Introduction

Immersion has been the name of the game this year. All sorts of force feedback controllers and three-dimensional monitors have been popping up in the market place all to try to immerse the player into some sort of artificial world. Force feedback has been one of the forerunners in mainstream immersion techniques, employing motors to give lifelike feel. Today, we have Logitech’s Wingman Rumble pad, a force feedback controller. It kind of hard to explain, but I was skeptical at first. Most other controllers such as wheels are attached to something solid, your desk, and could provide a sensation of fighting the controller. Since the Rumble pad just lies in your hand, what could it really do? Is the controller just a funny shaped vibrator?

First we have the specifications courtesy of the Logitech box:

•Convenient USB interface!
•Sophisticated dual motor technology provides maximum vibration feedback
•2 ultra-accurate and responsive analog sticks for precise 360° movement
•Easy-to-reach Throttle Control
•Cool new futuristic design that fits a wide range of hand sizes
•Nine programmable buttons

First Impressions and Software

The Wingman Rumble pad looks just like a Playstation controller only with more buttons. From just holding the pad in my hands, I could feel that the left side, where the digital-direction pad is, is a little bit heavier. This is probably where the larger motor lies. All of the buttons were easy to reach except the throttle control, which lies a little too forward on the top for me. Another minor carp is the recess where the mode and rumble buttons lie. The recess makes it difficult to reach them. All controls were smooth and firm besides the d-pad. It felt imprecise and knotty at best. We’ll see how it affects gaming later.

The software the Logitech includes, Wingman, is excellent. From the control panel or from the start menu, you can access the calibration screen where test effects are provided along with the option to change the force feedback strength. These test effects also confirmed that the left motor, the heavier one, is responsible for the hard jolts while the smaller one handles vibrations. The Wingman Profiler is the second part of the Wingman suite. It is a programming tool, which rivals Saitek’s Gaming Extensions. To program, you get load up a premade game profile from the software or download one from the Internet. It is as simple as clicking on a button and choosing which action it performs. If a game profile is not available, you can make one from scratch (not hard at all).