Playseat & Microsoft Wheel Review

[Combat squirrel]

That setup is amazing mate ! :O, im well impressed, what does the seat offer as its main feature ? just the fact you get rumble feedback through it as well as the wheel ?, how 'good' is this ? is it worth getting just for that ?

 

[Kimi]

Thanks for writing that review mate, i bought a PlaySeat for Race Pro the other day and this game me confidence to spend the money

 

[C64]

Tis a shame something like the G25 wheel doesnt work on the 360. That whole setup you got going there deserves better than the MS 360 wheel. Still - looks like the ultimate Forza 2 experience and im mighty jealous

Bet you cant wait for Forza 2 now

The seat will work fine with a g25 for pc games though ?

 

[Mr Latte]

That setup is amazing mate ! :O, im well impressed, what does the seat offer as its main feature ? just the fact you get rumble feedback through it as well as the wheel ?, how 'good' is this ? is it worth getting just for that ?

Thanks although this is now a really old thread and the review was approx May 2007

The review itself must have pleased the people at Playseats as the playseats.biz website actually uses some of my photos on a later G25 review i posted on AV Forums in 2008.

See Playseats.biz guys for all the products they do but note if you shop around you may find better prices

I will by doing a new review on the upcoming GT3RS wheel and Clubsport pedals that are due to launch in March...

 

[smr]

Hi, how does that projector work and what are the costs? I'm looking to buy this and playseat and steering wheel for my ps3 as I have an almost identical looking but bigger version of your attic conversion.

Cheers.

 

[Mr Latte]

Hi, how does that projector work and what are the costs? I'm looking to buy this and playseat and steering wheel for my ps3 as I have an almost identical looking but bigger version of your attic conversion.

Cheers.

See the date this thread was started, its old.
No longer have a Playseat, use a much better Gamepod now though.
Far comfier and sturdier.

I had different upgrades since this old thread started and went to 1080p projection for GT5 Prologue. Then sold it earlier this year to help fund my current diy cockpit ideas.

AV Forums is a good place for info or the AV section on here for current projectors some could recommend. Youll need about £800 for something pretty decent though. Id say that triple screens is more impressive for racing games than a large screen but for consoles only really FM3 and hopefully GT5 will support it. PCs however have loads of support for triple screens.

Ive been tinkering for about a year and found that immersion is not just gained with a big screen and some 5.1 audio.
The good, larger Buttkickers add a lot to games particulary racing games and if your using a good 5.1 or 7.1 system.

Having a nice comfy race seat is one thing but I got hooked and wanted to feel more part of the action and sensation from the cars/games.
Im currently incorporating something I havnt seen on other self cockpit builds. Using several Buttkicker devices and 2x 12" subwoofers. These are controlled via dual sub harmonic processors which will provide different levels of depth in tactile bass and combining audible bass into my ongoing cockpit. Basically you then feel the tarmac, the bumps and the engine but its not all just one single sensation, just like bass changes in audible depth and tone, subharmonic bass has different bass signatures in their feeling or rumble sensation.

All part of a hobby/experiment of somehting that may turn out to be pretty special, err if I ever get it properly built and finished.

 

[smr]

See the date this thread was started, its old.
No longer have a Playseat, use a much better Gamepod now though.
Far comfier and sturdier.

I had different upgrades since this old thread started and went to 1080p projection for GT5 Prologue. Then sold it earlier this year to help fund my current diy cockpit ideas.

AV Forums is a good place for info or the AV section on here for current projectors some could recommend. Youll need about £800 for something pretty decent though. Id say that triple screens is more impressive for racing games than a large screen but for consoles only really FM3 and hopefully GT5 will support it. PCs however have loads of support for triple screens.

Ive been tinkering for about a year and found that immersion is not just gained with a big screen and some 5.1 audio.
The good, larger Buttkickers add a lot to games particulary racing games and if your using a good 5.1 or 7.1 system.

Having a nice comfy race seat is one thing but I got hooked and wanted to feel more part of the action and sensation from the cars/games.
Im currently incorporating something I havnt seen on other self cockpit builds. Using several Buttkicker devices and 2x 12" subwoofers. These are controlled via dual sub harmonic processors which will provide different levels of depth in tactile bass and combining audible bass into my ongoing cockpit. Basically you then feel the tarmac, the bumps and the engine but its not all just one single sensation, just like bass changes in audible depth and tone, subharmonic bass has different bass signatures in their feeling or rumble sensation.

All part of a hobby/experiment of somehting that may turn out to be pretty special, err if I ever get it properly built and finished.

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like a really fun hobby you've got on your hands there ! I think I'll pass on the projector then, but the gameseat idea is still something I'm really interested in. Haven't seen those gamepods until you mentioned them. Is there a particular one that's worth having and also if not a competitor where did you get yours from?

 

[JoeBoi]

Mr Latte would you recommend a gamepod over the playseats I thought the playseats looked pretty amazing how was it up until you decided to upgrade mate?


Which gamepod do you have mate?

 

[Mr Latte]

I have a Gamepod GT2 in Black.

The main advantages are its more stable, heavier than the Playseat but also has a proper "Cobra Monaco" bucket seat on runners thats comfier and doesnt creak.

 

[JoeBoi]

I have a Gamepod GT2 in Black.

The main advantages are its more stable, heavier than the Playseat but also has a proper "Cobra Monaco" bucket seat on runners thats comfier and doesnt creak.

Have you got any photos of the gt2 mate I'm thinking about getting one my self after looking at the site.

 

[Mr Latte]

Have you got any photos of the gt2 mate I'm thinking about getting one my self after looking at the site.

After about 2 years usage mine could do with a bit of a respray, hardly worth photographing now. You could consider actually buying one as base only and getting your own seat, they do that also.

 

[JoeBoi]

After about 2 years usage mine could do with a bit of a respray, hardly worth photographing now. You could consider actually buying one as base only and getting your own seat, they do that also.

Well I've got my eye on the Andy Priaulx edition they have at the moment but swapping the chair for a Monaco seat instead as they usually come with a rockingham seat. My problem is with getting the base and chair seperate is the inconvenience of it all even if it'd work out better, me being a noob to this I'm thinking of the easiest solution. Where else can you purchase seats for these gamepods?

 

[Mr Latte]

Google terms like "Bucket Seat" their are many popular brands.
Generally their are road seats and competition FIA approved seats.

Auction sites will have "Faux" (fake leather) and clothed designs imported which are non branded and rather cheap in around £100 - £150.
Branded seats like Cobra, Sparco, Momo, Recaro, can easily take you into £300+ with many models going to cost over £500 with their mounts.

I spent a long time deciding on my seat for my d.i.y cockpit as I had seen many on various forums with proper competition seats. In the end I went for a quality brand thats really snug fitting. Some competition seats will also require side mounts and may require a bit of work to attach to a Gamepod frame. Typically a wooden board to mount to.

I bought from here and went for this one

 

[BallisticGT3]

Wow you really are taking this seriously; that's a very professional looking seat and not cheap either!

I wish I hadn't seen this thread as it's making me wonder whether I'll be any better off getting one of these Gamepods over the Gameracer that I've been happily using for the past few years.

The Gameracer is sturdy enough although it could do with a more comfortable race seat IMO.
The main thing I like about it is the pedals sit on an inclined plate so they are roughly vertical before pressed and there is a heel plate to rest your left foot when not on the brake. The pedals are also roughly at the same height as your bum so your not sitting down to them like with the Gamepod.

I can see this is going to be doing my head in for weeks now!
Decisions, decisions.

 

[Drukk]

Excellent work Mr Latte look forward to reading the rest. Never considered a seat til now. I have the room in my games room, i'm sorely tempted.

Will show the finance assistant when she gets home, see what she thinks. Can you post link as to where you bought it?

You got no chance in getting the ok from the finance assistant for one of those!

 

[dannyjo22]

You got no chance in getting the ok from the finance assistant for one of those!

Just as well I have no where to put it anymore since the boy came along

 

[Mr Latte]

Wow you really are taking this seriously; that's a very professional looking seat and not cheap either!

I wish I hadn't seen this thread as it's making me wonder whether I'll be any better off getting one of these Gamepods over the Gameracer that I've been happily using for the past few years.

The Gameracer is sturdy enough although it could do with a more comfortable race seat IMO.
The main thing I like about it is the pedals sit on an inclined plate so they are roughly vertical before pressed and there is a heel plate to rest your left foot when not on the brake. The pedals are also roughly at the same height as your bum so your not sitting down to them like with the Gamepod.

I can see this is going to be doing my head in for weeks now!
Decisions, decisions.

Yeah I have a friend has a Game Racer, the seat was very small.
Maybe you should consider a d.i.y build yourself?

Serious, yeah I guess so as its become a hobby project. The seat was a very tough decision as it was such a high cost but in the end I thought looks and as a component part it was very important. A cockpit could be used for years so longterm the seat choice was taken with a longterm view or resellable value. This is kinda like a longterm ambition to replicate that excitment I had as a young teenager in the 80s seeing games like Outrun arace units come along. Although motion cockpit doesnt interest me and useless for consoles anyways my own d.i.y build is not just a regular cockpit frame but part experiment in building something that really enchances the games yet will look visually stunning too.

One area of this enchancement to the experience is from audio and tactile bass. Wait till you start looking into Buttkickers or other tactile and audio enchancing equipment. Ive spent a long time experimenting with these for my own cockpit ideas. As mentioned above being different having reached a point of my d.i.y going to include 2x 12" subs, 3x Buttkickers, 2x Clarke Tactile units, various audio amplifers and enchancers. Crazy to an extent but all in aid of feeling like a more involving experience.

 

[BallisticGT3]

Yeah I have a friend has a Game Racer, the seat was very small.
Maybe you should consider a d.i.y build yourself?

Serious, yeah I guess so as its become a hobby project. Kinda like a longterm ambition to replicate that excitment I had as a young teenager in the 80s seeing games like Outrun come along. Although motion cockpit doesnt interest me and useless for consoles anyways My own d.i.y build is not just a regular cockpit frame but part experiment in building something that really enchances the games yet will look visually stunning too.

One area of this enchancement to the experience is from audio and tactile bass. Wait till you start looking into Buttkickers or other tactile and audio enchancing equipment. Ive spent a long time experimenting with these for my own cockpit ideas. Having reached a point of my d.i.y going to include 2x 12" subs, 3x Buttkickers, 2x Clarke Tactile units, various audio amplifers and enchancers.

I suppose one option might be to get the Monaco seat from Gamepod and fit it to the Gameracer, it looks a lot more comfy than the original.

I'm very interested in your experimenting with the Buttkickers and/or other tactile and audio enhancing equipment to further enhance the overall game experience. It's an area I know nothing about so how does it all work and connect up?

I can remember when Outrun first came out, those cabs were great for the time with a moving seat and speakers behind your ears (first time I saw one was at Alton Towers and spent more time on it than the other rides!)

 

[Mr Latte]

Just research Buttkicker, get the USA homepage and it explains all the technology.

Theirs only one UK authorised seller.
The Gamer models are a bit weak but a good starting point for a racing frame.

The BKA 300 unit is quite costly for UK price at about £400 but this can easily be positioned for under a sofa to also enchance your movies, not just be bolted to a race frame. Its got a bigger transducer and 400 watt amplifer in a package.

Other action games like say FPS when things like grenades or bombs go off combined with 5.1 audio you really feel the bass shake and it just heightens the immersion.

My own experimentation just grew from wanting to take things further and then have more control and power to further the immersion.

 

[BallisticGT3]

Just research Buttkicker, get the USA homepage and it explains all the technology.

Theirs only one UK authorised seller.
The Gamer models are a bit weak but a good starting point for a racing frame.

The BKA 300 unit is quite costly for UK price at about £400 but this can easily be positioned for under a sofa to also enchance your movies, not just be bolted to a race frame. Its got a bigger transducer and 400 watt amplifer in a package.

Other action games like say FPS when things like grenades or bombs go off combined with 5.1 audio you really feel the bass shake and it just heightens the immersion.

My own experimentation just grew from wanting to take things further and then have more control and power to further the immersion.

I only play driving games so how will a Buttkicker enhance this experience, if at all?