Comments on: The Sidewinder Shall Not Sleep Tonight

By: Untruth

Untruth — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:47:12 +0000

My Precision Pro was my prized peripheral for a long time. I remember the iffy dead-zone that I would spend hours calibrating so even a slight twitch could change my movement in Microsoft Flight Simulator 98, which for some reason was a tedious obsession. I always wanted the FF version but could never warrant the cost. But oh, did I want one.

Perhaps more notable was the Sidewinder gamepad:
http://www.techfuels.com/attachments/gaming-accessories/7601d1225861950-microsoft-sidewinder-game-controller-microsoft-sidewinder-game-controller.jpg

I loved this gamepad. Loved it.

By: NooklearToaster

NooklearToaster — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 03:09:45 +0000

Favorite joystick is EASILY the one that came in the special bundle of ace combat for the 360. I can’t imagine a more perfect stick and throttle combo, it just fits so smoothly. I’m surprised they didn’t sell more of them.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:48:17 +0000

ffb2 works in windows 7 with force feedback

By: Rich Tysoe

Rich Tysoe — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:09:14 +0000

for a long time, I used the non force-feedback second-generation sidewinder joystick and was gutted when it became obsolete due to the passing of the 15-pin joystick port, and the USB adapter I had didn’t work.

I then, a few years ago, went completely mental and bought a CH fighterstick off ebay, for Falcon 4: allied force, but didn’t really use it much. it’s cool that it has all the buttons, but the throw is way too big and it doesn;t twist for rudder (I know, it’s supposed to be used with pedals…)

then, late last year, I found a USB sidewinder stick (3rd gen) at the recycling shop at the local tip. for £2. yay!

I do think it’s a shame MS got out of the PC gaming perpheral market. The FF wheel was the best, and I used one for 5 years with total reliability.

Was it MS who invented the twist-stick for Rudder input?

By: DerangedStoat

DerangedStoat — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:23:35 +0000

Wow, just yesterday, I had a very similar conversation with a friend about my Sidewinder FF 2. Funnily enough it also started with the mention of HAWX (I also believe that game is definately not going to be a sim). I too only ever use it a couple of times a year for bouts of IL2, but I will never get rid of it. The fact that FF isn’t supported in the latest versions of Windows will be a major strike against any of the reasons I have to upgrade to Windows 7.

I originally bought it for Grand Prix 4, though I quickly purchased a number of flight sims to make the most of it. Hell, it even got a work out from far too many hours pulling off combos in Tony Hawk (I think it just made life harder in that case though!).

Hell, if I never had that Sidewinder, I wouldn’t have gotten my Logitech Momo wheel, and then later the G25, which is the greatest peripheral I have owned.
I like to think that years down the road when everyone is using Windows X, and USB connections are nearly as archaic as PS/2, the Sidewinder and the G25 will still have pride of place on my shelves.

By: Alan Au

Alan Au — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:52:00 +0000

I had a Sidewinder FF 1, which was way too clunky and hardly worth the trouble. I also had a Sidewinder Precision Pro, which sadly refused to initialized properly on my hardware so I bequeathed it to a friend when I last moved. Interestingly, the joystick that still works on my machine is the original Sidewinder, which I keep around in the hopes that another mech combat game will show up.

By: Thom

Thom — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:59:15 +0000

I used a lot cheap $10-$15 crap sticks to fly MS Flight Simulator over the years. I finally broke down and spent some real money ($30) on a Thrustmaster Top Gun fox 2 a couple of years ago and was hooked. It weighed a ton, had a very comfortable (If you are right handed) handle and the best throttle I have ever found. I wore it out in about 18 months and went to look for a replacement and discovered that they are now around $90. So i went with a Xbox 360 gamepad for Windows and discovered it was great with flight sims and really handy to have for other games that are actually designed for pads. I miss my joystick but am happy with the gamepad.

By: DeuceMojo

DeuceMojo — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:10:38 +0000

Logitech Wingman all the way, baby!!! Just kidding. I do not like my joystick at all. Aren’t joysticks like so C-64 era?

My Wingman has:
A) Caused me no shortage of embarrassment as more than one girlfriend has called me a nerd for owning a joystick.
B) Destroyed two pair of perfectly good PC speakers, as my wife was searching for an A/C adapter for them and instead just grabbed the Wingman adapter, which fried one, then two sets of speakers. Hooray for interchangeable A/C adapter connectors, with wildly different voltages and amps.

By: Xerxes

Xerxes — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:55:56 +0000

http://www.joy-stick.net/reviews/joysticks/topgun.htm

If only I had a PC that would still use the old school ports, or some USB conversion for my poor sweet Top Gun.
Lost hours to every flight / space combat simulator using this, these days it is confined to storage.

It was the Goose to my Maverick…. I suppose I should try and find one of those gameport to USB cables, and resurrect old faithful.

By: Gravekeeper

Gravekeeper — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:02:18 +0000

My Sidewinder Precision Pro will not go quietly into the night… I’ve had it since the mid-nineties, and it has accompanied me through MS Flight Simulators 95, 98, 2000, 2002, and 2004 faithfully, and has flown with me through bloody dogfights in Combat Flight Simulator 2 and 3… It’s the ooooold one with the dome throttle and the game port… My old flight instructor was kind enough to give me his own Sidewinder’s gameport-to-USB cable, so I could carry it into the future unknown…

The other day me and my friends all LANned CFS 2 for nostalgia’s sake… We cried manly tears.

By: mashakos

mashakos — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:19:28 +0000

oops! meant Wingman Force 3D. No point in getting a joystick without force feedback…

By: mashakos

mashakos — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:54:42 +0000

@compguy1088: same here, had both the Saitek Cyborg 3D and the Wingman extreme 3d pro. Gave the Saitek to my brother.