I'm creating a new thread since I haven't seen any which really discuss a true technical comparison between the Falcon and other human interface devices.
I got mine Monday and have had a little time using it. It takes a bit to get used to in-game (currently playing Episode 1) and I had to modify the control sensitivity a bit for my personal tastes.
There is an inner ring of control in which sensitivity is decreased, and an outer ring where it is increased. As described in the video on their website, this allows an area of control for aiming and an area of control for movement. I had to decrease the sensitivity of the inner area as I found it "twitchy" for lack of a better term, and I increased the outer area to allow for more rapid directional changes. I'm still working on fine-tuning the sensitivity, but I think I'm getting close for my personal preferences.
If you think of it as an actual weapon and expect it to handle like a Glock or some other handgun, you'll be sorely disappointed. It doesn't behave like a real gun at all, although the fit and finish is quite nice and has somewhat similar feel to my Glock 22 (since it's plastic and all). There's even a spot on the side of the Falcon where I can rest my index finger (along the receiver area) when it's not on the trigger. I wonder if I can find a Hogue grip to fit it...
The best description I have for the Falcon at this point is a force feedback mouse which operates within a vertical plane. You can't twist it side to side (yaw) or up and down (pitch) like a real weapon.
The included demo with the multi-textured ball shows the awesome capability of the system. Based on my experiences so far, Valve and/or Novint has done an outstanding job incorporating the Havok engine with the Falcon.
As others have mentioned, you will have to place the Falcon at the edge of a desk since the full range of motion takes the bottom of the pistol grip approximately 2 inches below the level of the table. Without a pistol grip this would not appear to be an issue, but who wants to play an FPS without the pistol grip?
I installed the drivers from the Novint website prior to receiving the Falcon (yes, I got impatient). I plugged it in, installed the Monkey Business Sports Pack (included in the box) and it worked no problem. As soon as you load up a compatible game (for me HL2 Episode 1), Falcon options appear in the options menu as a control device where you can fine tune the Falcon for your personal preferences.
So far I'm quite pleased. It's not something you can buy and use for hours and hours on end without getting sore due to the different motions and muscles involved, but it's an awesome sign of what could be ahead in immersion gaming technology.
I got mine Monday and have had a little time using it. It takes a bit to get used to in-game (currently playing Episode 1) and I had to modify the control sensitivity a bit for my personal tastes.
There is an inner ring of control in which sensitivity is decreased, and an outer ring where it is increased. As described in the video on their website, this allows an area of control for aiming and an area of control for movement. I had to decrease the sensitivity of the inner area as I found it "twitchy" for lack of a better term, and I increased the outer area to allow for more rapid directional changes. I'm still working on fine-tuning the sensitivity, but I think I'm getting close for my personal preferences.
If you think of it as an actual weapon and expect it to handle like a Glock or some other handgun, you'll be sorely disappointed. It doesn't behave like a real gun at all, although the fit and finish is quite nice and has somewhat similar feel to my Glock 22 (since it's plastic and all). There's even a spot on the side of the Falcon where I can rest my index finger (along the receiver area) when it's not on the trigger. I wonder if I can find a Hogue grip to fit it...
The best description I have for the Falcon at this point is a force feedback mouse which operates within a vertical plane. You can't twist it side to side (yaw) or up and down (pitch) like a real weapon.
The included demo with the multi-textured ball shows the awesome capability of the system. Based on my experiences so far, Valve and/or Novint has done an outstanding job incorporating the Havok engine with the Falcon.
As others have mentioned, you will have to place the Falcon at the edge of a desk since the full range of motion takes the bottom of the pistol grip approximately 2 inches below the level of the table. Without a pistol grip this would not appear to be an issue, but who wants to play an FPS without the pistol grip?
I installed the drivers from the Novint website prior to receiving the Falcon (yes, I got impatient). I plugged it in, installed the Monkey Business Sports Pack (included in the box) and it worked no problem. As soon as you load up a compatible game (for me HL2 Episode 1), Falcon options appear in the options menu as a control device where you can fine tune the Falcon for your personal preferences.
So far I'm quite pleased. It's not something you can buy and use for hours and hours on end without getting sore due to the different motions and muscles involved, but it's an awesome sign of what could be ahead in immersion gaming technology.
