My experience is exactly the opposite. I had a plastic non-FF wheel
then "upgraded" to one of the heavy, steel, high school shop class
wheels and was very disappointed.
Fortunately, the manufacturer lived up to their satisfaction guarantee
so I got a refund and bought a LWFF wheel. The difference is
unbelievable.
At first it was not "very cool", it took some getting used to, and a
lot of tweaking of the settings (thanks Alison) to get it to feel
right. Now I wouldn't trade my LWFF for even a hyperstimulator if the
hyperstim didn't have FF.
If you just download your setups off the internet and run hotlaps, then
a standard wheel might be the best choice. But for feeling what the car
is doing in order to make changes, or when required to run the
unpreferred line in traffic, FF is the way to go IMHO.
> My experience with FF is that it's VERY cool at first, and then -- for
> me -- it becomes just a gimmicky distraction. I appreciate a
> solid-feeling controller -- if the wheel in my hands doesn't feel like
> it's as sturdy as the wheel in my car, then it feels like a toy for
me,
> and this is where EVERY FF wheel I've laid hands on comes up short.
The
> TSW and TSW2 wheels feel like they could have been pulled from a real
> car -- I can lean on them, pound on them in frustration, and even prop
> my feet on them without having to worry about how delicate they are.
> THIS is my #1 grip against FF wheels at this point, and it may
> contribute to my feeling that FF is just a gimmick at this point.
> I will say that I haven't yet tried FF with GPL, but based on my
> experiences with Viper (EXCELLENT FF), SCGT (mediocre), and NFS
> (mediocre driving simulation to begin with), I remain unimpressed with
> FF at this point -- enough so that I haven't felt it worth my while to
> see what all the fuss is about GPL. I "feel" enough through the
visual
> interface, and the leather-and-suede wrapped steering wheel on my TSW2
> feels plenty real enough in GPL for me.
> I think the bottom line is that anybody who is thinking about buying a
> FF wheel should try one out at great length before they buy, lest they
> find themselves suffering buyer's remorse early on, then knocking on
> TSW's or ECCI's door a year or so down the road when the plastic wears
> thin. <G>
> Just my $0.02.
> -- JB
> > I've had a TSW for about 2 years now, and it's a great wheel.
> However, Allison's
> > site also convinced me to try a LWFF, which I just got a few days
ago.
> > My impressions? Excellent. Although I haven't gotten time to tweak
> the FF
> > settings yet, I can already see how they add to the whole
experience.
> The LWFF
> > wheel has a nice feel to it, and I don't find the pedals as bad as
> some say
> > (although the TSW pedals are vastly superior).
> > Unfortunately, I'm running Win95, so right now USB installation for
> the LWFF isn't
> > an option for me. However, I haven't noticed any framerate hit by
> using the LWFF
> > and the serial port.
> > One caveat if you're running Win95 and want to install this wheel
(and
> this may
> > only have applied to my funky system) -- installation was a PAIN
until
> I got very
> > good help from www.wingmanteam.com. In fact, I just got the FF to
> work for the
> > first time last night (although when I just booted now, the LWFF
> didn't fire up --
> > I'll have to investigate).
> > I guess the bottom line of what I'm saying is the LWFF really
> impressed me when it
> > works. I think an ideal combo would be LWFF wheel on USB, and TSW
> pedals thru the
> > gameport (if that would even work...).
> > Hope this helps.
> > > I'm thinking of a steering wheel upgrade and wonder whether it'd
be
> better to
> > > invest in a force feedback wheel (LWFF, preferably) or a sturdy
and
> smooth, but
> > > passive Thomas wheel. I've thought mainly of getting the TSW, but
> Allison Hine
> > > and many others say force feedback really enhances GPL and gives a
> better sense
> > > of what's happening. I'll use the wheel mainly with GPL, Papyrus'
> NASCAR sims,
> > > and a little Viper Racing. Also, I'm planning on either Thomas or
> Redline
> > > (http://www.wave.co.nz/pages/lakewood/Redline2.htm) pedals so the
> ones included
> > > with the LWFF won't be a factor.
> > > --
> > > -----------------------------------
> > > Morgan Vincent Wooten
> > > http://members.tripod.com/~morganv/
> > > -----------------------------------
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Before you buy.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
