rec.autos.simulators

Thank you,
Jason Whorton

--
Sebastien TIXIER - Game Developer
Dynamics and Car Physics
http://www.eden-studios.fr
GPLRank Normal:-44.24 Monster:-124.44

I like my Act Labs Force RS.  The wheel is great, very strong force
feedback.  Nice faux-leather wheel cover, plenty of buttons.  Only
complaint is that it is still quite notchy feeling.  And the motor
brushes still sqeak.  The stock pedals are pretty bad.  They have some
new pedals which are supposed to be better, but they cost extra.
There are some tweaks you can do to the stock pedals which make them
better too.  In spite of all this, I haven't tried any wheel that even
comes close to how this one feels.  The pedals... well they are an
acquired taste, I guess.

The only other wheel I have been able to do any extended comparison
with is the MS Force Feedback.  It has much better pedals, but the
wheel is not as nice.  Forces nowhere near as strong as the Act Labs,
and construction doesn't seem as solid.

I don't have any experience with Logitech wheels.

HTH,
Gerald Moore

www.thomas-superwheel.com

Regards,
Phillip

Except for Force Feedback, maybe!     ;)

Lol SpeedFreek (who can't drive without FF anymore)

Jan.
=---
"Pay attention when I'm talking to you boy!" -Foghorn Leghorn.

Why do people always praise wheels (not picking on you, you're hardly
the only one, and I'm not criticising either, just curious) by saying
things like "strong force feedback".  I generally don't want it to be
particularly strong, and if it is, I try to adjust it down.  What's so
great about strong force feedback?

How long have you had it?  They say it smooths out with use, right?
I got a LWFF and hated it.  Extreme notchiness was one of the reasons.
I can't stand that.

    Marc

Just stay away from Thrustmaster.

MOMO is a better wheel    Wayne

Get a TSW2. It's more expensive but you won't need or want anything else
after getting one ...

Get the MOMO, it's worth the price difference. I can wholeheartedly
recommend it.

    Perhaps I should have been more specific in my question, as I am only
looking to spend mo' money, not MOMO money.  I am looking for "a" wheel, not
"the" wheel.  I will only be trying to use it with CMR1 + 2 and Lego Racers
1 + 2 (insert joke here).  I was initially looking the cheap yellow wheel
from LogiTech, but after discovering this newsgroup, I thought it would be
better to get one with force feedback.
    Also, can someone further explain what a "notchy" feeling wheel is?  Is
the MOMO $100+ better than the standard red one?  If so, why?  Thanks in
advance for any further help.

Sincerely,
Jason Whorton

If you want a FF wheel but don't want to pay for the MOMO, I would recommend
the Microsoft Sidewinder FF wheel rather than the cheaper Logitech. Logi
used to make a very good wheel using a cable system for the FF, but they
discontinued "old red" and introduced the cheap, light, plasticy new red
wheel which uses a gearing system for its FF.

Its the gearing system that causes the "notchy" feel. The current Logi red
wheel, the MSFF wheel and the MOMO use this system. Lots of people rate the
MSFF as a good wheel and lots of people dont like the cheaper Logi FF wheel.
The MOMO seems to use higher quality materials and so seems to merit the
extra cost. (The words of a man who doesn't want to get blamed for a bad
purchase, if ever I heard them! - Ed)

The only downside to the MSFF is it needs a little more CPU power to run the
FF than the logitech units. I can't comment on any other wheels, as I have
only ever tried these three.

Lol SpeedFreek

http://us.thrustmaster.com/community/forum/index.php3?pg=forumpg&foru...

Many, many very unhappy people.

I am considering reformatting my hard drive and reinstalling Windows
to see if I can get my wheel back in working order, and I consider
that a pretty bad piece of hardware that can push you into that
corner.

As far as the wheel itself its pretty good, I picked it out initially
because I knew the TM name from flight simming years ago and also
because it had the most buttons.  However the 2 4-way hat switches
that differentiate it here are too sloppy to be of much use, so I've
ended up moving everything except for a couple of buttons to my Game
Commander (voice control) software.

If I had read this newsgroup before I made my purchase I would have
bought the ACT Labs wheel (it looks great, too!), or this new MOMO
wheel which also sounds promising.  Also I've visited the TSW2 site
and that is the 3rd strong contender I think.  I hope to get one of
those 3 wheels next year when I can afford it.

Right now the Thrustmaster Wheel is simply not working and I can't
race, and thus:  Just stay away from Thrustmaster.

Y.Minami

The thing about it being able to transmit such strong forces is that
it makes it easier for it to convey softer and more subtle effects
much more convincingly.

Every other wheel I have tried feels rather mushy by comparison, with
no real sense of feedback outside of when you smack the wall.

It is better than when I first got it.  I've had it for almost 3
years, and since N4 came out, used it rather heavily.  Still notchy.
I had to replace the wheel assembly once after it broke off the
spindle.  The replacement is of a newer design and is much more
sturdy.  I only wonder if when I replaced the wheel I somehow managed
to get the belt off the worn portions, and so now am going through
another break in period.  Supposedly, there are tweaks you can do to
address the notchiness, but it's not bothering me enough to try them.

Given it's faults, it's still the best wheel I've tried.  Haven't seen
the new MOMO, but I'd love to try it.

Gerald