In case you don't know, Logitech G Play is basically a one-brand E3 expo; a showcase of Logitech’s latest and greatest technology, this year with a strong focus on sim racing, thanks to the reveal of the new RS50 wheel and pedals.
For the first time Logitech held a satellite event outside of the main feature in Madrid, Spain, with a Melbourne event taking place at a rather special place called Fortress. Well, special for anyone with a passing interest in gaming and beer, which – along with cars and music – just happen to be two of my favourite things in the world!
Fortress is "Australia's ultimate gaming bar" in Melbourne’s CBD that, as well as being an event space specifically set up for competitive gaming, is also an utterly fantastic bar and gaming lounge that hires out spaces set up with gaming PCs, consoles and even table top gaming, as well as a proper full-on arcade packed with modern and retro machines.
This almost overwhelmingly awesome space was the location for Logitech G Play where the company revealed its latest line of gaming gear, including gaming mice, headsets and - most importantly for our purposes – sim racing gear, including the new mid-range RS50 modular steering wheel and pedals for PC and consoles.
Along with the row of competitive gaming PCs set up on the stage (and some truly amazing pro gamers showing just how crap I am at first person shooters) there was also two different racing sim set ups for attendees to try out, complete with a leaderboard and prizes.
The first set up was using the new RS50 steering wheel and pedals with Forza Motorsport to thrash McLaren P1 GTR's around the fictional Grand Oak Raceway, which just happens to be the exact configuration used in the Logitech McLaren G Challenge. This kicked off the competitive juices, with the RS50 wheel being stunningly responsive and detailed in its feedback.
My previous experience (outside full-on commercial simulators) has been with casual set ups, starting with the iconic MadCatz wheel way back on the original PlayStation that was basically just a small wheel on a big rubber band that would snap violently back to centre if you let go of the wheel, but was an absolute revelation with the original Colin McRae Rally back in 199?.
I went through several other combinations of wheels and consoles until eventually graduating to my current set up of a Logitech G923 on both PC and PlayStation 5.
And to be honest, the RS50 felt like as big a jump over the G923 as the G923 is over the MadCatz. No insult meant to the G923, it’s just that the RS50 is superb.
It's that whole direct drive thing that makes the difference, with the G923 being gear driven. Basically that means where the G923 utlises a series of gears to direct the force feedback from the electric motor to the wheel, the RS50's electric motor is directly connected to the wheel, which allows it to deliver more torque with faster, more precise responses.
Generally speaking, 8Nm is considered the sweet spot for force feedback in a racing wheel set up to achieve good levels of realism, especially when you consider that a real car on a real track will usually generate between 5 and 12Nm of feedback.
Pro-level wheels like Logitech's G Pro can pump out up to 11Nm, putting it in the realm of real-life GT3 and LMP2 cars (GT3's generally kick back between 10 and 12Nm, while LMP2 cars are limited to 11Nm, presumably so they don't tear the driver's arms off during a 12-hour endurance race...), but that is largely the reason the G Pro costs $2K just for the wheel base alone...
The RS50 delivers that important 8Nm of torque for its feedback (by way of comparison, the G923 pumps out just over 2Nm), which results in some serious race car style dramatics, with everything from clouting a kerb at high speed to slithering slightly wide onto gravel being telegraphed through the wheel to you with remarkable clarity.
Slam over a kerb and the wheel kicks violently in your hands, while touching the gravel results in a subtle shimmering to let you know that particular line was a bad choice. In fact, it is that subtlety that separates the RS50 from the entry level wheels like the G923, with an utterly addictive amount of chatter going on as you race.
It is actually believable, utterly addictive and gives you a genuinely decent workout...
Then there are the pedals. The one area consumer grade sim racing pedals still struggle to accurately represent is brake pedal feel and feedback, and while the new RS pedals still won’t give you the feedback you crave, the amount of pedal feel is genuinely impressive.
The RS pedals use a 75kg load cell brake pedal, which uses sensors to measure how hard you press the brake pedal, as opposed to systems like the G923 that uses potentiometers to measure how far you press the pedal.
This makes modulating the brakes far more realistic and, as a result, makes it far easier to be consistent from lap to lap. Unfortunately my best time of 56 seconds from a handful of laps around the unfamiliar Grand Oak circuit was a good 3 seconds off the leader’s pace, and it wasn't until I jumped across to the hardcore pro set up that I realised why.
The second sim area packed a pair of G Pro wheels and pedals running iRacing with Aussie Supercars Ford Mustangs around Sandown. With all driver assists off, with the exception of damage, which was dialed back to cosmetic only so that the uninitiated didn’t end their run leaving the pits.
The RS50/Forza set up, however, had the driving line indicator that shows you when to brake and when to accelerate. I've always found the visual barking indicator handy, due to that lack of physical accuracy and modulation from sim pedals, so didn't think much of it, but...
With the G Pro/iRacing set up, I had a small secret advantage: I have actually wrangled high-powered V8 American cars around Sandown in the real world thanks to attending the launch of the mighty (and utterly feral) Chevrolet Corvette Z06 there late last year and something in my brain clicked with this setup immediately.
I quickly found myself remembering real world braking points and the brutal realism of iRacing meant that those translated perfectly into the digital realm. I can now fully appreciate how sims like iRacing are genuinely useful to real racing drivers…
In fact, I will admit to totally zoning out of everything else around me as I pounded around the tight Sandown circuit; just like I did in the real world when I was determined to catch the car in front of me (yes, the instructor did tell me off for that too).
When I actually ran out of gas and puttered to a stop on the back straight (I didn't do that in the real world), drenched in sweat and giggling like a happy child, I came back to reality and realised that I had utterly destroyed the best time set by a non-pro driver and was set to go head to head with a pro driver.
While I was a good ten seconds up on the second best non-pro, I was still almost that amount off what the pros do, so when the final became a close-run thing I knew he was toying with me. But, hey, it wouldn’t have made for a good show if he had utterly destroyed me like I’m sure he was more than capable of doing…
It was about then I realised that I was on the verge of an exciting and expensive revival of my love for virtual racing. I admit to having become a bit jaded by it all in the last few years, and the hassle of having to haul out the frame my wheel and pedals are attached to was all just too much of a pain for me to get motivated to do it on a regular basis (I used to have a full race seat and separated monitor set up, but it took up SO much room...).
But, all of a sudden, my trusty G923 simply wasn’t good enough any more. While the G Pro set up was utterly amazing, it would be out of my budget, which is no doubt exactly why Logitech has launched the RS50 as that middle ground.
That ability to turn all the assists off and enjoy accurate, realistic braking has transformed my waning enthusiasm to hauling the wheel and pedals out into a deep desire to upgrade my set up. And I think I am unavoidable hooked now; maybe that room I freed up for WFH office space could be better served as a racing set up after all...
