Manufactured By:  Logitech

Retail Price:      $129.99

Review Date:  8-26-99

A few years ago force-feedback was a rare feature.  Now the market has a handful of controllers offering this "realism" feature.  Sticks having force-feedback are usually a much larger investment (up to 100% more) but once you had it theirs no going back.

The requirements for force feedback are usually a bit higher than a standard stick.  The WingMan Force requires either a free serial or USB port.  The signal necessary for the force effects cannot be carried through the gameport (at least for the I-Force standard).  The system requirements are usually not stated as any different than a standard controller but you will eat up a few extra CPU cycles to process the effects.

Another requirement to consider is the power supply of the unit.  The motors that drive the forces are powered by an external power pack.  Logitech was considerate enough to use a power pack that has the transformer in-line of the cord; avoiding having to plug the power transformer directly into the wall or power strip- blocking nearby outlets.

The layout of the stick is similar to other joysticks in the WingMan line-up.  4 buttons and the hat switch are placed on the stick itself and the throttle wheel and remaining 5 buttons are on the base of the unit.  The WingMan Force is meant for 2 handed operation but is forgiving to those of varying hand sizes.

•  I-Force Force Feedback
• 8 way hat switch
• 9 programmable buttons
• Throttle Wheel
• USB or serial port connection

• Flight Sims (MS FlightSim 98, CombatSim, Fly, etc.)
• Racing Games (Need For Speed, Powerslide, Midtown Madness, etc.)
• Space Sims (Descent Freespace, Forsaken, Mechwarrior III, etc.)

I have always thought the force effects in Microsoft games/sims were quite exaggerated.  In FlightSim 98 and CombatSim the stick played much rumble during takeoff and landing.  The in-flight forces were nicer, giving you feedback when an incline was too steep and you were nearing a stall.  Recovery was possible thanks to the warning provided by the stick.  The only drawback to the WingMan Force for flightsims was the lack of any rudder control.  The stick has the ability to operate with external rudder pedals but if you don't have any you are required to use coordinated rudder or the keyboard.

Driving games, although not natural feeling with a stick played well.  Again, some games seemed to exaggerate the force effects you would feel but they were always adjustable.  Midtown Madness and Need For Speed (III and High Stakes) were a blast to play with the effects enabled.  Especially helpful were the body roll effects in Need For Speed; they helped determine when a turn was being taken too fast and the car was sliding.  The best force-feedback implementation in a racing game came from Powerslide.  The effects in this game are very exaggerated but that is the point of the whole game.

Other games tested with the WingMan included Descent Freespace, Star Wars: Racer and Mechwarrior III.  The effects and control in each was great but the lack of a rudder control was troublesome in Mechwarrior III and Descent Freespace.  Mechwarrior III would loose some of the effects after a bit of play but this was remedied with a small download from the WingMan Team Website.

Setup 80% -
To install the WingMan Force joystick you must first install the software.  Once installed you will be prompted to restart the computer.  With the system off you should then connect the WingMan to either a free serial or USB port.  When the system starts the WingMan Force will be the active controller in the game controller setup panel.  You can check the setup through the properties tab or the Logitech icon in the system tray.

You cannot add the WingMan Force once the system is started.  It will not be detected even if used as a USB device.

The software installs through a series of automated steps.  It places a Logitech icon in your system tray for easy access to the profiler utility.  The software allows you to configure the buttons of the joystick as keystrokes if necessary.  You may also assign a button as a shift key allowing you to nearly double the button functions offered on the stick.

Through the software you can also setup the controller to operate along with external rudder pedals.

The Logitech website offers some details on the WingMan Force that can be helpful.  They also offer driver updates and game profiles.  A much more useful site is the Logitech WingMan Team Site.  The site features more current information direct from the developers themselves.

• Great Force-feedback effects
• Ability to use external rudder pedals
• USB or serial port connection
  

• Requires a reboot to be detected
• Does not have built in rudder control

1 Stick  - Not Recommended
2 Sticks - Functional            
3 Sticks - Recommended with some issues 
4 Sticks - Recommended
5 Sticks - Highly Recommended!

• Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro

Buy the Wingman Force Joystick