Novint Falcon Limited Edition

so in HL2 does it replace the mouse (ie, where you're looking) or the keyboard/wasd (ie, where you're moving?)
or both?

Originally Posted by LeMaltor
Looks really uncomfortable if you just hold it with your fingers, no wrist support >_<

second that

i wonder that if i would push the whole unit of the table, the feet dont look really stable and heavy

Originally Posted by Hamish
so in HL2 does it replace the mouse (ie, where you're looking) or the keyboard/wasd (ie, where you're moving?)
or both?

By default, the mouse, but it can be set to replace the keyboard too. You look and steer and aim with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx7XJtcfYU4&NR=1

Thats all it took to sell me

Originally Posted by CardJoe
By default, the mouse, but it can be set to replace the keyboard too. You look and steer and aim with it.

interesting
but it works more like a joystick than a mouse right, if you move it to the left the camera will pan to the left until you centre the thingy again?

the force feedback stuff looks awesome but looks like it will still lack the precision of a mouse

Why is it all the 'reviewers' on youtube sound like idiots. They're not reviewing for some no name website either, there's cnet and gamespot in there. I would have thought it would be prudent to have a decent grasp of the English language if you are telling other people about something. Both of the top two hits for this product are reviewed by simpletons.

Oh btw, the qwerty layout... Read this for some facts on that ;)
http://dvzine.org/zine/01-toc.html

this thing looks like a december april fool

Design-wise, it reminds me of a certain game with portals...
I'd really like to try it, it looks very promising, it has potential, but it won't necessarily be harvested.

I don't think this will penetrate very deep into the gaming market, but I do see it having alot of applications in professional realm.

I'd still prefer using a spacemouse for FPS control, but that hasn't happened yet.

I assume this device's history is in 3D modelling, where it would be fantastic.

Originally Posted by the article
These motors serve a dual purpose and can both feel what players are doing and also react the input.

proof-read much?

Originally Posted by LeMaltor
Looks really uncomfortable if you just hold it with your fingers, no wrist support >_<

That was one of my first thoughts too.

Match this with one of those Buttkicker doo hickeys and you are really talking.

Mind you, the buttkicker only works with the sub output so it might have some weird effects.

Wouldn't it be five-axis, since you can tilt up and down as well as side to side? You can't twist, so it isn't six axis, but it's more than three.

Wow... I want one :D

"Everyone forgets that the QWERTY keyboard was originally designed for typewriters and was created with the deliberate aim of slowing typists down to avoid jamming the hammers on a typewriter."

Everyone forgets because it's not actually true.

i thought qwerty was designed to slow down people on a computer
otherwise a load of people who used typewriters for their jobs would have lost a job

Originally Posted by Voideka
"Everyone forgets that the QWERTY keyboard was originally designed for typewriters and was created with the deliberate aim of slowing typists down to avoid jamming the hammers on a typewriter."

Everyone forgets because it's not actually true.

It's certainly what I was taught in A-level ICT and BA Linguistics :S

Originally Posted by Daniel114
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx7XJtcfYU4&NR=1

Thats all it took to sell me

Wow that does look good

Originally Posted by CardJoe

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voideka
"Everyone forgets that the QWERTY keyboard was originally designed for typewriters and was created with the deliberate aim of slowing typists down to avoid jamming the hammers on a typewriter."

Everyone forgets because it's not actually true.

It's certainly what I was taught in A-level ICT and BA Linguistics :S

There's some contention as to whether the QWERTY layout was designed to slow typists down or whether it was designed to separate commonly used letters and avoid the typewriter jamming. No one knows which one is right because the guy who invented the QWERTY layout has been dead for 150-ish years.

Anyhoo, back on topic.

Any reason why it's called the "Limited Edition"?

Originally Posted by Flibblebot
There's some contention as to whether the QWERTY layout was designed to slow typists down or whether it was designed to separate commonly used letters and avoid the typewriter jamming. No one knows which one is right because the guy who invented the QWERTY layout has been dead for 150-ish years.

Still OT... But that's the actual reason it was to slow typists down, the keys jammed when they were moving too quickly due to space constrictions.

Exactly, type too fast on a typewriter and the hammers will jam, so the QWERTY layout spreads the vowels around increases the amount of finger travel required. To stop typists having to retrain, this was then carried over to PC keyboards despite better alternatives existing by then. The DVORAK keyboard is the best layout I'm aware of, but it takes a fair bit of time to get used to.

Originally Posted by Tsen
Wouldn't it be five-axis, since you can tilt up and down as well as side to side? You can't twist, so it isn't six axis, but it's more than three

No, it's 3 axis: Left/Right (X) is the first axis, Up/Down (Y) is the second and In/Out (Z) is the third.

If more games used this I could seriously see this taking off. (I want one....)

The world of input devices is littered with sooo many ideas that seemed like a good idea but simply didn't work (Fragmaster anyone?), this one seems interesting but will it catch on? I'm curious about it but not at $239 (about £120 ish) - way to much for this kind of niche product as far as I'm concerned, unless I have a shot and love it of course!

It will have hard time competing against the traditional Keyboard and Mouse combo, the real market to crack with this kind of kit is the New Tech Rich, they are the ones who will buy any kind of new toy just to try it. Once you have enough of them on board you can drop the price to the New Tech Poor market where the real volume sales are.

Personally, I think it's smashing. I picked up the Limited Edition at Fry's Electronics in Burbank for $189, which is a steal for what it is. So far, Penumbra's been amazingly fun to play, and Haptic-Life 2 is pretty immersive as well, if a smidge wierd for a longtime Mouse+WASD gamer. I confess a lot of my initial interest was with regards to tying it into my own 3D graphics noodlings, but the gaming side is startlingly compelling. As the LE ships, yes, it's a three-axis device. That said, the grip-controller is a removable sub-peripheral to the main unit - adding a controller with a twist or any other type of extra axis-set should be a very straightforward matter - at the moment, no apps really exist to need further axes, but the hardware's capable in expanding in that direction should it be desirable.

All in, that's the best UK £90 I've spent in a *long* time.