Need advice on PC gamepad.

Cafe Society
1

I am not sure where to put this. Anyway, I am getting GTA: San Andreas for the PC and I would like to play it with a gamepad. I really like the feel of the PS2 Dual Shock controller. I understand that you can buy a usb adapter (smartjoy) for one but I am worried that it may be problematic. I am also considering a Logitech Rumblepad 2 Vibration Feedback Gamepad but it looks bigger and the frame for the analog sticks are square which seems weird. Does anyone have any experience in this matter that they can share?

2

I love the Logitech Rumblepad. The squares actually don’t mess you up. If anything, they help for those corners. I’ve not actually noticed a lot of rumble out of many games though. Then again, for GTA I use the Rumblepad for driving, and the keyboard/mouse combo for running around.

But for arcade/console style gameplay, nothing beats the Rumblepad.

3

I’ve ordered a SmartJoy X adapter from Lik-Sang for my XBox controller.

It should work seamlessly, since the XBox controllers are USB anyway. There’s a homebrew driver that supports all the buttons at http://www.redcl0ud.com/ that I’m going to try when my cable gets here.

I’ll reply with my experiences once my adapter gets here.

4

Also consider the Saitek P2500. I have the P750, which has pretty much the same specs as a PS2 controller.

5

Thanks for the replies. I am leary of Lik-Sang because they seem to be based in Hong Kong. I found a store in Ohio that sells the smartjoy. The Saiteks look too different. Maybe I will just go with the Rumblepad through Amazon as it requires the least effort.

6

I got a Smartjoy Super Dual Box off eBay about a year ago. 99.9% of the time it works perfectly, the only outstanding issue being that it’s not entirely plug-and-play–I have to have everything connected before booting up Windows or it doesn’t work. Aside from that, however, it’s perfect for my needs.

7

Lik-Sang is based in HK, but they’re safe. Their shipping is overpriced, but they’re extremely good. I’ve never heard of anyone having a problem with them.

8

Bumping this because my SmartJoy X came in today.

It works flawlessly. I plugged it into the controller breakaway, installed the XBCD driver from http://www.redcl0ud.com/ and after slight monkeying with the keymapping (the face buttons were in an odd order) it works perfectly with MAME and MVP Baseball 2005.

Thanks, Microsoft, for using USB to interface the controllers.