jason D'Apriia R@. 2 Box 364 Saloln, WV 26426 (304)782-361k)




Notes on the CH Plightstick Pro_
There are only seven games at the current time that use the Pro. With more on the way, Below is a listing of the games, along with
individual assessments and notes on their combatibility with
Flightstick Pro.
Need for Speed is greatly improved by the Flightstick. The Pro gives
this game a real down and dirty arcade feel and control, especially
from the driver's seat perspective, feels great this is  the  next  best
thing to a stearing wheel and gas pedal. The first time you use the
stick. however, vo@ might encounter some diiiieulties.  Have  the  flight
stick plugged into control pad I the first time you use the  sticit.  You
need the 5tock controller to sat the game up to  u5e  the  flights@ick(
you oan't access the manu very well with the  flightatick.),  The  game
au-tomaticallV saves Vour oon:eiguration after thib initial sat up,  so
you can have the Pro plugged directly into the machine afterwards(
unless you change the configuration again.). Need for Speed has
detailed instructions in the manual for using the Btick and even
allows Vou to use tha handbrake- which you can't use on a stock
controller,
Shook Wave' Opera-tiorx JumpGate. Like Need For Speed, JumpGate has
detailed instructions for the use of the flightstick in  the  manual  and
on the game'a help Boyearl. Like the other flight Sims. the flight
stick control seems a bit too zongiti@o for thib one.  The  dial  adjusts
the speed, which is nioa@ and I iound JumpGate to be pretty easy to
control aftor some practice. JumpGate automatically configures the
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Jason D'Aprile  Rt. 2  Box 384  Salem,  WV  26426  (304)782-3610
5tick for use.
Mega RmLea requires that the flightstick be plugged into controller I
whenever you play and mu5t be reconfigured each time you play, I
raallv didn't notice any advantages or disadvantagea to using the
stick for this one. Mega Race plays equally well with either
controller.
Return Fire plays very well with the flightatick. Like Need  For  Speed.
I like the stick better then a normal controller for Return Fire. The
flight5tick really lands to that "lumbering along through  war'  feeling
of this excellent gar4o. The helicopter i5 5till a bit goofy to flv-  no
matter which controller type you use, but is better with the stick.
Return Fire auto detects the prebance of the stick, 5o you can either
plug it directly to the 3DO or daisy chain it to a control pad  for  two
PlaYer5.
Rebel Asnatil-L. Bad Control gate even worse. The flightbtick ie a bit
too sensitive for most of the 5equences here. especially the a5teroid
fields.
VR Stalker. OverlV sensitive control. bot eaE5ior button  Qonfiguration.
Atito detects the flightstick alnd configures it before you start a
game.
Since the manual doesn't explain the control layout. here it is:
     The Trigger fires your active weapon,
     The A button( the left most button on the top of the  stick)  changes
your view.
     The B button( the center button on the top of the 5tick) switches
between weapon types.
     The P button( the lower right hand button on the base of the
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Jason D'Aprile  Rt. 2  Box 384  Salem.  WV  26426  (304)782-3810
controller) pause5,
     The dial on the left 5ide of the stick is used for mpeed  control.
Super Wing Co @ nder gets a bit more complicated in it'5 oontrol,
beoau5e there'5 5o much more to do@ Like VR Stalker, the game
autodatects the controller and can be plugged in directly or daisy
chained, SWC uses the small thamb controller for menu selections  and
on the fly communications. which works well. Like other flight  sims.
Control will take some getting use to due the sensitive nature of the
flight stick. Here's a run down of the Wing Commander control5. since
thR manual doesn't explain them very well.
The button configuration goes like this: There are four buttons on the
base, the two on the left are the "shift" buttons. The Left Shift  is
at the top and Right Shift is the bottom. The two buttons on the right
side of the base are: The X button at the top and the P button  below
it- On the stick, the three buttons on the top are the A, B and C
buttons and the trigger i5 ior the main gun. Button combinations miast
be pressed simultaneously to work.
Left Shift + A allow for mis5ile selection.
Left Shift + C allow for gun selection-
X + B bring up t-he computer, use the thumb controller to highlight
5ections in the computer,
X + A( or C) change viewpoints.
Right Shift + C activatab the autopilot-
To use the quick message shortcuts, press the X button and the  thumb
controller in tho proper direutioxi. For Instance, the "Break and
Attack" command would be: press X and up on the thumb control at  thg
same time,
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Jason D'Aprile  Rt. 2  Box 384  Salem,  WV  26426  (304)782-3810
The C button activates afterburners and B is used in condunction with
the stick to induce rolling( by moving left or vight with the Stick)
and to increase or decrease spood( by prosging forward or back). As
with most all of these commands, the P button mubt be pressed down the
wholo time while using the rolling and speed change :e"notions.
A button fires missiles.








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.Jason D'Apriie  RT,. 2  Box 384  Salem, WV   26426 (304)762-3810





Poripneral Vision: The Gui(ie @o @he Latest SL)O Cinar.

Ch Prc)duc-Ls Flightstir-k J?ro
List Price: $129.96
Recently roicaued -uo -uhe 3DO community, CH Product's Flilgh@sti.ok  Pro
pro'baL'b!Y taikoo the cake for t'he 3D() Gee-Whiz award. It's big. it,'s
heavy, hals io@5 o+/- but@ons and is a. io-t of :Cun to just move aroiinci.
It's also expensive. List price is about  130  buck5,  but  street  priom
takes i@ down t-o around $90( givr or take,)-
     Go. do you really got that oang :eor your buck with the Pro?
     WQli. it depends on what you p!aV. First olf. I haven't had that
much prqvious experience with thia sort  of  PC-oniv  peripheral.  I'm  a
joys@ick jockey, an arcade hound. a  visceral  action  junkv-  These  are
not idealisms that spring to mind when connecting the terms 'P(@.
FlightutiQk  and  Ylight Sims.  I was looking forward to get,-ting the
Flightstick Pro, though. I wanted rfty VR Stalker and Super Wing
ComiA&nder proficiency @o( a5 the box and CH Product's PR assured me it
would) spring into the virtual hemisphere.  Virtual  i5  right,,  because
in aQ-Lual space, 1 found mysel:e :elving much worsr then usual- At
first. anyway,
     it takes prac@ice to use -thib baby with the games -Lhat- one would
thinit it was designed for. Practice and a  sensitive  touch.  The  first
thinq about the Pro that vou'll not-ice is how sensitivr it i.s.
Overcontrolling runs rampant. gince the stick is a bit too easy @o
movo. 1-t doesn't have that rough an(i tough feel of t-he sticks fotin(i in
1

Jason D'Aprile  Rt. 2  Box 384  Salera, WV  26428  (304)782 3610
armadas, so I was taken by 5urprise- You can't- really eeel WhQn you're
over reacting. Rspecially at first, -o it takes a while to got
Acquaint with the controller. It takes even longer to become friend5
and ally with it- T'm still in the midst of the latter,
     Sti.11 though, flight sim controls, once Yigured out, are easier to
utilize with the Pro. Especially VR Stalker- everything  except  the
pause funqtion is handled on t-he actual stick and speed control  ha5
boen delegated to the left dial on the base, This system  allows  for
exact speed control, but makes afterburner control a bit o:f a hao5le
at times- Wing Commander uges the C button for i@'s  afterburner  and
that was really nice.
     Super Wing Commander does, however, have vastly  more  Qomplicated
controls then VR Stalker and the manual doesn't give all  that  muqh
information on how to use it, Incidentally, the manual that comes with
the Flightstick Pro is terribly inadequate. Ch should have taken @he
time to include quick start guides Yor games like VRS and SWC.
     The Flightstick will not work at all for games that weren't-
designed with it in mind- remember that. The 3DO won't even
acknowledge it's existence if the game you're playing doesn't support
it. So, no Total Eclipse, no Shock Wave( it does  support  JumpGate.
though,), no Burning Soldier, Crash 'n Burn or even Ofi World
Interceptor. It's a shame, but there it is-
     What it does support, liowever, it does with varying degrees of
success. Aside from the obvious -titles like Wing Commander and VR
Stalker, the Pro supports@ Mega kaeo. Need For Speed,  Return  Fire.
Rebel ABeault and Shook Wave: Operation JumpGate. New  and  upcoming
title$ will be utilizing the Pro as wall-
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-JAkon D'Aprile  Rt. 2  Box 384  Salem. WV  26426  (3U4)782-3810
Super Wing Commander, VR Stalker, JumpGate and Robol  Azzault  all
tended to control a bit too loosely( especially at  first,).  Though,
this flaw lessens greatly with practice. Need for Speed  and  Return
Fire were titles whera I felt the Pro really made a noticeably
improved difference in game play. For Need for Speed, it al!5o  depends
upon which car you choose( I found the Lainborghini muoh better  with
th8 Pro then the Porsche, for instanoo.). However, Need :eor  Speed's
touchy chase view control was still sometimes troublesome  with  the
Fiight,stick@ so stick with the driver's seat view and go all out.
Return Fire also controls excellently with the Pro, though the
helicopter is still a bit trying at times- no matter  which  controller
YOU use.
     Overall, the Fligh,tstick Pro i5 a welcome addition to the 3DO
fAmily. but for a lot of gamers usgd to ooin-op and  console  system
feels. the Pro is going to take some getting ubed to. If you  have  the
opportunity to try out some of the flight sticks that are  available  on
PCs then you'l.1, have an idea of what to expect here. The Cli
Flightstick Pro is a sensitive piece of equipment and, for  flight  Sims
especially, it take5 some finesse to really get the most out of  it.  It
should also be noted that the Flightstick Pro is not  equipped  with
ei@her a headphone Jack or a Joystick passthrough  por@.  Consequently.
if you listen to your SDO with headphones, you'll need to hook  the  Pro
up through controller 1'5 pass through at all times.





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