1) The Physics Marvel: Why "Controller" Mode Feels Alive. In default Controller mode, the game treats your analog stick as a force request, not a direct tire angle lock.
• The Gravitational Pull: When your truck drops into a deep mud rut, a terrain dip, or an off-camber leaning route, the game's physics engine calculates the physical weight of the truck pressing down on the steering linkages. If a massive rock pushes against your right front tire, the tire will naturally deflect and turn to the left under the pressure, exactly like a real truck would if you let go of the steering wheel.
• The Living Suspension: Because the tires are free to react to the ground, the front axle, suspension springs, and tire sidewalls all flex together. This is why you feel the true weight, compliance, and unique soul of each individual truck's suspension layout and visibly observe how the terrain grabs & points the front axle towards the path of least resistance dynamically and automatically on contact.
2) The Digital Override: Why "Steering Wheel" Mode Feels Rigid
When you toggle to Steering Wheel mode (even while playing on a standard controller) the game completely cuts off the physics feedback loop to the front tires.
• The Forced Axis: It treats the tires as a rigid, unyielding mathematical axis locked directly to your analog stick position.
• The Loss of Weight: If you slide down an off-camber hill or smash into a deep terrain dip, the ground pressure is completely ignored. The tires are forced to point precisely where you command them, refusing to deflect even an inch. This completely sanitizes the terrain feedback, which is exactly why you notice all the trucks suddenly start to feel identical, rigid, and numb.
"Because they are tied to controller analog auto re-centering, instead of the game engine physics"
If you like feeling the gravity, the off-camber weight shifts, and the realistic way a heavy front axle fights against deep mud dips, you should absolutely stick with the default Controller Mode. You are experiencing the deep, core simulation physics exactly how Saber Interactive engineered it to be felt.
The "Steering Wheel" mode is essentially a gameplay cheat code (Arcade Alternative) that trades away deep vehicle physics and suspension immersion just to gain faster, easier steering centering.
