force feedback?

[Ogmund]

I just purchased OFF but have not received it yet. I was wondering if I should get a joystick with force feedback. I'm new to flight sims but I know that force feedback steering wheels make a huge improvement to the immersion I get in some driving games.

 

Does OFF support force feedback and if so what are your opinions on how much difference it makes in OFF?

[Rickitycrate]

I use and can recommend Logitech Wingman Force 3D. It's an old stick that I find at second hand stores including Goodwill for very cheap. Adds to immersion a lot. Recommend. Welcome to OFF: BH&H Ogmund. You are in for a great time. While waiting I suggest you read throught the stickies especially Uncleal's "Tips and Cheats" at the top of the forum page.

[HomeBoy]

In my view, the Over Flanders Fields "trinity" (aka must haves) should be in this order:

 

1. TrackIR. If you don't have this, get TrackIR5 instead of TrackIR4. It's worth the extra cost.

 

2. A forcefeedback stick (Al has mentioned the only two I know of still sold new).

 

3. ButtKicker.

 

 

OFF is such a sensual game (visual and touch) that you need tools that enhance those senses. TrackIR is discussed in geat depth here at the forum so I have nothing more to add to all that. FF is next, as Al nicely illustrates. These WW1 crates shake and vibrate like crazy. You really need to feel that in addition to feeling "the stall" before it comes. Without FF, I am not nearly as able to "ride the stall" as without it. An essential piece of gear.

 

The Butt Kicker is a device that connects to your chair and rattles the chair based on low frequency sounds coming out of your sound card. It's basically another form of forcefeedback and works really well. I bought this thing about three years ago for about $60 and never really used it much until I began playing OFF. Let me tell you, when you bring that Spud around for landing and pull the throttle back to idle and the stick and chair are both rumbling, it is a fantastic experience! I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on one of these things but if you can get one for under $100 it's definitely worth it.

[Rickitycrate]

Quote Homeboy: The Butt Kicker is a device that connects to your chair and rattles the chair based on low frequency sounds coming out of your sound card. It's basically another form of forcefeedback and works really well. I bought this thing about three years ago for about $60 and never really used it much until I began playing OFF. Let me tell you, when you bring that Spud around for landing and pull the throttle back to idle and the stick and chair are both rumbling, it is a fantastic experience! I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on one of these things but if you can get one for under $100 it's definitely worth it.

 

I agree Homeboy. I don't have a Buttkicker but I use a gaming chair, much the same thing, and I feel like I'm sitting in my crate feeling the rpms of the engine in my back, butt and legs. I feel archie going off around me too. Just picked up a set of rudder pedals and when I get that sorted out I'll have a very nice virtual cockpit.

[Duce Lewis]

Sounds like a nice set-up Rick

 

Ogmund,

The guys are right

FFB really helps in OFF

 

TrackIR is a really big plus too

Here's the link: http://www.naturalpoint.com/

 

Try using the forum search for FFB

This subject has been covered many times so there's a lot of good info

 

HTH,

[Ogmund]

Thanks for all the feedback gents. I did do a forum search but got nothing at all for "FFB" and tons of random, unrelated threads for "force feedback".

 

I ordered a Saitek Cyborg Evo Force joystick from Amazon at $61. It looks painfully wrong for a WWI fighter but as others have mentioned there aren't many choices.

 

TrackIr 5 is available from PC Aviator for $135.

 

Buttkicker was listed as "out of stock" or "no longer available" everywhere I looked. But I did find a similar shaker coil and amplifier on Amazon which should work just as well.

[themightysrc]

A little late to the feast but nonetheless...

 

Having consulted with the sage characters who inhabit this forum, I finally got hold of a Microsoft Sidewinder 2 FFB stick, and I wish I'd done it years ago (when I didn't even know what FFB was!).

 

It's made - in a very short time - quite a difference to how I 'fly'. I was immediately caught out prior to take off, as with a non-FFB stick you can more or less let the revs build, the ground roll by, and, with some correction for torque effects, lift off without a hitch.

 

This damn thing immediately started shaking like a jackhammer as I began to roll under power - not at all what I'd been expecting! And, obviously, once in flight you become so much more aware of the stresses on the plane, and the infamous pre-stall 'death rattle' is immensely useful to ensure that you don't plummet to your doom, as well as making you fly your aircraft more sensitively and efficiently.

 

So, let's hear it for FFB - if you haven't got one: get one. Number two purchase after the even more vital TrackIR.

 

My 2d!

Edited July 3, 2009 by themightysrc