WRC Generations | Updated Statement about the Throttle & Automatic Clutch

[Nacon]

Hello everyone,

Following our last statement regarding the Throttle, we have read your reaction and feedback, we heard you. Over last week, the KT Racing team has done additional tests and has identified an input problem. So today, we want to give you more insight about both the Throttle and the Automatic Clutch, the solutions the studios are working on and recommended work-around.

The Throttle

First, here are some details about the input issue and how you can work around the issue; the screen below to illustrate where in the options you need to go:

1. We have identified an input issue on PC when a PS5 Controller is used with a default preset
   
2. This is an input filtering issue that was not working properly (related to the transformation of raw data into usable data by the game)
   
3. We have found that this problem occurs whenever the "Rescale" parameter of the "Accelerate" action is "OFF" with a PS5 pad or a pedal board. By default, for the PS5 Controller on PC, this setting is currently "OFF" so the bug is present.
   
4. It is possible to work around this problem by modifying this option of "Rescale" to switch it to "ON"

We will be making changes in the next PC update that is currently in development: namely that the default setting will now be “ON” for all new players.

---

The Automatic Clutch

This system helps in particular to stop the car when the first gear is engaged and the engine is idling, all without having to return to neutral. If the car is stopped and the player is accelerating, this system also decouples the engine from the transmission to allow the revs to rapidly increase to a level where it develops significant torque, while charging the turbo. This improves the performance of the car on starts.

This system, called “launch control”, has no effect once the car is launched, it only reactivates if the car has landed in first gear with a lightly pressed accelerator and the engine speed returned to idle level, all with a car almost stopped, as for example during a frontal impact. These conditions prevent this system, specifically designed for starts, from being activated during the course of a special.

In addition, WRC Generations, like the previous opus WRC 10, incorporates an electronic accelerator system inspired by what is present on WRC cars. It allows both torque and engine speed to be controlled with the throttle control, not just torque. This explains, for example, that an accelerator at mid-stroke does not make it possible to reach the maximum engine speed but an intermediate value.

We understand that this automatic clutch implementation associated with this electronic throttle system may have led to some misunderstandings, but we have implemented it for the sake of realism and should not impact driving performance.

As a reminder, you have 3 possibilities to start:

1. By accelerating all the time: this corresponds to a start with automatic clutch
   
2. Accelerates by pressing the brake then releases the brake: this corresponds to a start at “maximum power”
   
3. Accelerates and brakes at the same time using the handbrake: this corresponds to a start at maximum engine speed, i.e. at the switch as soon as the handbrake is released (in this case, the car goes into overdrive)

Procedure n°2 is the one that comes closest to the starting procedure, which is the one used by WRC drivers, regardless the model (hybrid or not).

Finally, though we can't share more details about the fixes until they are tested and approved we can confirm the KT Racing team is working on releasing a new update improving your game experience on PC next week.

Sincerely,

[Teh Vajier]

I don't think legendary cars like the Alpine had electronic throttle and launch control. Remove this from cars that don't have it, for the sake of realism, please.

[Ochso]

"Sake of Realism" : made me chuckle. too ...

Be honest you added the launch mechanism for your up coming title.. and you altered the clutch to fit that bit of code. ( 2 birds with one stone as they say)

WRCs 8,9 & 10 all had the "non clutch like" clutch (The code then no doubt didn't even check to see if the clutch was engaged or not when changing gear)
but at least that was Boolean ie on or off.
The current state of in-gear or feathered is an annoyance - its either that or you have coded in a faulty release bearing for "realism"

[Peter Mathen]

Thanks for some explanation, but I'm feeling a little bit trolled.

This throttle bug - yes for me it's a bug - is not only with the WRC cars, it's the same with WRC 2 and the classic cars and these certainly don't have the electronic helping hand that you are describing.

The auto clutch is not available in the cars in every gear - look at some footage from WRC Live, if the driver forget the clutch he will stall the car.
Alternatively look at some pedal work of Walter Röhrl in the Audi.

[Simon said EAT DUST PLAYER_1 !]

so what do I have to do when I spun out whilst still on the track, but now need to do a simple 3-point-turn in order to get going, again? Where is the "no automatic race-start" option to not just punt both ends of my car into all sorts of rock-faces and guard-rails? Some people prefer to not use "respawn" for -you know- added realism.

[rabaszoo]

Just noticed something. How come the handbrake automatically engages if I'm below like 50% throttle? I was at a dead stop and testing to see if the throttle issue was any better after the patch and I noticed the on screen hand brake lever in cockpit view moves back(engages) whenever I come to a stop, and it will not move forward again until significant throttle is applied. Is this what's causing the low end throttle bug? Or it something wrong with my set up? Or is this part of the launch control described above ?

[jcp11]

What I have noticed is that with a ps5 controller when you input say a very small input on the accelerator, and look at the input on the dash it goes straight to 50%. There is no accelerator input below 50% now on ps5 controller to try and make it feel like you have car movement with a small touch of accelerator but it does not feel right. Shame this game is like this.

[Sakana]

Originally posted by rabaszoo:

Just noticed something. How come the handbrake automatically engages if I'm below like 50% throttle? I was at a dead stop and testing to see if the throttle issue was any better after the patch and I noticed the on screen hand brake lever in cockpit view moves back(engages) whenever I come to a stop, and it will not move forward again until significant throttle is applied. Is this what's causing the low end throttle bug? Or it something wrong with my set up? Or is this part of the launch control described above ?

it is the same as the auto-clutch issue. When auto-clutch disengaged (by disengaged I mean the pedal is pressed), the auto-handbrake also disengaged. But sometime (like on a upward slope, when the auto-clutch disengaged but reengaged again due to low rpm (aka the auto-clutch below 4500rpm issue), the auto-handbrake might still remain disengaged, which is why some people complaining why when the auto-clutch issue occured in a slope resulting in the car going backwards.

[GreenYogi]

The only good news about this WRC franchise by KT is that it is the last game these devs are making. I might get used to most of the physics shortcomings here coz the driving is still very cool and much better than WRC 8-9 or 10 imho, but being unable to get a smooth, stutterless gameplay even at 720p is just unbearable for such a reputed franchise. There is not a single game i have ever installed on my rig which requires to lower res all the way down to 1280×720p, what a shame! I play the worse optimized racing games at 1280×960P and the less demanding ones at 1980x1200p without any kind of stuttering but here even 720p is not at all smooth. Yet the Devs did not mention or do anything about optimisation in the patches, actually the initial stutter only got worst after each patch. Pathetic joke really.

[The Real Logan Ross]

Hi Devs,

Thanks for a truly terrific game that scales from consoles to full motion rigs (which is what I use). I am very impressed by the game and it has become my favorite Rally, and one of my favorite overall games.

Given the license is moving away, you could have easily just dropped the mic and moved on. You didn’t. You are listening to feedback and I feel confident you will continue to refine the game. Personally I hope you keep adding to it via DLCs for a long time to come, which would be a small price for us to pay!

There is a lot of nastiness that gets thrown at you by some on this forum, which makes me wonder what these “self-proclaimed perfectionists” have themselves accomplished 😄. Thanks for ignoring them and keeping focus on the game!

Finally, your explanations here are great, but perhaps you can be more proactive and provide these types of technical explanations proactively for all aspects of the game (not just in response to the throttle bug). Thanks again!

[Rhincodon typus]

Short summary:
Since the patch that addressed the so called "throttle bug" the state of the throttle implementation is as follows:

The throttle doesnt cause acceleration until it is pressed to about 50% (at least in most situations).
This is definitely not how it should behave for older cars.
For Rally1 Hybrid Cars we can be pretty sure that it shouldnt behave like that either (based on onboard videos and common sense).

The throttle may work as intended by the developers but I really really doubt that this throttle behavior should have been implemented the way it is.

Does the throttle issue "ruin" the game? It depends: On stages like Finland it doesnt affect the gameplay a lot since you are mostly engaging the throttle to more than 50% because there are so few tight turns. I enjoy more technical stages like Argentina a lot more but here the throttle issue (together with a weird handbrake behaviour) is a real struggle and it takes away a lot of fun. The problem is that you need to apply the throttle in a gradual manner to get optimal traction out of tight turns, especially on loose surfaces. This is not possible as the throttle kicks in abruptly and heavily once it reaches 50% input.

Can messing around with sensitivity and range settings solve the problem? By increasing the sensitivity you could make it FEEL like the throttle is already applying force to the car when pressed to less than 50%. But what you really do is that: By increasing the throttle sensitivity you can for example reach 50% throttle engagement ingame by pressing your input pedal to just 10%. But that doesnt solve the problem that you would sometimes need LESS than 50% throttle engagement ingame (see above).

[TeknoBug]

"working as intended" *snicker*

Here I am with a Fanatec wheel+pedals(including clutch) having the exact problem and not a PS5 controller.

[Marc Collins]

There is nothing wrong with the throttle per se. If the car is in neutral, you can rev the engine as one would expect and the throttle sensitivity is normal.

But what people are calling the "throttle bug" is:

A) the completely ridiculous non-functioning of the clutch (it is never needed no matter what settings are used or what type of car)

and

B) the completely ridiculous automagic throttle/transmission/gear change/launch programming that affects even cars from the olden days that had zero electronics.

A + B = cars that do not behave in any realistic or plausible manner when you use the throttle. Hence why it is being called the "throttle bug."

So, when will the behaviour of two of the three pedals in the game be fixed so they behave like a throttle and clutch in any of the real cars simulated in the game? When will the drive lines of the cars work like the ones being simulated? I haven't even tried any hybrid models yet because if a game cannot simulate the simplest 100% manual transmission from the 1960's, or a sequential transmission from the 1980's or 1990's, I have no reason to hope they can simulate something that is actually quite complex.

This mess, combined with unnecessarily fiddly FFB settings prevents any enjoyment of the game from those of us who have actually driven a real car and expect the game to resemble such.

[Atavachron]

I've said it before and I say it again !
Some people at Kylotonn are completely incompetent !

[Tripokaridos]

Does anyone know if there is a side way to make this Game work with VRR, GSync and Freesync ?

[Rhincodon typus]

"As a reminder, you have 3 possibilities to start:

1. By accelerating all the time: this corresponds to a start with automatic clutch
   
2. Accelerates by pressing the brake then releases the brake: this corresponds to a start at “maximum power”
   
3. Accelerates and brakes at the same time using the handbrake: this corresponds to a start at maximum engine speed, i.e. at the switch as soon as the handbrake is released (in this case, the car goes into overdrive)

Procedure n°2 is the one that comes closest to the starting procedure, which is the one used by WRC drivers, regardless the model (hybrid or not)."

I seriously doubt that procedure 2 is the most realistic one. WRC drivers use procedure 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqnZN1VxMKs&ab_channel=FIAWorldRallyChampionship