MSFT product is very new and the Thrustmaster product isn't quite on
shelves yet, but I'm getting ready to build a Sim and wanted to do
research before buying a wheel.
Marc Plante
Marc Plante
On the positive side, the wheel felt precise. It calibrated in GPL
without the high-freq jittering at center I have with my other sticks. I
tried for all of an hour, and never got to used to it. One other
problem: I had to remove my desk center drawer to find a place to clamp
the wheel. However, the s***tie pedals, more than anything else, make
this unusable. I can live with most of the other deficiencies.
Giving up in disgust, I dusted off the old TM GP1. In generic mode, I
find the paddles usable as a clutch. With the CH pedals, brake and gas
are separated with a flip of a switch, and all is well again. (Use a TM
dongle thingee between the GP1 and the pedals.) Except I'm now back
where I started 3 weeks ago: the GP1 is mechanically sloppy around
center, leading to the original gyrations with an UltraRacer, and most
recently, a relic CH Mach III. (I think that's the model number. Do they
still make them? Would love to pick up a fresh one.)
I'm thinking of butchering a Futaba RC car transmitter next. I have a
3PJ that works great on the real thing, but the rf interface I have
doesn't support buttons (2 channel interface; don't expect buttons). The
combo works with the pedals, and the trigger would make a nice clutch.
The lack of buttons for shifting is the most vexing problem with that
setup.
Michael.
> Have there bee nany comparative reviews of FF wheels? I know that the
> MSFT product is very new and the Thrustmaster product isn't quite on
> shelves yet, but I'm getting ready to build a Sim and wanted to do
> research before buying a wheel.
> Marc Plante
>On the positive side, the wheel felt precise. It calibrated in GPL
>without the high-freq jittering at center I have with my other sticks. I
>tried for all of an hour, and never got to used to it. One other
>problem: I had to remove my desk center drawer to find a place to clamp
>the wheel. However, the s***tie pedals, more than anything else, make
>this unusable. I can live with most of the other deficiencies.
>Giving up in disgust, I dusted off the old TM GP1. In generic mode, I
>find the paddles usable as a clutch. With the CH pedals, brake and gas
>are separated with a flip of a switch, and all is well again. (Use a TM
>dongle thingee between the GP1 and the pedals.) Except I'm now back
>where I started 3 weeks ago: the GP1 is mechanically sloppy around
>center, leading to the original gyrations with an UltraRacer, and most
>recently, a relic CH Mach III. (I think that's the model number. Do they
>still make them? Would love to pick up a fresh one.)
>I'm thinking of butchering a Futaba RC car transmitter next. I have a
>3PJ that works great on the real thing, but the rf interface I have
>doesn't support buttons (2 channel interface; don't expect buttons). The
>combo works with the pedals, and the trigger would make a nice clutch.
>The lack of buttons for shifting is the most vexing problem with that
>setup.
>Michael.
>> Have there bee nany comparative reviews of FF wheels? I know that the
>> MSFT product is very new and the Thrustmaster product isn't quite on
>> shelves yet, but I'm getting ready to build a Sim and wanted to do
>> research before buying a wheel.
>> Marc Plante
Now you have my $0.02...
- John P. Wilson :|:
- Downshift http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/1123/index.html
- Ten Cylinders, Six Gears, Four Wheels, Two Wings, and one Brave Heart.
How about the trigger to shift, assuming it has "out" for braking at the
moment.
I had thought of using my old RC control....but I think I'll save for a real
wheel
Ben
As to the pedals sliding on the floor, I had the same problem with the T2
pedals (actually the T2 was worse). I solved it by placing a piece of wood
(8 to 10 inches wide by maybe 18 inches long) between the back of the pedal
unit and the wall. Works like a charm, but only if your computer backs up to
a wall of course.
What's wrong with DirectInput? Works great for me.
What do you mean by "no hope of getting a usable setup"?
For what it's worth, I really like the MS wheel. It took some getting used
to since I was ingrained with the feel of the T2, but I love it now. The MS
wheel feels slightly "grainy" in its movement (due interior gears I
suppose), but that didn't bother me for long. Also, the pedals don't have as
large of a range of movement as the T2 pedals, but again, I adjusted pretty
quickly. Optical readings mean no calibration or drift (thank God), and I
like the convenient buttons. The Sidewinder software is dynamite. I'm not
much into force feedback, although I tried it with MTM2 and it was kind of
fun.
The only problem I've had is getting the wheel to work with N2 (DOS in W95
shell). This is being addressed by MS, but I don't know what the outcome
will be. Apparently, some people have gotten it to work without a hitch.
Jim
Joe
Joe
>The MS wheel does support separate gas and brake. Set up a "profile" using
>the Sidewinder software and make sure you hit the "settings" button in the
>profile editor. Voila, separate gas and brake is one of the options along
>with dead zone and range.
>As to the pedals sliding on the floor, I had the same problem with the T2
>pedals (actually the T2 was worse). I solved it by placing a piece of wood
>(8 to 10 inches wide by maybe 18 inches long) between the back of the pedal
>unit and the wall. Works like a charm, but only if your computer backs up to
>a wall of course.
>>The pedals plug into the back of the wheel housing, and so
>>can't be replaced with proper pedals. In GPL, the wheel is not readable
>>in Generic mode; you need DI to see the wheel at all. There's no hope of
>>getting a usable setup in GPL.
>What's wrong with DirectInput? Works great for me.
>What do you mean by "no hope of getting a usable setup"?
>For what it's worth, I really like the MS wheel. It took some getting used
>to since I was ingrained with the feel of the T2, but I love it now. The MS
>wheel feels slightly "grainy" in its movement (due interior gears I
>suppose), but that didn't bother me for long. Also, the pedals don't have as
>large of a range of movement as the T2 pedals, but again, I adjusted pretty
>quickly. Optical readings mean no calibration or drift (thank God), and I
>like the convenient buttons. The Sidewinder software is dynamite. I'm not
>much into force feedback, although I tried it with MTM2 and it was kind of
>fun.
>The only problem I've had is getting the wheel to work with N2 (DOS in W95
>shell). This is being addressed by MS, but I don't know what the outcome
>will be. Apparently, some people have gotten it to work without a hitch.
>Jim
> Jim
Bill / Amish on TEN
I don't know the in's and out's of it, but from what I understand, some
people are not having any problems with N2 while others are. I don't think
NROS would be any different than plain N2. It is a nebulous issue, but I
think it has something to do with the type of gameport/sound card you have.
I know MS is working on it. My particular issue seems to stem from the fact
that I have two sound/gameport sources: an integrated sound chip and my new
Monster Sound MX200.
My advice: if having the wheel work with DOS games within W95 is important
to you, make sure you buy it from a place that accepts returns.
Jim
--
Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.
cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com
--
Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.
cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com
>>For what it's worth, I really like the MS wheel. It took some getting used
>>to since I was ingrained with the feel of the T2, but I love it now. The
MS
>>wheel feels slightly "grainy" in its movement (due interior gears I
>>suppose), but that didn't bother me for long. Also, the pedals don't have
as
>>large of a range of movement as the T2 pedals, but again, I adjusted
pretty
>>quickly. Optical readings mean no calibration or drift (thank God), and I
>>like the convenient buttons. The Sidewinder software is dynamite. I'm not
>>much into force feedback, although I tried it with MTM2 and it was kind of
>>fun.
>I may seriously consider the Saitek wheel. They will have a
>non-force-feedback version based on the MS digital/optical technology.
>Joe
--
Kevin "Q" Quattro
VFX Animator
Foundation Imaging