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Old Logitech wheels [with FFB] are now playable on PS4 via homebrew PC app

DieH@rd

Banned
Developers of open source program GIMX [Game Input MultipleXer] have managed to find a way to interpolate singals sent by old Logitech wheels and send them to PS4 where those wheels are recognized as G29. Full force feedback is present [some older Logi wheels have only vibration support].

So procedure is - plug wheel into PC [linux or windows], app spoofs the signal, and then "G29 signal" is sent to PS4 via USB or Bluetooth.

DFGT - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7vz6dHRpe4
G27- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl0A6FQYIJg

http://blog.gimx.fr/


Supported wheels are:
  • G27
  • Driving Force GT
  • G25
  • Momo Racing Force Feedback
  • Momo Force
  • Driving Force Pro
  • Logitech Speed Force Wireless
  • Formula Force GP (vibration only)


I will test this out tomorrow with my G27! :D

edit - This is not as user-friendly as some may think. For both BT dongle approach [which is Linux-only] or USB approach [windows or linux, but cable wiring needs to be customized] are requiring the use of USB microcontrolers [Teensy 2.0 or Arduino Micro].

edit2 - we now have several independent reports, and it looks like this software indeed works as advertised. PS4 detects old logitech wheels, FFB is great, and there is no lag. Here are the instructions for building the necessary hardware [no soldering required, just putting few plugs into few sockets]
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
I literally just sold my G25 three days ago after being in my closet for almost 4 years.

Thanks Guerilla.
 

Andrefpvs

Member
Great stuff!

Guess I can buy Driveclub after all. I'll still wait until the next PS4 firmware update to make sure this still works by then, though.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
According to Features listing, average latency is 6ms while using BT dongle. There are no latency measurements for USB cable.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware

Hypron

Member
Time to build a Raspberry Pi dedicated for this =)

Yeah that sounds like the perfect option. You could probably deactivate the graphical interface and simply run the program from the command line (or even better, make a script to run it automatically when the pi turns on).
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Yeah that sounds like the perfect option. You could probably deactivate the graphical interface and simply run the program from the command line (or even better, make a script to run it automatically when the pi turns on).
Can one of you guys make one of these and sell it to me? lol
 

Shenmue

Banned
I wonder if this introduces any additional input lag? If so it wouldn't really be much better than the old Cronus solution.
 

stryke

Member
If Sony somehow finds a way to block this in the next firmware patch, I'm going to throw a fit.

Any talk of what the latency is like?
 

Hypron

Member
Can one of you guys make one of these and sell it to me? lol

It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to make to be honest, you could probably make one yourself haha.

I've got two Raspberry Pis laying around, I might give this a go and try to use my 360 pad on my PS4 haha. I'll see how hard it actually is that way.

Edit: actually, after reading a bit more if you want to use Bluetooth on the PS4 you need an Arduino Micro or a Teensy 2.0 on top of the Pi. The cost is starting to add up - $35 for the pi, $20 for an off-brand Micro, $6 for the USB dongle, $10 for a power USB hub. $71 + shipping + taxes (if applicable). And I can see why you wouldn't want to put one together yourself because it'd take a bit of time haha.

Edit 2: after reading even a bit more you need a Micro or a Teensy even for connecting via USB. Since I don't have either I can't test this at the moment :/ I might be able to borrow one from uni though but that'll have to wait until next week.
 

Schrade

Member
Oh shit. I only dabbled in DriveClub because I just sucked so much using a controller. Please let me use my G25 with DriveClub...
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to make to be honest, you could probably make one yourself haha.

I've got two Raspberry Pis laying around, I might give this a go and try to use my 360 pad on my PS4 haha. I'll see how hard it actually is that way.

Edit: actually, after reading a bit more if you want to use Bluetooth on the PS4 you need an Arduino Micro or a Teensy 2.0 on top of the Pi. The cost is starting to add up - $35 for the pi, $20 for an off-brand Micro, $6 for the USB dongle, $10 for a power USB hub. $71 + shipping + taxes (if applicable). And I can see why you wouldn't want to put one together yourself because it'd take a bit of time haha.

Edit 2: after reading even a bit more you need a Micro or a Teensy even for connecting via USB. Since I don't have either I can't test this at the moment :/ I might be able to borrow one from uni though but that'll have to wait until next week.
The more "noob" friendly instructions say there's a non-soldiering option, but still, a bit too DIY-ey for my sake. lol
 

Hypron

Member
I ordered a couple of parts to give this a try. Chinese Arduino Micro rip-off, USB/UART converter and generic bluetooth dongle with the recommended chip.

Those were all cheaper than I thought they would be, and they would be all useful for other home/uni projects so it's money well spent.

The more "noob" friendly instructions say there's a non-soldiering option, but still, a bit too DIY-ey for my sake. lol

Yeah, fair enough haha.

I don't have a racing wheel but I can post my impressions when I test this out with another gamepad. But it won't be until 2 weeks time, as I need to wait for the parts to arrive.
 

p3n

Member
Cautiously optimistic. Doesn't sound like it would work flawlessly unless you specifically re-map everything that is on the G29 but not on the older wheels. Looks promising in the videos.

If someone who is willing to build and test the converter has access to a GT3RS or GT2 fanatec wheel, I'd be interested if the "fake G25/27" mode works as well.

But then again fanatec wheels would work natively if the devs were not too lazy to implement the fucking free drivers into their games
hi Evo
.
 
Man, that is almost too good to be true. Considering all of the BS current-gen owners have had to suffer through thanks to their "outdated" and relatively expensive wheel peripherals, this is probably the best-case scenario imaginable (outside of official drivers being released, last of which we heard will not be happening).

It might be complicated to pull off (only judging by comments here scanning the thread), but it's certainly better than the alternative for most people in the type of situation that'd call for this workaround anyway.
 

ShowDog

Member
Fantastic news, and much thanks to the community for supporting legacy hardware with work like this. It is appreciated!
 

Melfice7

Member
So all i need to have is the software, plug g27 on pc, use the app then plug g27 on ps4? T

That simple or am i missing something?
 
That is tempting, I was settled on playing racing games only on pc as the G25 normally doesn't work.... not sure about the diy usb stuff, way too complicated for me :(
 

stryke

Member
I know how to put a computer together, but looking at this shit makes me feel like I need an engineering degree.
 
If you already have one of those wheels then great, however I highly recommend not going out and buy one as Sony can easily patch this up.
 

Fusebox

Banned
If you already have one of those wheels then great, however I highly recommend not going out and buy one as Sony can easily patch this up.

How? Its bulllshit that Sony didn't implement this fix themselves, but if the wheels are showing up as G29s what can they do? And why would they do that?
 
How? Its bulllshit that Sony didn't implement this fix themselves, but if the wheels are showing up as G29s what can they do? And why would they do that?

How is it Sony's fault? it's Logitech wanting to capitalize cheaply on you buying their new product that they didn't put 2$ worth in effort.
 

terrible

Banned
I wonder if there will ever be a way to use an Xbox One wheel on PS4 with FFB and minimal/no input lag. That's my dream.
 

hesido

Member
Might have slightly jizzed when it even supports bluetooth, every bit of less cabling helps in this situation.

This sends me back in the game with racers. I was NOT buying racers because I was poisoned force feedback wheels (Although mine is just the Driving Force GT, not exactly a high end model, it suits my needs perfectly). I had decided not to buy a new wheel, even if I had the money (but I don't have it), and was going to not buy any racers this gen.

This changes everything, hope it's satisfactory.

I've no doubt Logitech are already talking to Sony about this.
Seriously, screw them if they block this. Screw them to hell.
 

hesido

Member
So Logitech could have written an app/patch that would fix this - no chip needed or what?

That was the general consensus. Licensing issues on letting the hardware to be used on different platforms might have been a negative factor (nothing that couldn't have been fixed by selling the driver software and putting the license burden on the consumer), along with the suckers that would buy a new wheel from Logitech.
 
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