Better known today as the developer of Skyrim and Fallout, Bethesda once had a well-respected racing game franchise and were deep into development of a licensed Skip Barber Racing title that never released.
RSC contains a database of 153 developers, 467 software titles, 374 cars, 42 bikes, 242 tracks and more...Originally known as Papyrus Design, the legendary Massachusetts-based software studio developed highly-regarded simulation titles and published with Electronic Arts, Virgin Interactive and Sierra before their shutdown by Vivendi, owners of Sierra, in 2004.
Co-founded by arguably the father of the modern racing simulation, David Kaemmer, the studio created NASCAR and IndyCar titles that consistently pushed the genre forwards.
Their groundbreaking Grand Prix Legends game engine was used in three NASCAR titles between 2001-2003, evolving to become iRacing after Kaemmer re-acquired former Papyrus assets for his new company.
RSC Podcast Episode 7 – Management Simulations, F1 Managers, Always Used To Be Better?Join Jon Denton, Tim Wheatley, Simon Croft and guest(s) as they discuss sim racing and racing games past, present and future.
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The G923 TRUEFORCE is a PS4 and XBOX One compatible steering wheel that also works on PC. Still technically very similar to the gear-driven force feedback G25 released 14 years ago and part of a peripheral family of entry level wheels, it had strayed somewhat from that pricing tier and seems to be trying to compete on pricing with much more technologically advanced belt or directly-driven steering wheels.
The standard boxes contain the G923 TRUEFORCE wheel and Logitech pedals.
Steering Wheel
The G923 offers 900 degrees of rotation, something that in most cases isn’t really useful in sim racing where a typical race car doesn’t. The base and wheel are sold as a unit, so rims cannot be changed except by those willing to mod their wheel and risk it in that way. The included rim does have a decent amount of buttons including paddles, a D-Pad and dials though, so by the time you are thinking about changing rims you really should be moving away from a starter wheel anyway. The LEDs across the top of the wheel first introduced with the G27 just aren’t cutting it anymore.
It’s a solid wheel, and I’ve seen plenty of people at trade shows lift themselves out of the cockpits using earlier models by the wheel itself rather than using provided bars. These are hard working pieces of kit that could easily last a decade or more.
Force Feedback
While I could understand with previous generation Logitech wheels that a gear-driven system allowed a low pricing point for an entry-level wheel, this isn’t priced for entry level, is it? While the force feedback is quite adequate when properly supported by the developer, there are better options at this pricing point.
TRUEFORCE is rumble. It’s literally what wheels considered below entry level use when they can’t afford to build and use a force feedback system. It’s been repurposed by Logitech and they’re selling it as a premium feature. So you can feel the rumble of the engine? Wow, groundbreaking. /sarcasm
Pedals
The pedals have not changed that I can tell since the previous versions. They are adequate, but not at this pricing point.
Conclusion
The lack of innovation in such a market leading organization like Logitech is truly infuriating. Technically similar to the 2006 Logitech G25, this 2020 offering that still uses gear-driven force feedback is little more than a product evolution rather than revolution – again.
Adding the word “TRUEFORCE” to the name of the wheel deeply implies some kind of change to the force feedback, of which there is none. What there is would be effectively rumble/vibration effects – something that pre-dates force feedback and can be found on cheaper wheels which lack force feedback along with console controllers.
If the Logitech G29 and G920 wheels are no longer sold then a $400 price tag on launch means that Logitech no longer offer the best starter wheel for sim racing on PC, XBOX or PS4/5 with this entry.
Innovation: 0 – Marketing: 1.
