I'm trying to decide between the microsoft force and non force racing wheels. I can find the non-force for about $50 and the force for $110. Do ya'll think it's worth the extra money to get the force one? Thanks
Scoob
Scoob
Force Feedback Wheel?
- Thread starter scoobydooby
- Start date
Yeah I've looked at the other brands too. I want something that's fairly small because I'm in a tiny dorm. And it looked like the thrustmaster pro 2 is too big. I read a review that said the microsoft is a bit better than the logitech gp and only a little bit more expensive. ign.com didn't like the logitech formula force gp at all. I've looked at the act labs rs wheel but don't know where to find them and for how much. Some of the games I like are Colin Mcrae 2, Driver, and other rally games mostly. I don't want to spend too much over $100 because I've never used a wheel before and don't know if its really worth all that money. Thanks for the reply
Scoob
Scoob
From everything I read about wheels and pedals (don't forget to read about how good the pedals are!), the Act-Labs is the wheel to get. Most the wheels out there have crappy pedals.
You have to order direct from Act-Labs and the page for the wheel info is Act-Labs Force RS . What is really nice about this system is you build it up as you go. Later on you can add shift, pro-pedals with clutch, etc... This wheel has the most powerful force feedback motor on the market and uses a cogged drive belt. The MS and Logitech wheels use a plastic gear drive system that I have read gives a notchy feel from the force feedback. I know that the Logitech system does not have good pedal feel to them. They are close to being on/off switchs.
If you are going to buy a force feedback wheel and can not afford the Act-Labs, save your money until you can get the Act-Labs unit.
Also, the force feedback is only as good as the game has it programed for, so it can be hit or miss on how good it is with each game.
You have to order direct from Act-Labs and the page for the wheel info is Act-Labs Force RS . What is really nice about this system is you build it up as you go. Later on you can add shift, pro-pedals with clutch, etc... This wheel has the most powerful force feedback motor on the market and uses a cogged drive belt. The MS and Logitech wheels use a plastic gear drive system that I have read gives a notchy feel from the force feedback. I know that the Logitech system does not have good pedal feel to them. They are close to being on/off switchs.
If you are going to buy a force feedback wheel and can not afford the Act-Labs, save your money until you can get the Act-Labs unit.
Also, the force feedback is only as good as the game has it programed for, so it can be hit or miss on how good it is with each game.
Ok, well I'm still leaning towards the microsoft ones because I think they're better for me in terms of price, performance, and size. But regardless, do you think it's worth the extra ~$50 for the force feedback or is it more of a gimmick? I've read a bunch of reviews that said the microsoft is a really good one and plus the rs pedals will just barely fit under my desk. Thanks for the reply
Scoob
Scoob
Hello,
I'm an avid racing/driving game player. For the money, the bump up to Forcefeed back is very worth it.
I used both the Logitech and Microsoft forcefeedback versions and they both work okay and are likely worth the $100 and under price. They have reliable quality, okay force, and adequate mounting ability. However, the don't come close to comparing to the Act-Labs version in quality, versatility, and force feedback.
If you really like driving games, I highly suggest getting the Act-Labs Force RS wheel. For the money it will highly improve the gaming experience at is worth atleast trying out. The quality is awesome: larger, usable wheel, multitude of buttons, leather-like wrapped/padded wheel, very strong force, excellent padded metal clapping system. If for some reason you don't like it then you will have no problem selling it on ebay...heck I'd consider having another for a few $ off.
The expandability is great as well. If you really enjoy it then they have a real slotted gear shifter you can add as well as a real clutch pedal system. There is nothing else like it. Not to mention you have the option of being able to use it with a Playstation, Nitendo, and I would suspect Xbox, gaming systems.
For driving/racing games there is no better investment then the Act-Labs Force RS and RS shifter.
For games: Viper Racing, Sports Car GT, All Nascar Series, Mobil 1 Rally Championship, McRae Game (not sure on name), Driver and many more coming. You can use the wheel with any racing game that has joystick input, but these titles above support Force Feedback very well and several support the RS Shifter. In addition, several of these games have been out for a while and you should be able to pick up relatively cheap. I can't wait for Gran Turismo 3 to hit the PC
You'll likely enjoy the Microsoft wheel, but then avoid coming in contact with a Act-labs wheel because you'll be kicking yourself from then on.
Good luck,
Dan
I'm an avid racing/driving game player. For the money, the bump up to Forcefeed back is very worth it.
I used both the Logitech and Microsoft forcefeedback versions and they both work okay and are likely worth the $100 and under price. They have reliable quality, okay force, and adequate mounting ability. However, the don't come close to comparing to the Act-Labs version in quality, versatility, and force feedback.
If you really like driving games, I highly suggest getting the Act-Labs Force RS wheel. For the money it will highly improve the gaming experience at is worth atleast trying out. The quality is awesome: larger, usable wheel, multitude of buttons, leather-like wrapped/padded wheel, very strong force, excellent padded metal clapping system. If for some reason you don't like it then you will have no problem selling it on ebay...heck I'd consider having another for a few $ off.
The expandability is great as well. If you really enjoy it then they have a real slotted gear shifter you can add as well as a real clutch pedal system. There is nothing else like it. Not to mention you have the option of being able to use it with a Playstation, Nitendo, and I would suspect Xbox, gaming systems.
For driving/racing games there is no better investment then the Act-Labs Force RS and RS shifter.
For games: Viper Racing, Sports Car GT, All Nascar Series, Mobil 1 Rally Championship, McRae Game (not sure on name), Driver and many more coming. You can use the wheel with any racing game that has joystick input, but these titles above support Force Feedback very well and several support the RS Shifter. In addition, several of these games have been out for a while and you should be able to pick up relatively cheap. I can't wait for Gran Turismo 3 to hit the PC
You'll likely enjoy the Microsoft wheel, but then avoid coming in contact with a Act-labs wheel because you'll be kicking yourself from then on.
Good luck,
Dan
aaahhh, now you're making my decision much harder! Well maybe I'll splurge for the actlabs one, it does sound pretty amazing and I do love cars but don't own one so I guess it would be a worth while investment. But, I want to make sure I have room for it, I have just under fifteen inches width under my desk so can you do me a big favor and measure how wide it is, pretty please??? Is gran turismo 3 really coming out on the pc??? If so I'm really excited! THANKS MUCHO for the reply. You're a BIG help!
Scoob
Well maybe I'll splurge for the actlabs one, it does sound pretty amazing and I do love cars but don't own one so I guess it would be a worth while investment. But, I want to make sure I have room for it, I have just under fifteen inches width under my desk so can you do me a big favor and measure how wide it is, pretty please??? Is gran turismo 3 really coming out on the pc??? If so I'm really excited! THANKS MUCHO for the reply. You're a BIG help!Scoob
One more question, in most of the reviews of the rs they don't like the shifter paddles. On the act-labs website they said they designed new paddles that are independent of each other. Do you have one of the newer ones? If so, do they work well? Thanks
Scoob
Scoob
I went through the same decision and went with the Act-Labs Force RS. Pricey at $154 shipped but I'm damn pleased with it. There was just a roundup at FiringSquad and they liked it and I think Anandtech did a roundup a long time ago and the Force RS won. It's also cool that you can buy cartridges (like $20) to use it on a console but I don't know if they can make a PS2 one but I'm hoping they are developing an Xbox one in case I ever get an Xbox.
I measured mine and it's like 15.25" wide. You might want to look at the AL website for exact dimensions though.
Never heard about the paddle issue. The paddles are okay. Nothing to complain about but nothing to rave about. It'd be cool to try the Shifter but it's kinda expensive and for a game like Colin McRae Rally 2, I can't drive at all with one hand. Too intense!
They have the performance pedals too with the added clutch but since I can't afford those I just bind my brake to a button on the wheel and the Shifter Utility can enable a digital clutch in games that don't support the clutch so I bind the brake pedal to a clutch. Viper Racing and a few other games that have the analog game are cool because you actually need to kinda drive it like a real manual. Like if you don't let go of clutch/press gas properly, you won't start moving like IRL. However I've only tried Viper Racing but it's not completely realistic because if it was like real life I'd be stalling everytime but it's cool nonetheless.
My favorite games are NFS Porsche Unleashed and Colin McRae Rally 2. I heard Sports Car GT is supposed to be good too evne though its a little older. There's some otehr good racing games but none that interest me (like Nascar 4, F1 2001, GPL).
I measured mine and it's like 15.25" wide. You might want to look at the AL website for exact dimensions though.
Never heard about the paddle issue. The paddles are okay. Nothing to complain about but nothing to rave about. It'd be cool to try the Shifter but it's kinda expensive and for a game like Colin McRae Rally 2, I can't drive at all with one hand. Too intense!
They have the performance pedals too with the added clutch but since I can't afford those I just bind my brake to a button on the wheel and the Shifter Utility can enable a digital clutch in games that don't support the clutch so I bind the brake pedal to a clutch.
Viper Racing and a few other games that have the analog game are cool because you actually need to kinda drive it like a real manual. Like if you don't let go of clutch/press gas properly, you won't start moving like IRL. However I've only tried Viper Racing but it's not completely realistic because if it was like real life I'd be stalling everytime but it's cool nonetheless.My favorite games are NFS Porsche Unleashed and Colin McRae Rally 2. I heard Sports Car GT is supposed to be good too evne though its a little older. There's some otehr good racing games but none that interest me (like Nascar 4, F1 2001, GPL).
Yeah I was thinking the shifter and clutch packages were a little bit too expensive and would probably annoy me since I've only driven a manual once Well, I'm about a half inch short so I'll have to move my computer to the other side of my desk to accomodate this big boy but hopefully it'll be worth it! Thanks a lot for the help!
Scoob
Well, I'm about a half inch short so I'll have to move my computer to the other side of my desk to accomodate this big boy but hopefully it'll be worth it! Thanks a lot for the help!Scoob
I just downloaded the demos for viper racing and sports car gt. Viper racing said that it doesn't run on windows nt(I have xp) and sports car gt looked absolutely horrible! I think maybe the full game looks better because I don't think ya'll would be playing it if it looked this bad!
Scoob
Scoob
Oh, well it should fit. I can't quite picture what you mean, but the wheel itself is a little over 15". However, the only thing that goes under the desks is the two clamps, which would make it about a 12" span. So you'd need a little over 15" on the top but under the desk you'd be okay with 12" or 13".
You probably have to add -nocanary to the Viper Racing command line for it to work. I had to do that to play it in win2k.
I had the SCGT demo before but I couldn't config my wheel or something (demo limitations I think) but I wouldn't expect it to be the greatest. It is an older game. Same for Viper Racing. I don't even like Viper Racing much, I just was interested in how the analog clutch worked. I guess all you can do is turn up the resolution and graphics as high as they go or paly 800x600 or so and use FSAA.
You probably have to add -nocanary to the Viper Racing command line for it to work. I had to do that to play it in win2k.
I had the SCGT demo before but I couldn't config my wheel or something (demo limitations I think) but I wouldn't expect it to be the greatest. It is an older game. Same for Viper Racing. I don't even like Viper Racing much, I just was interested in how the analog clutch worked. I guess all you can do is turn up the resolution and graphics as high as they go or paly 800x600 or so and use FSAA.
By size I meant the pedal unit. My computer is under my desk now and there is only 14.75 inches width between the computer and the desk so if the pedals are 15.25 inches like you said then I would have to move my computer out from under my desk, which wouldn't be a big deal anyways.
Scoob
Scoob
Oh, you're talking about the pedals! :disgust:
I didn't measure the pedals (I'd have to run upstairs to get the ruler) but I estimated with a piece of paper and the pedals are about 13" wide, maybe a little more. So it should just fit.
:disgust:I didn't measure the pedals (I'd have to run upstairs to get the ruler) but I estimated with a piece of paper and the pedals are about 13" wide, maybe a little more. So it should just fit.
Awesome! I think I'm all out of questions now and I think I'm gonna get the force rs so thanks a bunch!
Scoob
Scoob
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