This guide will provide the instructions on how to setup a Joystick in Sim Racing Studio that will control the motion of the platform. Joystick movement can be utilized for games that do not have native output for telemetry which is required for movement. Once setup and turned on, moving the joystick to the left will tilt the motion platform to the left, pulling the joystick back will tilt the platform backwards, hitting the brake pedal will tilt the platform forwards to simulate braking, pushing the rudder pedal to the right will turn the platform on the yaw axis to the right, and so on. Topics include:
YouTube Tutorial Video Links
Joystick Tuning Page Features
Recommended Joystick Tuning Settings
How to Reverse an Axis
HOTAS and Rudder Setup Video:
Steering Wheels and Pedals Setup Video:
Important Note: Joystick support in Sim Racing Studio requires a Premium Subscription. You can purchase a Premium Subscription here: https://simracingstudio.paywhirl.com/browse. You can also access the link in Sim Racing Studio via SETUP > License and click the Shopping Cart icon to the right of PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
Joystick Tuning Page Features
Once you have your Joystick profile setup and the Status is On, you will see your joystick profile listed in PROFILE IN USE in the upper right of Sim Racing Studio. Go to TUNING and select Motion on the left to begin adjusting the motion for the Joystick feature.
PROFILE IN USE in the upper right will show the specific Joystick Profile you have turned On. Important: Any changes made must be saved by clicking the Save button.
Platform Settings
· POWER/MAX ANGLE will change the overall movement of the rig. If you want overall less movement when moving the joystick, reduce this setting.
· SMOOTHING will limit large changes of the extra quick movements from side to side.
· REACTION SPEED impacts how quickly the movement will change depending on the joystick input. This is a major impact on jerkiness in the movements.
· BOOST, which amplifies telemetry data, will increase the overall reaction of the joystick telemetry and cause a jerkiness in the movements.
Effects Settings
· PITCH - Increasing this setting will increase the motion rigs forward and backwards movement. This will provide a climbing/diving or acceleration/deceleration type of feel.
· ROLL - Increasing this setting will increase the amount of left and right roll the rig performs when moving the joystick left or right.
· YAW - Increasing this setting will cause the traction loss/yaw movement of your rig to move more when using pedals.
· LONG G SURGE ACCEL, LONG G SURGE DECEL, VERT G ROAD HEAVE, and TRACTION LOSS - These effects have no telemetry output from a joystick and are not utilized for motion platform movement.
Recommended Joystick Tuning Settings
The default settings for joystick control in Sim Racing Studio is a great starting point and are not tuned with Effect Sliders above 10 which can increase jerky movements. Start with the default settings and adjust the sliders based on the game and personal preference.
Note: Setting Pitch/Roll/Yaw to 20 with Power/Max Angle at 100 will provide the full movement of your platform with the joystick profile. However, this can feel extreme as it’s easy to move quickly from left to right with the joystick, and the momentum from the wide range of movement will feel jarring.
Power/Max Angle – Leave at 100. This will allow the motion rig to move to its maximum abilities based on the Pitch/Roll/Yaw settings.
Smoothing – Set to 100. This will decrease the extra quick movements when quickly moving the joystick to the extremes. It will increase immersion and the decrease in quick extreme movements will smooth the overall experience.
Reaction Speed - Leave this at 70 (minimum setting). Reaction speed increases the reaction speed and will lead to a jerky movement experience. When using the joystick, the movement will feel smooth versus violent changes in direction due to minor movements in the joystick.
Boost – Leave this at 1. Highly recommended not to raise this setting. It amplifies the telemetry data from the joystick and will immediately make all movements extremely jerky.
Pitch – High recommend increasing to 15 to add move feeling to climbing or diving.
Roll – Recommendation is to increase to 15 to add more side to side feeling when rolling or turning.
Yaw – This effect can either be very jarring or feel very subdued. Its recommended to try settings between 5 to 15 which will be based on personal preference.
How to Reverse an Axis
If you have already gone through the joystick axis assignment in SETUP > Joystick, there are a few ways to reverse the joystick axis movement for the platform. If its a Single Axis, simply click on the Gear icon for that axis and select the Invert Axis button:
If it is a Dual Axis, there are two ways to reverse the axis:
Reassign the joystick axis again by clicking the gear icon in SETUP > Joystick for the specific axis. When the axis is being initially setup, move the controller in the opposite direction.
In the Max Telemetry field for the joystick axis you want to reverse, set the Max Telemetry value to a negative number. This will reverse the platform axis movement for that particular effect.
Do you have a surge dedicated actuator? If not, use pitch. If yes, future release. We have not pragrammed surge with joystick
Why on earth is Surge disabled for Joystick telem??? I want changes in throttle to actually produce something!
Change Log
9/26/2020 - Added introduction paragraph and mention of Sim Racing Studio requirement for Joystick Support. Added table of contents. Revised formatting through out the guide. Added section on How to Reverse an Axis. Adjusted recommended setting for Yaw. Revised guidance regarding Sway, Surge, Heave, and Traction Loss.
9/28/2020 - Added image for Invert Axis in the Single Axis setup. Added and clarified process on how to invert an axis for Dual Axis setups.