Heya gang.
I too am a FF devotee.
For a WWII sim I find it almost a must, though with many modern jet sims that simulate fly-by-wire aircraft it is just a pain since it is either has too much or too little resistance. That's when to use a good stand by stick.
I have SIMPED-vario pedals that work with my MS Sidewinder FF Pro. Actually I just published a
review of them on Dogfighter.com for those that might be interested.
Another thing to bear in mind: while CH Products no longer makes a FF stick, Logitech does, and it's USB. That means you can still use your analogue controllers (pedals and a throttle, for instance) plugged into a gameport for games that support DirectX 6 or higher and allow multiple controllers. Before you ask,
yes Aces High does allow this.
The magic ingredients are Win98 or greater, a motherboard that has a USB port, and a game that supports multiple controllers.
For those that simply must have the Force Feedback Pro, fear not! I just got back from Microsoft where I got a good look at what's planned for the fall, and that includes a Force Feedback Pro 2 which will have USB connectivity. Alternatively, you can keep the old FF Pro and get USB pedals and Suncom's USB throttle slated for this summer.
For now, though, I have used the SIMPED-vario pedals with a Suncom SFS Throttle and the Logitech Wingman Force (USB) in Aces High and it is a real treat -- it is great fun to push forward on a big beefy (dual!) throttle, too bad there is no FF. This HOTAS setup would work with FF if HTC would provide the support.
The only reason I don't keep it hooked up all the time is that for WB and other games that don't support multiple controllers it becomes problematic -- if AH gets FF support soon then I will likely just keep it plugged in!
Cheers,
phaetn
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Gian "phaetn" Vitzthum
Managing Editor
Dogfighter.com
