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04
Various Artitsts Lyrics

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The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos

Most interesting comment from YouTube:

t3hbeowulf

40w↑17

Oh my goodness, this! 😁

@LGR, this is still, hands down, my favorite control device of all time. When I was a kid, this was featured in Popular Science Magazine and I read the article to my Mom with giddy excitement. It wasn't available at the time and I had no idea if I'd ever get to experience it, especially because of the cost.

To my delightful surprise, my parents bought one for me for Christmas and it was every bit as awesome in person as I'd imagined from reading the article.

Point of note: The "first" version had a fan in that spot that ramped up after some time. The motors in the first version were so strong that in a perfect storm of effect transitions, could cause wrist strain / injury. The second revision is what you have where the motor size was scaled down, negating the need for a fan.

My joystick is of the "first version" variety and yes, when it bucks, you feel the slam forcefully in your wrist, arm and shoulder. But, I still love it to this day.

Thank you for featuring this!

All comments from YouTube:

LGR

40w↑208

And yes, you can cover up the hand sensor to let the stick move freely around on its own at full force!
Here's a demonstration of that with Episode 1 Racer on the FFB2 that just arrived: https://twitter.com/lazygamereviews/status/1682444490009726984

Bryan

40w↑8

microsoft included an adapter on the precision pro for USB I don't know if they had it with the force feedback versions

LGR

40w↑35

Unfortunately, that particular adapter is only designed for the non-FFB sticks like the Precision Pro. Hence the need for custom microcontroller projects today :)

Bryan

40w↑11

@LGR that is a bit of a bummer one of these days I’m going to get my FFB version going because I had always wanted FFB but when they were current but costs kept it out of reach I got the non FFB version and it was a great stick well into my university years.

dercncplaner

40w↑5

we need a modern one today

PeTTs0n88

40w↑1

@LGR Oooh please post a little update if you ever manage to get your hands on a USB adapter for this thing, that'd be really awesome! (Like the USB4VC project you covered on Blerbs - I'm really glad you did because that's such a freaking amazing thing to have and I'm glad I got one!)

11 More Replies...

MT Bil og Motorsport

40w↑138

Clint is just like a vendor at late 90s mall. He doesn't force a sale on you, he is just enjoying himself talking about all the products and making good vibes so you may enjoy the product too.
I have subbed to LGR 6 years now, and man.. the vibe is still real!

DeusWulf

40w↑96

Kind of crazy how we have moved backwards in terms of peripheral features like this. I have a Novint Falcon laying around somewhere, a shame that never ended up going anywhere. Feeling the gravity of objects in HL2 was amazing.

greggv8

40w↑7

IMHO the NES gamepad was the first giant leap backward in game controls. When I first saw one in a store circa 1985 I was thinking "Where's the joystick? How am I supposed to play games with *that*?" I figured that little, hard edged rectangle would be the worst, most uncomfortable thing to use, and when I first got hands on one, I was right. Did Nintendo ever have anyone with, y'know, *hands*, test that gamepad?

MrWolfSnack

40w↑12

@greggv8 The big problem I have with it is the ends are hard points and its so small that it hurts to hold it. What's funny is that knockoff companies that make the plug and play junk that rip off NES things, they add a joystick to the controller themselves, lol

adsilcott

39w↑5

I agree. A few years back I decided to buy a HOTAS and I was sad to find that they don't really do force feedback anymore. I bought a nice one but always felt like something was missing, and it made me wish I had kept my sidewinder...

DeusWulf

39w↑1

@greggv8 In their defense, they were building off their hand held "Game & Watch" products. You can see the familiarity in Japan's version of the NES (Fanicom). I could be wrong, but the first time we saw the D pad used by nintendo was with the 1982 Donkey Kong handheld. They were probably inspired by earlier designs seen with some of the handheld pac-man toys that came out around 1981.

A joystick with a handheld probably wouldn't have worked very well. To their credit an arcade like joystick was released at some point, but it was more of an optional accessory.

jubuttib

39w↑3

@greggv8 I still maintain that for a lot of things a D-pad is superior to either analog or digital sticks, be their full size, arcade size or thumbsize. But the one on the NES was hard on your thumbs, certainly. I still remember the calluses I got from them. I actually had (and still do) the NES Advantage stick, but I still felt like many games were better to play using a D-pad.

8 More Replies...

Renzsu

40w↑302

Microsoft really owes us a reissue or new version of this joystick. What are they doing releasing such a kick-ass flightsim and NOT have a stick like this on the market!

DeinonychusCowboy

40w↑24

What are they doing? Making more weird mice designs no one likes, looks like. 😅

Arnox

40w↑37

"What are they doing"

That's a question you could ask Microsoft about a LOT of their damn products these days. Microsoft quality has gone to shit now, ever since the release of Windows 10.

DJKr15py

40w↑37

@Arnox*Windows 8.

Windows 10 while still flawed is markedly better than 8.

tdsz

40w↑24

Microsoft have been treating PC gaming as the red headed stepchild ever since the XBox came along.

Eschaton

40w↑26

It boggles the mind. The new Flightsim release downright emptied all the stores of all flightsticks! And pushed the prices up for all that was left, like that warthog stick.
You'd think that was the ideal time to produce and release their own superior ForceFeedback stick and dominate the market... but I guess not. What a massive missed opportunity.
Maybe they learned something for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, but I'm not optimistic.

20 More Replies...

Urabrask the Deplorable

40w↑63

Urban Assault was one of the first "real" games I ever played as a kid. Seeing it run again more than 20 years later is a trip.

Under HandedRichard

40w↑1

that was always a great game to throw down on. Especially on IGZ

Matt

39w↑1

I loved that game, played it, modded it, made my own scenarios, etc. The community recoded the entire thing from scratch, its free and called OpenUA (UA:Source) that plays perfectly on modern OS/hardware. It is only one of two or three games I ever had with force feedback compatibility which might be part of why I played it so much.

AstraLee •Investigator Sapling•

40w↑77

I have a precision pro sidewinder that I still use for basically every joystick game. It’s just really nicely made and works in everything.

If you open up a sidewinder, the bottom plate has the names and signatures of all the people at MS who worked on the project molded into the plastic.

1ochotnik

40w↑1

same. Precision Pro is quite robust

Flightsim Desk Uk

40w↑1

I have 3 of them. Just to have spares!

Mal Contender

40w↑5

Back when Microsoft wasn't entirely evil and took pride in their products.

Cameron Covington

37w

Same here, and I love mine. I'll have to open it up and look I never knew that.

TechRyze

35w↑2

@Mal Contender

MS was WAY more evil in the 90s.

Great joystick, though.

1 More Replies...

Ryan Brewer

40w↑363

No matter what’s going on, you always gotta make time for LGR.

EmBee

40w↑6

I had one of those back in the day and played a lot of descent 1 and 2 with it.

musical dude

40w↑11

true, i might be late for work but, come on boss , its LGR ,get over it

Ken Hamilton

40w↑1

Always.

NerdTyler

40w

Every time

thrasher3222

40w↑1

Never miss it!

11 More Replies...

Matthew Burch

40w↑19

I only had a Precision Pro, not a force feedback model. It was still a great stick, but eventually wore out since it didn't have the optical internals the Force Feedback had. One day, I took it apart to see if I could fix its centering issue. I couldn't, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the signatures of the dev team on the inside in raised plastic. I thought it was really neat that they had taken the time and effort to include that in the mold knowing few people would ever see it.

Simon Rockstream

40w↑15

thank you for making such super chill and good vibe videos, thank you. you make incredible stuff, you're insanely smart and knowledgeable AND you're super funny! Keep being you, you're worth a lot

LGR

40w↑5

That’s very kind, thank you!

Celebrate Life

40w↑49

I just wanted to say that you have always done a really great job at writing the script for your content. It comes across as very linear, engaging, and leaves me wanting more. Keep up the great work. 🎉

LGR

40w↑16

Thank you!

Damien N

40w↑5

This is the biggest channel I’ve ever seen talk about Urban Assault. That was easily one of my favourite games as a kid. Very ambitious, and something I’d love to see done again.

Pocket Fluff Productions

40w↑161

My dad used to work for a military contractor that made, among other things, flight simulators for the US Air Force. And his team was involved in programming the force feedback on the throttles and yokes to be accurate enough to train pilots for the real thing. Wild to think that he probably helped lay the groundwork for stuff like this.

Cultureshock

40w↑3

microsoft flight sim x?

Pocket Fluff Productions

40w↑23

@Cultureshock No, like, actual physical flight simulator pods. The kind that completely enclose you in a replica cockpit with real working gauges and stuff.

T0asty

40w↑6

That's pretty awesome.

Christopher Anderson

40w↑3

sucks someone patented this sh and now we don't get force feedback in any modern flight sticks.

Jorendo

40w↑1

@Christopher Anderson Got a source for that? Can't find that anywhere, what I do see is that the market is just to small to have it as a viable thing in Joysticks. It would increase the price of the joysticks as is and it is already hard to market them to the crowd other then the die hard flightsim fans.

3 More Replies...

Wulfex

40w↑105

There's an optical sensor on the front that detects if you're holding the joystick that kicks the force feedback on and off. You can hold your finger over it and it'll kick without you holding it.

DarthVader8037

40w↑8

yep my FFB 2 stick has one as well though i had to clean it as it was keeping the stick stuck on

Arthur Ferrai Ferreira

40w↑15

probably a security feature, which is awesome, considering the strength of FFB 😅

Carleton Torpin

40w↑7

That feature was always my favorite. It felt like a magical, living thing whenever i got close enough to it.

MosoKaiser

40w↑15

@Arthur Ferrai FerreiraThe sensor's main purpose is most likely just to prevent unnecessary wear on the FFB motors, as some people no doubt would have kept the stick hooked up for extended periods of time, and without such sensor mechanism the motors would have been running the entire time it's plugged in.

straightpipediesel

40w↑5

@MosoKaiser Actually it was because the force feedback is based on closed-loop control to make the feeling more accurate. The tuning of the control loops had to account for the damping effect of the user's hand gripping the stick. Without this added damping, they would oscillate. You can see this if you block the sensor with tape and giving the stick a light nudge with your finger, it will chatter and visibly shake.

5 More Replies...

Yurii Novikov

40w↑6

Seeing urban assault so many years later is like an explosion of nostalgia. I remember feeling when a new vehicle is unlocked, and you quickly running to test it out :) Fantastic game, and so pity that no more games like it not released :(

Gary Li

40w↑2

Wow what a nostalgia hit. I got mechwarrior 2 bundled with the sidewinder joystick back in 1997, and that opening cutscene blew my mind as a kid. honestly as a 9 year old that joystick and MW2 were too advanced for me and I barely played MW2 properly until I was a few years older.

shawn shoesmith

40w↑41

Urban assault is such an underrated hidden gem of a game

Deetex Seraphine

40w↑5

Niche community with an OpenSource package, still kicking around

jav

40w↑2

It was a very unique post apocalypse scenario. Almost felt a little bit like Mospeada by way of an RTS.

Friday Californiaa

40w

I like it even more than Incoming, even if Incoming had better visuals 🥰

Tom Buckland

35w

Such a brilliant game. I always loved the detail in the world building. Only draws backs are the crappy ending and the bs cheating ai common to many RTS of the time

Deetex Seraphine

35w

@thetombuck common misconception: the AI did not actually cheat. Unlike the player it only ever has one pool of energy, can not teleport, and is as much beholden to Line of Sight / Fog of War as thr player is.

3 More Replies...

𝚆𝝣𝕊 𝙽𝐢𝕔𝚑𝜙𝚕 

40w↑7

Still holds up 26 years later, love this stick!

Play-On7 Entertainment

40w↑33

1997 feels like such a magical year.

tdsz

40w↑11

Truly the golden age of PC gaming.

Burt Sampson

40w

nothing special. might have been the first year i smoked weed. that or 96. if that's the case, i guess it's kind of special then

canaconn23

40w↑5

@Burt Sampson you probably missed out while you were high.

jackieAZ

38w↑3

In terms of gaming it really was

Quake 2, goldeneye 64, castlevania SotN, fallout, postal, star fox 64, carmageddon, mortal Kombat 4, doom 64, Turok Dino hunter, tomb raider 2, yoshi story

Zodwraith

35w↑1

If I had to pin down one year it's probably 1997 where it became "cool" to own a PC and prices were rapidly dropping where you were 2k minimum to get into a PC just the year before and it was around or under 1k by the end of 97. PC gaming started being taken seriously by developers and we saw a massive influx of cutting edge games in that era.

R2 Debo

40w↑199

Force feedback in one of the most valuable features of a helicopter flight stick. I own 2 sidewinders, one modified and one not. The ability to feel and witness progressive trim, instantaneous trim, feel the vibrations of a stalling warbird, feel the resistance of a sticks elevator movements after taking off due to the wind hitting the ailerons is just amazing. Feeling the flight stick shake when you fire the machine guns in a Fokker DR.1 is really cool too. Force feedback that is in my opinion as valuable as head tracking and I will never understand why it's not a more common feature. It makes modern jets feel boring in comparison cause of their fly by wire design. There's not much purpose for it in modern jets except for maybe a stick shaker or vibration when shooting guns. After looking at the inside of the microsoft force feedback 2, it really shouldn't be as expensive of a feature as some believe it would be. Just a few reliable small motors and a few gears is enough to do the job.

George Tazberik

40w↑47

"I will never understand why it's not a more common feature."

Patent trolls.

magfal

40w↑13

@George Tazberikalmost always the correct answer to that question

TurbomanMechachrist

40w↑4

@George Tazberik It's more about being directed at a very niche market.

nigh

40w↑18

@George Tazberik Except it isn't really that. LGR did a good job explaining that all the sticks that were made years ago licensed those patents and the FFB wheels currently on the market also license Immersion patents. The patents also get fewer and fewer as time goes by and they expire. More of a lack of a viable market. (and the last attempts like the G940 were apparently quite flawed)

Soundscape

40w↑13

As someone who does car sim stuff (simracing, trucking, etc), I find it a bit mind blowing how ffb is a pretty niche thing for flight simmers when it's pretty much a solved thing for driving games.

28 More Replies...

Flow Performance

40w↑6

I had the non-force feedback version. It was fantastic. Spent many hours enjoying X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter using this

Michael Eilers

40w↑1

The ultimate Sidewinder game, for me, was Descent (and the sequels); the twist action giving you true 6 DoF was just amazing and so immersive. Playing against others on the LAN II absolutely dominated!

thrasher3222

40w↑9

Greetings. I had both the Sidewinder and FF2 back in the day and wore them both out! Great sticks and I loved the force feedback. The new PS5 controllers implement force feedback in the triggers, which is cool, but nothing really does it quite as well as the OG Microsoft joysticks. I bet if they brought them back for XBox & PC they'd sell a lot more XBoxes and a ton of Joysticks!! Great video, thanks Clint!!

Redhotsmasher

40w↑2

I'm still wondering why they chose to implement force feedback in the triggers instead of the sticks, would've made much more sense IMO.

Rex Bellator

38w↑1

Thank you Clint for covering this peripheral. You brought back a lot of good memories from this era. This joystick was phenomenal and I had as much fun with its force feedback features as you did in the video (I loved messing around with that control panel).

I still can't wrap my head around how some parts of the gaming hardware industry have regressed in the last 20 years. The late 90s/early 00s were a fruitful time of awesome peripherals and devices (You should do the Microsoft Strategic Commander controller next). Even audio peripherals came in all shapes and sizes and we had THX quality quadraphonic sound with games that supported them, nowadays everything's compressed to stereo or some simulated 7.1 audio that adds a lot of fuzzy reverb. It stinks!

Hoping someday these patent trolls eff off so that the industry can fill that niche again.

Nathan Kelley

40w↑7

You definitely earned your paycheck with this project! 😂 I’m 10 years older, an IT Director and Technology Teacher at a private school. 80’s and 90’s were a great time to grow up and I enjoy your videos! I have a vintage collection and share it with the kids at school.

Sean Killian's Vocal Coach

40w↑62

This thing made Battlezone 2 come alive for me as a kid. Using the throttle as an actual throttle for vehicles was the most immersive thing i may have ever done, only surpassed by VR's honeymoon period.

User 2C47

40w

@John Looks like it's already run out in the few hours since you posted.

FazeShyft

34w↑1

YES! I'm thrilled that you've finally given these gems a look. The joystick was always a treat, and Urban Assault is a forgotten gem from my formative years when this exact package was an unexpected Christmas gift. Is there any possibility you'd review Urban Assault more in depth for a future video? If so, there's an open source port of it for modern systems.

Sean Simons

40w↑5

I picked one up in high school while I worked at a CompUSA. My heart aches thinking of the same question, "why are they gone?!" It brings an incredible level of immersion. My favorites were Mechwarrior 4 Mercs and Descent Freespace. It would be incredible for something modern like Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen, or even No Mans Sky.

Doctor Nemmo

40w↑1

Mouse gaming took its place.

SnakebitSTI

35w↑1

@Doctor NemmoExpensive flight sticks for flight sims never went away. And force feedback is significant for simulating flying.

TheTaleteller

40w↑6

I have fond memory of my Sidewinder playing countless hours of Wing Commander. Being able to twist the stick for role maneuvers was just great.

セラフ

40w↑1

Honestly I could imagine with something like this, a left hand device, some pedals and something like a stream deck you could make a reasonable approximation of a Steel Battalion controller and that makes me weirdly excited.

Consequator

40w↑1

I had the force feedback 2 and it was awesome!
The force feedback was also great, if you ran into something stuff would actually start falling from your desk from the feedback.
It was pretty great while not crashing into things too, giving at least some form of haptic feedback with a lot of supported games.
This thing would absolutely give you a sore arm with combat sims.

I was sad when support dropped.

mybike1100

40w↑41

I remember getting one of these for Christmas as a kid and it absolutely blowing my mind when I started up MechWarrior 3 with this joystick. Feeling every step, weapon fire and damage taken made me feel like a real mech pilot.

Message Deleted

40w↑5

Yes these things were excellent with the mechwarrior series.

Fones R Phunny

40w↑2

Did anyone actually get good with using any joystick in a Mechwarrior game? No matter how much I played MW3 or 4, I found accurate aiming while moving nearly impossible.

mybike1100

40w↑3

@fonesrphunny7242 I beat mw3 and pirate's moon on medium mode a couple times with the joystick. I never got into mw4 too much. I got really good at torso twisting and using the view hat to aim accurately.

D. R.

40w↑1

@Fones R Phunny I did, but online games, you were at a disadvantage.

Headcrab

40w↑2

@D. R. Same thing with Combat Flight Simulator.

Aner

40w↑2

A buddy of mine had one of these back in the day, and it was awesome to play Star Wars Episode I: Racer and MechWarrior 3 on. Especially the podracing, the force feedback would shake you 7 ways from Sunday when you crashed.

7ktTube

36w

I had that soundsystem!
It's one of the best I've ever had! The table speakers delivered such a rich crisp and clean sound
The subwoofer were mindblowingly good!
I would instantly buy it if I came across it today.

seanmcbay

40w↑2

Even as a console gamer, I still somehow knew how highly regarded this stick was.

Jonathan Snyder

39w

Using this joystick with Starlancer and Crimson Skies was amazing. Especially using 70mm cannons on a custom plane and getting that heavy feedback when giving the enemies the good news. Great tech I wish they would bring back.

psycomatrix

40w↑1

I had both the model 1 and 2. Both wore out and, as you said, became kind of obsolete since times went ahead without support for the niche of FF. Was one of the best experiences I ever had. I too remember the in-store show case and the, more or less the same, test provided in the sidewinder software. Brought me back to the good old time this video did. Thx Clint! Excellent as always!

polymatt

40w↑48

This video makes me so happy. I actually had one back in the day and remember playing MechWarrior - it was absolutely unreal. One of those moments when you felt that this was truly a leap in technology. Awesome video!

LGR

40w↑13

Thanks Matt, glad you enjoyed! MechWarrior with this is truly game-changing

Nick Finzer

39w↑1

I always wanted this back in the day, but as a middle schooler it was way out of my budget. I had the non-force-feedback version of the sidewinder and loved it. Used it to play Novalogic's F-16 Multirole Fighter, which I was way into with my squadron playing on IBS.

Edwin Edgerly

35w

I love this joystick! My favorite fact is that if you pop the housing open, the bottom plate has the signatures of the entire design team. I always figured they knew anyone cracking open the hardware would have a greater appreciation of the design team that made it.

Tasty Business Productions

40w↑1

As a kid, when I got my copy of CFS1, I wish I could have had one of these force feedback joysticks to go with it. Instead, I got the basic model USB Sidewinder, and admired the force feedback models at the store from afar. I was always curious what they were like to use.

Matthew Krzywda

28w↑1

Man, I used to play Mechwarrior 3 with this joystick for hours and hours. What a great experience. I almost want to buy a used Sidewinder Pro and get MW3 running again somehow. I wish I had never sold the joystick, long ago, when my computer lacked the correct connections to use it.

DarkSideOfPixels

40w↑4

oooh what memories you brought back! I remember when my dad took that joystick and started playing "Combat Flight Simulator". I was by his side as he played the game and I remember the first time I tried to use it. I was shocked and amused by the force feedback, really intense and immersive. You really made me smile like a kid. Thanks for this great video!

Elliott

40w↑10

I still love my USB sidewinder precision 2 (no force feedback) for older games (x-wing, mechwarrior, etc). It's new enough to work with a modern OS, and old enough to work with most games without any drivers or software or anything super weird.

Nick F

40w↑1

My favorite of the in-store demo was the helicopter starting. I can still feel the phantom swirling motion. Thanks for bringing back that memory. I always loved fore-feedback. I always thought that it was the future way before all this VR/AR.

Mark Muir

40w↑2

You've revitalize my interest in making a custom flight stick for realistic flight controls for MS FlightSim / X-plane. I love the way the Sidewinder Pro can change the center position - essential for flight!

MrAusshir

40w↑2

This video was a lot more detailed than I expected. Props for going into all the simulator community stuff at the end of the video!

Da Boaring Dragon

40w

Oh man, this takes me back. I remember seeing this and similar joysticks in my local Electronics Boutique. Always wanted one, even though I didn’t play any games compatible with them. They were just big and they looked cool lol.

Thanks for the nostalgic whiplash! <3

jav

40w

Man the absolute joy upon using this. I was HUGE into Urban Assault back then I would've loved to play it with this thing!

Lord Mordington

40w↑15

About 8 years back I found a perfectly nice FFB2 for 15€ in a local game store of all places. It's been an excellent and reliable stick ever since, and playing older games with proper support is just awesome. Certainly one of the best things to ever bear a Microsoft badge.

Her Royal Fluffiness Celestia, Princess of Cake

40w↑1

I'm using one for over 20 years and I fly a lot. That thing is probably the most reliable and rugged thing I will ever have bought in my entire life.

gruzzob

40w↑1

I found mine in a thrift shop about 15 years back for 20 bucks with no power cable (luckily it takes a standard figure 8 plug), thought it was bad for a while until I discovered the hand sensor on the stick xD.

Wet Tuga

40w↑3

I have the Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel USB and it's a force to be reckoned with! I never had the Force Feedback Joystick but it's never too late to try out a piece of history, I'll keep an eye on local online markets for the USB version 🙂

Fat Freddy’s Coat

39w

Had one of these back in the day and they were absolutely awesome with all the forces in action. Pretty powerful when turned up to the max power.

BlackMesaSecurity

40w

I used the Side Winder 3D Pro through the late 90’s through mid 2000’s. Loved them. Didn’t have the version you’ve got there but these things were bulletproof. Really loved playing with them through all the different versions of Air Warrior.

Steven Dykes

40w↑2

I had this exact joystick growing up, came with the i76 and mdk bundle. Good times. I think my dad still has it in storage.

Nunya Business

40w

My friend bought one when it was released in 98. Best stick I've ever used and I've used quite a few. Was around $125 when released and worth every penny. Amazing build quality!

Mal Contender

40w↑36

This is the joystick. First 50 kill round in an F-18 Hornet in BF2 on Kubra dam. It was transcendent.
Not to mention the mechwarrior games, because it was king there too.

Message Deleted

40w↑6

Yes I remember feeling rather meh about mechwarrior 2 until I played it with the joystick.

StephenOBG

40w↑6

God dammit. It was you!!! I just upgraded to a GeForce 3 and was "trying" to go ham in an LAV. Dam you.

Jason H

40w↑1

Torso twist

Titanium Rain

34w

Thanks for the reminder that I need to get back to BF2hub lol

Carboxylated

38w

i had so much fun watching the pod racing sequence, full TILT! I remember my babysitter's dad having this in his study with MechWarrior 3 and I remember it being very realistic as a wee lad. Epic video! One of my favorites from you.

Drawdaluz

34w

I remember playing SW Episode 1 with this, the feeling of feedback from lightsaber swings was everything.

Wolfgang

36w↑1

I love me some before sleep, relaxing and chill LGR experience. Thank you for all of these.

Christian Koehler

37w

I actually implemented force feedback in a game in the early 2000s. This was my first job as a games dev at a studio in Germany. We had very much fun. With the right commands (and some sticky tape on the security sensor) you could make these things walk around the table or dance to music. Unfortunately sometimes good things have to come to an end. The company ran out of money, force feedback support was one of the first things to be removed from the game. Somewhat later I lost my job and many others did as well. The game was completed by the remaining staff with very little resources. It was released in a bad state and became a flop. By theat point I had moved on in life. I never played the final game and I never owned a copy.

A. Ret.

39w

Thanks for never ending content. Your channel will always scratch my itch for old school tech, also saving me hundred is not thousands on not buying all pre 90's tech I come across, i just come and search and usually find what fills the void.

Lurchi Lurch

40w↑15

I had the second version with the USB plug, which was also a bit more stylish IMO. Pretty epic piece of hardware, I found it recently and it still works!

EbayDK2K

40w

Got mine on clearance for 40 bucks. Went straight back to the shop and got two more for my friends. Our LAN sessions adapted way more flight sims and stuff after that 😊

Leandro Schmitt

40w↑3

I used to dream about it back in the day, to fly with FS98 and FS2000 "as real as it gets". But back then, it was kind impossible to find one where I live, and if I could find one, I'm sure I couldn't afford to have one.

Tuckey

40w

I had the normal sidewinder, and it was a lovely joystick without any of the annoying drift you got on normal non optical sticks. Great stick for Tie Fighter.

Dave Nirtam

39w↑1

I started working in a computer shop in 1997 and bought this joystick right at availability. Still have it, but it is not set up currently. Your video made me wanting it even more to be used again - I did not know that Episode1 Racer supports it, since I did not have it back then, but I bought it recently :-)

Gameplay and Talk

39w

It's really cool to see this in action! Years back a co-worker gave me two of these--the one that you are using here with Gameport, and the follow-up USB version (Force Feedback 2). I still have them but have yet to bother getting them set up. Been on a retro PC kick recently so I may just have to finally try them out!

Classic Game Sessions

40w↑32

This was the boss joystick at the time. Awesome! 🕹

Her Royal Fluffiness Celestia, Princess of Cake

40w

The successor still is... ^^

Jay Ireland

40w

I vividly remember playing the in store demo of the Side Winder as an 11yo being completely blown away by all the various force feedback effects it was able to create.

Vintage Cap Guns

31w

I had a fully enclosed cardboard "cockpit" setup for MechWarrior and other combat sims in the early 2000s. The best flight stick I had was like a $50 thrustmaster and some pedals. It would have been amazing to add this and I remember seeing it in stores and catalogs.

Ubiquitous Books

40w

I remember seeing this in my local PC World. They had a display stand with buttons that would simulate different effects and it blew my mind (I bought Red Alert that day). Now I have the SW FFB Pro 2, which is still my go-to stick in modern flight sims. It has USB and works great in Windows 11 with modern flight sims like DCS, MS FS, IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad. The FFB is really useful in WW2 flight sims where it lets you feel when the aircraft is right on the threshold of stalling.

Pineapple Salad

40w

Man I was jealous for my friends who had this joystick. Besides the force feedback feature, it was just really good joystick, competing with the real high end offerings at the time and for a long time after. Although the force feedback feature was pretty dubious in a joystick, it was much more useful in steering wheels. I'm still using my Logitech G25, from the era before Logitech became utter crap. It really adds to the feeling, especially when combined with VR goggles.

James Tenniswood

39w

I had one and loved flight combat SIM. Such an awesome joystick, ridiculous overkill at it's best

Wulfex

40w↑20

My childhood! And it comes with one of my favorite games, Urban Assault! There's an open-source rebuild of the game that allows you to run it on modern hardware, if anyone is interested.

Jordan Locker

40w↑7

Where is it? Urban assault is awesome.

Friday Californiaa

40w

@Jordan Locker Same, I need it

QraQrJaq

40w

I remember store demos for this joystick having different haptic feedback demos, if I remember correctly; lightsaber, some kid of racing, gunfire and a couple others. I was always amazed by it as a kid, trying to wrestle with its resistance.

Filipcreate

40w

Clint, I love your videos. They are so nostalgic and comfy ❤

Damn, I remember all those SideWinder ads in the trial versions of different Microsoft Games. Those were the golden times for accessories like this. Nowadays people just use mouse and keyboard or gamepads.

The Void

40w

I currently found a sidewinder 2 in box for 5 dollars in a thrift store in the midwest. Joysticks are awesome when playing xwing vs tie fighter and mechwarrior 3. Holy crap did this intensify my gaming experience. I love the 90s. 😁

Friday Californiaa

40w↑1

I had this exact one model and damn I miss it ! Recent Thrusmaster Warthog of F-16 controlers are great, but I really miss the force feedback in the recent sim games (Il-2, DCS, FS2020, etc...). This trend has to come back.

Oh, and BTW, Mech Warrior with that joystick was a treat 🥰

t3hbeowulf

40w↑17

Finnisher

40w↑3

Oh okay that explains it then, I had the version with the fan too and yeah I kept the feedback strength quite low!

Matt G

40w

I remember the store demos of these. I was blown away but never could’ve afforded one in a million years!

DJ Atomic5

40w

Watching you load up Microsoft Combat flight sim with the sidewinder gave me a sense of nostalgia because I remember growing up playing that game all the time and how much I miss those times!

Al13n1nV8D3R

40w

Keep in mind that this was ahead of its time. Most people today associate force feedback with rumble and vibration in controllers like Sonys sixaxis or xbox's controllers. This sidewinder joystick actually responds to your actions on screen. If your Jet plane gets hit by an enemie fire....you can feel the joystick tug back, making you have to correct the steering just like a real plane. It was amazing!

Enigma1336

40w

Had this one back in the days and played a ton of different flying and driving games with it. Great product and was a ton of fun.

Randall Danger

40w

I loved force feedback back in the day. I have many good memories of using it in Interstate '76 and Mechwarrior 2. I wish it would make a comback. The sticks need to be more durable than they were back then though. I also vastly preferred the Thrustmaster HOTAS to the Microsoft Sidewinder.

Ricardo Ramos

40w↑34

I remember having the SideWinder Force Feedback wheel and playing tons of Midtown Madness 2 and Monster Truck Madness. That thing blew my 9 year old mind when the wheel felt like the one in my parents car.

Dick Dastardly

40w↑1

I used the USB version with Crimson Skies and Comanche 4. Good times😁

Stephen Snow

40w

Your parents must have had a really tiny car. Did they use a gokart?

Clos93

40w↑7

@Stephen Snowhe meant the feeling when turning it. Most cheap wheels at the time were literally just a analog stick shaped like a racing wheel.

OEZMER

40w↑2

Oh yes, got one as a birthday present, Monster Truck Madness was awesome. Still have the wheel!

Ricardo Ramos

40w

@5dstrix before the Sidewinder I had a cheap wheel that moved the car like crazy just by touching it. But the sidewinder made it feel like I was moving the wheel of a real car (or at least me as a kid thought so)

1 More Replies...

MeatheadMan

40w

I remember this thing being shown during my local computer expo as being something massively futuristic. Also won a massive CRT monitor during the raffle that apparently was 500+ bucks which was pretty cool as a small 7yo kid. The variety of porn movies they also gave were a bit different tbh 🤣

Flight Dojo

39w

Nice video! I made a similar video trying to get to the bottom of why the myths that have surrounded the FFB stick hiatus over the years. Seeing some of these vintage games really brought me back, especially Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator!

enilenis

40w

I have a collection of old joysticks, including all sidewinders. I would agree, that this one is probably my favorite, when it comes to ergonomics. I used to play Comanche games a lot and this thing was perfect. For driving, the force feedback steering sidewinder. If only I could remember where I put the power brick.

Eduardo Mafra

40w

I had the SideWinder Force Feeeback Wheel back in 1998, with CART Precision Racing and Monster Truck Madness 2 bundled. The effects on Monster Truck Madness 2 were awesome, I literally felt all the road's bumps!

SyzygyNoon

39w

I remember Urban Assault. It taught me a very valuable lesson. Don’t nickel and dime your opponent. Creat a deathswarm of undeniable force and overwhelm you enemy with absolute dominance. That’s how to win that game.

takkyu82

40w↑8

I had the Digital Sound System 80, they were amazing speakers. Then Klipsch made the ProMedia 2.1 set, and I never looked for anything else. Sometimes miss those old MS DSS 80 speakers though.

Bad Sector

40w

Nice video! I never had one of these, but it's interesting to see that they made sense!
Little addition to "why don't they make these anymore?": Joysticks were an input device, maybe THE input device of the 80s, and of course this translated to the 90s. But with alternatives like gamepads, that also use less space on your desk and just may be better suited to your type of game anyway (again, we used joysticks for a lot in the early days, not so much anymore), having a joystick in the first place made less sense (except for flying type games), and, in extension, this also made this niche of joysticks with force feedback less appealing to manufacture, or to support.

Jimmy De'Souza

24w

One thing that force feedback is really good for is flight sims because in an actual plane or helicopter the flight stick's neutral position moves depending on where you trim it and a force feedback stick is the only way to simulate this.

L

40w

I have the later USB version, which I picked up in a retro games shop a couple of years ago for £20 in box.
Fantastic device.
It also has the advantage of using a cassette deck power lead straight into the joystick and FF2.

SuperOstrich

40w

My favorite thing about my FFB2 is playing modern flight sims like IL-2 or DCS. When you trim your ailerons or elevator, it actually changes the centering of the stick! This is made possible because there is no spring, the stick is just floppy until the motors provide centering force.

Michael T

40w

The Digital Sound System 80 mentioned, I had. It was quite amazing for the time. It hooked up via USB and had a sound card inside the subwoofer. The only downfall of it, was that the passive radiator for the sub loved to blow out. Quality overall was really good otherwise.

Domnall

40w↑12

Always happy to see any Mechwarrior game in a video!

Standard Nerd

40w

I had a set of DSS-80's and only got rid of them a few years back. GREAT speakers! The subwoofer made a great foot warmer. We also had the Game Voice and this joystick. My brother-in-law is STILL using the DSS-80s and still has his game voice and joystick in working order. The AWE64 was a royal PITA sound card!

CamENG

40w

I remember quite vividly wandering around PC world circa 1997 and pressing all the demo buttons for this to see what it felt like, that and the force feedback steering wheel as well. There was no way on God's green earth my family could ever have afforded to buy one at the time! Crazy to think that it would be about £300 in today's money 😳

Ping

36w

The MS force feedback wheel was REALLY good for the time as well too. Many many happy memories of hours of driving games with that. And the sidewinder Gamepad :)

TaumelScheibe

40w↑1

I still use a heavily modified FFB2 today.
Amazing piece of hardware, unfortunately FFB-support is really underwelming in modern sims.
At least you get Heli force trim in DCS.

In old Il-2 1946 you could really "feel" the aircraft with a ffb stick.

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