RS Shifter Support

*For RS Shifter 2006 owners, please refer to the latest product manual available here.*

Force RS Owners Please Note RS/GPL USB Shifter Plate Installation Guide
Troubleshooting Game Patches ACT LABS Shifter/Clutch Utility

The Force RS does not use a RS Shifter-specific driver. In fact, there is no software setup required at all - assuming that you have the wheel setup by itself already. In the RS Shifter manual, any mention of a special driver, USB adapter cable, or LEDs indicating the pedal axis mode refers only to the non-force RS version of the RS Shifter (the same manual covers both versions). You can get the latest drivers for the Force RS.

RS/GPL USB Shifter Plate Installation Guide :

1.Remove the shifter knob as shown in the image below

2. Unscrew the stock 8-gate shifter plate using a small phillips screwdriver

3. Lift the original shifter plate up through the shaft

4. Screw the 4-Speed or 5-Speed shifter plate in place

5. Replace the shifter knob.

Troubleshooting:

Controller properties screen keeps popping up. Cannot set controls in-game. My game's controller setup page locks up.

All three of these problems are related to having one of the controller buttons constantly pressed down. This is the case when the RS Shifter is in gear. In general, you should always keep the RS Shifter in neutral unless you are actually driving in a game. You can check to make sure that none of the controller's buttons are being pressed by looking at the "test" page in the device's properties page in the Windows "Game Controllers" applet. Make sure none of the button indicators on the screen are lit up and none of the POV directions are indicated (since gears 5-R are mapped to the POV)

A bunch of the buttons on my wheel do not work.

The RS Shifter takes over the use of 8 buttons on the wheel when the shifter cartridge or adapter is connected. This is regardless of whether shifter is plugged in to the adapter or not.

The RS Shifter is not compatible with my game.

The RS Shifter is compatible with virtually any racing game when used in the "hi-lo" sequential shift mode. For full, free-shifting operation a game must have support built in. See here for a list of games supporting the RS shifter. Please note that some games will need to have a patch installed to allow support for the RS Shifter. Depending on the game, there may be a checkbox option for the RS Shifter, a hot key, or a change may need to be made to a configuration file.

The RS Shifter does not work with my third party wheel.

Due to the lack of expansion ports on our competitors' products, the RS Shifter will not work with any wheel other than ACT LABS Racing Systems.

What's the difference between the "RS Shifter" and the "GPL USB Shifter"?

The "RS Shifter" comes with a cartridge that connects to the back of an ACT LABS Racing wheel and will not work with any wheel other than an ACT LABS Racing wheel. The "GPL USB Shifter" is our current shifter and it's exactly the same as its predecessor, except that it is shipped with a "USB Adapter" and IS compatible with competitor's wheels such as TSW - Thomas Super Wheel, Microsoft Sidewinder, Saitek R100, Logitech ( MOMO, Wingman Formula ), Thrustmaster ( Ferrari, Nascar Pro Digital ), BRD - Ball Racing Developments, Mad Catz etc. NOTE: The "RS Shifter" & "cartridge/Shifter Sleeve" have been discontiued and are no longer available. If your "cartridge/Shifter Sleeve" has failed, you will need to purchase a "USB adapter" instead.

Game Patches :

Where possible, we will provide links to RS Shifter support-enabling game patches.

F1 Challenge 99-02

- Install F1 Challenge 99-02
- Create a new player
- Open up your .plr file using notepad or some other .txt editor program
- Scroll down to the [ Controls ] section
- Change: Gear Select Button Hold="0" to "1"
- Now start up F1C (make sure the AL Shift utility V2.2 is running first)
- Under Options/Controls/Controller Assignments, scroll down to the bottom of the list. You'll see options
  for Reverse, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. (These options won't be there if Gear Select Button Hold = "0") Highlight
  each gear in the options list and put your ACT Labs shifter in the appropriate gear. They get recognized   in the game now...

- Go Racing!!!

Nascar 3 Patch (Sierra, 4.27MB) - The new patch for N3 enables RS Shifter support as well as more controller buttons (in addition to a bunch of other fixes and enhancements to the game). Download it from Sierra's FTP site, just run it to install. Manually add the line

GEARS 6 7 1 2

to the "N3.INI" config file to get the RS shifter working, assign reverse to the R position in the controllers screen and make sure to assign the shift up and shift down actions to something other than buttons 6, 7, 1, or 2. Users with the optional 4-speed shifter plate can use the line

GEARS 1 2 10 13

instead. Be sure to read the "readme.txt" file that comes with the patch for more info.

Nascar Legends Patch (Sierra, 1.47MB) - The new patch for NL enables RS Shifter support as well as more controller buttons (in addition to a bunch of other fixes and enhancements to the game). Download it from Sierra's FTP site, just run it to install. Manually add the line

GEARS 6 7 1 2

to the "NL.INI" config file to get the RS shifter working and assign reverse to the R position in the controllers screen and make sure to assign the shift up and shift down actions to something other than buttons 6, 7, 1, or 2. Users with the optional 4-speed shifter plate can use the line

GEARS 1 2 10 13

instead. Be sure to read the "readme.txt" file that comes with the patch for more info.

Sports Car GT Patch (399KB) - /w RS Shifter support. Extract file to overwrite the main game "Spcar.exe" file, press F11 while racing to select "RS Shifter Mode".

Viper Racing Patch (623KB) - /w RS Shifter support. Overwrite the "/DATA/race.bin" file, check "RS Shifter" in the controller options menu.