Firstly, this sort of issue is said to also occur in iracing (and hence why they have an STM function as well and i have tried it in iracing if only briefly). "Whats the aim of a sim? To BE realistic or to FEEL realistic?" They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Just because a certain sim feels more realistic to someone with a g25/27 does not nessesarily make it more realistic. Equally a realisitic sim may not provide you a realistic feel with your g25/27 but that is not nessesarily the sim at fault. The hardware is what delivers the final (feel) sensation if you have ffb turned on. It would be interesting to see someones verdict of two simulators level of realism with and without ffb enabled (so as to have a baseline reference without any possible hardware limitations affecting the perception of realism). ffb enabled can certainly skew results if the hardware is not accounted for by the simulator. A prime example of this is the affect of ffb clipping providing mis-information to the driver (however ffb clipping can be both a hardware and software issue).
I know that the G27 is a "weak" wheel, I have one myself. But going as far as saying that no enjoyment can come out of it is just going too far. There's plenty of power in the G27. With all the different settings you can tweak in both the profiler and the ini's everyone will be able to get a really good feeling out of it. So of course you can expect the G27 to feel good. Mine does, after I followed the various tips, tricks and well documented results of ffb tests made by users. I've raced with a G27 for a year now, and I'm still having a blast. The only reason I'm considering switching to another wheel is because the G27 is so noisy, with the gears grinding and rattling, making it almost impossible to use it late at night. I'm looking forward to trying another more powerful belt driven wheel at some point. But that can wait. For now I'm having a complete blast with the G27 and rF2 (as well as GSCE, iR etc.)
To me is just that people pretend too much from their hardware : they are only toys, they are not simulation equipment like a Bodnar's wheel could be, so you have to adjust your expectations accordingly. People should expect to receive from a FFB wheel, feelings, even a faint vibration is a feeling, people that expect to have to fight the wheel like on a real racecar, should really retune their expectations or their hardware setup.
tangent, but im curious as to how/why it was necessary for you (??) to have "discovered" STM in rf2 when its a naked feature in a prominent sim. it helps a ton with my g27; im pretty darn sure assetto corsa is still lacking this feature, if not completely, its not on the menu (been meaning to whine about that on their forum...). it just seems like an example of the cliche that rf2 devs have the mindset of "our users will sort out our issues; no worries"
i think thats only true to a point. force feedback can't "be" realistic. it just is, & it either "feels" realistic, or it doesn't. i thought this car felt remarkably light in ffb as well. its a bit offputting.
The great thing about having ffb tied to the physics is that all cars will feel different. Some you'll like, some you won't. I don't expect the GT-R to feel like the FR. I love the Camaro, but not so hot on the ffb. It is what it is.
You'll have to ask the developers why that is still the case. The idea for the STM came from iracing and from the 2012 release notes for iracing, it appears too have been first introduced in their app.ini file before also being included in the ingame menu. http://www.iracing.com/iracingnews/iracing-news/release-notes-for-2012-season-3
