newguy77 said:
It would be nice if the trackball was secured in the controller. Other than that and the price it looks pretty cool, maybe I'll buy one when it's lower priced.
If you'll forgive the bump, I noticed you had a similar concern I had about this controller and felt like I could help. I just recently purchased this and wanted to share my thoughts.
First - I'm a pretty avid PC gamer who's used to a trackball setup with Steveo's Panther XL available here:
http://assassin3d.squarespace.com/
I'm a strong believer in a joystick with a keyboard profiler and a trackball over a keyboard/mouse arrangement. So I've been looking for something similar to try in a gamepad. (Moreso really for gaming on a laptop since I'm not very good with using a touchpad on a FPS.)
Anyways - having already been accustomed to gaming with a trackball, I thought I would take to this controller right away. I was surprised that I really wasn't very good at first. I was actually better with a right analog stick, and there was an uncomfortable cramp in my right thumb. I considered returning it, but I stuck with it and after about two days of practice I could start to see advantages with using this.
For one thing, there's no question it's more precise. You can move your crosshairs in patterns that really aren't feasible with a stick. And after going through the two-day learning curve, I never experienced anymore pain in my thumb.
At the same time - I can see advantages to using a stick. With a trackball for instance, I have to keep moving my thumb until I get the crosshairs to where I want them to be. With a stick if I wanted to, say, look left I just keep the stick in a far-left position with my thumb. My thumb stays motionless as I quickly pan left. (I think it was all the extra movement required of my thumb that was making it hurt the first day I tried it - so I'm thinking after a little exercise that is why using this controller no longer bothers me.)
To overcome this drawback with a trackball, you need to increase the sensitivity of your game. That way a minor gesture of your thumb will have you panning 180 degrees. The trade-off with that, however, is the slightest twitch in your thumb will move your crosshairs off-target. I'm still trying to adjust to this issue, and I imagine I will get better with practice.
But I did just perform a VERY simple mod on the controller that literally anyone can do for a few bucks. It's helped me with this precision issue I experience when my thumb twitches, and it also solves the problem of the trackball falling out of the gamepad if you're not careful while handling it.
I went to the plumbing section of my local hardware store. In the aisle where they sell rubber washers I bought a 1" O.D. x 3/4" I.D. O-ring. If you look at the photo below, this is a picture of my controller with the O-ring around the trackball holding it securely in place.
Now as for what is keeping the O-ring attached, that's the best part. All I did was take some black electrical tape, cut it to half its normal width, then wrapped it around the outer lip of the O-ring, securing it to the trackball base. (Make sure the tape doesn't come in contact with the trackball as you obviously don't want anything touching it and slowing it down.) As you can see, you can't even tell the tape is there because it blends in perfectly with the black controller.
So now with this O-ring mod, the trackball is held a bit more firmly in place and doesn't feel quite as loose. This has provided a big improvement on my precision, as I find I can more easily center crosshairs on my target.
So what's my final thoughts on this gamepad? Well I don't see myself giving up on PC gaming anytime soon. I don't think this controller will ever replace the accuracy of a good keyboard/mouse setup. (Or the aforementioned Panther XL you will need to pry from my cold dead hands.)
But I absolutely love using this controller as an alternative way to experience a FPS. I've dreamed of Microsoft making something like this for years. (Or Sony for my PS3.) It's probably not for everyone - but for a certain niche group, it is a truly amazing gamepad that bridges the gap between console and PC.
