Microsoft Sidewinder Joystick: Did you play with one? Is thereva spiritual descendant

21-08-2019 12:59pm #1

The Microsoft Sidewinder was sold up to about 2000.
Flogged by MS as being suitable for Flight Simulator 98. Conspicuously missing in advertising for FS 2000.
Is there a spiritual descendant for such a device not necessarily Microsoft branded?

Johnnycanyon · 21-08-2019 1:20pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The Microsoft Sidewinder was sold up to about 2000.
Flogged by MS as being suitable for Flight Simulator 98. Conspicuously missing in advertising for FS 2000.
Is there a spiritual descendant for such a device not necessarily Microsoft branded?

Not too sure , but I am still using the Sidewinder..Tried other brands but always went back to SW.. dreading the day it packs up on me.

Skerries · 22-08-2019 12:04pm

what connection are you using as I think that came with a gameport/serial?

Johnnycanyon · 06-09-2019 6:32pm

Skerries wrote: »

what connection are you using as I think that came with a gameport/serial?

USB

dreamers75 · 07-09-2019 3:05pm

If I had say several with serial connections are they any use these days with connectors?

07-09-2019 3:43pm

Up to a few years ago, you could order USB - MIDI converters online fairly easy.

Today..... you may have to poke around on eBay.

Skerries · 07-09-2019 8:54pm

they aren't MIDI connectors though, they use gameport connections

Amazon have this but don't know how effective it is

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Core-Male-Joystick-Game-Adapter/dp/B0038Q5FYO/ref=pd_cp_107_1/259-7553140-8682953?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0038Q5FYO&pd_rd_r=81c6c9fd-c289-4eb1-9c17-b9258abf0b4c&pd_rd_w=IL4HS&pd_rd_wg=qGEbT&pf_rd_p=01704ebe-a86a-4b47-8c36-0f9f5bbc2882&pf_rd_r=GVWRZS08923T01AF16M4&psc=1&refRID=GVWRZS08923T01AF16M4

dreamers75 · 07-09-2019 11:14pm

So anyone want to buy an old sidewinder or the steering wheel they made

beauf · 07-09-2019 11:49pm

I tried them back in the day and thought the Microsoft ones were terrible. Sloppy. I had a CH Products flight stick pro sim stick. Must have been over 20yrs ago.
Can't remember why I got rid of them. I think some thing broke or had a driver issue.

I have Logitech Extreme Pro at the back of a cupboard for years. I didn't have desktop for years.

08-09-2019 11:03am

I just bought a HAMA uRage Airborne

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_Kaiser_ · 09-09-2019 3:20pm

Still have my Sidewinder Precision 2 and it still works great. Occasionally look out for a replacement, but haven't seen anything that doesn't look flimsy or overly busy with buttons.

Overheal · 09-09-2019 6:03pm

I remember playing tons of crap on the sidewinder, even half life.

Static M.e. · 10-09-2019 8:57am

Had one for Mechwarrier, they were a must have back then. Not sure what the spiritual descendant is..

Skerries · 10-09-2019 5:13pm

found the one I have from 1999

someone bought it in 2015 from Amazon and complained it was too old!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-WingMan-Extreme-Digital-3D/dp/B00000JDDX

mordeith · 10-09-2019 5:20pm

Used to have a sidewinder gamepad.
Cant remember if it was crap or great!

https://www.google.com/search?q=sidewinder+gamepad&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgrqiN1MbkAhW7VRUIHR8lDUgQ_AUoAXoECBAQAQ&biw=360&bih=648#imgrc=uUYVuLAHoO69FM

gizmo · 10-09-2019 7:11pm

mordeith wrote: »

Used to have a sidewinder gamepad.
Cant remember if it was crap or great!

https://www.google.com/search?q=sidewinder+gamepad&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgrqiN1MbkAhW7VRUIHR8lDUgQ_AUoAXoECBAQAQ&biw=360&bih=648#imgrc=uUYVuLAHoO69FM

It was great! I had one of the first gen gamepads too and I loved it. Came across it during a house move awhile back and I still found it incredibly comfortable to hold. Obviously its usefulness is reduced due to the lack of analog sticks, the Gameport interface and its lack of support for XInput but I'm kinda tempted to dig it out and give it a shot with some older titles.

Retr0gamer · 18-09-2019 10:56am

The sidewinder gamepad was amazing. Comfortable to use, excellent d-pad that was great for fighting games. And the best thing about it was you could daisy chain pads together. Used to use that loads for 4 player mame games like simpsons arcade. They later released a usb version of the first iteration as later iterations just managed to make it worse. Would love to pick one up sometime.

Up there with the Saturn pad as one of my all time favs.

K.O.Kiki · 18-09-2019 12:17pm

Static M.e. wrote: »

Had one for Mechwarrier, they were a must have back then. Not sure what the spiritual descendant is..

The Xbox 360 pad - in that everyone has one & they work with 99% of PC games.

18-09-2019 1:39pm

My present Rig:

Asus Scar Strix II i7 16GB ram

Nvidia 1060 graphics 6GB

Joystick is the aforementioned HAMA uRage Airborne - drivers from HAMA an issue. still works, but meh

steve_r · 25-09-2019 8:46am

Just curious - what's using a joystick like for modern FPS/adventure games?

By the time I got into PC Gaming, it was all keyboard and mouse driven, until I got a 360 controller. Never into the flight sims etc which would still use joysticks.

25-09-2019 9:48am

Me. A HAMA uRage Airborne. Google it.
Problems with the driver in windows 10. Have to use a generic pc games controller driver. Tolerable though.

Overheal · 26-09-2019 1:03am

Anyone who likes this thread will also enjoy knowing that Freespace 2 is free on www.gog.com for the next 36 hours or so. One of the downright top 3 Joystick games for Windows, up there with Uprising: Join or Die and Incoming! (your other choices were incorrect; change my mind).

Microsoft Sidewinder Joystick: Did you play with one? Is thereva spiritual descendant

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