Steering Wheels

[marcus]

How many of you use steering wheel peripherals on your consoles and how have you got them set up? Im noticing more and more that whilst driving games are becoming increasingly good, the missing factor for me is that by using a pad Im losing a lot of the enjoyment and realism that I would experience in the arcade. Im not usually into peripherals, but wanted some impressions and opinions on the best wheels out there, and also how you have actually set the wheel up (so that it stays rigid etc etc).

[superkully]

I bought four of them GC ogitech steering wheels for BO2 specifically. It was pants, you lose the super quick responses only the very little travel on the joypad can afford.

I can see them being a huge boon on a game like GT but I hate that kind of racing game.

So... depends really on what type of driving games you play Marcus.

PS As for what to make it secure, I attach them to my Ikea folding deck chairs. The included lap things are useless unless you've legs like a supermodel.

[Commander Marklar]

I use mine a lot, they're clamped onto a large desk -- thanks Logitech

Xbox is fairly redundant in the wheel department, mostly 'cos they all mimic the pad (with the exception of Sega GT, which supports the Ferrari wheel) although I will say Richard Burns Rally almost needs a wheel to play as the control is fairly tactile and easy to loose it using a pad (God bless the PS2 version then, why was the 'cube version canned? It was never gonna be a system seller to begin with... I'd have bought a 'cube version over the other formats). The Saitek wheel is a suction-cup affair though, which tends to come off under-stress. Even on the nice, wooded surface of a computer desk

Hmm, DC wheels are worth getting the official ones for although I'd say only F355 and Daytona benefit, while Sega Rally 2 is so-so with either (saves the old trigger finger though). The Saturn wheel is nice though although many have lost the spring strength over the years. The DC wheel lacks any kind of foundation though, blutack helps and the Saturn wheel uses suction cups again but I found it best to sit with it between your legs as it fits quite nicely.

It's all very much dependent on what you're playing though...

[marcus]

Specifically I was thinking last night whilst playing the OutRun2 demo how much nicer it would be to have proper steering wheel control. For highspeed games like Burnout 3 though I wonder if the wheel would be responsive enough to cope with its insane quick turns and 180's.

[Balou]

I bought the Driving Force Pro about half a year ago and have it set up in "cockpit" that I built myself for it. (including a Honda CRX seat )
Now, I really think that boosts the fun I have with driving games and so far I still don?t regret spending well over 300 EUR to have it all realised.

The DFP is a good wheel, especially with the 900 degrees mode (which can also be used on the PC), but the pedals aren?t all that good. (all plastic)
Fortunately there are some real high-quality pedals out there (e.g. FREX) that are specifically designed to be used with the DFP wheel. (around 300 EUR, I think)
I don?t think there is currently a better wheel for consoles out there than the DFP. (works great with Richard Burns Rally, with custom turning radius of the wheel)

But then again I am a friend of games that make strong use of peripherals since I like the fresh and new experience I get from them.
Too many games, in my view, use the controller in the same way and it starts to wear on me to play almost all games the same way. (that?s why I?m a great fan of LifeLine by the way)

[JibberX]

I Had a wheel for the Cube, but it broke, then I broke it some more, now its dead, what it did was make games like Mario Kart, Burnout2, GT Cube, more entertaining, but also it made FZeroGX bloody difficult, it deffinitly changes a game, proving for me that the input is the game no what goes on on screen.

[Kubrick]

Specifically I was thinking last night whilst playing the OutRun2 demo how much nicer it would be to have proper steering wheel control.

Precisely the reason why I'm not interested in it. Just like Initial D & Daytona, that game needs a steering wheel.

I've got the Logitech wheels for Cube/PS2. I clamp them to a small set of stepladders when I use them