Raildriver Is Getting Closer - Settings In Latest Update But Disabled

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by paul.pavlinovich, Dec 16, 2020.

  1. paul.pavlinovich

    paul.pavlinovich Well-Known Member

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    So anyone know how to turn it on?

    raildriver.PNG
     
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  2. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    Oooooohhhhhhh!
     
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  3. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    Raildriver support is what keeps dragging me back to TS2021. Really looking forward to this in TSW2 even if it is only a beta to start with.
     
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  4. zappatime

    zappatime Well-Known Member

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    Not just Raildriver, Direct Input is what’s needed and anticipated, so we can get on with making our own controls
     
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  5. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    I've got a RD so looking forward to support for that.
    But I've also seen the Alan Thomson controls, and they look pretty interesting.
    What controls are you thinking of making?
     
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  6. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    I‘m interested to see if the speedometer on the raildriver works. If it does, that might mean it’s possible to access internal data and then it should be possible to create some external instruments to display on a separate screen.

    Might all be wishful thinking though and even if it is possible, not sure I‘ve got all the skills to do it.
     
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  7. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    Well Matt P used to use his Saitek panels for displaying data in TS1 (still does probably) so I'd think he'd want that functionality in there. Plus, the speedometer is kind of part of the RD functionality so it would be weird if they didn't support it. I'd be disappointed if it didn't work.
     
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  8. BinaryRun

    BinaryRun Active Member

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    I just want to repeat what was said during the last roadmap. They hope to enable it at a beta before Christmas, but no promises. Also, not all routes will be supported from the start. It needs to be enabled on a train by train basis. (It does work on the TGV, that's all that's sorta confirmed.)
     
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  9. Reventloff

    Reventloff Well-Known Member

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    So... is it working?
    How do I set up the Direct control and my joysticks now? I open advance controls, choose Direct input, choose Loco and... what next? Is there a guide or smth?
     
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  10. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    No its not working yet. There's half an interface included in the latest update from Steam. It doesn't do anything yet and we should ignore it. Sam said there was just no point hiding it.
    It was also reported earlier that RD will work before other devices will
    btw, out of interest, what are you hoping to control with a joystick? The camera view might be possible one day I guess, and maybe at a push the cursor movement.
     
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  11. Reventloff

    Reventloff Well-Known Member

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    Ah, thanks, mate! Then there is no point in showing it either... ;)

    At the moment I play TSW2 on two controllers (through AHK macro):
    - Logitech Throttle Quadrant - 3 Levers for Throttle, Brakes, Ind Brakes (or AFB on Germans) and 6 buttons for direction, doors, map, etc.
    - Joistick (Flight stick) - for Horn of course! High and Low on one axis + few more buttons for various actions (bell, lights, wipers, etc)
    This set-up adds hell amount of immersion for me. Throttle Quadrant is just brilliant for trains (and much cheaper than Raildriver, which is highly overpriced in my opinion). Just would be nice to have direct control settings ingame instead of joystick mapping macro, thats all.
     
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  12. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    Apologies then, it sounds like it works well for you.
    (Yeah, RD possibly is overpriced, but I kind of like how it has a speaker inside so that you can make it vibrate with the train noise)
    tbh, I've got a 6 axis throttle quadrant in front of the RD and it would be interesting to map some of them as well.
     
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  13. dhekelian

    dhekelian Well-Known Member

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    been thinking of getting a RD but they are out of stock saying they are expecting them in December 2020, half way through Dec and no sign of them. Missed out on one on ebay too, lol. Is the RD worth it do you think?
     
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  14. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    I think it’s well worth the money. I‘ve enjoyed TS2021 a lot more since getting mine. If they get it right for TSW2 I think it will really increase the immersion.

    One tip though. If you going to use it with TS2021 as well as TSW. Don’t use the supplied software. There is much better software writen by someone called Cobra One.
     
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  15. paweuek

    paweuek Active Member

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  16. Alexandra

    Alexandra Active Member

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    That sounds compelling, but € 165 seems like a lot for a joystick. Can you say more?
     
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  17. LeadCatcher

    LeadCatcher Well-Known Member

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    i thought the same as well, but the wife was pushing me for ideas of a gift for my birthday so I suggested a rail driver. Can’t believe the difference it made for TS20XX as well as Run8. I use the alternate driver from Cobra one and am impressed by the finer control I have over the brakes and throttle. Most keyboard shortcuts are mapped to the keys and so rarely have to resort to the keyboard.

    The price is a bit steep, but I view as getting a good set of rudder pedals and a yoke for a flight simulator. Sure you can get by without it, but it sure is nice to have one.
     
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  18. Michael Newbury

    Michael Newbury Well-Known Member

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    I agree despite the price of getting the Rail driver it does make a difference I have been enjoying it in TS2021 and looking forward to it being available in TSW2.
     
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  19. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    I totally agree with what’s been said already about the finer controls. Also to add, it also has a built in subwoofer. This really works well particularly for diesels.
     
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  20. Alexandra

    Alexandra Active Member

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    Sold!
    ... and thanks! ;)
     
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  21. ht-57

    ht-57 Member

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    The following is totally base on "MY" hands on experience with the raildriver product
    So y'all may consider raildriver as overpriced, fair enuff.
    That said I've had mine since at least 2006-could be 04 I can't recall- which is going on 15 years and I've put thousands of hours on it between a
    couple of rail sims and she's still cranking! By my math It has cost me less then a penny an hour, well worth the price per entertainment hour
    IMHO. For me it would be akin to trying to drive in iracing (insert driving sim) without a wheel and pedals
    or dcs (insert flight sim) without a a stick and pedals
     
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  22. Yerolo

    Yerolo Well-Known Member

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    I agree that the Raildriver is massively overpriced (esp here in Australia). Also it is very hard to find anyone who sells them down here...the only distributer I have found is here: https://www.rubbermonkey.com.au/RailDriver-Desktop-Train-Cab-Controller All the other usual outlets list them as unavailable or out of stock

    Now $500aud for a peripheral that ONLY works in Train Sims is a bit steep...I would be more tempted to go down the path of picking up a HOTAS setup where at least I would a) Find them easier to obtain here and b) Be able to use it Flight Sims as well

    In saying all that....I would absolutely love to own a Raildriver if they were more reasonably priced, esp with the upcoming TSW support
     
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  23. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    The trouble with all these peripherals is the mess it makes of your real desktop.
    The cabling is bloody irritating, especially when I’m trying to switch inputs or plug cameras in.
     
  24. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    I'd been using the Cobra One driver but hadn't reinstalled it since my hard drive went. I installed it partly as it works better with the AP locos I think. I enjoy the subwoofer, I just got the VP+AP Deltik packs for TS1 so I'll give it all a go with that. Thanks.

    edit: As this is the TSW2 section of the forum, I'd add that it isn't clear to me yet whether we'll need any add-on software to work with Raildriver. Run8 has native support for RD and the interface that we've seen in TSW2 this week makes it look as though TSW2 may have native support for it as well (even if it is only for certain locos on certain routes). Still early though.
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2020
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  25. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    Pretty sure they said it would be native support in TSW2.

    I started to use The Cobra One interface on TS2021 because most of my DLC are Swiss routes by Rivet Games. Every Loco is non standard in some way so it made it more easily configurable. Took me ages to get them all working. Hopefully all that work is done for us in TSW2 and there will eventually be a working config for each Loco without having to mess around.
     
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  26. LeadCatcher

    LeadCatcher Well-Known Member

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    Cable management my friend... being a network engineer and consultant since the ‘80s it is something you learn - cable ties and gaffers tape :)
     
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  27. dhekelian

    dhekelian Well-Known Member

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    165 Euro's? Any chance you could post a link?
     
  28. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    Well, the beta is finally here. First impressions are very good. I just did a couple of runs on the Island Line and apart from a little calibration issue on the reverser, it worked very well indeed. I'll need to print out some more overlays as I think they are different for each train, but so far so good. Wasn't going to get the new TGV line, but might now being as it is supported.
     
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  29. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    What sort of control mappings are they using? e.g. What did they use on the Island Line? Was it as you'd have expected? Thanks.
     
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  30. Michael Newbury

    Michael Newbury Well-Known Member

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  31. paul.pavlinovich

    paul.pavlinovich Well-Known Member

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    I've had mine about that long too - I first started using it with the orignal MS Train Simulator. It has followed me across three countries and oh so many simulators. It is very robust and IMHO well worth the cash.
     
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  32. paul.pavlinovich

    paul.pavlinovich Well-Known Member

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    *** AND IT WORKS *** WOOO - so much for working this morning :)
     
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  33. paul.pavlinovich

    paul.pavlinovich Well-Known Member

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    If you would like to see it in action, I've done a very brief run on Isle of Wight you can see it on YouTube https://youtu.be/xOpF9d6PmPA my early thoughts are that apart from being a little bit twitchy its really good and will amp up the game play and immersion tremendously. I'm hoping to never use keyboard and mouse again. I found a couple of things I think you can't do but that might be because I've not properly explored the buttons. We need a way to print the button configuration or a PDF manual with the configuration if you're listing DoveTail. Now I need to find my templates I made for another simulator so I can type out the buttons to print and slide into the overlay on the machine.
     
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  34. Michael Newbury

    Michael Newbury Well-Known Member

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    After watching the video I am very impressed, looking forward to using mine when I get a chance. I would say they are a bit pricey depending on which country you live in. But the value you will get out of it in TSW2 will be worth it's weight in Gold.
     
  35. Alexandra

    Alexandra Active Member

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    I would if I could. Alas, that's the price I found when I looked it up -- Out of stock for the rest of the year apparently.
     
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  36. Michael Newbury

    Michael Newbury Well-Known Member

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    Sadly no I was lucky when I got mine, as it was the last one in Canada. Here is the US link some where to start. http://raildriver.com/
     
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  37. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    Just tried it on the Bakerloo Line. Works really well! I remember when I first tried the Bakerloo Line, there's a downhill section going into the tunnel where I thought at the time that RD would be a much better experience than pressing D,A,D,A,D,A,D,etc. whilst trying to keep to a slow speed down the hill. Yeah, RD works for that. I found the combined throttle/brake to be slightly tricky at selecting specific positions required for startup and also the direction of the lever matches that shown on the stickers on the RD, but is the opposite to those on the handle in the cab I think. Maybe I should have calibrated the throttle&brake control backwards.
    Massively happy to see RD working in TSW2 though and the above 'issues' are probably just things that I need to get used to. I love how all the buttons on the RD are mapped, so the RANGE control apparently does the handbrake for example. Nice.

    edit: Actually, I found the 5 mph downhill section perhaps even more clunky with the RD as with the keyboard (had to move the throttle brake forwards slightly to apply the brake, then back past where the 0 point is, then back up again, it seemed to involve about 4 movements to just to lose 1 mph. Maybe its like that IRL though, dunno. :)
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2020
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  38. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    The only issues I’m seeing so far are driving the ICE on Köln Aachen. Horn up plays the high tone, horn down plays both high and low. Also the far right lever is mapped for the AFB control which is great, but a lot of the time even the smallest movement results in a 20km change.

    Generally though, finding it great. Just need to make some new button templates.
     
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  39. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    Is it possible to change the mappings?
    Oh, see what you mean, button templates to print out and put on the controller :)

    I was slightly confused by the term 'Beta'. Presumably they just mean that RD support is still a work in progress. I'd thought it was related to the beta version of TSW2 and had wondered how to opt into it initially. (Turns out to opt in, you just calibrate and then use your RD in-game, but last night I left it downloading the TSW2 update, not sure if I was downloading the right version).

    All good :)
     
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  40. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    I think eventually they will allow button mapping to be changed. But for now I‘m just happy with what we‘ve got.

    I‘ll need to create and print out the templates though. I tried just writing them down last night and made far too many mistakes. For now though I‘ll just temporarily stick them on top as I will still be switching between TSW and TS2021 a lot.
     
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  41. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    Do publish your templates.
    I expect we’ll get be getting all the routes as they’re retrospectively patched to work with the different cab controls.
    Nice though.
     
  42. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    I will try later today. I've only done the Class 483 so far and made a couple of mistakes which I'll correct first. Unless someone beats me to it I'll be doing all the European Trains. Probably won't do the American ones as I rarely drive them.

    EDIT : Attached if it works is the Template for the Class 483. Note, not all the buttons work for me. I've created a separate thread for any others that I create.
     

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    Last edited: Dec 18, 2020
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  43. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    As on TS1 I don't often use the small blue buttons (as its dark in my room and I can't see them). But, it would be quite handy if the train door buttons were on those blue buttons I think, as long as they were easy to find. So maybe the top left and top right blue buttons for left and right doors, and the bottom button on one or both sides for closing again. Or the ability to remap. Please DTG :)

    edit: Actually, I've just looked and the door controls are on buttons on the locos that I looked at (On the TGV the left/right buttons on the 4-way gamepad are left/right doors toggle; on the 1972 Stock, the 4 bottom right blue buttons operate the doors, thanks DTG)
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2020
  44. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    After a few hours driving the ICE, the TGV and the Class 483 . I'm really enjoying being able to use the raildriver.

    My initial thoughts :

    Buttons : There are a lot that are not working. Also I don't think they thought too much about what to add. This is not really a problem for a Beta. I'm just using keyboard and mouse for anything not controlled by levers.

    Levers : These are well implemented. They haven't stuck to what the levers are traditionally for. e.g. Using the Independent Brake lever to control the AFB on the ICE. And not sticking to the 3 fixed positions for the Reverser on the Class 483. These are both very good uses in my opinion. Though both seem to be a little imprecise at the moment.

    One of the best bits for me is the rumble coming up through the subwoofer. On TS2021, this has little impact on anything that isn't a diesel. But you can really feel it on all 3 of the above trains. It's subtle, but it's definitely there.

    So I'm pretty happy at the moment. For the first beta, it's really very good. Lots of room for improvement. It would be nice if they can get the levers a bit more precise. And as tbaac suggested above. Remappable buttons would make a big difference. For now, just being able to use it for the throttle and brake is still great. Looking forward to see the next developments whether that is better functionality or more trains.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2020
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  45. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    Agree Tigert1966. I liked how they've done the levers on the TGV. The 1972 Stock similarly has the reverser with multiple positions iirc but also is a little imprecise with the throttle/brake control which has to map to the TractionBrake/Power handle that has a lot of positions. The only times that was a problem was during startup and when trying to momentarily apply the brake. But RD is a feature that I've wanted in TSW for ages so I'm really happy about the way that they're implementing it
     
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  46. Redbus

    Redbus Well-Known Member

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    A bit confused why DTG are not talking about DirectInput, which would allow any Windows axis or button to be used in TSW2. Does Raildriver require special support?
     
  47. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    With Raildriver they've built fixed mappings for some of the trains so far. You can't change them yet, or use RD on all of the trains yet afaik. Opening up DirectInput would presumably risk opening a whole bunch more support request and I guess they're trying to test the waters with Raildriver fixed mappings so far.
    They can test every possibility with Raildriver in theory, as there aren't many if the mappings are fixed.
     
  48. Redbus

    Redbus Well-Known Member

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    Yet the solution they have seemingly chosen requires far more work. A simple UI to bind axes and buttons to controls like any run of the mill simulator would surely take less time, resources, and be far more flexible (any present or future controller could be used). Why are DTG programming themselves into a corner?
     
  49. Callum B.

    Callum B. Well-Known Member

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    They have explained that the work on RailDriver is the work on DirectInput. They have explicitly chosen to lock down controller options to just RailDriver in this first beta so that they may take feedback and patch any issues before opening the floodgates with all DirectInput controllers.
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2020
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  50. dhekelian

    dhekelian Well-Known Member

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    Would be good if you can get your hands on one. I can't find Raildriver in stock anywhere.
     

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