GT DD Pro poor support with older PS4 games
rarson
Member
I just got my GT DD Pro in recently and after buying several games with the hopes of playing them, I'm disappointed to realize that many of them do not work due to the new wheel base having very poor support for older games. For instance: Dirt Rally recognizes the wheel but does not have any force feedback, Project Cars doesn't recognize the wheel at all, Drive Club recognizes the wheel but it registers as a regular PS4 controller with no force feedback and the button bindings all wrong.
I have tried every manner of starting the PS4, game, and wheel in a particular order, both with and without the Dual Shock 4 controller, and in every mode possible with the same outcome for these games. Nothing makes any difference to the function or non-function of the wheel.
This is disappointing considering the wheel claims PS4 compatibility. I bought the wheel thinking I'd be able to play games with force feedback support, but this is not the case. There is also no compatibility list to be found anywhere for the GT DD Pro, unlike the older wheels.
Is there ever going to be firmware updates that restores functionality of those games to this wheel? I don't see why there shouldn't be, unless Fanatec just cannot be bothered to put in the effort. Some of these games work on the DD1 Podium, and I certainly don't understand why compatibility mode doesn't enable full support for games that work with the CSL Elite. Obviously this is a firmware issue that needs to be rectified, whether that's through additional compatibility modes or something similar. I bought this wheel to play PS4 games, that's the whole point of it, so if I can't play half of the existing titles then I feel like Fanatec is taking advantage of their customers. I am especially upset that I went and bought PS4-specific versions of games that don't even work with the wheel, as I have no intention of playing these games with a regular controller.
If Fanatec is not willing to resolve the issue then they really need to release a compatibility list for this wheel base and market it as having LIMITED PS4 support. I'm sure their answer will be something about it being the fault of the game or whatever, but the fact of the matter is that these work with their older wheels, so I see no reason why they cannot create a compatibility mode that better mimics their earlier products.
Comments
Did you tried the PS4 Compatibility Mode which changes the USB device ID so games recognize it as a CSL Elite?
The GT DD PRO in that compatibility mode works with every game which supported the CSL Elite.
If a game is so old that it also never supported the CSL Elite then there is no possibility to get these games running with any firmware update as it's a game issue and not a hardware issue/limitation then and the CSL Elite Wheel Base was the first Base to officially support the Playstation 4 so it is the oldest compatibility mode which is possible to use in a legal way.
"Did you tried the PS4 Compatibility Mode which changes the USB device ID so games recognize it as a CSL Elite?"
Yeah, so I didn't find any specific documentation (I don't think) that mentioned this, but it was my understanding after doing a bunch of research that the PS4 Compatibility Mode made it operate or appear to the game as a CSL Elite. This baffled me a bit because I did try using Compatibility Mode in various ways: turning the wheel on before the PS4, launching the game with the DS4, launching with the wheel, etc. I did even try the PC modes which of course didn't work because the PS4 doesn't recognize the wheel in those modes.
Here's the compatibility list for the CSL Elite: https://fanatec.com/eu-en/faq/details/id/103
Notice that the games I mentioned specifically require the CSL Elite to be in its own Compatibility Mode. It appears to me that the GT DD Pro Compatibility Mode makes it operate like a CSL Elite, ie games that require the CSL Elite Compatibility Mode do not work, as this is a separate mode from mode that is on the GT DD Pro. I would assume then, if the CSL Elite is capable of this other Compatibility Mode, then the GT DD Pro should be capable of it, too, if added by a firmware update.
Here's the compatibility list for the DD1 Podium: https://fanatec.com/us-en/faq/details/id/116
Surely if the Podium is capable of supporting, for instance, Project Cars, then the GT DD Pro should be as well.
If these can't be addressed with a firmware update, then it seems like the only option to get these games to work is a device like the Drive Hub, which I'd rather not buy unless I absolutely have to.
I specifically chose to spend the money on the GT DD Pro because I expected compatibility and a long life of support but it seems that at least when it comes to the PS4, compatibility of Fanatec products is spotty at best. I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of it with my PC, but the questionable PS4 support is a pretty big letdown.
The wheel is great when it works though. Thank you for your reply and help.
It's pretty clear in the manual that it tells you to use compatibility mode for titles that don't support it natively.
But likely your assumption is right, they didn't add a second layer of compatibility mode to the one it already has, so some of these 7+ year old games may not work. There's plenty on that list that do work and that list doesn't have any releases in the last 1-2 years either, so there's even more.
In the end it's up to the game makers to build the game to support the hardware, same for any other wheel like a Thrustmaster or Logitech. I don't think any developers are going to update games that are so old and have had multiple newer versions released since.
Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that. I just meant that I wasn't exactly sure whether Compatibility Mode meant that it was acting as a CSL Elite, or some other wheel setup. Switching to Compatibility Mode was the first thing I tried when a game wouldn't initially work.
The biggest disappointment for me is that the only game that supports both PSVR and the GT DD Pro is Gran Turismo Sport, and even then it's only in a very limited mode. It doesn't appear that GT7 is going to have PSVR support, and Dirt Rally is really the only game that allows you to play the full game in VR, and the force feedback doesn't work even though the wheel is detected and working. I still think Fanatec should update their website to let potential buyers know that PS4 compatibility is limited to more recent games so that they don't make a purchase expecting to be able to play some of the unsupported games they may already own.
Being as the selling point of this wheel is PS4 support, I'm still disappointed that game support isn't better, especially since the older wheels support those games. If I had realized that the new wheel's support would be less than that of the older wheel I might have more strongly considered buying a used one. After all, part of the reason I bought the GT DD Pro and not the CSL DD was to play PS4 games that I already owned.
You said it yourself, older wheels support older games, so yea you probably should have gotten an older model. It is on the game developers to implement the usage of a new released wheelbase. Seeing as much older games do not get updates regularly if at all it not. It’s pretty normal that newly released models often don’t mesh well with much older games. I mean Project Cars is on its 3rd edition. I doubt they are going to do any updates on that game.
Ok, we can not expect, that such old games like Dirt Rally or even Driveclub will be patched in order to supportt the GT DD pro or Podium F1 Wheel.
But as far as I understood this it not necessary at all. All we need is to have this compatibility mode we have in the PS4 licensed CSL Elite base (i.e. the so called 'purple mode') in the Podium F1 Wheel base as well. Thart's the solution, isn't it?
Maybe someone from the Fanatec team would be so kind and explain us why this seems to be not possible and why.
Many many thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Thorsten
I am just completely guessing here.
But wouldn’t new FFB wheels need more signals for them to work properly as opposed to older counterparts? So surely older titles may not send the required signals for new wheels to understand and hence operate properly? It is the game then that has to send the required information for the wheel to understand and interpret and provide the required changes in FFB?
Exactly. I don't understand the focus on "older games" here. What is so different about the newer wheel that it's incompatible with software that has already implemented previous force feedback technology? Is it not backwards compatible with existing standards? It seems that at worst these older games would just require a further Compatibility Mode that is equivalent to the CSL Elite's Compatibility Mode. The GT DD Pro already has four modes, why can it not have a fifth implemented?
Further, I'll state it again, this wheel is advertised as having "PS4 compatibility" and there's no game list available anywhere. How is a buyer supposed to know that games which support force feedback on PS4 might not be compatible with the wheel? Further, how are they supposed to know that games listed as compatible for older wheels are not compatible with this one?
Seems like "old software" is just a cop-out excuse for Fanatec not implementing better game support. What I'd really like to know is if they have any intention of eventually implementing another Compatibility Mode or do I just have to go ahead and buy yet another product in order to make this do what I expected it to do out of the box? Clearly it's not impossible to implement. If every generation of Fanatec wheel drops compatibility for certain games then it sounds like planned obsolescence to me.
Just to add another voice to this, I am in a similar position: I have just bought the DD Pro, and was expecting to be able to play the same PS4 games with it that I am currently able to play with my CSL Elite, given the advertised PS4 compatibility.
The big one for me is Dirt Rally, which I still play to this day in PSVR, and which works fine on the CSL Elite (in its compatibility mode). The game is technically playable on the DD Pro, but with no FFB whatsoever, which completely ruins the experience.
As others have pointed out above, there is no chance that these old PS4 games (like Dirt Rally) will get an update from the developers to support a new wheel, and the fact that the CSL Elite works perfectly well with them (in its compatibility mode) means that there should be no technical reason why Fanatec can't implement the same/similar compatibility mode in the DD Pro.
I would appreciate a response from Fanatec as to whether they have any intention to address this older PS4 title compatibility issue, or if I need to return my DD Pro and a keep my CSL Elite, and look to another manufacturer for my next upgrade.
I have the GT DD PRO, i have played f1 2021, project cars 2 and 3. (PS5). I havent tried dirt rally.
For the games to recognise the wheel, you have to switch the wheel on first using PS4 compatibilty mode (purple light) and then switch
the console on after. Worked for me ok.
Yeah, for games which natively supported the CSL Elite, there is no issue, you can just use the DD Pro in its purple compatibility mode.
The issue is the small collection of games which (as pointed out by the OP) did not natively support the CSL Elite, but did work on the CSL Elite in *its* purple compatibility mode. Games like Dirt Rally, Driveclub and Project Cars (the first one).
These do not currently work properly (no FFB) on the DD Pro in any mode (and some don't work on the Podium DD F1 either as I understand it).
I appreciate that it is a pretty small small list of games, so might be seen by Fanatec as not worth the effort to address, but for those that play those games it is very annoying to spend money on a new wheel to get a such a regression in compatibility.
I couldn't find it anywhere in the manual but if you use an XBOX wheel (WRC, for example) the PS4 compatibility mode doesn't seem to work, even if the wheel base is Playstation certified.
I had to plug back the GT wheel to be able to play PCars2.
Exactly, and the pattern I'm seeing is that every time Fanatec releases a new wheel base, even when they're claiming compatibility for "PS4," they're actually introducing a new compatibility mode that is incompatible with the previous one. I don't understand why this is the case if the previous mode works just fine by switching compatibility modes. It seems like it's just needlessly locking out older games on newer hardware.
In another thread somewhere on this forum, someone stated that changing compatibility mode on PC simply changed the device id reported to the operating system. That sounds about right since the force feedback apparently works in an identical manner whether you're in compatibility mode or not. But then why is there a compatibility mode at all if it operates exactly the same?
This nonsense about old games requiring patches is nothing more than an excuse for poor game support. It's not the games that need fixing, it's the firmware that isn't taking advantage of the existing FFB code in those games. Fanatec can easily add features and improve their technology without abandoning older titles that already work with their other hardware. It's not like we're talking about DOS games on a Windows 10 computer, we're talking about PS4 games on a console that is still being manufactured, with a wheel that OFFICIALLY supports the platform. I don't care how old the games are, if they're on PS4 and they have FFB implemented, then they should work.
I would be very upset if I were in your position, upgrading from the CSL Elite only to not be able to play games you could already play. Is that what you get for being a loyal, repeat customer? I was really disappointed to find that no matter what I tried, I could not get any feedback in Dirt Rally, as I was most looking forward to playing it in VR with the wheel. It was the main reason why I bought the wheel. I also got a nice kick out of seeing the price of the Express drop by $100 a week after I ordered mine, but honestly that doesn't even bother me as much as the game support does.
I'll be really surprised if anyone at Fanatec bothers to chime in at this point, considering they've had plenty of time to do so already.
Dear Fanatec Team,
Dear Fanatec Community Manager,
I would like to ask you a short questions. Is there any special reason why no one from your crew is willing to reply on this quite important discussion?
Many thanks!
Hi,
I just read the whole discussion about compatibility with older games.
I ordered my scl dd pro a week ago and I start to get a bit worried. It looks like it's only made for GT7.
I love that game but I was also looking forward to play my other games, Dirt Rally, project cars, ACC,...
I'm really interested to know what the Fanatec Team has to say about this!
In the hope of getting an answer,
Thanks in advance
Its not made only for GT7 but for every Playstation game released in the last 5 years which already supported the CSL Elite PS4 Base.
Of course you can play all these newer titles like ACC just fine in compatibility mode.
There are only 3 incompatible games which are Dirt Rally 1, Project CARS 1 and Driveclub because those games were released before the CSL Elite PS4 Base was released and those games never got an update to support that base so it cant be made compatible with the GT DD PRO now as well as that one uses the CSL Elite PS4 Base USB device ID in compatibility mode and therefore is only compatible with all games which already supported the CSL Elite PS4 Base (so basically everything released in 2017 and later).
Ok so is there a compatibility mode created for the dd pro or not?
Because a new wheel base using the compatibility mode of its predecessor doesn't sound like a great optimisation to me.
Yes.
A compatibility mode is crucial and absolutely needed to get old games running with a new device as otherwise the games would not know the base. Without a compatibility mode pretty much no game would work until the game developers have implemented the new base into the game which usually takes months and for some games this would even never happen as they are end of life and dont get updates anymore - so its a feature you should be thankful for and nothing negative... Its actually great optimisation and customer service.
Many thanks for your reply!
But I do not understand your explanation. All those games you mentioned above (Dirt Rally, Driveclub and Project Cars 1) are working fine with the CSL Elite PS4 wheel base using this famous "purple mode".
Because of that the one and only question is:
Why is this special compatibility mode no longer available on the GT DD pro and the Podium F1 wheel?
That's all we need!
Cheers,
Thorsten
Okey I see, thanks for the clarifications! Can't way to test my first fanatec wheel.
Might be legal reasons, I dont know as I am not an official spokesperson of Fanatec.
The famous "purple mode" on the CSL Elite PS4 Bases simulates a CSW v2 which "worked" on Playstation for some months until Sony decided that only fully licensed products with a special Playstation security chip can work on any new games, hence the CSW v2 no longer was marketed as a product which "works" on Playstation as no new game was allowed to add support for it anymore. Therefore only the 3 aforementioned games ever worked on a CSW v2 on PS4 and that one was used as a fallback compatibility mode on the CSL Elite PS4.
Might be that it would now be illegal according to the contracts with Sony to use a special mode of a not officially supported product now on a brand new officially licensed product.
But in the end thats also just guessing from me but I could bet its something regarding contracts and legality...
Looks like you are somehow right. But on the other hand the CSL Elite PS4 wheel base is officially licensed as well. So where is the point not to allow this purple mode anymore?
But why no one from Fanatec feels responsible to clarify this or at least share an official statement regarding those restrictions?
I dont know but maybe Sony has explicitly forbidden to use such a mode for a not officially licensed product now in the new contract they made with Fanatec for the GT DD PRO?!
But as said, I also dont know and it's just guessing but for me that makes the most sense and at least would be one kind of logical explanation...
Hi Maurice,
you wrote: 'maybe Sony has explicitly forbidden to use such a mode for a not officially licensed product'
Actually both, the GT DD PRO and the Podium F1 wheel are officially licensed products.
According to the product description it clearly says:
CSL ELITE Racing Wheel: Officially licensed for PS4™
GT DD PRO: Officially licensed for PlayStation®5 consoles and PlayStation®4 consoles
PODIUM Racing Wheel F1: Officially licensed for PlayStation 4™
Obviously something makes no sense in terms of the contract between Sony an Fanatec.
Dominic, would you please share some insights here in order to get this nerverending story clarified. - Thanks again.
Cheers,
Thorsten
You mis-read my comment. The CSW v2 was not an officially licensed product and that's the product I meant with the sentence as a special compatibility mode would need to use exactly this product to be used as fallback compatibility and that could be what Sony might have forbidden to use in the new contract they made with Fanatec for the GT DD PRO and maybe that contract clause was already in the contract for the Podium Racing Wheel F1 as well.
But who knows, I dont...
Ah, ok. - Anyway, thank you for your thoughts.
Let's wait and see wether someone from Fanatec feels responsible to reply here as well...
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Thorsten
I think I might find my problem in the Podium Wheel base with the GT Sport...
Put de podium DD base in "Comp PS4" mode to play the game, I was playing GT Sport on PS4/PS5 mode, as I found that it should be on this mode to play some older games...
and for 30 minutes I played without problems. Lets see today that I´ll have more time to play and train for my champs... Will keep you noticed.
Im new on Podium DD... 30 days using it... and saw yesterday a Fanatec link with games for ps4, that needs to be played in "COMP PS4" mode.
JUST HOPES THAT... IN GRAN TURISMO 7.... The Mode would be the PS5/PS4, not the compatibility.
There is no technical difference and no disadvantage when you use the compatibility mode so it Doesnt really matter if the game can be played in native PS4/PS5 mode or in compatibility mode as the performance is 100% the same...
So dont be worried if a game only works on compatibility mode, you wont miss out on anything, it's still behaving exactly the same.
Thank you so much maurice!!! Really, helps us a lot people like you...
This messages helps not only me but the comunitty... Tonight Ill test much more of the mode, to see if the problems is really soved (see other friends here in the forum with same problem)... keep you noticed.
Hello,
how about a final clarification from the Fanatec crew regarding this topic?
That would be really nice.
I understood, we should not expect this magic 'purple mode' (i.e. a similar one) on the Podium F1 and GT DD wheelbase.
But no one knows why? It would be fair to get at least an explanation.
Many thanks!