Simucube True Drive is the configuration utility for the Simucube 2 series of direct-drive wheelbases. It’s on the whole a really insightful and useful bit of software. It comes straight out of the box with a usable preset installed as default and manages wheel centering, firmware updates, and wireless steering wheel connections seamlessly.
In the past, while there are plenty of kind people happy to share their profiles as downloadable .ini files, tuning a sim steering wheelbase has always been, a bit of a time-consuming thing.
I’ve spent so much time getting to grips with FFB, firstly on the Fanatec DD2 and later the Simucube 2 Pro. While the settings are intuitive, it’s very hard to work through each individual setting to get an outcome to your liking. I’m very happy to admit that even if I feel happy with my own settings, I’ll try someone else and still feel like mine isn’t what I’d like it to be.
Critically, not all of us can sit in a simulator all day long – it’s nice to be able to just jump in and get going.
Moreover, when you found Simucube settings you wanted to try, you’d often find yourself copying them from a screenshot on a Reddit post! Incredibly cumbersome and time-consuming stuff, save of course the good souls who would take the time to export their profile via a .ini file.
This is the problem Simucube has addressed with the release version of TrueDrue Paddock; TrueDrive “classic” but with an added cloud-based profile system.
Today we’re going to have a look through the changes and walk through some installation steps.
Before you get started it’s very wise to export your profile(s) from True Drive classic. The profiles don’t carry over automatically when you update and, frustratingly, I found the “import settings from device” feature unreliable. If you have a very important mustn’t lose profile setup, save it:
Installation
For a few of you, this might be a new experience (that is if you’ve literally just opened your Simucube box!). Installing TrueDrive is something all Simucube owners do and, it’s very simple.
Firstly you need to download the latest zip from the Granite devices True Drive files page:
Save that Zip on your PC. I have a Simucube / True Drive folder in the My Documents area in Windows:
From there, I unzip the contents and look for the executables:
I’ve highlighted “Simucube 2 True Drive Paddock.exe” – for now, the classic version is included with the distributable, but I’m not sure for how much longer.
Just double click and the application should launch. I have the shortcut set up on my Streamdeck – if you use a Streamdeck don’t forget to update the shortcut!
If you get an error like this VCRUNTIME140_1.dll pictured above, it’s almost certainly fixed by downloading and installing the Microsoft Visual Studio Redistributable package for X64 systems from the Microsoft website. If you’re not sure how to proceed, here’s a good how-to.
When you first open True Drive Paddock, you’ll have to agree to their terms and conditions. If you haven’t updated for a while there’s a strong possibility you’ll be prompted to update the Simcube 2 Firmware.
Once you’re up and running, go to the Paddock tab. You’ll be greeted with something a little blank like this I’ve already registered in this image)
If you click create a profile, you can upload your saved profile from the Classic version:
Of, you can browse the online profiles:
Here’s a quick how-to run through from Simucube on browsing through the many online profiles:
Simucube True Drive Paddock – a welcome and very useful feature addition
If you haven’t tried paddock yet, I urge you to do so immediately. I’ve learned so much about the capabilities of my Simucube, simply by having access to a wider range of profiles.
I particularly like the profiles shared by Sampsonoid and Dan Suzuki, both prolific and fast sim racers who have built strong communities around themselves. They deserve your attention!
I suppose as a driver you get accustomed to using the same setup on a daily or weekly basis. True Drive Paddock encourages you to break the mold and try something new. And sometimes a change to your wheelbase setup can help you find time, simply because it’s new, different and interesting!
Overall a great update from Simucube and I highly recommend you get started with True Drive Paddock.
Does this contain any good profiles for f1 2021?