Xbox steering wheels (OutRun2 prep)

[Papercut]

Anyone have a decent Xbox steering wheel? Please share your thoughts

Looking at whats available, the only force feedback model is the Thrustmaster 360 Modena developed for Sega GT, but there are mixed reports as to whether it is actually force feedback, or just rumble.

There is also the Gamester Lotus wheel that _may_ be force feedback, but their peripherals tend to be cheap and nasty.

Any other suggestions?

[Darwock]

Nope. There is no such thing. Which is why I still hold out in vain for an PS2 version of Outrun 2.

[Pij]

Theres a Mad Catz one which seems to get good reviews but isnt force feedback, ive read on the forum that the xbox doesnt actually support force feedback, just vibration so thats probably why there arnt any?

http://www.madcatz.com/MadCatz/product_details.jsp?product_id=6320

[Madbury]

To be honest, I don't buy that. I mean the XBox has to send information to the controller to deal with the rumble and the expansion slots. I'm sure that a shrewd game developer/hardware manufacturer could tap into these to do force feedback no problem.

I guess the Ferrari wheel would "feel" right playing Outrun2

[Papercut]

My understanding was that the Modena wheel provides real force feedback, designed specifically for Sega GT (and therefore becoming the standard way of doing Xbox wheel force feedback).

[Madbury]

Yeah, but I read in another thread that the FF Modena wheel isn't as good as its non FF counterpart.

confused...? I am.

[Papercut]

Yeah... there is a distinct lack of hard info on this

[randombs]

hey man

i've just won the non-ff ferrari modena 360 wheel off ebay so i'll let you know how it plays on my outrun 2 demo

as for force-feedback, i read one custy review of the ff modena that said the motor gets loud when the wheel is turned left, which would a) imply that it is genuine force feedback as i've never seen a rumble or non-ff using a motor for the wheel, and b) that it's a bit crap (unless he had a dodgy model, probably the case i think)

my dad had a thrustmaster ferrari usb wheel that had proper force feedback and was designed for pc but worked as a gt-force wheel on gran turismo3 with proper force feedback (including tyre resistance and general knocking about) so was planning on getting outrun 2 for ps2 as well to be used with this wheel.

however, in a recent cleanup, the wheel was put in a damp corner of the garage and has since tightened up and doesn't work properly anymore. i opened it and had a rummage about but there was nothing i could do. it's been thrown away now
lovely wheel it was too - bought it for ?30 off a mate back when they were ?80

she will be missed...

btw the ff modena is on ebay here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8129846349&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

oh and seeing as it's been designed with sega for sega gt, i'm sure they'll apply the same coding to outrun 2, as notice the demo says it supports a wheel...

[Taka]

I actually bought one of the Forcefeedback Modena 360 wheels the other day after getting my copy of the OutRun 2 demo.

There are three 'feedback' settings on the wheel itself which are selected via a switch, no vibration, vibration, and force feedback. When I switch the wheel to vibration, I get the same result as when its switched to no vibration. However with force feedback, there is definitely a physical output from the wheel depending on whats happening on-screen. I can't say I'm too happy about the force feedback results, the wheel being made from plastic rattles a lot due to the motor inside doing all the work. When drifting, it produces a clackety feeling on the wheel which isn't too appealing. I've found myself playing sans feedback most of the time as it just seems too obtrusive with it on. There doesn't appear to be any way to tone down the feedback however this may possibly be done through the full version of the game.

I'm currently unable to calibrate the wheel so I've been playing it more or less straight out of the box. Certain buttons need to be programmed through the wheel itself (paddles at first actually produce the same results as the pedals and turning left and right produce opposite results). I also like to have the sensitivity switched to high as for me personally, it seems to emulate the arcade version's wheel most faithfully at this setting. I do like the motorised return to centre function since with my Logitech Initial D wheel, I end up having to assist the wheel in centering itself again.

[randombs]

hmm

problem with all this is i don't see any high street retailers selling wheels (mind you i haven't been actively searching for one on the high street)

i just took a gamble with the one i've bought.

waiting to receive it so i can try it though.

as for the rattly plastic, that's also why i didn't get the ff one! (plus the price didn't justify it for me - i'm not seriously into wheels as they're a bit of a hassle to set up)

[randombs]

also, i read the non-ff wheel has a deadzone of about 20 degrees probably because it's spring loaded or whatever, and so i'd need to compensate for that. hopefully it shouldn't be too big a deal although from the outrun 2 demo, the cornering appears to be more about grace and smooth counter-steering than rapid maneuvering

[Taka]

I got mine from consoleplus.co.uk The forcefeedback one is currently on sale and was only ?4 more expensive than the non forcefeedback edition.

[Mr Ono]

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=28512

The impending Logitech FF wheel is the one to get.

[Papercut]

Ah, good stuff. I'll be buying that (my Cube Logitech wheel is great).

[JibberX]

Ahh crap, that's not fair... I was going to be high and might and not get a wheel... but now!