SRS 2.0 Joystick Setup Guide

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. HOTAS and Rudder Setup Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMMeiEMXlkU&start

Steering Wheels and Pedals Setup Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urZEzfBXYgc&t

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. Some of the benefits include:

• Joystick telemetry maker. Add motion, wind and shake to any game.

• Download pro tuned profiles.

• SRS Mobile Companion. Open SRS UI on any phone or tablet.

Sim Racing Studio does a lot to support the motion platform community. Please support them as well by purchasing a Premium Subscription so they can continue to add improvements like Joystick Support. Thanks!

Sim Racing Studio 2.0 Joystick Setup

1. Ensure all your joysticks are detected by Windows and their axis are working correctly.

2. Start Sim Racing Studio 2.0

3. Select SETUP at the top

4. Select Joystick on the left. Joystick UI details: 

• Status will turn on/off joystick support in Sim Racing Studio 2.0. When setting up a joystick axis, ensure this is set to OFF.

• Profile is where you create, copy, and delete joystick profiles.

• Left/Right is the ROLL axis.

• Front/Back is the PITCH axis.

• Rotate Left/Rotate Right is the TRACTION LOSS/YAW axis.

• Speed RPM is an axis that can be setup to adjust the fan speed of your SRS wind kits as well as the speed of the Engine effect for Shaker kits.

• The white bar between the axis label and the gear icon will display the detection of any axis movement. 

5. Click on the ‘Add a new profile’ button (square box with +). Enter a name for the profile and click Confirm.   NOTE: You can copy profiles by selecting the 'Duplicate selected profile' button (stacked pages) as well as delete profiles with the 'Remove selected profile' button (circle with -). Once setup, you can choose from multiple profiles in the drop-down menu.  6. Clicking on the gear icon for the axis you want to setup will launch the Joystick Assignment window.

7. In the Joystick drop down menu, select the joystick you want to setup. Only joysticks detected by Windows will appear here.

8. In the Mode drop down menu, you will have two options: Dual Axis or Single Axis. Select the appropriate axis mode. 

Dual Axis should be selected if you are using a joystick, rudder, wheel, gamepad thumb sticks, HOTAS, etc. Any device that has a forward/back or left/right movement along a single axis should be considered dual axis. 

Single Axis should be selected if you are using racing pedals, gamepad trigger, etc. This is used for devices that have a single input on a single axis. Example is racing pedals where the clutch can be setup as a single axis and the throttle could also be setup as a single axis. 

9. IMPORTANT: Move the joystick only in the direction of the axis you are setting up. Also ensure it is moved to its maximum position and held there in place while clicking the Confirm button. 

For example, when setting up the Left input, ensure the joystick is held to the far left (and only the far left) and HOLD it there while you click the Confirm button. This will set the maximum range for the joystick for that specific axis. 

When setting up a Single Axis, there is an additional option to invert the axis. This is provided as Single Axis setups don't have the ability to change the axis direction. If the rig is not moving the correct direction after a Single Axis is setup, return to the axis assignment via the gear icon and click the Invert Axis option to On. Note: To invert the axis for a Dual Axis joystick, hold the joystick in the opposite direction when setting up the Left/Right or Forward/Back axis. 

If done correctly, you will see the axis displayed in the Type and Axis field. 

Type will display the direction of the axis being detected by the < or > symbols. If it shows axis < then it’s detecting your input as left input data. If is shows axis > then it’s detecting your input as right input data. This is also applied to the front and back axis (axis < for front and axis > for back). This could change depending on your setup, but the < or > will indicate the different directions within the Dual Axis setup. 

Axis will show a number assigned to that axis. Axis 1 could represent the y axis (pitch) on a joystick and axis 0 could represent the x axis (roll) on that same joystick. This number is determined by how many joysticks/axis you have connected to Windows. 

10. Once you have clicked Confirm the axis is setup. Proceed to duplicate steps 6 through 9 to complete setting up your remaining axis. 

11. Once all the axis are setup, ensure the Profile is set correctly and switch the Status button to On.

12. Test to ensure the joystick movements match the intended axis movement on the rig. If there are any that appear not to be moving, you can reset the axis assignment or recalibrate it by selecting the gear icon for that axis and selecting Reset.

Note: The keyboard icon in the upper right of the Joystick page can be utilized to assign a key or bind a button to turn the joystick Status On or Off. This allows an easy way to turn the joystick movements on or off during a game.

Example Setup

An example screenshot of a Virpil Joystick, Virpil Throttle, and Thrustmaster TPR pedals mapped to the Joystick setting in SRS. Note the direction of the < or > in relation to the axis setup and how each axis has its own axis number.

Joystick Troubleshooting

Issue: My rig movement feels extreme and jarring when moving the joystick from left to right. Solution: Double check that all the axis are setup in the correct direction and have been calibrated.

1. Ensure the joystick is setup and calibrated properly in Window. An easy way to view your joysticks is to search for "joy.cpl" in your Windows search field. 

2. In SRS under Joystick, verify the Left axis has a < symbol listed next to the axis and the Right axis has a > symbol listed next to its axis. Similar for Front/Back as the < or > should be different for forward or back. 

3. Also verify that each movement is assigned to the correct axis. Left/Right should commonly be on the same axis. Front/Back should also likely be on the same axis. This is all dependent upon your joystick setup.

4. Recalibrate the range of the axis by selecting to Reset the axis in the joystick assignment window and ensure you hold the joystick to the maximum direction at the same time when clicking Confirm. 

Issue: My SRS Shake Kit transducers are vibrating when moving the joystick. Solution: If you are using Sim Racing Studio to control a SRS Shake Kit or transducers/Buttkicker, the joystick input will send data to those transducers. To disable the shaking, once you have launched your joystick profile, go to TUNING, select Shake on the left bar, then move Suspension down to 0. You can also tune it to your liking since some vibration is immersive for space sims or other games that might have vibrations depending on joystick movements.

Issue: I’m not getting any movement in my rig after setting up the joystick Solution: Check to see if there is any movement being registered within Sim Racing Studio 2.0 by selecting SETUP and the Joystick. Between the axis name (ie Left, Right, Front, Back, etc,) and the gear icon there is a white bar which will display the detection of an axis once its moved. The movement will show up as a blue bar within the white bar as it detects movement. If no movement is detected, verify the joystick is setup correctly in Windows and go through the setup axis again by selecting to Reset the axis. If you continue to have issues with your joystick settings in SRS, please open a ticket with SimRacingStudio for additional assistance.