Playing a serious flight or driving sim
with a keyboard is a crime punishable by 50 hours of manning the combine
harvester in Farming Simulator 2013. Racers require a decent wheel and pedal
setup, while pilots should get their hands on a stick and throttle, with a set
of rudder pedals if their budget can stretch that far. We swoop in identify a
broad selection that will appeal to novices and veterans alike.
Logitech G940
Is this museum piece still going strong?
Price: $399
The G940 HOTAS (ands on Throttle and Stick)
joystick has been around for years, and it’s lasted this long as it’s so damn
good. For the price, you get the whole kit and caboodle: a joystick, split
throttle and pedals. Best of all, it’s a force feedback, stick, which makes
flying aircraft so much easier thanks to the extra information conveyed via
your sense of touch.
An
excellent mid-range joystick, throttle and pedal combination for virtual
mavericks.
The kit is built out of heavy black
plastic; solid, but not quite up to the same league as the metal heavyweights
of the slimming world. The entire kit connects via a single USB plug, with the
throttle and pedals joined to the base of the joystick. It’s absolutely
festooned in buttons, and a three-way shifter makes it possible to map up to
three commands to each button, tripling the total number of supported commands.
The included Logitech profiler software makes it fairly simple, though we
always recommend using the in-game software where possible. Force feedback is
powerful without being daunting; in both Rise of Flight and War Thunder,
oncoming stalls were easy to detect as the joystick would start to slacken,
giving us a real edge over non-force feedback pilots. It’s a little “notchy”
though; as the cog-based system employed means it’s possible to feel the teeth
on each cog biting. But if you’re looking for a mid-range flight controller,
you could do a whole lot worse than the G940.
·
Well-build
·
Includes everything you need
·
Force-Feeback
·
Profiler software could be easier
·
A little expensive for a plastic kit
Verdict: 8/10
An excellent mid-range joystick, throttle
and pedal combination for virtual mavericks.
NaturalPoint TrackIR 5 Pro
A must for serious simmers
Price: $160
Looking like the world’s most overpriced
webcam; the TrackIR is a small infrared camera which records the position of a
special hat worn by the player (a chip that attaches to headsets can also be
purchased separately). It then tracks head movement, checking to see if the
player is looking left, right, up, or down, as well as the head position if
front of the camera.
This is then interpreted by the game as
your avatar’s head movement. However, you don’t need to look backwards to check
your six, as it magnifies head movement depending on how you configure the
software. Peek left a few centimeters to check your nine o’clock, or look a
little further to check your six. In games that support all six axis of
movement, it’s possible to look around canopy struts, or even lean out of the
cockpit and look down towards the ground.
NaturalPoint
TrackIR 5 Pro
Also usable in most Racing Sims, not to
mention the ARMA series, this device is an absolute godsend. It gives the
player a massive boost in situational awareness, and once you’ve flown or
driven with it you’ll never know how you made do before. The only issue is that
it’s a little tricky to setup in the first place, as most users will not be
familiar with the intricacies of head tracking, but the fantastic interface
helps as much as possible. A must for any serious simmer.
·
Huge boost to situational awareness
·
Almost like VR
·
Cheap
·
TrackClip is fragile
·
Doesn’t work with most USB hubs
Verdict: 10/10
A must for pilots and also damned handy for
drivers, the TrackIR 5 Pro really puts you in the game.
Fanatic ClubSport Wheel Base and Wheel Rims
As real as it gets
Price: $589.95 (wheel base), $329.95 (BWM
rim), $239.95 (formula Rim)
Fanatic is a small German company making
and selling boutique racing hardware, and it’s known as some of the best
simming equipment available. Until recently, it has been a nightmare to buy
Fanatic gear down under, but the company’s incredible reputation has seen Aussie
simmers importing their products from around the globe. Fanatic has finally
launched an Aussie store; perfect timing for the recent release of its latest
product – the ClubSport Wheel Base and accompanying rims. Costing over $1,100
for the base plus two rims, it’s one of the most expensive pieces of simming
hardware we’ve ever seen. Is it worth the price?
Most
other wheels use a cog system that has a “notchy” feel to it as a result of the
teeth on the cogs used, but the belt system here means that feedback feels
perfectly smooth and realistic
The base comes without any wheels, and
contains the belt drive system that delivers force feedback. Most other wheels
use a cog system that has a “notchy” feel to it as a result of the teeth on the
cogs used, but the belt system here means that feedback feels perfectly smooth
and realistic. The 120W motor is more than enough to simulate the heavy force
felt by drivers, and using it for an endure-race with full force feedback will
easily equal a decent workout at the gym. This brute force is accompanied by
the ability to render extremely detailed tactile feedback, making every bump
and groove in the course come alive through the wheel. A clear window on the
top shows off the sophisticated hardware within, while the rugged machined
aluminum base feels sturdy enough to handle years of racing. A huge cooling fan
remains whisper quiet even during lengthy racing sessions. Testing it with
iRacing, which has arguably the finest force feedback in the genre, we were
blown away at how much extra detail we could feel in the track compared to
every other racing wheel on the market.
The
large BMW M3 GT2 wheel snaps on in about 5 seconds, and is built to the same
exacting specifications as the base
The base doesn’t include a steering wheel,
instead using a quick release mechanism to attach either of the two wheels that
will cost extra. The large BMW M3 GT2 wheel snaps on in about 5 seconds, and is
built to the same exacting specifications as the base. It looks and feels
identical to the real world wheel, right down to the aluminum shifter paddles.
An LED screen in the center displays the selected gear as well as other
pertinent information, while a row of bright LED lights indicate the optimal
shifting time. Over ten buttons and two analogue sticks are included, not to
mention a rotating stick that can be used to set brake bias or other in-car
adjustments.
The formula rim is a much smaller wheel,
which accounts for its lower price tag, but uses the same beautiful Alacantara
leather as the BMW rim. Once again, we see over ten buttons as well as the same
sticks employed on eth BMW rim, not to mention the LED screen and lights. The
Formula rim allows for much firmer feedback, as its lighter mass transmits more
of the base’s engine power to the user’s arms. It’s also more precise, and we
found it much easier to control the car with eth formula rim.
The
Formula rim allows for much firmer feedback, as its lighter mass transmits more
of the base’s engine power to the user’s arms
It might cost more than a budget gaming PC,
but for serious simmers the new Fanatec base and rims are much more affordable
than a real racing track day. Fanatec’s past reputation of questionable
reliability appears to have been resolved with this build quality resembling a
Sherman tank, while the feature-set and fidelity is second to none. It simply
blows away anything else on the market, but you will pay accordingly for such
high quality.
·
Built to last
·
Strong motors
·
Rich feedback detail
·
Pricey
·
No pedals or gear shifter included
Verdict: 10/10
The new Fanatec ClubSport Wheel Base and
Rims are simply the best in this price range, bar none. No wonder the Aussie
store has sold out already.
