Logitech Force 3D Pro Joystick

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Anthony Fiti
Kurtis
Logitech
Mar. 26, 2006

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Testing

One of the first things I noticed with the joystick was that it did not seem firm enough for me in the centered position. The joystick would move around with very little force applied. The area it would move around loosely in was quite large compared to most spring-based joysticks. I would move the joystick around in the dead area and still the movements would be reflected in the game. I went into the control panel and adjusted the Spring Strength Effect, and while it made the joystick spring back slightly faster, it did not solve the problem with the dead area around the joystick's center position. However, the game I was playing did have a dead area adjustment in the settings and I was able to correct the problem for the most part there.

Aside from my quibbles about the dead area around center, the joystick's movements were spot on. Using Logitech's utility to measure joystick activity, I could see that when the joystick was moved to its 100% of its position it also correlated with 100% in the utility. The X and Y axis' were correctly calibrated, along with the throttle and the Z axis (the twist of the handle).

What stood out to me was the layout of the buttons at the top of the joystick. All the buttons are in the correct place. In the center is the HAT switch, usually used to look around within the game. Four more buttons are around the HAT, all located close enough that it doesn't take much movement of your thumb to move from the HAT button. And the trigger on the opposite side of the joystick seems to fit my hand perfectly.

The six buttons on the base of the joystick are well positioned, although I didn't find myself using them for much. Obviously, since they are located away from my center of attention (the moving parts of the joystick) I assigned infrequently used commands - things like calling for pushback, starting an engine, differential braking, etc in FS2004. (Just thought I would throw in that for games like BF2 I like to have those buttons off to the side for things like eject and open parachute. - Ed)

I really liked the large control surface of the throttle; it's easy to tap it gently when you need just a little more or a little less power. That said, I happen to prefer the slider throttles, but those seem out of style in modern joysticks. As you would expect, the throttle mechanism has enough resistance to stay in place.

For the game I played the most during testing, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004, force feedback is nice, but not entirely useful. The most practical aspect of the force feedback in this game is that if the plane stalls in flight, the stick will shake just like in a real aircraft. You can also feel the thud when the landing gear retracts. The force feedback for these events is rather small - while you can feel the stick shake when the gear retracts, it isn't something that is going to disturb your control over the joystick. It's the small details like these, the added sensations, that will add to the gaming experience.

For games that are more air combat oriented, like Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator 3, force feedback will prove to be more practical - the aircraft shaking when you fire the guns or when an enemy lands a hit on your aircraft. During my time playing Combat Flight Simulator 3, I was pleased to find that the force feedback functionally was very accurate in terms of timing and the amount of jolt I felt through the joystick. Firing guns would cause it to recoil and pulling tight maneuvers would cause the stick to push back against me, as if the ailerons and other flight control surfaces were struggling to get into position. While I've never actually flown a WWII aircraft, nor have I been in combat, the sensations did feel appropriate based on my knowledge of aviation.

Sadly, not many games utilize force feedback for joysticks. While most racing games support force feedback for racing wheels, some very popular games with flying involved, such as Battlefield 1942 and BattleField 2, do not support force feedback. I recommend checking to see if the game(s) you want to use the joystick with support force feedback before you spend your money.

Logitech Profiler Software

As I mentioned before in the Setup portion of the article, the Logitech Profiler software will automatically scan your drive and look for games. You can then go in and setup the configuration for each game. In addition to being able to assign keys to joystick buttons, you'll also able to assign in-game functions to the buttons. When you go to assign a joystick button, the software will provide you with a prepopulated list of in-game commands suited for that particular game.

Once you have all the buttons assigned you can print the layout for quick reference to have nearby so you don't have to remember the assignments for all 12 programmable buttons. Finally, when you start the game, the profiler will load the joystick's profile for that game.

Many of the settings on the Force 3D Pro are customizable through the Logitech Profiler software. For starters, you can adjust the amount of force feedback through the Global Device Settings menu. You can change the overall strength of the force feedback effects, the spring strength (which is how forcefully the game will push or pull the joystick), and the damper effect (which is how much the joystick will resist movement).

The final setting you can change is the return spring setting. One thing that differentiates force feedback joysticks from traditional joysticks is the lack of a centering spring. This spring keeps the joystick's neutral position in the middle (at 0,0 in terms of the x- and y-axis). Force feedback joysticks do not have the traditional centering spring; instead they rely on small servos or motors to push the joystick into the center of the range of movement. Each setting can range from 0% (force feedback effects completely off) up to 150% of normal.

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Page 1: Introduction / First Looks
Page 2: Taking a Closer Look / Setup
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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4 User Comments

1 - Posted by Nick on March 27, 2006 - 7:44 pm

You mention that its setup for Righties. Thought id throw out the Saitek Cyborg Evo series as a good 'Lefty-friendly' joystick. The Cyborg series has gotten pretty good reviews and there are many different parts that can be adjusted for both handedness and hand size.

2 - Posted by Anthony on April 1, 2006 - 8:16 pm

Indeed, I own a Saitek joystick and have configured it as a lefty would use it just to see how it felt. It seemed to work well (minus my inability to play games well w/ my left hand).

3 - Posted by nsppatel on January 4, 2007 - 3:22 pm

Is it compatible for the playstation 2? (Ace Combat 5)

4 - Posted by J2T on January 5, 2007 - 12:53 pm

Yep, I have the Cyborg Evo Wireless (courtesy via a contest from TTL and Saiteck :) ) and the only thing I wish it had was force feedback.

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