Fanatec Beta Driver V352/356 [DD Performance Update] for Podium Bases ONLY (all steering wheels)

Marcel PfisterMarcel Pfister Member, Administrator
edited April 2020 in Driver Releases and Discussions

Today, we’re introducing the first Performance Update for the Podium Series, which includes some major driver optimizations and firmware updates for the DD1 (including PS4 version) and DD2 wheel bases and motors.

Changelog since the last public beta release (347):

 Driver:

  • Fixed issue that steering angle in Function Test tab displays incorrect values.
  • Fixed issue that Tuning Menu parameters (SEN, FOR, SPR, DPR & FEI) are displayed incorrectly when the DD Base is in Comp V2.5 mode.
  • Added new DD Tuning Menu parameters LIN, INT, & NIN to the Tuning Menu tab.
  • Fixed issue that steering angle in Function Test tab displays incorrect value when SEN is adjusted via FunkySwitch Encoder.
  • Fixed issue that MPS Mode changes when adjusting the MPS Rotary switch (1 to 12).
  • FFB commands now get send with increased resolution of 16-bit (65536 increments) instead of 8-bit.


 Firmware:

  • Podium DDs specifically:
    • FFB effects are now resembled by the motor controller more accurately as before because the old method acted like a filter. The new method gives more details, but also more noise which is the reason we've added the new Interpolation filter to give you the choice and adjustability of how much detail and/or noise depending on the game you like.
    • Fixed issue with Formula V2 wheels on a DD base sometimes causing two torque messages when booting instead of one.
    • Fixed issue with 100% fan speed when booting the DD and showing 0°C.
    • Maximum steering angle of the DD is now 2520° of rotation, Auto setting still has 1080° as default.
    • DD display can now show information coming from a game or FanaLab as well. Button combination: Tuning Menu Button + D-Pad/Funky Switch UP.
    • Button combination to change DD screens doesn't affect inputs to the game anymore.
    • Peak torque value next to the FFB graph on the DD display is now displayed for an extended duration of 10 seconds instead of the previous 5 seconds.
    • Added [LIN] Linearity Mode, [NIN] Natural Inertia, and [INT] FFB Interpolation to the Tuning Menu.
    • New order of Tuning Menu Parameters: SEN, FF, LIN, NDP, NFR, NIN, INT, FEI, FOR, SPR, DPR, ABS, SHO, MPS, APM, BRF.
    • Added dynamic tooltips in the Tuning Menu, which makes more effective use of the OLED display, and should make Tuning Menu adjustments more intuitive and less intimidating for beginners.
  • Improved Natural Friction calculation.
  • Fixed electrical end stop when reaching max steering angle building up too early.
  • Improved latency of FFB effects going to the motor by ~20%.
  • Fixed FEI setting at 0 disabling FFB when booting the base.
  • When changing SEN the selected steering angle will be smoothly enforced within 5seconds to prevent rapid movements of the wheel.
  • Podium Hub cluster buttons: Added PS Button input when Option button is pressed longer than 3s while base is in PS4 mode.
  • Improved Spring Effect calculation
  • Improved Damper Effect calculation


Explaining the new Podium DD features:

  • Linearity Mode “LIN” reduces maximum FFB output by a small amount to guarantee a consistent output between peaks and holding forces. Improved general linearity between game output and torque output.
  • Force Interpolation “INT” (similar to the ‘Reconstruction Filter’ on OSW/SimuCube) filters and smoothens the incoming rough game FFB signal and increases the refresh rate. For example a 60Hz FFB signal (e.g. iRacing) looks like rough steps on a graph and can also feel like this, but using Force Interpolation, the signal is recreated as a smooth curve. In comparison to FEI, this filter is a lot more powerful as it doesn't influence latency as much, has a better smoothing algorithm and doesn't eliminate effects completely. The default setting is 6 which should feel very close to older firmware version. The graph below shows how the Interpolation is working, red is the game output and green the result of INT. This also shows why true 1:1 FFB from the game can feel very noisy if Interpolation is turned off.
gameFFBvsInterpolation.jpg
  • Natural Inertia "NIN" simulates additional weight on the steering axis. This can be particularly useful when using light wheels like the P1 or McLaren GT3. It also makes the Natural Friction setting feel less ‘sticky’ on direction changes.
  • New screen for Podium Display which shows telemetry from the game or third party application like on the steering wheel. This will be expanded soon. Button combination is: Tuning Menu Button + D-Pad/Funky Switch UP to show the Legacy screen and Tuning Menu Button + D-Pad/Funky Switch DOWN to go back to the usual DD screens.


Known Issues:

  • FanaLab 1.12 is not compatible, you need to download 1.23 which is linked below as well.
  • CSW V2.5: DRI settings are all acting like -5 which leads to too much dampening of the steering.
  • CSL Elite WB (PS4): DRI settings 1 to 5 lead to overreacting steering, keep it OFF or with negative values.
  • AUTO SEN issues on Xbox 1 using Podium DD, Steering angle needs to be set to higher than 1080 to feel right.
  • Knock when powering off DD Base, nothing to worry about but we are looking into it.
  • Some experience random Jolts/Knocks/Thumps while driving which seem not to come from the game, we are looking into it as well and are happy about every report giving detail about settings which influence it and so on.
  • The arrow buttons on the tuning menu page of the driver might affect other values as well, use dragging the bar instead.
  • It's normal and not a bug that after updating the base firmware the fan will run loud at 100% until you update the motor firmware as well.
  • If your device is not shown in the gamecontroller screen, use the driver installers repair function while the base is on and connected.

Hints:

  • If you have a Xbox compatible steering wheel attached the base goes automatically into Xbox mode after the firmware update, the quick guide of your wheel mentions the button combination to switch back to PC mode.
  • The new features have default settings which work right out of the box with all previously posted recommended settings.
  • As always after a motor update don't forget to run the motor calibration on the settings tab in the driver to ensure it runs as smooth as possible.
  • Race Room FFB: A user found out the following solution when he felt weird FFB in Race Room
    • Delete the FFB profiles (rcs files) in the following folder: my documents/my games/simbin/raceroom racing experience/userdata/control set. Then Start Race Room, go to controller profiles and click detect. Now choose the DD profile of your base and start from scratch.


How to report issues:

If you report a driver or firmware issue, please make cross checks:

0. Update driver and FW separately to isolate an issue. Most likely it will be driver OR firmware.

1. Which driver OR firmware does show the issue

2. Which driver OR firmware does not show the issue

3. Check if you can reproduce the issue again if you go back to the version which seems to have cause the issue

4. Post the answers gathered from the questions above + a short description of the issue including the following information:

Wheel Base Model (product ID): ....

Steering Wheel Model (product ID): ....

Driver Version: ....

Base FW Version: ....

Wheel FW Version: ....

FanaLab Version: ...


Thank you very much! We hope for your positive feedback!  Let us know how you like the new features like the dynamic tool tips, Force Interpolation and so on.


Download : (Only download if you've read everything above, especially the known issues!)

Changes between 352 and 356:

  • The blue screen issue should be solved.
  • Driver UI now shows correct position of the Multi-Position-Switches
  • Fixed issue that Motor Firmware Updater not working.
  • Fixed issue on Mouse Tab that emulation of button 1 and button 3 is inverted for steering wheel Formula V2.
  • Fixed issue in the Tuning Menu Tab that changing the MPS mode affects the TM parameters Slider value.
  • Fixed issue in the Tuning Menu Tab that adjusting the TM parameter Slider affects the other TM parameters value.
  • Possible Fix of Property Page not showing after Driver installation.


Sorry no other changes regarding the Firmware yet, we are still working on them. I'll create a new discussion as soon as there are more significant improvements.


FanaLab 1.23:

https://forum.fanatec.com/discussion/1423/fanalab-1-23-beta-post-your-feedback-here/p1

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