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Intensor LX Tactile Feedback Chair
By Ross Gillies (13 December 2002)
ell folks, here I am again with a look this time at the Intensor LX chair.
Having already enhanced my FS2002 experience with the
E-D glasses
and
trackIR
I was hoping to further the (real as it gets) immersion factor by actually
feeling that lousy landing or the vibration of an old aircraft.The usual excellent service from eDimensional saw me unpacking the chair here in the UK 48 hours after ordering it from the States. (Parcel force take note). It comes in one large box and is quite heavy but not unreasonably so. The weight alone gives you a clue as to the quality of the chair. The chair is a part self assembly unit. The main chair itself is complete, only the tilt base needing to be screwed onto the chair base. The star shaped 5 leg stand has castor wheels and an adjustable height arm. This enables you to adjust height and tilt to find a comfortable sitting position.
The chair is liveried in grey textured plastic with mauve removable
cushioning. Handy for cleaning. The box you see at the rear of the chair is
the amplifier unit powering the speakers and tactile woofer. It plugs into
the mains and the side of the chair. I actually have it bolted to the wall
alongside the chair. I'm not going into the technicalities of the power
unit as I am not that gizmo minded, and anyway, if it does what I expect of
it I could care less what makes it click. At the right hand side of the
chair are the controls to set the sound level and degree of tactile
feedback. There is also a headphone socket which when plugged in mutes the
main speakers but still allows full tactile feedback. Five speakers are
fitted to the chair and are of good quality. Not up to the standard of a 5-1
surround sound set but still extremely good, I accept that as the feedback
quality is what I am after, and guess what? I was not disappointed. Oh no,
not at all. This baby rocks. It works and does so superbly. The best aspect
of the chair is that it is not dependent on software drivers, processor size
or anything more than a sound card that will give stereo sound. Who doesn`t
have one of those now. Precious few folks, I should think. I have tried it
with flying and driving games and other applications, more of which later.
Firstly, FS2002. I used my Supermarine AW Spitfire version 2 for the first test flight. On the taxi apron at Coningsby sitting with a dead engine I switched on. Nothing from the chair! I thought, oh dear, before realising that you would not "feel" the sound of a switch clicking. Set mixture and hit the starter. The chair came to life as soon as the engine gave its first cough. It was amazing. As the engine went from rough unbalanced rotation to a smooth idle I could feel every changing harmonic through my back and through my butt. Taxiing out gives no less an impression of movement, for example, I was checking out over my right wing using trackIR and went slightly off line, my left wheel running onto the grass at the left hand side of the taxiway, I knew this without looking round because the chair immediately changed the feedback in my seat base enabling me to correct line even as I was looking back towards the front of the aircraft. Very handy with the restricted view forward in a Spit. Lined up on the runway first stage flap was engaged and could be felt but not strongly, which is how I would imagine it to be in a real Spit. Full throttle, stick forward and away I went, at this point finding it difficult to explain the reality of the feedback suffice to say that I could feel airframe vibration, engine thrust, runway rumble all at the same time and changing as speed increased and the tail came up. Lift off at 90 knots and everything changed again, faithfully reflecting the lack of ground surface. Wheels up, a smooth vibration followed by a thump in the butt as the wheels locked up in to their wells, followed by flaps. I checked they had retracted by looking at the wing, but I didn`t really need to as the chair had let me feel the experience. Set cruise throttle and I swear if this chair had a motion table under it I would die happy. Landing provided the same quality of feedback. Other aircraft produced their own unique blend of feedback proving the chair really interprets each individual sound wave as it should be, and not just a generic rumble or vibe.
As for driving games, the experience is just as good especially coupled with a force-feed wheel and pedals. I also use the chair with MOHAA (Medal Of Honour) feeling recoil from weapons and bullet strikes, and even the force of your feet when running away.
Couple the chair to the TV and feel film forces or listen to music and feel the orchestra. Use it with Playstation or similar consoles.
There is no other accessory in my growing collection that is guaranteed to work in any environment with any software or hardware. I bought this chair primarily for use with FS2002 but its extended uses in other arenas make it real value for money. I would thoroughly recommend the Intensor LX to anyone.
Games tested:
