Logitech WingMan Force

Rating:
Summary: Best joystick ever! Manufacturers take note!
Review: DON'T TRUST YOUR LIFE TO PLASTIC GEARS. This joystick uses steel cables for the control motors. There is a sensor in the handle that powers up the motors to center the stick. This is an award-winning handle design for comfort, and all the newer joysticks are some minimized version of it. It uses a 16 bit Intel processor for the force feedback and a 10 bit processor for the sensors.
These were discontinued because of the lack of torso-twist/rudder control, but it seems to me that the newer joysticks are sloppier, wear out quicker or just break because of this added function. Also were complaints about the large footprint, but this only makes for the most stable joystick you can buy, especially if you like the heavy feedback effects. The force feedback feature in joysticks has lost favor somewhat, with the more popular FPS games not supporting it anymore, but in this case, the force feedback motors still use the joystick software to control centering, even in non-force feedback games, so there is no slop in the middle. This is easily the best joystick ever for those who are still devoted to force-feedback effects, and one of the most accurate and stable for the money. I recently bought three of these for my LAN setup, two for christmas presents and one to replace one that was stolen. You can still find these on ebay, and I have yet to see one that shows any effects of wear.
If anybody ever makes a joystick as good as this without the cons, I'll buy it. The current reality is just a trade-off, and I'm not trading. Logitech has gotten worse, Saitek has unstable little bases, and the Thrustmasters are overpriced and still not as good as they should be unless you put aftermarket parts in them. I've been looking for a significantly better joystick for years since this one came out, and as of 2004, there still isn't one.

Rating:
Summary: Best joystick ever! Manufacturers take note!
Review: DON'T TRUST YOUR LIFE TO PLASTIC GEARS. This joystick uses steel cables for the control motors. There is a sensor in the handle that powers up the motors to center the stick. This is an award-winning handle design for comfort, and all the newer joysticks are some minimized version of it. It uses a 16 bit Intel processor for the force feedback and a 10 bit processor for the sensors.
These were discontinued because of the lack of torso-twist/rudder control, but it seems to me that the newer joysticks are sloppier, wear out quicker or just break because of this added function. Also were complaints about the large footprint, but this only makes for the most stable joystick you can buy, especially if you like the heavy feedback effects. The force feedback feature in joysticks has lost favor somewhat, with the more popular FPS games not supporting it anymore, but in this case, the force feedback motors still use the joystick software to control centering, even in non-force feedback games, so there is no slop in the middle. This is easily the best joystick ever for those who are still devoted to force-feedback effects, and one of the most accurate and stable for the money. I recently bought three of these for my LAN setup, two for christmas presents and one to replace one that was stolen. You can still find these on ebay, and I have yet to see one that shows any effects of wear.
If anybody ever makes a joystick as good as this without the cons, I'll buy it. The current reality is just a trade-off, and I'm not trading. Logitech has gotten worse, Saitek has unstable little bases, and the Thrustmasters are overpriced and still not as good as they should be unless you put aftermarket parts in them. I've been looking for a significantly better joystick for years since this one came out, and as of 2004, there still isn't one.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: I had this Joystick for about 3 years. It is very good, im am amazed that they are still selling it. I dont know if the usb works, it never worked for me. But if you use the other port it works fine. The force feedback can be very weak or strong depending on your settings. This is the best joystick imho, if you dont mind that the joystick takes up a lot of space.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: I had this Joystick for about 3 years. It is very good, im am amazed that they are still selling it. I dont know if the usb works, it never worked for me. But if you use the other port it works fine. The force feedback can be very weak or strong depending on your settings. This is the best joystick imho, if you dont mind that the joystick takes up a lot of space.

Rating:
Summary: Teeth Rattler
Review: I have spent some time looking for a stick with precise control and accurate feedback, and I have absolutely no doubt that this is the pick of the crop. With its innovative steel cable design (as opposed to the flimsy plastic gears used by so many of its competitors), effects are accurate and realistic, and the direct transmission allows everything from subtle shudders to teeth rattling jarring to be accurately modelled. The captive cable has two connectors, allowing connection to either the USB port or your serial port, and the supplied profiler makes the programmable buttons a doddle to set up. My only complaint would be the absence of an on/off switch on the unit. This is a monster stick, and if your deskspace is limited you may have real problems finding a home for this giant, but if you have the space, it's worth every square inch it occupies. Flight sim fans may find the absence of twist in the stick a bit of a letdown, and will be left looking for other methods of rudder control, but in every other respect, and for every other game that supports force feedback, I have to say that this is THE stick to own. Logitech offer regular updates for the profiler on their website, and in the 12 months I have owned mine, I have seen no signs of wear or slack in the cables, a testament to the build quality of a unit that really takes some punishment. I have yet to try anything that would make me want to change this stick, and If Logitech could add an on/off switch and reduce the footprint a tad, I doubt I ever would.

Rating:
Summary: A very nice stick only missing rudder control
Review: I like this stick much better than the equivalent Microsoft offering. It is more comfortable and has a good feature set for the price. It is a little big and it doesn't have a rudder control, though.

Rating:
Summary: A very nice stick only missing rudder control
Review: I like this stick much better than the equivalent Microsoft offering. It is more comfortable and has a good feature set for the price. It is a little big and it doesn't have a rudder control, though.

Rating:
Summary: You've got to get this 'stick!
Review: I've had this joystick for about 4 months now and would bet my last penny that this is the best on the market. The force feedback effects are so life-like that sometimes it's absolutely frightening. I've used it with European AirWar,Flight Simulator 98 and Flight Simulator 2000 and would never, ever, buy any other stick. It is a huge stick but it is as solid as a rock. If this one ever wears out I'll definitely get another.

Rating:
Summary: Wish they hadn't discontinued these!
Review: Like another person's review said, this is easily one of the best joysticks ever made. I bought this joystick right when it came out in 1998 and paid way too much money for it at Frys. Back then there weren't many decent force feedback games, so it ended up in the garage for a few years. I recently dug it up and dusted it off to use with Flight Simulator 2004. Once I plugged it in and started using it, I couldn't stop smiling! It's such a disappointment that Logitech stopped making these! This was one of those products that was true quality, not a set of engineering trade offs to create bigger sales margins like today's cheap line of joysticks. The cable-system this joystick uses can create force feedback effects that are almost impossible to create with gear driven force feedback joysticks. This is truely a joystick where one can say "They don't make them like they used to."