. Aligning torque wants to point the steering wheel in the direction of travel. Aligning torque auto-corrects the steering wheel when you are over-steering or drifting. Aligning torque helps you find peak friction when you are understeering. Basically, aligning torque is the primary language that your front tires use to talk to you.
• Your hardware is only as good as your software. Most of what you feel, as you play a racing game with wheel-in-hand, comes down to game design and software. When force feedback is poorly implemented in a game, even the best force feedback wheel is often a less effective controller than a rubber-band wheel with a good deadzone."

For all of the details on why Force feedback is so important in capturing the realism go to Forza Motorsports.net!