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H-Shifter

This application simulates an H-pattern shifter with gear grinding, locking, and float shifting. Configuring clutch and throttle pedals axes in the Input/output settings tab is required. Float shifting requires setting up game telemetry.

H-Shifter is best suited to casual driving games, such truck, bus, and taxi sims. Depending on the strength of your FFB joystick, it's possible to overcome the locking, grinding, and channel-keeping force effects. Remember to play along and not push through these effects. If you want something stronger and more precise, consider a purpose-built device like the Bash Pro.

H-Shifter

Features

When not using telemetry, you must depress the clutch to change gears.

When using telemetry, you may depress the clutch to change gears, or you can float-shift. How this is done varies by game:

  • In ATS/ETS2, a button press is sent when the shifter is slotted, but before it's fully engaged. The game will decide whether the button press results in an invalid shift, resulting in a grinding effect, or a valid shift, resulting in a successful gear change.
    • The grind effect feels rather natural in H-Shifter's feedback, but successfully float shifting can feel like the shifter is being forced into gear. Unfortunately this is currently the only reliable way to simulate float shifting with the telemetry values currently available in ATS/ETS2.

When the throttle is engaged and the clutch is not, the shift lever will be locked in gear. You must release the throttle or depress the clutch in order to disengage the shifter.

Game configuration

H-Shifter sends vJoy button presses when gears are engaged. Bind the in-game gear slots as you would with a hardware H-pattern shifter, by walking through the gears slot-by-slot in the game control settings. The input device will show up as the vJoy device you selected in H-Shifter's input/output settings.

ATS/ETS2 settings

Set these values in the "Controls" menu:

  • In the Input Types list, add the vJoy Device
  • Set Transmission to H-Shifter
  • Set Acceleration axis deadzone to 1%
    • This is recommended to reduce thrashing of the locked-in-gear effect
  • Set Clutch axis deadzone to 1-5%
    • This is strongly recommended to smooth out clutch-enabled FFB effects
  • Set Clutch range as desired, ~75% is recommended
    • Setting the clutch range too high will make shifting into gears unrealistic
  • Set Shifter layout to match the vehicle's transmission, e.g., Eaton-Fuller 18 speed
  • Set Shifter layout behavior to Advanced
  • Set Shifter Positions 1-6 to the vJoy Device buttons 0-5, corresponding to the H-Shifter slots
    • Ignore the Reverse position, it's not used when the Shifter layout matches a real transmission

FFB effect descriptions

Grind effect RPM

This effect occurs when attempting to shift into gear without the clutch depressed or the transmission synchronized.

When not using telemetry, this value is used for the revolutions per minute of the effect.

When using telemetry this setting is not used, the grind effect uses the engine RPM instead.

Idle in-gear lock intensity

This is the spring force applied to the shift lever to keep the shifter engaged in the slot when the throttle is not applied. Think of it as the minimum amount of force you need to pull the shifter out of gear when not depressing the clutch pedal.