Console Controller Vibration And Haptics

I’m really looking forward to this feature being introduced for PS5 (and all consoles)

it will add so much to the immersion, but I’m making the assumption it will only apply to new TSW4 routes rather than any backward compatibility?

DTG Matt will this work on older TSW route content played through TSW4? I.e would the 375 on SEHS played through TSW 4 have rumble?

Or is it restricted to TSW4 released (any?) loco used on a TSW4 route?

thanks!

 

I believe the Roadmap Part 2 states all routes playable in TSW4 will fully support the haptics, but safety system audio over the controller speaker will only be available on TSW4 routes (I’m assuming that requires modifications to the in-game audio mix/output).

 

I was so happy when I heard the controller rumble was coming to TSW finally, I've missed it so much!

 

Will PS5 get advanced haptics or will it be the same experience between a PS4 and a PS5 controller? (eg. trigger resistance and some other gubbins are PS5 controller only)

 

Yup never understood why my controller never vibrated. You are so used to it from other games you are surprised when it's not there.

Having the speaker noises is also very neat. Next up Adaptive triggers. They are still on my wish list. But I had not expected that many controller features would be supported in the first place.

Not mentioned as supported in the FAQ

 

After I've felt a bit reluctant first after the first impressions regarding the starter routes, a bit more info on their layers and especially this feature helped me a lot to look forward to TSW4 and is probably the single feature I'm most looking forward to. This could have a cool and massive impact on the experience. Great that it works on all routes!

 

Re purchasing, Game have 100-ish quid off PS5 disc version at the minute

For experience, absolutely nothing beats Astro's Playroom, and its free on the PS store. Rain effects, haptics while running that differ depending on the surface you are traversing, and tons of other neat stuff (and not all related to the haptics) are all excellently showcased

For more traditional games, Gran Turismo 7 for accelerating/braking/surface feedback and resistance on triggers for velocity are very good, PS5 version of Death Stranding has subtle but effectivefeedback too

 

By far the best demonstration of the Dualshock 5's capabilities I've seen (felt) so far are in the game that comes free on the PS5 - Astro's Playroom. You get to feel raindrops, different textures underfoot, acceleration/deceleration, even the controller being filled with marbles and them rolling around inside it as you tilt it.

 

Don't rush these out. Some games have really bad adaptive trigger support. The standard astro game is very good reference point as are most PS exclusives. If done well it might even tempt PC users to switch because adaptive triggers is very immersive in an environment like a cab. Let real drivers test it before you release adaptive triggers, until they say it feels like a real cab

 

A possible use for triggers specifically could be when moving levers or pushing buttons manually in the cab, would need a rethink of the controls though since currently cross button locks the slider for levers and is the action button for ... buttons

 

Can you bring back that very useful functionality when holding “L3”, it put us back inside the cab. Very practical when you’re at the opposite from the cab especially with long sets.

 

So to expand on what I said above, perhaps a third controller method after Immersive and Classic, with a simple change of the action button being changed from cross to RT, such that when you move the crosshair over an interactive control, pressing RT activates it instead of cross. To allow this to work, you could have the camera slow down slightly and buzz the controller gently so the player knows theyve crossed something that can be interacted with, and slowly drift the camera towards it while crosshair is in the vicinity. Then, when the pop up text is activated to say what it is (AWS lever for example), have RT active to grab it, lock the trigger at say 10% pressed, use left stick to move slider and slowly release the RT lock so that when slider reaches its extreme position, RT by that point is fully depressed. Diffiicult to put in words but hopefully you get the gist

Buttons in the cab would be simpler, simply put some resistance in the trigger (not too much, buttons are unlikely to be hard to push of course) and a gentle buzz to reflect the click sound effect perhaps?

For levers, perhaps an alternative would be to change how the slider works - instead of using the left stick to move the slider, change that to triggers instead, for example on a combined throttle/brake handle, cross to activate as usual, and then the triggers control up/down on the slider, with appropriate trigger resistance

 

Adaptive for levers is a no brainer. Everything that you switch from left to right or vertically and horizontally. Switching the rails manually might even get me out of the cab more often

 

Exactly what I was thinking re notches yes, though it could get complicated on the handles that have 10-20 notches heh

Feedback and resistance is on triggers only (these are L2/R2). For the standard Immersive layout where triggers control velocity, would need some thought - you could buzz the trigger as it went up each notch, but resistance I think would need to be applied as a whole entity, insomuch as while a throttle lever is an analogue control, its resistance is constant regardless of which position you're setting it to, as opposed to say an accelerator pedal on a car, where resistance grows the harder you push it

Two specific examples:
1. Throttle lever going from position 0 to position 4, I might have 25% resistance on the trigger itself, plus a buzz as the lever is pushed and reaches each notch, with the speed of the lever movement itself same as it is in TSW3
2. Throttle lever is locked due to master key not being inserted - lock the trigger completely ( I think this possible) and buzz the trigger to indicate its not moveable

 

The adaptive features are just for L2/R2, not L1/R1, ie the trigger buttons.

 

I bet that was fun with the jointed track!

 

Lol. Good luck Matt!

 

Even collectables could feel more immersive with adaptive triggers. Aren't we sticking posters to walls all the time?

 

GT7 is great and apparently with PSVR2 is a whole different level of immersion.

Can you use controllers in the PC version of TSW? Is that supported with haptics etc?

 

Yup GT7 is one of the best examples of impressive adaptive use. When I was on Xbox I did not think it would be that big omission but racing games feel stale now on Xbox without the extra immersion.

Haptics was mentioned as all platforms so also PC

 

Will this work for PC players who use controls? (hopeful member of that group here...)

 

Please post again in the forums after you tell her. We are worried about your safety.

 

Will sound still come through the speakers if you're wearing headphones? I despise games that use the speakers for audio. I find it breaks the immersion having sound come from a completely different source and it's very intrusive when other people are in the same room.

 

For the adaptive triggers, Borderlands 3 is a great example. They've really managed to make firing each weopon feel different. Would be great to make pulling leavers on diffenrt trains feel unique. Problem is it would old only work on increasing Throttle and Break but would certainly be much better than nothing at all if you could implement it.

 

Was that big space really worth it?

 

For some reason the WYSIWYG editor on this forum loves to add extra lines and move the cursor round on Android. Uusally I copy and paste out of Notes to get round it but thought I'd risk it today. Not a good idea! Have edited it now.

Does this happen for anyone else?

 

Looks like the light bar can be changed using the Steam API. I haven't found anything about the speaker though.

 

I've never been able to like controller vibration while playing (or what it does to the battery), so I always leave it off.

Now, there was a pinball machine called Earthshaker which contained a rumbler motor that shook the cabinet at appropriate times. If I had mad tech skills, I would like to attach one of those to my chair, set up a connection to the Playstation somehow, and enjoy being rattled around by Sand Patch's AC4400CW as I drove.

 

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is also great with the adaptive triggers and speaker. Astro's playroom is brilliant though. Really shows what is possible with the controller on the PS5.

 

I don't do controller vibration bc it messes with my proprioception, but for those it helps immerse more, I'm glad.

 

Really appreciate the effort here into improving the controller function support in TSW4. Here's my current Dualsense wishlist

The controller itself using gyro could be a potential alternate control method. For example levers and knobs could move based on the tilt of your controller and cross rather than the left analog stick and cross.

With PS5 you can really simulate the effect of a stiff knob or notches with haptics and adaptive triggers. Also I think Steam Input has adaptive trigger support so adding it on PC is a possibility.

Another thing to consider adding to controller speaker is the limited voice dialogue in the game. Having that on your controller will focus the audio closer to you & sort of simulate a radio. You could also add some of the radio chatter that is mixed in American content.

I think your team should keep exploring the possibilities of the PS5 Haptics because it's night and day compared to the traditional rumble on previous controllers. I think I'd appreciate a subtle effect while walking in the world, for example.

Dualsense microphone + voice commands = potential hands free operation, increasing accessibility. Then also not everything needs to be a control you can expose lesser used functions via the voice commands only.

But I've mentioned my two biggest asks for controllers before and I'll just reiterate them here: Custom controller layouts and the ability to change your controller layout on the fly while in content.

Dualsense Edge comes with extra back buttons and I think that would be a good place to start testing custom buttons. I miss my camera speed so much if you added that I'd consider an Edge just for that. Although the gamepad+keyboard works, It's a clunky solution.

Edit: Camera speed might be less critical in TSW4 with being able to pause being a thing. I'll have to try it and see if that works for me. Adding a camera speed toggle to the pause/photo mode is definitely something to consider for controller users.

 

Mirthful giggle

(Yes I'm still easily amused)

 

Even simple things like having the controller give a little rumble when the doors open or close on the left or right would increase the immersion.

 

Phew glad I didn't say "stimulate"

 

Thought of another thing, a dedicated camera mode like what the classic controller has EXCEPT it doesn't lock you out on controlling your train using keyboard controls. That was always my gripe with classic controller I'd get stuck in the camera mode and try to action my train and end up 50 feet in the air or hugging the rails. I'd still do that for sure but at least the keyboard backup would work.

 

Just don’t tell her..

 

They always know.

 

More chance of us getting Newcastle to Edinburgh than you getting a PS5 anytime soon then … one day eh DTG Matt

 

Definitely recommend Astro's Playroom if you're looking to experience PS5's haptics. Ratchet & Clank also makes use of them for the weapons you can get in the game

Just curious Matt, while we're on the PS5 topic.

Are there any performance improvements for TSW4 on PS5, in comparison to TSW3? I find a few TOD4 routes tend to suffer stuttering and rather unstable FPS in areas, SEHS is a good example of this. Redbus has done comparisons on this with the Series X version, and the XSX seems to be more optimised in the same areas that the PS5 tends to stutter.