Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2

[wheelsup_cavu]

Really hope that this old joystick is still supported by this new sim when it comes out. Some of us old geezers are still regularly using one.

Wheels

[Boom]

Same here. I've had mine for more than 20 years, and still going strong. 

[justin_z3r0]

Agreed. I am using this as well. Works well for me. The feedback is very important!

[Talisman]

Very much agree with the above.  MSFF joystick is a must!  

Happy landings,

Talisman

[Viper]

I have a Thrustmaster T-FLIGHT HOTAS and it runs very well

[wheelsup_cavu]

12 hours ago, Viper said:

I have a Thrustmaster T-FLIGHT HOTAS and it runs very well

Another possible option for a HOTAS system when our MS FFB 2 sticks eventually fail. Until that personally disastrous day happens I do hope for continued MS FFB 2 support in the sims I play.

 

Wheels

[Lusekofte]

4 hours ago, wheelsup_cavu said:

Another possible option for a HOTAS system when our MS FFB 2 sticks eventually fail. Until that personally disastrous day happens I do hope for continued MS FFB 2 support in the sims I play.

 

Wheels

I think that depend on the software. And software has supported force feedback for a decade + 

Missing that in a new software can’t even be possible 

[sercrets]

On 10/30/2023 at 1:16 PM, wheelsup_cavu said:

Really hope that this old joystick is still supported by this new sim when it comes out. Some of us old geezers are still regularly using one.

Wheels

I need to get my hands on one of em... Maybe this Christmas 



sercrets

[wheelsup_cavu]

21 hours ago, sercrets said:

Maybe this Christmas

 

You are about twenty-five Christmas's too late for a new one. ☹️

 

Hello and welcome to the forums @sercrets.

 

Wheels

Edited November 21, 2023 by wheelsup_cavu

[sercrets]

15 hours ago, wheelsup_cavu said:

 

You are about twenty-five Christmas's too late for a new one. ☹️

 

Hello and welcome to the forums @sercrets.

 

Wheels

So it would seem. 

Thanks @wheelsup_cavu, happy to find you on yet another forum my friend 🙂

 

[RedVonHammer]

I've used the MSFFB2 in every sim that has FFB.
Likewise I've used my VPForce Rhino FFB in every sim that has FFB.
Both has sensors to register movement like any other stick, and both has driverboards & motors to receive and effectuate FFB, it's all up to the game to send the FFB telemetry to the stick 🙂 
Really it comes down to if Combat Pilot plans to implement FFB, so that's the biggest question really.

[golani79]

I've 2 of them but switched to Virpil. In IL-2 GB the FFB was hit and miss. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't without changing anything.

In DCS it was pretty good with a few hiccups here and there.

My biggest gripe with the Sidewinder and why I finally changed was the lack of buttons and hats. It is ok for WW2 but anything after it's kinda difficult imo.

 

[RedVonHammer]

Just now, golani79 said:

I've 2 of them but switched to Virpil. In IL-2 GB the FFB was hit and miss. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't without changing anything.

In DCS it was pretty good with a few hiccups here and there.

My biggest gripe with the Sidewinder and why I finally changed was the lack of buttons and hats. It is ok for WW2 but anything after it's kinda difficult imo.

 

Never had an issue with FFB in IL-2, important not to let Windows screw with USB devices in the power plan and individual USB devices entries in device manager though.

[Boom]

Luv the fact that so many here still use the classic Microsoft FFB stick!

[Bobo]

MSFF user.  It's important. 

[RedVonHammer]

On 12/1/2023 at 6:12 AM, Boom said:

Luv the fact that so many here still use the classic Microsoft FFB stick!

I've since moved over to the VPForce Rhino, but I still keep the MSFFB2 in reserve and for my retro PC's.
Hope they can make FFB sticks in that price-class again, for what you get with 100-150 bucks, the equivalent of TrackIR, the two combined with a bit of practice and most expert virtual pilots will think twice before taking you on fair'n square.

[wheelsup_cavu]

11 hours ago, RedVonHammer said:

VPForce Rhino

Youch, she do be a bit pricey. 😱

 

Wheels

[golani79]

37 minutes ago, wheelsup_cavu said:

Youch, she do be a bit pricey. 😱

 

Wheels

Indeed .. think I googled it a while ago but threw away my plan of eventually buying one after I saw the price tag 🤣

But who knows what the future will bring ^^

 

[Major Lee]

Still using MS FFB2, so many years later. It was incredible on European Air War, which was released in 1998. The feel of the stick letting go as you are about to enter a stall, or tighten up in a high speed dive really connects you to what's happening. Seems a pity that FF isn't ubiquitous on sticks for flight sims these days. 

Edited April 5 by Major Lee
Spelling

[Kameni98]

Im using MS Force Feedback 2 too, please make the game compatable with it and other FFB sticks! I guess more people are using than I thought 😄

 

[Boo]

FFB seems to be having something of a revival (albeit an expensive one). I started with a sidewinder in CloD and, once I nailed the proedure for sorting out its quirks when firing the canons on the 109, I loved it. It had limited use in DCS as I was more into helos and it was nowhere near sensitive enough. Its use in Great battles was less enjoyable and did odd things like restricting the  trim tange in the JU88. It also crashed a lot, requiring game reboots. Thats when I went Virpil which ive been very happy with on the whole. 

Now Im (just) 800 units away from a Rhino and really hoping FFB in CB is not only a thing but a good thing. FFB in a warbird sim is an essential element i think. . 

[RedVonHammer]

On 1/10/2024 at 5:56 PM, golani79 said:

Indeed .. think I googled it a while ago but threw away my plan of eventually buying one after I saw the price tag 🤣

But who knows what the future will bring ^^

 

Now that the sleazy FFB patent ran out, and having seen Brunner & VPForce actually selling a lot of units (I believe VPForce has shipped over a thousand Rhino's now, on top of many DIY kits), there's a lot of established sim-controller companies racing to build something priced in our atmosphere.

Winwing and Virpil are working on it, but they'll be bourgois priced.
I believe Thrustmaster have plans too, pricing is speculated to come in at somewhere in between MSFFB2 and VPForce MSRP, they're not the cheapest around but I'd guess around 400-500 bucks? I honestly wouldn't pay anything less than that for a new product.
Wouldn't be surprised if Logitech, who have lots of experience with atmospheric pricing on FFB products, also got to work on it.
 

On 1/10/2024 at 5:17 PM, wheelsup_cavu said:

Youch, she do be a bit pricey. 😱

 

Wheels

She absolutely does, which is why I didn't spend hard earned cash lightly.
In Flying Circus multiplayer (I figure it's ok to say the name of the sim seeing as we can thank Jason for it's inception in the first place) I'm fighting opponents that get on every day, and they're not just very good, they have a routine going on.
Taking off just to get slaughtered is no fun, to be competitive online, you need consistent playtime,  I can only muster that for a few months out of the year, FFB has given me the muscle memory where I can probably jump on right now, do a few warmups and hold my own.
MSFFB2's Achilles heel, long sessions, is another reason I upgraded, because the MSFFB2 ramps down so as not to overheat, even with 40-50% FFB setting I've managed to overheat it completely, so it shuts down entirely.
The Rhino has a fan for this purpose, and the software also has a trim feature which when activated I can set the trim and let the stick go during formation climbing.

You'll like the story how I afforded it much better, you have to pay when your ticket# is up, I was planning a computer upgrade until I found the Rhino, then I calculated the avg amount of Rhino's completed every day and timed it to my tax returns, nailed it within 4 days 🤣

 

On 4/6/2024 at 7:57 PM, Kameni98 said:

Im using MS Force Feedback 2 too, please make the game compatable with it and other FFB sticks! I guess more people are using than I thought 😄

 

FFB is on the rise now, and we've all seen photo's and vlog's from the RoF/IL-2 studio over the years, when did they not have an MSFFB2 connected to the testrig?
And what did they do when the Jetseat FFB pad come out years ago? They almost immediately implemented support for it, Jason is very quick on picking up trends ☺️
I wouldn't be too worried mate!

 

 

On 5/18/2024 at 9:06 PM, Boo said:

FFB seems to be having something of a revival (albeit an expensive one). I started with a sidewinder in CloD and, once I nailed the proedure for sorting out its quirks when firing the canons on the 109, I loved it. It had limited use in DCS as I was more into helos and it was nowhere near sensitive enough. Its use in Great battles was less enjoyable and did odd things like restricting the  trim tange in the JU88. It also crashed a lot, requiring game reboots. Thats when I went Virpil which ive been very happy with on the whole. 

Now Im (just) 800 units away from a Rhino and really hoping FFB in CB is not only a thing but a good thing. FFB in a warbird sim is an essential element i think. . 

@Boo I hope you get your Rhino soon, once you get the hang of it you'll never go back.
Since I posted here last I did since experience a crash with the Rhino in IL2.
But that was after a year of faultfree use, and was with the software and the dial on the FFB base both cranked up all the way to 100% while loading a WW2 mission, so when the FFB parameters reset from the WW1 mission I was in prior to that, it threw the stick all the way forward and to the left, skipped a tooth on the belt and threw the calibration.
I.e sorta like what a lot of sims can do sometimes with MSFFB2 when you have your hand on the stick while loading.
That's to do with the way games does FFB, not the FFB hardware itself.
So the workaround I do is not to go more than 60-70% force in the software. The Rhino also comes with a dial on the base, so usually what I do is crank it down to 0% in the software, and dial all the way down on the base, once I'm on the runway in mission I crank the dial and software up to where I want it.
From there on I don't touch it for the remainder of the session.
Not much different from TrackIR deciding not to work, or controllers not showing up in general, sims are fiddly creations, ask anyone, gotta expect to have to develop a routine and do a few workarounds, that's just the way it is.

Edited August 13 by RedVonHammer

[Boo]

42 minutes ago, RedVonHammer said:

 I hope you get your Rhino soon, once you get the hang of it you'll never go back.
 

Only 480 units to go! - It should be around Christmas I get it which ties in nicely with my plans. 

[Aapje]

@RedVonHammer

My understanding is that VPForce shipped 589 units as of July 1st 2024.

[RedVonHammer]

On 8/13/2024 at 10:18 AM, Aapje said:

@RedVonHammer

My understanding is that VPForce shipped 589 units as of July 1st 2024.

Yeah I undershot, not bad for a one-man operation though.
By the time this sim is released people hopefully have cheaper and faster alternatives.

 

 

On 8/13/2024 at 7:37 AM, Boo said:

Only 480 units to go! - It should be around Christmas I get it which ties in nicely with my plans. 

Around winter is when you'll have more time for sims anyway 🙂