The Logitech website displays wonderful images of the controllers and brief descriptions of the devices.  For on-line support and information The WingMan Team web site offers the best and latest tidbits on the WingMan line.  This site has an active message board, the latest drivers and software utilities along with links to FAQ's and other  useful sites.

Setup  -
Physical setup of the Force 3D starts with connecting the power brick to your power supply or outlet.  The newly designed power transformer has a much appreciated smaller overall size but it will still block nearby outlets with most power strips.  After the power supply is connected to an outlet plug it into the base of the joystick.  Do not plug your Force 3D into the USB port just yet; software needs to be setup first.

Software installation is initiated by inserting the WingMan 3.50 software CD into your CD drive.  If auto start is enabled the process will begin and walk you through all of the necessary steps.  If disabled, the Quick Start Guide describes the method to begin the process.  Have your Windows CD handy and be sure no other programs are running in the background as a restart is initiated to load the Profiler into the system tray.

After installation is complete and you have restarted if necessary you will be asked to connect the Force 3D to a free USB port.  The newly loaded drivers should detect the device through plug-and-play and begin the calibration sequence.  Unlike the typical game controller calibration individual windows are shown for each axis and dialogue boxes describe the process to you.  Once complete you will be prompted with a message either telling you the calibration was successful or needs to be repeated.

Once the calibration is finalized you can check the calibration through the game controller's properties tab.  The window below will be displayed and you can test the axis movements and press the buttons on the stick to test the force effects.  The "settings" tab allows you to apply global tweaks to the force effects and re-calibrate the stick if necessary.

The WingMan software provided with the Force 3D stick is version 3.50.  You can check the WingMan Team website for any updates prior to installation to assure you have the latest version on your system.  Your current version can be found in the Profiler software help- about- menu.  The software provided includes both device drivers and the Profiler utility.  The Profiler can conveniently be used for any of the WingMan devices.

The Profiler will take up residence in your system tray on the Windows taskbar.  To access it you can either right click the icon or double click it.  The Profiler main window will be brought up (see below) and display the active controller.  Each of the axis, buttons and point of view (POV) hat will be listed with drop down menus.  Options are also listed for selecting a device (if different WingMan controllers are connected and active) and selecting a game.

In order to activate a game select the "select a game" dropdown.  Active profiles will be displayed along with a "create a new game" option.  By selecting the "new" option a new window will be activated.  This brings up a window with options to import a game from a file or the web, create a totally new, empty file or activate one loaded with the WingMan software.  To use an existing profile (or modify an existing, non-active profile) select the game manufacture from the extensive list on the left.  This brings up a list of supported games in the right column.  Choose the game if listed and browse to show the Profiler the location of the executable.  Once these steps are complete the profile can be modified as needed and will appear in the "select a game" listing from then on.

The "create from scratch" option is similar in setup.  However, it allows you to choose the game icon and the options in the axis, buttons and POV are not set and will need to be assigned.  The assignment of them is like with any other profile setup.  Once the game is specified the drop down will allow display "select assignment" and "axis or button properties".  With the axis or button properties you can select a button as a shift to double other buttons functionality or adjust the axis sensitivity, dead zone or axis assignment.  The "select assignment" brings up a list of game functions that can be assigned to the axis movement or button press.  These relate to the default settings of the game- you must assure the game assignments are set to the default settings or you may not get the desired effect.

Another option from the "create new profile" option off the "select a game" button is downloading from a file or the internet.  This allows you to share profiles with others and easily acquire profiles for new games.  The internet option also has the added benefit to upgrading the Profiler/driver software to the latest version.  This allowed me to upgrade the software to version 3.62.

Using the profiler to create complex profiles is one thing.  Remembering the setup you created is another.  The Profiler allows you to printout each setup for reference until you have it committed to memory.  This is a nice feature of the utility often left out of this type of program.  Logitech gets a gold star for adding this simple but useful feature.

Below is an image of the main profiler screen with the WingMan Force 3D as the selected device.