Wang Xiaobin paused slightly and continued, "Direct drive steering wheels have stepper motors or servo motors, and their effect is better than force feedback steering wheels with gear belt hybrid transmission, because the feedback force is stronger and the reaction is faster."

"Foreign manufacturers providing simulators for professional racing teams basically use direct drive solutions."

"But its price fluctuates greatly."

"Direct drive steering wheels are very expensive abroad, with mainstream brands basically around 1500 euros. Converted, a steering wheel costs over ten thousand, which most people can't afford."

"However, many domestic hardcore players choose to do it themselves, DIYing the whole set. This way, the cost can be reduced a lot. The pure cost may be less than two thousand yuan, after all, industrial servo motors and drivers can be bought second-hand online, and four or five hundred can get you one."

"But the DIY process is extremely complicated and cumbersome. If you completely DIY, you also need to understand programming knowledge. Even if you use existing solutions online, it will take several weeks to debug. For novices, buying it is a pure waste of money. Only大佬 (dàlǎo, big shots) with particularly strong hands-on abilities can handle it."

"What's more, if you look for DIY solutions online, you can't count on product quality control and after-sales service at all."

"Currently, the realistic game steering wheels that domestic players can buy, whether entry-level force feedback steering wheels or direct drive steering wheels, are all dominated by foreign brands."

"There are also some domestic manufacturers making steering wheels, but they are all very cheap entertainment steering wheels without force feedback."

"In fact, for these foreign brand steering wheels, the high price itself is secondary, the key is that the accessories are also expensive."

"Whether it's an H-pattern shifter, a sequential shifter, or a dedicated hydraulic handbrake, the price of these accessories is not less than a thousand yuan. If you want to assemble a complete set, even an entry-level force feedback steering wheel solution will cost at least six or seven thousand."

"After all, brand value, licensing fees, taxes, and other factors will cause foreign steering wheel prices to be falsely high."

"In fact, the cost of many accessories is very low, such as brackets, such as hydraulic handbrakes. These things from foreign brands are generally more than double the cost price. A domestically-made hydraulic handbrake only costs two or three hundred yuan, but it sells for nearly a thousand in foreign brands, and the actual difference in experience is not very big."

"Of course, the advantage of buying ready-made brands is that everything is matched and optimized for the game. After the steering wheel is connected to the computer, you can play directly after installing the driver. For players who don't understand professional knowledge, DIY is definitely not feasible, and they can only buy ready-made products."

Wang Xiaobin introduced the current situation of domestic game steering wheels in detail, and everyone nodded frequently as they listened.

These three different steering wheels bring completely different gaming experiences to players. The expensive one definitely has its reasons.

The purpose of buying a steering wheel is nothing more than two things: one is to enhance the sense of immersion and involvement during the game, and the other is to improve the accuracy of operation.

Realistic steering wheels have rich vibration modes. When the vehicle passes over different road surfaces, the vibration effects will also be different. Players can clearly distinguish whether their vehicle is passing over a gravel road or a muddy road.

Moreover, the steering wheel can fine-tune the wheel angle, and with the pedals and gear lever, advanced techniques such as clutch kicking for drifting and downshifting with rev-matching can be achieved.

More importantly, the force feedback of the steering wheel can inform the player of the current wheel state of the vehicle.

Players can judge the grip state of the wheels through the force feedback intensity of the steering wheel, and tire slippage can be detected as soon as possible, which is very important for drifting through corners and driving on special road surfaces.

Therefore, many professional racing team drivers also use simulators for training, because an excellent steering wheel can indeed restore the driving feel of a real car.

In short, for ordinary players, since you have decided to buy a steering wheel, you must get force feedback. Don't touch those plastic toys under a thousand yuan. You might as well buy a good gamepad with that money.

Some even say that it is best not to experience a direct drive steering wheel before you can afford one.

Because after experiencing a direct drive steering wheel, going back to an ordinary steering wheel or gamepad/keyboard may make you feel disappointed, and even make you completely lose interest in racing games.

Of course, the steering wheel will not improve your skills. When you first switch to the steering wheel, you may drive worse than with a keyboard or gamepad. But as long as you get used to the operation of the steering wheel, most people will never use a keyboard or gamepad to play racing games again.

Chang You nodded: "According to President Pei's consistent style, since we are going to make a product, we must make it the best."

"Then the steering wheel we make must use a direct drive solution with a servo motor."

"Moreover, the market for direct drive steering wheels is in a state of polarization. Foreign brands cost tens of thousands at every turn, and although players DIY is cheaper, the threshold is too high and it is time-consuming and labor-intensive."

"There is a lot of market space in this area."

"If we can develop an excellent direct drive steering wheel and control the price of the complete set of accessories at a cost-effective level, it will still be very competitive!"

"Maybe President Pei saw the business opportunities in this and decided to make a steering wheel?"

Jiang Yuan added: "It may also be because President Pei feels that the current steering wheels on the market cannot perfectly match the game, so he decided to make his own."

Ye Zhizhou nodded: "That's right, that must be one of the reasons."

"Currently, game steering wheels on the market, although there are some buttons on the panel, they are basically simulating the buttons of the gamepad."

"General racing games require fewer buttons, and this type of steering wheel can meet the requirements."

"However, there is a lot of simulation content in the game *Safe and Civilized Driving*. For example, you have to turn on the turn signal when turning, turn on the hazard lights when stopping due to a malfunction, and also windshield wipers, high and low beams, and windshield defogger. Even if players want to drive large trucks or long-distance buses to make money, they need even more buttons."

"If there are not enough buttons on the steering wheel, you can only rely on the keyboard, which is obviously not very convenient. If you can come up with a dedicated console that integrates all the buttons required in the game, it will definitely be more convenient and help improve the sense of immersion."

Wang Xiaobin agreed: "Yes, speaking of this, I think that although there are many steering wheels on the market now, there is still a lot of room for innovation in terms of accessories."

"Needless to say, the most basic H-pattern shifter and handbrake."

"Below the steering wheel, on the base of the motor, you can actually add an instrument panel display screen. This price is not expensive, but it can display different effects according to different vehicles, so that players no longer need to look at the screen, and can know the car's speed and RPM with a glance."

"The steering wheel should be equipped with magnetic paddle shifters, and also have various buttons such as turn signals and wipers. The steering wheel panel can be wrapped with Alcantara leather, which doesn't cost much, but can greatly improve the feel."

"Miniature vibrators can be installed on the pedals. If the steering wheel and pedals vibrate together, it can better simulate the driving feeling."

The four of them talked to each other, and soon finalized the details of this steering wheel.

This steering wheel has a variety of different accessories, which can be bought separately and priced separately, or they can be bought together in a package, and there will be a certain discount on the price.

In terms of the steering wheel body, it is divided into a steering wheel and a direct drive base. The direct drive base integrates a control box and a small display for the instrument panel. The base and the steering wheel adopt the d1spCe quick-release system used in real cars, which is reliable, safe, and easy to disassemble.

These two together account for the bulk of the price of this set of equipment. The steering wheel is around 1300, because the steering wheel integrates various buttons and vibrators, while the direct drive base needs around 3200.

The pedals are made of pure metal. The accelerator, brake, and clutch can all fine-tune the distance of the pedals up and down. The clutch and accelerator are rebounded by adjustable springs, while the brake relies on a short preload spring and a large rubber block. This design is to simulate different foot feels.

A small vibrator is also installed on the accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals to simulate the vibration of the vehicle when driving.

The price of this pedal is relatively high, around 1200 yuan. Although it is similar to the price of many foreign manufacturers' pedals, the actual experience obtained is absolutely completely different.

A gear lever integrating H-pattern and sequential gears, and a hydraulic handbrake, are 300 yuan and 200 yuan respectively.

There is also a dedicated console with various commonly used buttons on it, mainly used to simulate some special situations in driving. It is actually a special keyboard, so the price is not expensive, and it can be done for 100 yuan.

In addition, there are three different brackets, a foldable bracket without a seat, around 500 yuan; an adjustable bracket with a seat, around 1200 yuan; and the highest-spec bracket including a monitor bracket and a G-force seat, priced at 4000 yuan.

Of course, this G-force seat is not the six-direction type, but the basic three-direction type, which can only simulate forward, backward, left, right, and up and down movement. However, for general experience, three directions are completely sufficient. The six-direction G-force seat is too expensive and the demand is relatively small. The大佬 (dàlǎo, big shots) who pursue this experience basically assemble it themselves, so there is no need to include it as a mass-produced content.

The G-force seat can only improve the experience and does not help improve the technology. Many racers do not use G-force seats when driving simulators. The reason for providing such a bracket is only to meet the needs of some high-end players.

If players already have a steering wheel bracket or other brands of gear levers, handbrakes, and other accessories, then they only need to purchase the new accessories they need.

And if players are starting from scratch, Outu Technology also provides three different package solutions.

The first is the entry-level package, which only requires a steering wheel, pedals, bracket, and console, with an original price of 6300 and a package price of 5800.

This set of solutions is suitable for novices who do not need to shift gears or use a handbrake, and can use their own chairs for the seat, which is considered a relatively entry-level solution.

The second is the advanced package, which includes a steering wheel, pedals, handbrake, console, and an adjustable bracket with a seat, with an original price of 7200 and a package price of 6800.

This set of solutions is suitable for players with certain advanced requirements. The hydraulic handbrake is more convenient for drifting, and the shift paddles on the steering wheel can also complete the shifting operation. If you prefer the H-pattern, you can buy a gear lever separately for an additional 300 yuan.

At the same time, the seat is fixed with the bracket, so you don't have to worry about the seat shaking, making it more comfortable.

The third is the luxury package, with all configurations complete, and also equipped with a G-force seat, with an original price of 10300 and a package price of 9999.

This set of equipment can basically meet the driving needs of all high-level players, and even some professional racers.

The discount for the entry-level package is relatively large, mainly to expand the player base.

After purchasing a low-level package, if you want to upgrade later, you can just add some money to buy the accessories you need, which is not troublesome.