Using Flight Simulator and Car Racing off of 1 computer

[Rudyjo]

As I mentioned before, I would like to get into car racing using something like Assetto Corsa. I have been using FSX for close to 15 years with my computer and joystick on a computer desk. This computer is also used for the internet.
I had been thinking of getting an Xbox OneX, but am having a hard time justifying $500 for it, and then another $400 or so getting a good wheel and pedal set.
I am now thinking of getting Assetto Corsa on Steam and run both FSX and A.C. off of the same computer. Setting up a wheel and pedal at the desk would not be an option, so the car racing setup would have to be separate, using another monitor.
As this is a flight simulator forum with a separate sub-forum for car racing, I would assume that those of you that have both, have worked out a way to use one without having to disable the other.
What is involved with hooking up a separate monitor and controller setup into one computer? How far can a monitor cable be run? and what length of cables come with a wheel and pedal set?
Thanks for any ideas.
Edit... It looks like those 3 letters are being censored, it's not the way I wrote those words.

[Tako_Kichi]

I run FSX:SE, FS2004, Assetto Corsa, American Truck Sim, Euro Truck Sim 2, DiRT Rally, GTR2, Race 07, Farm Sim 17 and Train Simulator on the same computer and using the same monitors, I have two of them side by side but the sims only run on the main one. I leave both my racing wheel and pedals and my flight controls (yoke/stick, throttles and rudder pedals) connected all the time (via a USB hub) without any conflict between any of the controllers and any of the sims.

As to my setup, my racing wheel is mounted to a wooden stand I built myself and my flight gear is mounted to a converted TV table I modified to suit. I just place the required stand in front of the desk when I want to fly or drive and away I go.

It really isn't as complicated as you seem to be imagining it and everything plays nicely together with no issues.

[Dangerousdave26]

LOL Censorship...

I will have to look into that one.

[Dangerousdave26]

Problem corrected boy am I an Ass

[Rudyjo]

I run FSX:SE, FS2004, ***etto Corsa, American Truck Sim, Euro Truck Sim 2, DiRT Rally, GTR2, Race 07, Farm Sim 17 and Train Simulator on the same computer and using the same monitors, I have two of them side by side but the sims only run on the main one. I leave both my racing wheel and pedals and my flight controls (yoke/stick, throttles and rudder pedals) connected all the time (via a USB hub) without any conflict between any of the controllers and any of the sims.

As to my setup, my racing wheel is mounted to a wooden stand I built myself and my flight gear is mounted to a converted TV table I modified to suit. I just place the required stand in front of the desk when I want to fly or drive and away I go.

It really isn't as complicated as you seem to be imagining it and everything plays nicely together with no issues.

Thank you, It's what I was hoping to hear.
I went ahead and got a Steam account and found a free demo of Project Cars to see how they looked on the computer. It only took me about 10 seconds to find out that it would be extremely hard to run a race using only a keyboard.
I guess my next move would be to download Assetto Corsa and see if I can get it to work off of my FlightSim joystick until I get a wheel and pedal set.
One question I have before I start looking for a wheel and pedals....Would the paddle shifters on the wheel work on a car that has a manual transmission...or do you need a hand shifter setup for that type of car?
As I would spend a lot of time with the old vintage cars, I guess I should get a three pedal set that includes the clutch pedal?
Would you suggest Assetto Corsa over any of the others? One thing I like about Project Cars is that you can change the weather, even making it rain.
Thanks again

[Tako_Kichi]

One question I have before I start looking for a wheel and pedals....Would the paddle shifters on the wheel work on a car that has a manual transmission...or do you need a hand shifter setup for that type of car?

You can use the paddle shifters on a car that traditionally had a stick shift with no problems (generally speaking). I sometimes have an issue with newer cars that have paddle shifters where it doesn't see my stick shift so I am forced to use the paddles whereas I much prefer the stick.

As I would spend a lot of time with the old vintage cars, I guess I should get a three pedal set that includes the clutch pedal?

Expect to pay a lot more for the wheel if you want a clutch and stick shift too as they don't come cheap! In fact I think Logitech have even split them out now so the stick shift is an extra you have to buy separate from the wheel. My Logitech G27 came with the clutch pedal and stick shift, my previous wheels (Logitech Force GT with sequential shifter and Logitech MOMO with sequential shifter) were both two pedal systems. I switched to the more realistic setup after I started driving the truck sims and wanted to manually shift between the plethora of gears (up to 18) on a big rig. My wife inherited the Force GT and she drives the trucks on her computer with automatic transmissions generally (she can't drive a stick shift in real life either) but will switch to a sequential box if she is hauling one of the 'heavy cargo' loads.

Would you suggest Assetto Corsa over any of the others? One thing I like about Project Cars is that you can change the weather, even making it rain.

Most of the racing sims have the ability to set the weather conditions and some sims even generate rain/storms randomly during the course of play (the truck sims and farm sim both do this). As to which one to go for is all down to your choice as each of them has their respective pros and cons. I don't spend much time in AC anymore (or the other race sims come to that) as I got bored with going around and around the same tracks (playing in MP with friends is a different matter). Most of my driving sim time these days is spent in either the truck sims or the farm sim as my wife also has it and we work the farm together in MP.

[Rudyjo]

Thank you Larry, your advice makes it easier to know what to look for!

[Rudyjo]

Does anyone have an opinion of the Logitech G920?
Best Buy has it on sale for another couple of days.
While it looks like it is made for Xbox, it says it will work on a PC.

[Tako_Kichi]

It will work on PC too as it has a USB connector. The G920 is the Xbox and PC successor to my G27, they have tweaked the force feedback motors a touch, added more buttons to make it more Xbox compatible but removed the H-shifter (now an additional purchase item) which used to come as stock. That was a bad move IMHO as there doesn't seem much point in providing a clutch pedal if you are not going to include the H-shifter. Losing the H-shifter also meant you lost 8 additional buttons plus the 8-way view switch which is another reason why extra buttons and the view switch were added to the wheel to compensate.

[Rudyjo]

It will work on PC too as it has a USB connector. The G920 is the Xbox and PC successor to my G27, they have tweaked the force feedback motors a touch, added more buttons to make it more Xbox compatible but removed the H-shifter (now an additional purchase item) which used to come as stock. That was a bad move IMHO as there doesn't seem much point in providing a clutch pedal if you are not going to include the H-shifter. Losing the H-shifter also meant you lost 8 additional buttons plus the 8-way view switch which is another reason why extra buttons and the view switch were added to the wheel to compensate.

Thank you Larry, I may go ahead and get it while it's on sale. As it does have the clutch pedal, I may get the manual shifter later.
While I have you here, I have one more question.
With the car set up and a different monitor being maybe 6 feet from where the actual computer is at the desk, are there times where you need to have access to the computer mouse to set things up on the monitor being used for car racing? If so, then another mouse would also be needed at the second monitor?
Thanks

[Tako_Kichi]

I only sim at my desk but placing the stand in front of the desk means my mouse is sometimes just out of reach. My solution to that is a wireless mouse that I only use when I'm simming. Wireless mice can be obtained for 10-50 bucks depending on quality/brand.

As to mouse use in racing sims it really depends on how the game is set up and whether it is also available for consoles. Console type games are more likely to have the various options activated by buttons on the wheel rather than the mouse as few consoles (if any) have mice.

[Rudyjo]

Thanks again Larry. I ordered the Logitech G920 this morning, $86 off through Best Buys internet. Will take about a week to get in.
In the mean time I will see if I can get our 32 inch TV working through the computer, I'll have to get a longer HDMI cable and then program the graphics card to work both the computer monitor and the TV.
Your idea of using a wireless mouse makes sense.

[wombat666]

The Logitech G920 Driving Force retails at A$369:00 and the Shifter at A$69:00..........................
Of course, the Pacific Peso only buys US$00:77.
Really good advice from Larry, and you really need to be able to use your mouse and keyboard to set up the cars.

[Rudyjo]

The Logitech G920 Driving Force retails at A$369:00 and the Shifter at A$69:00..........................
Of course, the Pacific Peso only buys US$00:77.
Really good advice from Larry, and you really need to be able to use your mouse and keyboard to set up the cars.

The price was $314 at Best Buy. I priced a 12 foot HDMI cable while there......$59.00.
I needed to go to Costco later that day and saw a package of two 12 foot HDMI cables for $15.00. I asked about the quality of them and was told they are the same as anything sold at Best Buy or any electronics store, Costco sells probably a couple thousand TV's a week, said they never had any cables come back.

I am going to see if I can keep my Flight Simulator setup at the desk as it is, and then have the racing setup off of the side of the desk so I would be at the same chair, but only have to turn 90 degrees to use the car racer. There's plenty of room between the chair and the wall off to the side.
Yes, Larry has been very helpful, I have always had great luck getting my questions answered about almost anything in the 15 or so years I've been using the F.S. forums.

[Rudyjo]

I found out that my graphics card, a GTX 560ti only has two DVI outlets. The Vizio 32 inch TV has a screw in type cable and a HDMI connection.
I assume that what I need to connect the computer to the TV is a DVI to HDMI adapter and then run the HDMI cable between them. Does this sound correct?

[Tako_Kichi]

That sounds like it would work. Are you sure the GFX card is twin DVI and not twin VGA? Might be worth double checking before you commit to an adapter. Usually DVI connectors have a white/cream plastic insert while VGA connectors use blue plastic.

[Rudyjo]

Yes, they are both DVI, white color. I was surprised that it didn't have a HDMI plug as it's only a few years old.
I switched my monitor cable from one to the other, they both work the monitor.
Thanks Larry

[Rudyjo]

Got the Logitech G-920 4 days ago, the only "Instructions" that came with it is one page showing how to connect the 3 cables on it. The wheel is supposed to turn full right and left when connected, it didn't do anything,
I went to Logitech's website and registered it and downloaded the "Manual", a full 5 pages which again show how to connect the cables and very little else. There is a software update that I downloaded, thinking maybe it would work if it were updated. I tried to install the update but it would not work, got a message that the unit must be connected to the computer for the download to install. It was connected, The wheel shows up under Devices and one of the wheel lights was on.
I disconnected both the power and USB cable and re-connected them, still the message was that it must be connected for the download to install. Took it back to Best Buy and they ordered another one.

[wombat666]

User Manuals and Instructions are rudimentary to say the least!
I'll ask the obvious question here: did you download the latest drivers and Logitech Gaming Software (8.96.81 IIRC) package from the Logitech site?


And just FTR, when it comes price v quality for HDMI cables, the cheap ones do have the same number of strands (or 'wires') as the expensive models, big difference is the thickness and quality of the 'wires'.

[Tako_Kichi]

User Manuals and Instructions are rudimentary to say the least!
I'll ask the obvious question here: did you download the latest drivers and Logitech Gaming Software (8.96.81 IIRC) package from the Logitech site?

Actually what he needs is the Logitech Profiling Software which is for wheels and joysticks as the Logitech Gaming Software is more for their gaming mice and keyboards.

You can find it here: http://support.logitech.com/en_us/pr...eel/downloads#

Make sure you pick the correct OS for your system and don't forget to select 32 or 64 bit.

Install that package first and then connect your wheel/pedals. There was probably nothing wrong with the set you had but Windows can't set up what it can't see and if you hadn't installed the drivers/software first then it's likely that is why nothing was seen. Don't forget to plug in the power adapter too, it can't operate the FFB system (i.e. turn the wheel) if it has no power. Make sure you keep your fingers away from the wheel when it powers up too as the wheel will spin rapidly to it's end points and you don't want to get things trapped in there. We have three cats and one likes to lie on my wheel stand but regularly gets a major scare when I power up the wheel and it suddenly starts spinning right next to him. I've got a bad habit of forgetting to power down the wheel after use and so when I start the computer in the morning I am often reminded when the wheel starts spinning on it's own!

[Rudyjo]

Wombat and Larry: Thank you for the information. You are probably correct that there was nothing wrong with the unit I ended up taking back, and if I did the same process with the new one , it would not work either.
What really gets me is this: The G920 is made mainly for Xbox, but it's advertised as being compatable with a PC. How much more would it have cost them to include one more piece of paper in the box that says "If you intend to use this on a P.C., then do the following steps." ?
For those of us who are not that good at understanding how computers work, we shouldn't have to spend an hour trying to find something on the internet or asking questions on forums to find out what needs to be done. I wonder how many people just give up when if they were provided a step by step set of items that you need to do, including what needs to be downloaded and what order everything should be done. They would have a lot more satisfied customers.
This is not just Logitech, it is standard practice that Corporations think everyone has graduated from Microsoft University and automatically know how things work. It is now normal that you often receive just the bare amount of intructions, often with no words, just drawings. I remember when I bought Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002, it came with a 150 page manual on how to work things, now if you want a copy of something like that, then use $15 of ink and print it yourself.
The new unit should be in on Thursday. I sent Logitech Customer support a claim last Thursday, still have not heard from them.
I'll try to get the new one to work. Hopefully the next time I reply to this thread, it will be to say that everything is working.

[Rudyjo]

An update, I got the new Logitech wheel and pedal set-up and thanks to the information here, got the proper downloads installed and it is working very well.
I have been very happy with Steam, I not only got Assetto Corsa, but two of the add on car packs, steam automatically installs them.
I have been having a great time with A.C., I should have gotten it a long time ago.
While this is only a simulator, it really makes you respect the speeds that real racers are doing on these tracks, it would scare the hell out of me to actually drive that fast.
The only down side to this is that I have not used flight simulator for a couple of weeks.