Big Takeover
Member
I bought a Speed Wheel today, and got to try it for about 30 minutes. It's pretty cool.
The misconception about this thing is amazing. The worst thing Microsoft could have done was to put "wheel" in the name. It's not a wheel, it's a controller. Think of it as that, and it's much easier to get your head around it. If you insist on comparing it to a proper wheel, you're totally missing the point.
Anyway, I quickly fired up F1 2011, and the Forza 3 demo (sold my retail copy last week. I'll never go back to it once 4 is out). Both worked well. I did a handful of laps with no TC/TCS/etc. It took about 2 laps to get used to it, but after that it was smooth sailing. I was so impressed with how precise it was. You don't feel like your guessing at all. As precise as a controller though? Close. Very close. Granted, it's 20 minutes vs. 12 years or whatever of sticks. I'll need more time to really say for sure if it's completely on par.
I think there could be some real benefits to anyone who struggles with the genre. The extra input range of motion can certainly help to smooth things out. That's not important to me though. Is it fun to use? Yes. If nothing else, it's a new challenge on a cool piece of tech. I'm looking forward to try and master it.
A couple of quick things:
- Interestingly, in F1 '11 the steering wheel settings which were locked when using a controller are now open when using the SW. The 360 must just treat it like the ffb wheel.
- No, it doesn't have shoulder buttons. No, it doesn't have a headphone jack either. Dumb moves, tbh.
- I did mange to run F1 '11 with manual gears, but it was cranky about some inputs not being mapped. This happens is because there aren't enough buttons without shoulder buttons. I was able to do it though, and it worked fine. Even while using KERS and DRS! That makes for a serious workout for your fingers!
- Without a configuration menu in the demo, I had to use automatic gearbox in Forza.
- I tried it sitting, standing, lying on the couch. All worked equally as well. The only time I held it out in front of me was when standing. I held it like a regular controller the other times - on my lap or between my legs. It like driving a bus when sitting. It's very natural though.
Just an FYI - I currently own 3 ffb wheels including the Microsoft one. I've been playing these sims/games since Indy Car Racing II. I don't need to know it's not as good as a wheel. That said, I don't have a dedicated sim racing setup which means my gear gets stored when not in use. Anybody who happens to do the same will understand that just grabbing a controller rather than dragging all your shit out happens pretty frequently. As it looks right now, I'll certainly be grabbing the SW over the controller.
The fact that the Speed Wheel stands up well to our strictly established input methods says a lot about it. It's incredibly hard to make something truly different that can actually compete with a controller. They did it though.
The misconception about this thing is amazing. The worst thing Microsoft could have done was to put "wheel" in the name. It's not a wheel, it's a controller. Think of it as that, and it's much easier to get your head around it. If you insist on comparing it to a proper wheel, you're totally missing the point.
Anyway, I quickly fired up F1 2011, and the Forza 3 demo (sold my retail copy last week. I'll never go back to it once 4 is out). Both worked well. I did a handful of laps with no TC/TCS/etc. It took about 2 laps to get used to it, but after that it was smooth sailing. I was so impressed with how precise it was. You don't feel like your guessing at all. As precise as a controller though? Close. Very close. Granted, it's 20 minutes vs. 12 years or whatever of sticks. I'll need more time to really say for sure if it's completely on par.
I think there could be some real benefits to anyone who struggles with the genre. The extra input range of motion can certainly help to smooth things out. That's not important to me though. Is it fun to use? Yes. If nothing else, it's a new challenge on a cool piece of tech. I'm looking forward to try and master it.
A couple of quick things:
- Interestingly, in F1 '11 the steering wheel settings which were locked when using a controller are now open when using the SW. The 360 must just treat it like the ffb wheel.
- No, it doesn't have shoulder buttons. No, it doesn't have a headphone jack either. Dumb moves, tbh.
- I did mange to run F1 '11 with manual gears, but it was cranky about some inputs not being mapped. This happens is because there aren't enough buttons without shoulder buttons. I was able to do it though, and it worked fine. Even while using KERS and DRS! That makes for a serious workout for your fingers!
- Without a configuration menu in the demo, I had to use automatic gearbox in Forza.
- I tried it sitting, standing, lying on the couch. All worked equally as well. The only time I held it out in front of me was when standing. I held it like a regular controller the other times - on my lap or between my legs. It like driving a bus when sitting. It's very natural though.
Just an FYI - I currently own 3 ffb wheels including the Microsoft one. I've been playing these sims/games since Indy Car Racing II. I don't need to know it's not as good as a wheel. That said, I don't have a dedicated sim racing setup which means my gear gets stored when not in use. Anybody who happens to do the same will understand that just grabbing a controller rather than dragging all your shit out happens pretty frequently. As it looks right now, I'll certainly be grabbing the SW over the controller.
The fact that the Speed Wheel stands up well to our strictly established input methods says a lot about it. It's incredibly hard to make something truly different that can actually compete with a controller. They did it though.
