View Full Version : My sad gamepad history


Thorz
21-04-2002, 05:41:PM
Hi everyone

I am so sad and frustrated. I need to speak about this and there is not better polace than here, at least its cheeper than a phsicolog.

My history started when I bought my 1st dream gamepad 2 years ago after having a set of gravis gamepads (Gravis GRiP), for me it was the Logitech Gamepad Extreme, not for the features but for the shape and the button feeling, none gamepad until now has give me that confort. But after a spectacular year with FIFA 2001, came EA sports with FIFA 2002 and the analog controll, then I knew I needed one analog gamepad, and bought in october last year a Thrustmaster Dual Power (1st version). An amazing gamepad. After passing the learning curve (passing from a 6 button faced pad to a 4 faced one) I had become a very good player with the Dual Power, beating the computer was easy after lot of practice. I use to play on World difficulty (the last one) and even in december had to learn to play on fastest to beat some friends that only play on this level. I was totally inlove with the gamepad, but I started to feel that the buttons (specially the shooting one) had started to have problems. They were becoming stiff, litle hard, or simply not taktile good enough. Then I decided to send it to Thrustmaster for recieving a new one.
After more than 1 hole month without gamepad, I recieved another Dual Power from Thrustmaster. It looked great also, but I was not feeling confortable with the shooting button again, it was the feedback that it gave me, it was feeling softer than the other buttons. Then I started to think that it could be a defect in the fabrication of the Dual Power, so I decided to buy a totally new Dual Power, but the new improved version (Dual Power 2). After recieving it I was totally sorprised to see that they had sweep away one button, the button in the midle that I used to have as start buuton!, and this new gamepad had extra-hard analog sticks! My tomb was getting very stress and tired after some hours of playing (this never happened with the 1st version). The feedback of the 4 face buttons was little better in the new version, but nothing exceptional.

I have opened the old Thrustmaster for trying to see what the problem could be, and found that it is the system that they use, the plastic springs that they use under the buttons don't look very good for resist heavy months after months use. I have changed the position of some of the springs and have closed the gamepad, with the so bad luck that the screws that they have used were of the worse quality that they got damaged closing it. Now I have a gamnepad impossible to open again because the screws are totally damaged! They look like if I had used a dremel on them! Their marks are totally ereased. And the buttons have started to bother again. Speaking about the new gamepad just bought, definitly I could not like the 2nd version, the layout of the 1st was much better. I am returning that one to the store for having the money back.

After all this suffering I don't know what gamepad to buy for enjoying my FIFA. And now its coming WC 2002, so I have to have a gamepad soon! From all the pads that I have seen the only one that look like the dual power is the Belkin Nostromo n45 Dual Analog USB. But this one doesn't have Force Feedback. I have not heard so much about it either. And the Logitech Rumblepad is very good also, but the buttons are made for persons with smaller hands than me, they are too close for my taste (not like the 6 buttons of the Wingman Extreeme).

Need some advice please. I don't like the Gravis ones because the software apears to have too much problems. And all the others that I have seen don't look like good opyions to me (Microsoft for example). The dificult thing is that here in the town there is not a store where thay can have gamepads for looking. I have to order it via internet.

Is there anybody using a Playstation 2 controll in the PC for FIFA 2002? This ones are awesome quality!

Thanks for reading friends.

Garifornia
21-04-2002, 10:41:PM
Phew !
Judging by the length of your letter , i'd say you must be good with a keyboard ...So instead of a gamepad use that !:D :D

Thorz
22-04-2002, 09:08:AM
Thanks for your sugerence Garifornia, but unfortunally you are not been big help in this one pal.
If it was a litle long it was for documenting the problem. And it was not so long after all, I have seen longer ones here in the forum.

xbaez
22-04-2002, 09:54:AM
But the InterAct Hammer Head FX controller and you will really feel a difference when playing Fifa 2002. You have 10 buttons and the only problem is that if you play it under WinXP it won't rumble however if you have 2 operating systems then I would recommend you to use it under WinME or Win98.

The controller is very fragil though

Thorz
22-04-2002, 02:25:PM
Originally posted by xbaez
But the InterAct Hammer Head FX controller and you will really feel a difference when playing Fifa 2002. You have 10 buttons and the only problem is that if you play it under WinXP it won't rumble however if you have 2 operating systems then I would recommend you to use it under WinME or Win98.

The controller is very fragil though

The controller looks nice, but the fact that it needs bateries for the rumble efects is a minus. And if you say that is fragil, then I cannot take it into my options, I like a controller that must be dourable. Thanks for your input xbaez, and hope that "El bolillo" takes your team high on the WC.

BATIGOOOL
23-04-2002, 04:20:AM
I also have the Hammerhead FX and it just kicks *** ! :D
I don't use batteries, I have a power pack connected all the time, and the rumble effect is just great, especially in Need for Speed. I don't think that ist is more fragile than other gamepads, I broke one of the 2 joysticks some time ago while playing fifa, but I got a new gamepad from warranty. And the buttons are still working well, I had problems with a Saitek pad when one day the trigger button wasn't working properly. It seems to me that most controllers for pc aren't very dourable, the best ones I know are those from the Nintendo 64, i've thrown them around many times without damaging anything... :rolleyes: