I was at Best Buy last night and ran across this new product from
Saitek that I hadn't heard anything about -- it's called the Saitek
Action Pad, and it seems quite similar to the Microsoft Sidewinder
Strategic Commander in that it has many programmable buttons, but the
pricetag was considerably lower ($29 for the Saitek Action Pad vs. $49
for the Microsoft Strategic Commander).
They had both the Saitek and Microsoft controllers out on display, so I
was able to do some "touchy-feely" hands-on stuff with the buttons and
such, and although they are distinctly different devices, they do seem
like they serve similar functions. I've been interested in something
like this to supplement my TSW2 wheel, which lacks any additional
buttons at all besides the shifter, and it's nice to have a handy
button to push to adjust brake bias, request pit stops, pause, etc.
I'm currently making do with my wife's Logitech Wingman gamepad with a
custom profile that I created for F1 2000 controls; I kind of have it
perched on my desk near my mouse while I'm driving, and even though
it's a bit of a reach, it's still easier and more intuitive than
finding the right keys on a keyboard in the middle of the race.
These two new programmable controllers from Microsoft or Saitek seem
like they might be an ideal solution for my needs -- the Saitek in
general looks VERY intriguing to me, based on the price and large, well-
placed buttons (the Microsoft controller seems to be designed to fit
your hand more like a mouse, while the Saitek controller seems like it
might serve well as a "reach-for" device in addition to a "hands-on"
mouse-like controller).
Check out the Saitek Action Pad for yourself:
http://www.saitekusa.com/uk/act.htm
I haven't found any reviews yet, but just based on what I saw and felt
in the store, this one's going on my Christmas list now. You can find
Uncle Goy's review of the Microsoft controller here:
http://www.theuspits.com/reviews/stratcom.html
Enjoy!
-- JB
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
I have 3 of them, and I love them. I play a lot of FPS games, and
this pad kept me going when tendonitis just about knocked me out on
the keyboard. One of the good things about it is that it is a
keyboard emulator, as well as a joystick emulator. You can pick up
specific key commands easily using the setup software (well, easily
once you get the knack of it, there are GM2 setups online at Saitek's
website that you can hack). I don't know if you can run a wheel and
the GM2 together.
The mouse is crap. I read a lot of reviews on this thing before
buying it (and then only after it went to 35.99). They are about
50-50 love hate. You either love this or hate it. For shooters, I
really like it, for Mechwarrior I think it's great.
I bought one at 35.99 for me, the other at 25.99 for the kid (has to
have what the old man uses) and the last for 15.60 (show model). If
you don't play FPS, I can't imagine wanting one. The application
you're talking about, if it works, might be worth it because your hand
just falls on it in the right spot, and you can get 12 keys out of it
(it has a shift).
On Tue, 28 Nov 2000 15:34:33 GMT, [email hidden] wrote:
