The (potential) benefits of FFB pedals can be summed up as 1.) Versatility 2.) Realistic feedback (where applicable) 3.) Haptic effects (for "immersion")
I can switch between sprung, hydraulic, free-wheeling programmatically
With MSFS (and I hope eventually DCS), for aircraft where it makes sense, the pedals will be floppy when cold and dark, have some resistance when there is prop thrust, and increase in spring resistance as the airspeed increases. They also react to slip angle so they are harder to push the higher the slip angle.
Ideally (though they currently dont), they would also reflect trimming action, both in FW and Rotor when applicable
And, who doesn't want their feet to vibrate when you BRRRRRRT in the A10?
there's also a specific case where you're on a strafing run, focusing on the target and you basically need to just guess what the rudder is doing as your plane's trim inevitable changes with acceleration
there's rumble packs you can put on racing pedals to receive all sorts of useful information, would be interesting to see something similar added to rudder pedals, in addition to ffb
@_blave Thanks! My setup feels a little basic compared to many amazing ones I've seen here, but I'm a little hamstrung as I have to use my machine for work 99% of the time and don't have room for a proper dedicated sim pit. I'm already in love with the Rhino. Really missed FFB, for the past twenty years haha.
If it was as simple as mimicking what the pedals are doing the game, that would be “not too hard” to implement. If it was something that needed to be calculated, it would both require the right telemetry as well as someone (not me) smart enough to figure out what said calculation should be.
Ah ha! That's why I didn't include it in my first formula. The last time I ran the numbers for myself I didn't remember subtracting, I just used the number from the bot
we're looking at a potentially pretty severe chicken and egg problem, though, since not only is ffb kind of neglected for decades now, but ffb pedals have pretty much never existed
OK I'm getting it. Disregard my naysayer comments. I will say that if someone made a kit to mod my MFGs to FFB, I would be sorely tempted... As if I need to spend more $ on this hobby/obsession.
Even sim racing, is only now slowly getting ffb and rumble in pedals. Fanatec has been the only brand to offer it directly on pedals for a long time, and ofc there's the basically diy solution one dude sells I shared a pic of, and now Simagic has rumble modules for their p1000 pedals, and Simucube is just now starting to ship out their active pedal to fulfill preorders.
Haptic seat pads are making a comeback to mainstream with NextLevelRacing's HF8, and buttkicker is also becoming more and more popular.
It is only a matter of time before rumble or haptics in racing pedals becomes a must have feature for flagship products all sim peripheral brands put out, and then with the massive popularity of MSFS, and 2024 going to be an INSANE game, people who are exposed to flight sim after being hardcore racing enthusiasts will start asking where tf the ffb and haptics are for that, having been used to it from racing.
The trickle down is sadly very slow it seems, and who can hardly blame flight sim game devs for not implementing features when no hardware exists to utilize the features save for people with 30k-500k commercial training rigs who do their own in house stuff anyway.
Places like news outlets giving the Rhino some exposure will definitely help, and at least module makers seem more responsive (as in priority wise actually have the time to implement sooner) than sim devs directly.
I think the best thing we can do, in addition to continually reminding ED, and IL2 devs etc. that FFB exists and we want features, is to keep an eye on any new sim that gets announced, and try to get devs for those on board as early as possible. Combat Pilot, a recently announced WW2 Pacific flight sim is a great example of such opportunities.
Well I actually added these mini transducers to my VKB pedals. They vibrate depending on the slip of the airplane so I can fly coordinated flight without looking at the slip ball all the time. The software end is actually a stripped down version of telemFfb playing audio to the usb sound card that powers these little pucks. Works great.
Since I fitted a FFB stick, I can normally feel if the aircraft is uncoordinated through the loading of the stick. Its actually one of the things that really impressed me.
Can you elaborate a bit how does the uncoordinated turn should feel, i.e. what forces do contribute to this effect? Is it the sideways G loading effect?
In a real aircraft you feel it more through your body as the aircraft slips sideways, but with the FFB stick once you enter a turn it will load up (you need to then put some opposite pressure on the stick to balance the turn) until you balance with the rudders when it will unload to the point you can let go of the stick and still be turning but now coordinated. XPForce did this and now VPforce-TelemFFB does this. Originally I was able to enact this response by adjusting the G loading, but now it works standard. FI I can also feel it through my seat, as the internal back of the seat moves for sway. When I get a head mounted camera, I will upload a video of the stick, to explain it better. Old video of my seat on test attached.
Don't know if that was a reference to my video? If not disregard. Seat/Rig does sit on three big actuators... Simulation wise, there are good reasons for adding the active seatback and harness.
A message of hope to all who feel like the wait for their Rhino is interminable: My originally assigned serial number was 219. The serial number on my unit that just shipped to me is 165. I don't know if folks are backing out of their orders because they've opted to go the kit route or just weren't that serious, but either way, I'm getting my Rhino many months sooner than I ever expected.