There are many threads in this forum that discuss various problems with the driving mechanics in this game. Just search for "driving" and you'll see what I mean.
It seems to me like the game was meant to be played with a keyboard and mouse (k/m), with its typical shooter mechanics. And yet, the driving mechanics are not k/m friendly at all! Let's face it, driving (steering, accelerating, decelerating) are analogue actions, but keyboards are mostly digital (excluding these new keyboards with analogue keys). The only analogue input is the mouse. So let's use it as such when driving.
It seems to me like the game was meant to be played with a keyboard and mouse (k/m), with its typical shooter mechanics. And yet, the driving mechanics are not k/m friendly at all! Let's face it, driving (steering, accelerating, decelerating) are analogue actions, but keyboards are mostly digital (excluding these new keyboards with analogue keys). The only analogue input is the mouse. So let's use it as such when driving.
- Implement an optional "mouse steer", where the keyboard would be used only to accelerate and decelerate. The mouse would no longer control the camera per se but instead control the precise direction the front wheels pointed, and the camera would always point in line with the front wheels (or at a reflected angle if the rear wheels are the ones that turn, or when driving backwards). The camera height would be fixed but could be changed by the [change camera] key. The user would then be free to map the [move left] or [move right] keys (or any other key) to a "free look" action, where the mouse would control the camera as it does while driving under v1.5, and the vehicle would not be able to be steered while performing this action.
- Instead of coasting and gradually losing speed when the [move forward] or [move backward] key is no longer being pressed, just maintain the current speed. In this sense, the [move forward] and [move backward] keys would tell the game to accelerate / decelerate more, where the longer each key press, the greater the magnitude of the action.
- As many others have suggested, have separate key bindings for decelerate / brake and reverse. Otherwise, add a forward / reverse toggle key.
- Implement an optional "auto steer" or "steer assist", where the keyboard would be used to accelerate / decelerate as above, the mouse would control a free look camera as is currently implemented, the vehicle would automatically maintain a center position in a lane, and the [move left] and [move right] keys would be used to change lanes or turn, if one is already in the proper turn lane and a turn is available. While off road, the [move left] and [move right] keys would steer the vehicle as they currently do in v1.5.
- Implement an auto drive toggle. The AI / programming is clearly already there, as demonstrated by the accurate path-finding on the map and in the game world, and because NPCs and the vehicles themselves already can do this. The destination would be whatever marker on the map is selected. Optionally (because there can be more than one marker selected at one time), implement another type of marker selection that is specific to driving.