Only a madman would build a pit in his garage in Florida.
So, @jross… Now that @sobek has solved my squeeking shakers problem, I’m going all in with haptic feedback.
I have been toying around a bit in the F-5E. The G-force effect is really cool! I’m testing some offset values since I want the effect to be silent at 1G. This seems to work well enough, with a little tweaking.
I would like to adjust the engine rumble a little as I think it’s overdone in the mid range, for a jet. The engine vibrations should increase linearly. The default seems to be swapping different wav files depending on the rpm range of the engine and the swapping of the wav files is too pronounced. Did you notice anything like that and have you tried to do something about it? I would also want to try a deeper, lower frequency, rumble for the buffet effects.
But even if some of the effects need a little bit of tweaking, I do agree that this is a great immersion multiplier!
I see there is a ”Sim Shaker Wings” module that is compatible with IL-2 Great Battles… Tried it?
Fun stuff, if you take the engine rpm as input, you could probably code up a sound synthesizer that gives you seamless input to your shakers. Maybe a project for a scandinavian winter.
Depending on how nuts you want to go you could model the type of engine. Jet, v-12 inline, radial, the possibilities of coding firing orders into it, manifold pressure dependant amplitude…
@Troll good to hear (I crack myself up) you got the issue resolved…
My system has a mid-high freq puck (this is all relative) and a heavier one (think it’s .6 lbs?). One is plugged into the Right amp channel and one into the left. Outputting mono from SS software…
It works ok with just the smaller one (sort of like yours but probably slightly more mass) but wanted more ‘punch’ when things really started to stall. What I wrote up in the article as far as SS settings is still pretty close.
I don’t use engine rumble anymore; over time it just seemed that I could feel the subtle onset of G better - the rumble and G were competing until G got over, oh, about 3-ish? Really depends on settings, and each aircraft is slightly different it seems. At, say, 400+ knots even a tiny input of the stick and I’ll feel a slight G vibration. That’s what I want and seems more realistic; if the rumble was in there, and too high, I wouldn’t feel that.
In the Tomcat you can tell when you’re out of trim it seems; flying along at what seems level and 1-G but I’m still feeling something. “Ah, out of trim!”. Couple of thumbs forward and it goes away…
To my butt Stall and G felt too similar so I used Audacity to create a sound (somewhere up above this post I go into the details a bit more). In Audacity you can set the output device to the sound card for your system then actually tweak it ‘on the fly’, more or less.
I created a 1-second (I think it was) WAV and kept repeating with a lower freq until I couldn’t feel it anymore. I got the Stall feel down to I think 8hz? Or was it 18? Don’t recall but this now separates the two.
I get the best of both worlds here, within my budget: the ‘lighter’ puck gets me everything at about 75% performance and the heavier one carries on where the other is lacking. That heavier one doesn’t pick up things like flap/wing movement as well as the lighter one, and visa-a-versa.
I’ve not done an exhaustive survey of transducers by any stretch but I think this 2-puck system works well. Occasionally I’ll pop a wire off (a swivel chair) and EVERYTHING comes to a stop til I fix it. Once you’ve got it tweaked it’s something I won’t go without, at least in VR - the only way to fly
If you need help finding and editing/creating WAV files for effects let me know.
Sounds fun… Would be great if there was some deeper engine rumble and a higher frequency propeller vibration, mixed in there.
I’ll d/l audacity and give it a go.
How do you know which wav files do what?
Oh, yeah… Another question.
When I get into the cockpit in DCS, the shakers engage with big initial bang. Yours do that too?
Ya know, up until the latest update, you used to be able to get to the WAV file folder directly from SimShaker Sound Module, but that button is missing now. Odd. Anyway on my machine it’s located here:
C:\Users\XXXX\AppData\Local\Apps\2.0\PWXPBHOB.22L\TLZEL7R5.8HN\sims…exe_7f9110415f5a19d6_0002.0014_none_06a85ce25cbfe5bf\wav_files\1
Yeah it’s an obfuscated folder naming, and every time it updates it seems to create a new one but down to the PWXPBHOB… folder it’s pretty consistent, or has been. There are 3 leaf folders, 1, 2, and 6 which seem to stand for number of channels: mono, stereo, and I guess 5.1 surround.
All I’ve ever edited are those from folder “1”. Now, the WAV file naming isn’t always clear either.
What you do is load SSSM and click the “Test | Select Sample To Play”. After the “=” is the name of the associated file, for example the “Stall Long” (the one I edited) is p1_9_0_2.wav.
Hey! While writing all this, I just discovered something: the latest update seems to have over-written my edit of the Stall WAV file. Grrr. Thought it felt different recently. Oh well…I only do that one.
In the article I linked to a help[ful] page from the Dev here. Then skip down to the heading " Using SimShaker Sound Module with audio bass-shakers" and below that “Advanced Setup”. The latter is a very brief explanation of editing the files.
Yes. Guess it’s by design; lets you know that “Hey! I’m WORKING HERE!” when you pop into the cockpit. Sometimes SSA will loose the connection when you switch missions. Just restart SSA (and probably SSSM too) and it will re-initialize, followed by that “bump” mentioned above.
If you put the edited files in the community folder they won’t get overwritten.
Not at PC right now, so not exactly sure where that folder is located, but it’s in the documentation somewhere
Oh yeah, forgot about that, thanks. It’s in Documents | SimShaker Sound Module samples | Customized| 1,2,6.
So @Troll forget what I said above about the …Users…ApData… folder, use the one here (in Documents), example:
C:\Users\XXXX\Documents\SimShaker Sound Module samples\Customized\1
Good info, guys!
I just installed the demo version of Simshaker Wings, to get IL-2 compatibility. It works great! I took the Se-5 up for a spin and just like in DCS, vibration really adds to the immersion!
In IL-2 the engine rumble seems unaffected by RPM and I kind of like that better than the ”ramping” of effects in DCS. Granted I have only tested a jet in DCS and a piston in IL-2, but engine vibrations are mostly a background sensation anyway.
Just found out today, that Simshaker for Aviators works for MSFS2020 too!
It uses SimConnect and is, I think, supposed to be able to connect, just by having the FS2020 SDK installed.
However, I only got it working, after also installing the SimConnect packages, from FSPassengers found here
I’ve only tried it in the cub so far, but I now have a nice subtle engine rumble going, as well as touchdown, flaps and a little bit of stall vibrations.
One caveat though, SimConnect has a heavy impact on FPS for now, but apparantly MS knows about it, and is working on it.
I’m hooked!
I did a 6 vs. 6 dogfight in FC today.
First attempt, the Simshaker module wouldn’t start with the IL-2 launcher for some reason. I had to abort the mission and restart, to get the shakers going.
The vibrations from the engine, the buffet from getting near a stall are awesome in this sim! But the best feedback comes from firing those guns…! It adds a truly visceral feel when pulling the trigger!
The way the engine vibrations stop when I press the blip switch really adds to the immersion. Now I actually feel that the engine quits. Bouncing on landing is also quite fun! I actually feel that I’m airborne again.
I couldn’t be happier!
Thanks for showing me the way, @jross!
I’m hip. Funny you mention this: since I’ve fully tweaked my system now (always reserve the right to play with it some more ) I just decided to turn up the cannon feel a few clicks+.
In VR it’s just such an important add-on for me. I now have some feel to my ride.
Having said that, I doubt it really adds to my [questionable] skills when it comes to BFM. My rig, with the one heavier puck, is sort of, well, annoying at 7+ G - which is moving in the direction of being more realistic.
Suppose it’s related to how people with TrackIR are (said to be, I don’t know) more competitive, on average, than those in VR - it’s easier to turn your head 20 degrees to see behind you than to actually do so. But, I don’t care, I’m Here For The Real (C).
With the surprisingly benign pricing Nvidia put on the 30 series, I will be building this sort of rig sooner rather than later.
If my housemates can put up with the jubilations and cursing of multiplayer sessions, some buzzing shouldn’t bother them too much
I know what you mean. When I started the mission, and the Simshaker module didn’t start, I though I’d just run the mission anyway… But I quickly dismissed that thought.
Perhaps not, but the stall and G vibrations really help me anticipate trouble…
A good pad under your chair/seat is important, for two reasons: 1) it isolates you + chair from the house = you feel it just a smidge more, and 2) number one helps with any of said ‘juice’ annoying those living below you (if that’s the case).
Same here. It’s like, oh, diet chocolate. Why bother - something’s missing
Not to brag, but I hadn’t crashed in DCS since I installed the shakers…
Today it happened for the first time.
Unfortunately the family was home.
I think they are traumatized…!
Holy !
Worst part is that the effect was just at 50%.
I noticed right from the start, once I got the G-feel values and that do-hicky that sets the G start point, I was much smoother. At least in my mind.
If you have it set more sensitive (starts earlier) and your output values are tuned, you can feel small movements of the stick. PIO seems to be reduced when behind the tanker or during some other tedious formation op. I really feel it when I get all ham-fisted now!
As mentioned before, for platforms like the Tomcat it also tells me when I’m outta trim, “…why am I getting some G here? Oh, I’m out of trim…'click, click”
Personally my butt has to have the engine rumble turned way down, or off for this so they don’t wash out each other.
if i remember correctly in the article you said you set it starting from 3g!
have you changed your mind??
No, in the article it’s, “I use around 0.4, which really means I start to feel it at 1.4-G) don’t mess with it too much.” This is under G-Feel | Dead Zone.
I want to say the SSA dev changed some things in a recent update as I have moved it up actually to around 1.1 I think, from 0.4. It really depends on your gear; how you have it all set up; what you like.
Thanks @jross for your article! In your article your talk about one transducer (bst-1) It I want two like you describe here. What is you higher output amp (I guess it’s not the sa70) and what is the heavier transducer (puck) you are using ?