Steam profile: https://steamcommunity.com/id/teccno/

I do not own Forza Horizon 6 yet, so if you appreciate this project, you can gift it to me. Have fun using the app.

🏎️ Forza Horizon 5 — DualSense Adaptive Triggers

Real, physics-driven trigger feedback for the Steam version of FH5.

Lightweight · No presets · No mode juggling · One file of knobs you can edit in 10 seconds.

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TUI Screenshot

📜 Table of Contents

1. Why this exists
2. What you'll feel
3. How it works
4. Installation
5. In-game setup
6. Run it
7. CLI options
8. Tuning the feel
9. Project layout
10. Troubleshooting
11. Credits

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💡 Why this exists

Forza Horizon 5 on PC sends rich telemetry over UDP — but Steam Input only forwards generic rumble to the DualSense. The actual adaptive triggers (the killer feature of the controller) just sit there doing nothing.

This project bridges the gap with a tiny Python service:

• It reads FH5's UDP packets each frame.
• It computes a single adaptive-trigger command for each trigger.
• It writes those commands to the DualSense via raw HID — without touching the rumble bits, so Steam keeps doing its job.

The result: a brake pedal that feels like a brake pedal and a gas pedal that pushes back when the engine is working.

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🎮 What you'll feel

Left trigger — Brake

A continuous, exponential brake resistance. The trigger keeps a tiny always-on baseline so it does not rapidly toggle between off and rigid near the deadzone. As brake input rises, resistance climbs softly at first and gets firmer near the end.

Left-trigger effects:

Priority	Effect	Feel
1	ABS / tire-slip pulse	A fast 35 Hz vibration when braking hard enough, moving above the minimum speed, and tire slip telemetry crosses the ABS thresholds.
2	Progressive brake resistance	Exponential rigid resistance from a 1-force baseline up to 25 during normal braking. Above ~98% input it jumps to full trigger force (255).
3	Handbrake bonus	Adds a flat 25 force on top of the normal brake resistance when the handbrake is engaged.

Right trigger — Throttle

Strict priority — only one effect plays at a time, so animations never fight:

Priority	Effect	Feel
1	Gear-shift thump	A short 20 Hz vibration burst (~100 ms) when shifting up or down while the car is moving.
2	Rev limiter buzz	A 30 Hz vibration when RPM is above the redline ratio.
3	Progressive throttle resistance	Soft exponential resistance from a 1-force baseline up to 10 during normal throttle. Above ~98% input it jumps to full trigger force (255).

The chain lives in TriggerAnimation._throttle() — about 20 lines, easy to extend.

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⚡ How it works

┌──────────────┐   UDP 5300    ┌──────────────┐   HID write    ┌─────────────┐
│  Forza H5    │ ────────────► │  fh5ds.py    │ ─────────────► │  DualSense  │
│  Data Out    │   324 bytes   │  per frame   │  triggers only │  controller │
└──────────────┘               └──────────────┘                └─────────────┘
                                      │
                                      ▼
                           Steam Input keeps owning rumble

• UDP listener (modules/udplistener/main.py) parses FH5's 324-byte telemetry packet (RPM, speed, accelerator, brake, gear, drivetrain…). Each frame it drains the socket and uses only the latest packet, so we never react to stale telemetry if the OS queues bursts.
• TriggerAnimation (modules/dualsense/triggers.py) turns telemetry into a (left, right) tuple of trigger commands.
• DualSense HID layer (modules/dualsense/main.py) writes them out, flipping only the trigger bits in valid_flag0 so Steam's rumble bytes stay untouched. The HID device is opened in non-blocking mode so writes fire immediately instead of waiting for an input report (important on Bluetooth).

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🛠️ Installation

Requirements: Windows, Python 3.10+, and a DualSense controller (USB or Bluetooth).

Option 1: Start with start.bat

Download or clone the project, then double-click start.bat in the project folder:

start.bat

The launcher does the setup work for you:

• It checks whether uv is installed.
• If uv is missing, it asks before downloading/installing it.
• Press Y or Enter to install uv with the official Astral installer.
• Press n to install uv with python -m pip install uv instead.
• After uv is available, it enters the src folder and runs uv run main.py.

Use this option if you just want to launch the app on Windows.

Option 2: Manual installation

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/HamzaYslmn/Forza-Horizon-DualSense-Python
cd Forza-Horizon-DualSense-Python

Install uv if you do not already have it:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Or install it with pip:

python -m pip install uv

Then install/sync the Python environment from the src folder:

cd src
uv sync

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🎯 In-game setup

Open Forza Horizon 5 → Settings → HUD and Gameplay, scroll to the bottom:

Setting	Value
Data Out	ON
Data Out IP Address	127.0.0.1
Data Out IP Port	5300

 

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▶️ Run it

Option A: Manual Launch

Run the script from the terminal:

cd src
uv run main.py

Or just double-click the start.bat file.

You should hear a brief startup pulse on both triggers — that confirms HID writes are landing on the controller. After that, fire up FH5 and start driving.

Run the script before or while FH5 is loading. Steam Input must be active for the controller; if you use HidHide, allowlist python.exe.

Option B: Start via Steam (Auto Launch)

You can configure Steam to launch the DualSense script automatically in the background whenever you press Play on Forza Horizon 5.

1. Open Steam, right-click Forza Horizon 5 in your Library -> Properties.
2. In the General tab, scroll down to Launch Options.
3. Paste the following line exactly (update the path to wherever you downloaded this project):

   cmd /c "start /MIN /D C:\Your\Path\To\Forza-Horizon-DualSense-Python\src uv run main.py" && %command%
   

Now, whenever you start the game from Steam, the Python script will quietly launch in a minimized window just before the game opens. No .bat files needed!

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⚙️ CLI options

The defaults work for almost everyone. Use these only if you need them.

Argument	Description	Default
--host	UDP bind address	127.0.0.1
--port	UDP port	5300
--debug	Verbose per-packet logging	off

Example:

cd src
uv run main.py --port 5400 --debug

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🎚️ Tuning the feel

Open src/modules/settings.py and edit any field. There are no presets, no multipliers, no inheritance — just one flat dataclass. Changes take effect on next launch.

Every trigger effect has an enable_* switch. Set it to False if you do not want that effect.

Brake (left trigger)

Field	Default	Effect
enable_brake_resistance	True	Toggle the normal progressive brake resistance.
brake_baseline_force	1	Always-held resistance. Prevents off↔rigid jitter near the deadzone.
brake_max_force	25	Normal brake resistance before the full-press threshold.
brake_curve	2.5	Higher = softer early press and sharper resistance near the end.
enable_handbrake_bonus	True	Toggle the extra handbrake force.
handbrake_bonus	25	Flat extra rigid force when the handbrake is engaged.
brake_deadzone	10	Ignore brake input below this raw value (out of 255).
pedal_full_force_at	248	Pedal value where the trigger jumps to full force (255).

ABS / tire slip (left trigger)

Field	Default	Effect
enable_abs	True	Toggle the ABS-like tire-slip vibration.
abs_brake_threshold	80	Minimum brake input required before ABS can activate.
abs_min_speed_kmh	15.0	Minimum speed required before ABS can activate.
abs_slip_ratio_threshold	1.0	Tire slip ratio threshold for ABS vibration.
abs_combined_slip_threshold	1.0	Combined tire slip threshold for ABS vibration.
abs_freq	35 Hz	ABS pulse frequency.
abs_amp	255	ABS pulse amplitude (0-255).

Throttle (right trigger)

Field	Default	Effect
enable_throttle_resistance	True	Toggle the normal progressive throttle resistance.
throttle_baseline_force	1	Always-held resting weight. Prevents off↔rigid jitter near the deadzone.
throttle_max_force	10	Normal throttle resistance before the full-press threshold. Kept softer than the brake.
throttle_curve	5.2	Higher = much softer light throttle, with resistance arriving late in the press.
accel_deadzone	10	Ignore tiny accelerator noise.
pedal_full_force_at	248	Pedal value where the trigger jumps to full force (255).

Throttle effects

Field	Default	Effect
enable_gear_shift	True	Toggle the shift thump.
gear_shift_freq	20 Hz	Lower = deeper thump, higher = sharper click.
gear_shift_amp	255	Max amplitude (0–255).
gear_shift_duration_ms	100.0	How long the burst lasts.
enable_rev_limiter	True	Toggle the rev limiter buzz.
rev_limit_ratio	0.95	Buzz when rpm / max_rpm exceeds this.
rev_limit_freq	30 Hz	Buzz frequency.
rev_limit_amp	255	Buzz amplitude.

Connection / system

Field	Default	Effect
udp_host	"0.0.0.0"	UDP bind address.
udp_port	5300	UDP port (must match FH5).
udp_timeout	0.5 s	Listener timeout (used to detect "no telemetry").
enable_startup_pulse	True	Toggle the short trigger pulse on app startup.
startup_pulse_force	150	Strength of the connect-confirm pulse.

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📁 Project layout

src/
├── main.py                          # Entry point: arg parsing, packet loop
└── modules/
    ├── settings.py                  # 👈 the only file you usually edit
    ├── dualsense/
    │   ├── main.py                  # HID layer (rumble bits left untouched)
    │   └── triggers.py              # Effect primitives + TriggerAnimation
    └── udplistener/
        └── main.py                  # UDP socket + 324-byte packet parser

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🩺 Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause / fix
DualSense gamepad interface not found	Controller not connected, or HidHide is hiding it. Allowlist python.exe in HidHide.
No UDP packets yet after several seconds	FH5 Data Out is off, IP/port mismatch, or Windows Firewall is blocking the bind.
Triggers feel weak	Increase brake_max_force / throttle_max_force, or lower the relevant curve for earlier resistance. Values above pedal_full_force_at still jump to full force (255).
Triggers feel like a rock wall before pedal hits 100%	Lower brake_max_force / throttle_max_force, or raise the relevant curve so resistance arrives later.
Triggers feel too stiff at light press	Lower the relevant baseline force, or raise the relevant curve for a softer initial press.
Brake "machine-guns" / buzzes when barely pressed	This was the original off↔rigid jitter — already fixed by the always-held baseline. If it returns, raise the deadzone or the baseline force.
No vibration on gear shift	Make sure the car is moving faster than 3 km/h and the change is between valid gears. Neutral/invalid gear transitions are intentionally ignored.
Console hangs on an empty window after the startup pulse	On some Windows/Python combinations the Textual TUI can fail to render even though the controller connection worked. Start from a terminal with cd src && uv run main.py --no-tui to use normal console logs instead.

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🙏 Credits

Built by HamzaYslmn.

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Built for an immersive racing experience — KISS code, real feedback.