OpenShaker

Game haptics for ButtKicker and other bass shakers.
by baddo & Claude

_{Left: HaptiConnect and OpenShaker on a Forza Motorsport lap never used for tuning, 0.2 dB apart (how it was tuned). Right: the OpenShaker window.}

OpenShaker is a small Windows app that reads what your racing game reports - engine revs, gear changes, bumps, crashes, wheel lock and slip - and turns it into vibration you feel through your seat. It plays the effects to your shaker like sound. Forza, Assetto Corsa EVO and BeamNG.drive need nothing extra, just their own telemetry setting; Trackmania needs Openplanet (free, openplanet.dev) with its Data Sender plugin.

Download and install

1. Download OpenShaker-Setup-<version>.exe from the latest release. If your browser says the file isn't commonly downloaded, choose Keep (in Edge: ... > Keep > Show more > Keep anyway).
2. Double-click it. The installer is not code-signed, so Windows may show "Windows protected your PC": click More info, then Run anyway.
3. Click Install. That is the only screen: it needs no administrator rights, and Start with Windows and a desktop shortcut are both ticked - untick either if you prefer.

OpenShaker starts by itself when setup finishes and opens its window. Closing the window keeps it running in the notification area, next to the clock. If you don't see its icon, click the ^ arrow next to the clock; opening OpenShaker from the Start menu again also brings the window back.

First run

1. Turn your shaker's amplifier down.
2. In the OpenShaker window, choose your shaker by name under Output > Device, not "(Windows default output)": if the shaker is unplugged, Windows makes your speakers the default output.
3. Press Test tone (a 5-second rumble). It is about as strong as the hardest hits and ignores the Master slider, so set the amplifier firm but never clattering. Normal driving in the Forza games is quieter; BeamNG.drive plays close to this level most of the time. Nothing? Try Advanced... > Output channel: Right or Both.
4. Turn on telemetry in your game (below) and drive. OpenShaker switches to that game's preset by itself.

Game setup

Game	In the game	Notes
Forza Horizon 5 / 6	Settings > HUD and Gameplay > Data Out: On, IP 127.0.0.1, port 5555
Forza Motorsport	Same setting, format Car Dash	Not Sled: it has no gear or pedal data, so gear shifts never play
Assetto Corsa EVO	Nothing to set
BeamNG.drive	Options > Other: tick OutGauge and Motion Sim, and leave both on 127.0.0.1 port 4444	OutGauge gives engine, gears and pedals; Motion Sim gives crashes, bumps and wheel lock
Trackmania	0. Install Openplanet from openplanet.dev (most Trackmania players already have it). 1. In the game press F3, then Openplanet > Plugin Manager, and install Data Sender (by ar). That's all: OpenShaker starts Data Sender's service and changes its broadcast interval from the default 100 ms to 0 (every frame), so it sends often enough to feel bumps and crashes. It changes nothing else, and leaves an interval you chose yourself alone	Needs Openplanet (free, 1.26 or newer) and Data Sender 2.0, allowed where you drive. If you raise Data Sender's vehicle state rate, set its TCP max telemetry msgs/s to 0 as well, or the data stops for a moment every second

Forza on an Xbox or another PC: point Data Out at this PC's network address, set Advanced... > Forza listen address to 0.0.0.0, and allow OpenShaker through Windows Firewall when asked. Otherwise OpenShaker only listens to games on this PC.

Built with AI, open to feedback

OpenShaker was designed, measured and coded with Claude, Anthropic's AI assistant, under the maintainer's direction and testing on a real rig. It has been checked against HaptiConnect's own output on recorded laps and real drives (how it was tuned), but it is a young project, and your setup is not the one it was tuned on.

Reports are very welcome - bugs, and just as much "how it feels on my setup": open an issue, or pick Send feedback / report a bug in the tray menu. Nothing is sent automatically. If you attach the log from %APPDATA%\OpenShaker\logs, read it first: file paths in it can contain your Windows user name.

Privacy: OpenShaker's only contact with the internet is GitHub: an update check about 30 seconds after it starts and then once a day, which carries nothing but the app's name and version, and the installer download when you click Update now (or, if you switched them on, for automatic updates). Advanced... > Check for updates switches all of it off. Game data never leaves your PC.

Documentation

The OpenShaker guide explains every feature in short, single-topic pages, grouped in seven chapters:

1. Getting started - installing, setting up your games, and checking that it works.
2. Games - one page per game: Forza Motorsport, Forza Horizon 5 and 6, Assetto Corsa EVO, BeamNG.drive and Trackmania.
3. Effects - all 14 effects, what you feel, and which game supports which.
4. Using OpenShaker - the window, the tray menu, presets, Advanced settings, Start with Windows and updates.
5. Your hardware - shakers, amplifiers, channels and safety.
6. Help - troubleshooting, FAQ and glossary.
7. Behind the scenes - how it was built, and how it was tuned against HaptiConnect.

What changed in each version: the changelog.

For developers: development notes, calibration tools and contributing.

Using OpenShaker

• Left-click the tray icon to open the window; right-click it for status, Haptics on, Test tone, Start with Windows, the settings folder, Send feedback and Quit. Closing the window keeps OpenShaker running; Quit stops it.
• Haptics on (top of the window, and in the tray menu) switches the haptics off and on. Off stops everything: nothing plays, the game ports are free for other programs, and the tray icon turns grey. It stays off, even after a restart, until you tick it again or press Restart haptics.
• Each game has its own preset. Every effect has an on/off box and a strength slider, where 100 % is the calibrated level. Changes save themselves.
• Click anywhere on a slider to jump there, or click the number next to it and type a value: Enter or clicking elsewhere applies it, Esc cancels. Master works the same way, in percent.
• Surface feel, Landings and Turbo & reactor boost only work in Trackmania, the only game that reports surfaces, jumps and boosts. The Grip limit warning is on for Trackmania: it pulses as a corner builds toward a slide on dirt, grass, sand, snow, ice and wet roads. On tarmac the Stadium car turns as tight as its steering allows without letting go, so the warning stays quiet there. It can be switched on for the other games too.
• Master sets the overall level and is remembered. The shipped levels were tuned on a ButtKicker PRO; on other hardware use your amplifier and Master to taste. Each game plays at HaptiConnect's own level for it, so BeamNG.drive, like HaptiConnect's BeamNG preset, is much stronger than the Forza games: set the amplifier with the strongest game you play.
• Demo plays a scripted drive - gear changes, a kerb, a lock-up, wheelspin, a bump, a crash and ABS - quieter than a game, to check the setup without one. What you feel of it depends on the active game's preset: every preset plays the engine, gear changes and the crash, but not every preset has every other effect (BeamNG.drive's, like HaptiConnect's, has no kerb or ABS effect). Pick Games again to go back to your game.
• Output channel (Advanced): Left is the default and plays on the left channel only, like HaptiConnect; the right channel stays silent. For a shaker on one side of an amplifier pick that side; for two shakers pick Both. On a shaker that mixes both channels, such as a ButtKicker PRO, Both may feel stronger.
• Updates: once a day OpenShaker asks GitHub whether a newer version exists. If one does, the tray icon gets a small ! and the window a bar with Update now, What's new and Skip this version - no pop-ups. Update now downloads the installer from this project's GitHub release, checks it against the SHA-256 GitHub publishes for it, installs it and starts OpenShaker again; nothing is downloaded before you click it. Switch the check off under Advanced... > Check for updates. Automatic updates are off unless you switch them on: when an update is found, the bar asks whether to install updates automatically, until you answer (or use Advanced... > Install updates automatically). They then install the same way, in the tray, only when no game is running and the window is closed.
• To uninstall: Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps > OpenShaker. It asks whether to delete your settings too.

Safety

• Start low and raise the level slowly. Shakers and amplifiers are powerful.
• Back off if it clatters, buzzes or distorts - that can damage the shaker, the amplifier or the seat mount.
• Think of the neighbours. Low frequencies travel through floors and walls.
• Pick the shaker by name under Output > Device. Then OpenShaker never switches outputs on its own: if the shaker is unplugged it says so instead of playing through your speakers, and picks it up again when it is plugged back in. Left on "(Windows default output)", it plays wherever Windows sends sound, which after an unplug can be your speakers.

Tested hardware and software

Tested during development in September 2026.

• Shaker: ButtKicker PRO (USB-C). Windows sees it as a USB audio device (VID 33A1, PID 52DA) with the output "Speakers (ButtKicker PRO)" - or "Speakers (2- ButtKicker PRO)" after re-plugging - used in shared mode at 48 kHz.
• PC: Windows 11 Pro for Workstations 25H2 (build 26200.9445).
• Calibration reference: HaptiConnect 2.7.0.

Game	Version	How it was tested
Forza Motorsport	Microsoft Store 1.859.7102.0	Live: eight laps compared with HaptiConnect's output on the same laps, all within 0.4 dB, including two laps left out of the fitting (-0.4 and -0.2 dB)
Forza Horizon 5 / 6	Steam, September 2026	Live: three Forza Horizon 5 laps and one Forza Horizon 6 lap compared with HaptiConnect; every effect that plays on these laps was measured against it (braking could not be isolated, and the game never reported ABS). Laps play 0 to 1.3 dB quieter until the acceleration and road-rumble sounds are reproduced exactly
Assetto Corsa EVO	Steam Early Access, September 2026	Live and felt: two drives compared with HaptiConnect's own ACE plugin through a replay (+0.4 and -0.5 dB, scored at one copy's level; the recordings likely hold HaptiConnect's output twice); current ACE builds no longer reach HaptiConnect live
BeamNG.drive	0.39.4.0	Live: two drives compared with HaptiConnect, one over OutGauge only and one over OutGauge and Motion Sim: within 0.6 dB (+0.1 and +0.6 dB). Crash, bump and wheel-lock strengths are not yet checked against HaptiConnect
Trackmania	Steam, Openplanet 1.28.0 + Data Sender 2.0.0	Live and felt: two drives felt and one logged (Stadium car); jumps, slides and the grip warning were reworked from them. The loose-surface grip limits are still first guesses

Should also work (untested)

OpenShaker isn't tied to one device: to Windows, a bass shaker is just a sound output, so any shaker your PC can play sound to should work. Only the ButtKicker PRO has been tested so far.

• Other ButtKicker models through their amplifiers: Gamer Plus, Gamer PRO, LFE, Advance.
• Other bass shakers on any amplifier, such as the Dayton Audio BST-1 or TT25 and the AuraSound AST-2B-4.
• Any Windows audio output that feeds a shaker amplifier: line or headphone out, USB, optical or HDMI.
• Windows 10.
• Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione (basic effects, using the Assetto Corsa EVO preset).
• Forza Horizon 4 (sends the same data as Forza Horizon 5).

On a different shaker or amplifier:

• Pick your shaker by name under Output > Device, not the Windows default, so an unplugged shaker never sends the effects to your speakers.
• OpenShaker plays on the left channel only, like HaptiConnect. For a shaker on the right side of an amplifier, pick Right under Advanced... > Output channel. For two shakers on one stereo amplifier, pick Both: they get the same signal.
• The levels were calibrated on a ButtKicker PRO, so start with the amplifier turned down. Press Test tone (about as strong as the hardest hits in a game) and turn up until it feels firm but never clatters. Normal driving is quieter than that.
• OpenShaker shares the output with other apps; it never locks them out.

More in Shakers, amplifiers and channels. If you try it on another shaker or amplifier, please tell us how it feels: those reports are how the tested list grows.

What about SimHub?

SimHub can drive bass shakers too, with its ShakeIt module, for the other games here, and it does much more: dashboards, motion rigs, wind and LEDs. OpenShaker is a small program that does one thing: it feels like HaptiConnect straight away, with presets tuned against HaptiConnect's own output, so there is nothing to set up. It also supports Trackmania (2020), which SimHub's list of supported games doesn't include (it lists Trackmania 2 and Trackmania Turbo; checked in September 2026). If SimHub already works for you, keep using it.

Troubleshooting

"Windows protected your PC" when running the installer. The installer is not code-signed. Click More info, then Run anyway.

"output device '...' is not connected". Choose your shaker under Output > Device. A USB shaker can take a moment to appear after Windows starts; OpenShaker keeps checking every 15 seconds.

"... stopped playing - unplugged or switched off?" The shaker went away while OpenShaker was using it. Plug it back in or switch it on and OpenShaker picks it up again by itself - every few seconds for the first minute, then every 15 seconds. Restart haptics (window or tray menu) tries at once.

Nothing plays and the tray icon is grey. Check that Haptics on is ticked (window or tray menu). While it is off, the window says "Haptics off".

It runs, but the shaker is quiet. Try Test tone, the output channel, the Windows volume for that output, and check the amplifier is on. Restart haptics starts the audio afresh.

"cannot bind UDP 5555" (or 4444). Another program - HaptiConnect or SimHub, for example - is using that port. Close it, or move the game's telemetry to another port and enter it under Advanced....

No game detected. Check the game's setting in the table above. The window shows each game's status; BeamNG says which box is not ticked, and Trackmania says it is waiting for Data Sender until the game runs with Openplanet and the plugin.

Trackmania: "Data Sender is full". Another program is using all of the plugin's connections. In Openplanet > Settings > Data Sender > TCP Server, raise TCP max clients (8 is the default).

Trackmania: "refuses control commands". Data Sender's external control is off, so OpenShaker cannot start it. Either tick Allow external control commands on its TCP Server tab, or press Start on its General tab and tick Start service on plugin load.

The window does not open. Open %APPDATA%\OpenShaker\logs (paste it into the File Explorer address bar) and look at gui_error.log. To start over with default settings, quit OpenShaker and delete %APPDATA%\OpenShaker\config.json.

How it was built

What the app does, in plain words:

• It listens to the games. Forza, BeamNG.drive and Trackmania (through the Openplanet plugin) can send live data (speed, rpm, gear, g-forces, wheel slip, suspension) to another program on the PC; Assetto Corsa EVO shares it in memory. OpenShaker reads each game's own format and turns it into one common set of numbers.
• It turns numbers into low-frequency sound. Each effect - engine, gear shift, bumps, kerbs, crashes, acceleration, wheel lock and slip, ABS, shift light - is a small synthesizer driven by those numbers. Their sum is played to the shaker, which is simply an audio device to Windows.
• It was tuned against HaptiConnect. HaptiConnect, the ButtKicker's own software, has not been updated since version 2.7.0 (June 2025): it has no Forza Horizon 6 plugin, its Assetto Corsa EVO plugin stopped receiving data when the game renamed its telemetry, and in the maintainer's experience its timing was unreliable - on Forza Horizon 5 the delay was sometimes random, and on Forza Motorsport it drifted over a session (details). Its feel was still the reference, so its output on real laps was recorded, the same laps were replayed through OpenShaker, and the effect levels were fitted until both matched. The short hits - gear shifts, crashes, bumps - and the kerb buzz are generated from a few measured numbers, so no recorded audio is included. Over eight Forza Motorsport laps the overall level is within 0.4 dB of HaptiConnect, including two laps left out of the fitting (-0.4 and -0.2 dB). Assetto Corsa EVO is within 0.5 dB of HaptiConnect's own ACE plugin (scored at one copy's level; the recordings likely hold HaptiConnect's output twice), and BeamNG.drive within 0.6 dB on two drives, as strong as HaptiConnect's BeamNG preset. On Forza Horizon every effect that plays on these laps was measured against HaptiConnect (braking could not be isolated, and the game never reported ABS), but laps play 0 to 1.3 dB quieter until its acceleration and road-rumble sounds are reproduced exactly. How it was tuned: docs/HOW_IT_WAS_TUNED.md.

For developers

Run from source (Python 3.10 or newer; tested with 3.13):

py -3 -m venv .venv

.venv\Scripts\python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

.venv\Scripts\python openshaker\app.pyw

.venv\Scripts\python -m openshaker --help lists the command line (--list-devices, --demo, -v, ...). A source copy uses the same settings folder and Start with Windows entry as an installed copy, and adds an "OpenShaker" Start menu entry on its first start unless one exists already. If you turn on Start with Windows from a source copy and a console window opens at login, the venv's pythonw.exe is a launcher stub; .venv\Scripts\python -m openshaker.autostart repair fixes it. OpenShaker.exe --quit (from source: .venv\Scripts\python -m openshaker.gui --quit) closes a running copy, for example before a script that needs the game's telemetry ports.

Tests:

.venv\Scripts\python -m unittest discover -s tests

Build the installer: install 64-bit Python 3.13 (the version the pinned packages were made with; the build refuses any other) and Inno Setup 6, then run installer\build.bat. It makes a clean build environment with the pinned versions in installer/constraints.txt, regenerates installer/THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt, bundles the app with PyInstaller (installer/OpenShaker.spec) and compiles installer/OpenShaker.iss into dist\OpenShaker-Setup-<version>.exe.

More: docs/DEVELOPMENT.md (how the code fits together) and docs/CALIBRATION.md (recording, fitting and tuning tools; they need docs/requirements-dev.txt).

Disclaimer and license

OpenShaker is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or supported by The Guitammer Company (ButtKicker, HaptiConnect), Microsoft (Forza, Xbox, Windows), Kunos Simulazioni (Assetto Corsa), BeamNG GmbH (BeamNG.drive), Nadeo or Ubisoft (Trackmania), Valve (Steam), Openplanet, the author of the Openplanet Data Sender plugin, SimHub, Anthropic, or any other game, software, shaker or amplifier maker named here; all product names are trademarks of their owners. Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, is credited as co-author for the work it did; Anthropic does not publish or support OpenShaker.

Released under the MIT License - see LICENSE. The installed program also contains open-source components under their own licences, listed with their full texts in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt.