thats I've been able to put some miles into the controller I thought I'd
write up a little 'review' about how it stacks up...
Still having the moment when the UPS delivery truck pulled up to my door
fresh in mind, I can remember my first reaction when I unpacked this thing -
it was bigger than I thought.. - which is good! Big means solid... - and
considering who many times you shift during a lap around the 'Ring - solid
is good :-)
The shifter unit comes with what I call an L-beam, which is used to secure
the shifter to the desk. Meaning you bolt the shifter to one end of the beam
and stick the rest of the beam under you controller so it get held into
place when you clamp you wheel to the desk.
Installing the USB-shifter was just a matter of plugging it in - and off we
go.. Well almost! For GPL and the other games that dont have native
support for the Shiter you haveto download and install a small utility from
ACT-LABS that allow you to use the Shifter in your favorite sim. With the
software loaded the USB-Shifter can be used in so many games (50+)that it's
probably easier to list those it wont work with!
Once on track, I must say it was actually very "weird" and strange to use
the shifter - at first! Thats really no big suprise though, I've been using
a MSFF for well over a year now.. and the switch from "paddles" to a real
stick again, is pretty big. Even though I drive a 'stick-shift' everyday -
it felt stange... but in a cool way :-) It was like I had to plan each
shift more - just like you do in real life. And that felt nice :-)
Once I got used to the shifter tho, things took a different turn... now
it's so quick and easy to use it. And at times also alot faster than the
"paddles" on the MSFF. Perhaps not in a single-seter with 7 gears and a
powerband streching for perhaps 2-3000 rpm. - but there's alot more to life
than modern day F1 :-) Rally Thropy for instance feel very cool with the
USB-shifter!
Rally-sims is probably where the shifter comes into it's own right. The
ability to jumb from 4th to 2nd or even 1st gear in one big wosh is so
handy... and with all the hairpins and junctions in these stages - it will
mean alot in terms of time.
Nascar 4 is also a sim where the shifter is real handy.. more than a few
times have I found myself loosing 1st or 2nd gear and ended up having to hit
the shift-up paddle one or 2 extra times to get into the correct gear. I
even remeber a race I did at Sears Point once... without 2nd or 3rd gear. -
you can only imagine how frustrating that was! With the USB-shifter however-
this is not a problem anymore.. Thank God! 1st to 3rd in one move.
To me the shifter feels real good and at times I can swear that just like in
a real car - when you shift at speed, the stick sort of find it's way into
the correct gear!
The only real hazzle I've found with the USB-Shifter are those [extra]
plastic shifter-plates that enable you to "blank off" slots you dont use...
The plates just keep on working loose each time I've tried them, so I
usually end up using only the cast-metal plate. Fortunatly ACT-LABS have
reacted to this problem and produced special die-cast plates for both GPL
and N4 - making the plastice plates obsolete.
Bottom line... ?
This is a real cool controller, and one that I think lots would find it
enjoyable.. especially with all these Rally-sims just around the corner. I
do however, think the RS-Shifter (or GPL-Shifter if you like) is something
that is more ejoyed by those who like sims because of the fun of it all
instead of the those who's in it for the joy of winning every competition
there is. In other word's this is a Gentleman's toy :)
--
ed_
The GPLEA
--------------------------------------
- My name is Elliott Forbes Robinson.
Spell it, please.
- E-F-R.
No, no, spell your name.
- E-F-R!!