| Act Labs Force RS Wheel by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson |
||||
|
Package Contents
ACT Labs is located in British Columbia, Canada, and is still relatively unknown in the PC hardware market. However, we reviewed their entry level programmable joystick last year (the Eaglemax) and found it to be a solid product. When ACT began development of their force feedback wheel only Microsoft had announced a similar product. But ACT took an early lead from a technology standpoint when they announced that the system would use a cartridge interface allowing cross-platform capability: PC, Playstation and N46 units. Wow! Installation Installation of recent force feedback products is smooth going. In this case, you plug in the interface cartridge, then place the wheel on your desktop and lock it down with the integrated clamps. The interface cartridge has an attached serial cable, which connects to a free comm port. Then you attach the pedals to the base, and hook up the power to the side of the interface cartridge. Plug in the rather large power supply, and you're set. Oh, by the way... PC users will have the option to upgrade to USB when ACT releases the cartridge. It's always a good idea to check for recent driver revisions. I installed the driver supplied with the CD and then thought to check ACT Labs website. It turned out that a new driver was available (12/28/98 -3.6 meg). I installed the Force RS to my backup system first, a PII 300 with 64 meg SDRam. Later I installed to my PII 450 with 128 meg. On both test systems install was a snap. Bundled Software UbiSoft F1 Racing Simulation While this one is dated, especially from the graphics point of view, Ubisoft has just released a new game that should prove more interesting. In the meantime if you haven't been completely spoiled by NFS III and the like, you can still have some fun with this one (Be sure to download the update from Ubisoft). I-FORCE Studio 2.0 I Force Studio lets you sample forces on the Force RS (or any other DirectInput-compliant force feedback device). More than this, however, you can modify games like Heavy Gear II that use the special .IFR file to define its force states. The driver revision is stable and response is quite good, improved slightly over the earlier version. Remember this is a serial interface, and until the USB version is released (as early as two weeks), your CPU has to devote some time to monitoring the output. The tech support crew at ACT remark that performance increase would be most noticeable when multiple forces are sent. Even with the latest driver you can't separate the pedal axis into two different axes. This means that you can't use the brake and throttle at the same time. In Need for Speed III or NASCAR 99 there are moments when it would be useful to do so, since certain manouvers require it. Setup
Bringing up the Game Controller applet in Control Panel gives you access to the test and Gain adjustment panels. In the Test Input screen you can calibrate, check that your hat is functional, and also check input from each of the 9 buttons. Calibration is simple: turn the wheel all the way left and right and depress each pedal fully. This should be done each time you power the unit on and off. The next screen allows you to test a variety of forces: not very useful, but somewhat educational! The accuracy of simulation of these forces is impressive.
The next panel, Gain Settings, is a little more useful. The slider at bottom, Default Spring, is used in non-force-feedback games. It may seem like a small thing, but it's useful if you have those older games. The Wheel The power supply for the Force RS is a large one, and it puts out 21 volts. The size isn't a big deal if you have the extra sockets, but for most of us it would be nice if it had a power cord attached to the business end. I like this wheel almost as much as I liked the Saitek wheel, and some of you would prefer this one. We had friends and family around during the holidays, and to a man (er, and woman!) they were impressed with this unit. |
The wheel and mount is smooth and domed, and the cartridge plugs into the rear and extends outward. On each side of the domed wheel mount there are flat, recessed wheels which you turn to supply pressure for the integrated clamps (the large wheels only extend outside the unit about one inch and are quite easy to use). The clamps themselves are flat aluminum hooks (picture a C clamp on a short extension) that extend around the front of your desk. The clamps are rubber coated on the business side. The shift paddles are three inches long and reside behind the wheel on either side of it. The paddles share the same axis so that when you pull on one back the other moves in the opposite direction. The pedals, like the wheel itself, are substantial. Almost fully life size, they allow plenty of room to rest your feet. The mount is about 13" wide and roughly the same depth. On the right rear of the unit a domed pod rises out of the unit and mounts the pedals. The gas pedal is oblong, and the brake is shorter. Each travels away from you on depression, and each pivot as they move so that your foot can maintain appropritae contact with the pedal as it travels. In Game Performance The wheel itself is strong, a bit stronger than the Guillemot unit and roughly equivalent to the Saitek unit. Naturally, you can tune these forces downward if it's too much for yourself or your kids. The wheel is covered with a soft brown plastic which simulates leather. It looks good and definitely improves your grip, most of you will love it. The wheel measures 10.5" in diameter. Personally, another inch or two would be nice, but this is about average for this type of unit. The paddles themselves are a bit small and short, and we found that children have a tough time reaching them. In fact, we had friends over one evening who had a nine year old boy of average size, and after they left we found that one of the paddles was missing! I can see where the piece broke off. This is one area that could be improved by ACT, both in placement and materials. Apparently this area is already under revision. Ok, on to in car testing.
I've always been partial to Ferraris, but some recent downloadable additions to Need for Speed caught my eye, and these new cars are a lot of fun. The Lister Storm is an unusual one, but I've been greatly enjoying the Spectre also. NFS 3 is a great test bed for any force feedback product. Dirt and snow, wood and asphalt, each feels a bit different and bumpy or rough surfaces are quite impressive. About the only area needing improvement is the feeling when you land after becoming airborn! Subtle forces actually seem a bit better simulated than the larger ones, but the wheel response is good throughout all of these. Impacts: side as well as front end collisions, don't seem quite right to me, but this is more a limitation of NFS 3 than of the wheel itself. My preference is MANUAL shift since I can make use of engine braking characteristics. Unfortunately, the placement and length of the paddles is going to annoy some who also prefer MANUAL transmission. When you are REALLY cranking, say past 200 KM, you will notice the rigidity of the wheel increasing profoundly. With the forces cranked up to max, small children will have difficulty. But us bigger kids appreciate the difference! Operation of the pedals is top notch. The weighted base is likewise perfect. With the four rubber discs on the base it dug firmly into the carpet of my office and never moved an inch. Summary I like it, my kids like it, even my wife likes it! Note however that my kids have been playing with AUTO transmission selected, and anyone with small hands is going to have to play that way. The pedals are particularly impressive. The wheel is strong, and I like the leatherette padding. Reponsiveness is good, and the buttons are fine although some kind of click action would be nice for positive feedback. Upgradability to USB is a cool touch, and we'll post an update on performance when the upgrade is out. Because of the problem with the paddles, we aren't prepared to award a Top Pick to the Force RS, but if ACT addresses this limitation we may still do so. In the meantime, you can pick this unit up for less than $139 US, jump in and have a LOT of fun! For more info on Need for Speed see our Review or visit the website at NeedforSpeed to download new cars.
|
|||
|
© 1997 - 2000 COMBATSIM.COM, INC. All Rights Reserved. Last Updated December 30th, 1998 |
||||
