Installation & Set-Up

Installing and setting up the TFS2 Unit is a relatively simple affair. The first thing to do is actually rig the unit up to your system and your computer chair. The TFS Seating Unit straps onto pretty much any size of chair by using the adjustable velcro straps, and you'd better make sure they are on tight because you're in for a rough ride when you play!!

The TFS Electronic Controller plugs into the seating unit by a removable cable, which cleverly breaks the connection if accidentally pulled or yanked, saving either your computer or something else going flying - a neat touch. The Electronic Controller of course also plugs into your computer, via either USB or Parallel port.

If you install it using USB there are some drivers to install, whereas if you use the parellel port there are no drivers to install, but you'll have to make sure your BIOS has your parallel port set to “EPP” or “bi-directional”, and not “standard” or “ECP” which sometimes may cause performance problems.

At this stage the TFS2 system is still being developed and improved all the time, especially on the software front, so I am expecting over time the TFS2 system will just get better and better.

IntelliVIBE Grand Prix 4

The main aim of this review is to evaluate the IntelliVIBE module for Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4, which the guys at Ivibe have been creating with help from Rene Smit, who we all know for his excellent GPxPatch software.

Unfortunately the developers of the TFS2 system were unsucessfull in attempting to contact Geoff Crammond / Simergy & Co., but With help from Rene Smit's GPxPatch software they have been able to insert the required "hooks" into Grand Prix 4 that allow the TFS2 Unit to utilize the IntelliVIBE technology. Activating the TFS2 to work with Grand Prix 4 is simple; you import the Grand Prix 4 IntelliVIBE module by downloading it through the TFS2 software, and activate it by simply clicking the "IntelliVIBE" check-box in GPxPatch. Then, you are ready to go!

The TFS2 system works excellently with Grand Prix 4, you can feel the accelleration, the gear changes, the kurbs, gravel, impacts, braking, skidding and much more - it's like force feedback through a steering wheel, but 100x times more realistic and it really does increase the immersion of the game greatly. I am a great fan of the eDimensional 3D glasses, but this product is on a higher level.

A track such as Montreal, Canada seems to demonstrate the power of the TFS2 system very well, as you accelerate from the start-finish straight you can feel the roar of the engine and abrasion of the tarmac (to put it literally), reverberating right up your ass! As you swing around the first corner the TFS2 unit simulates G-force effects by "throwing" you around the cockpit - accurately represented by the vibration of the motorunits. Similarily, as you brake heavily you are "thrown" forward and the experience of braking is accurately represented. Skid, and the TFS2 unit will simulate this feeling as well.

As you travel around the track you feel the kerbs, cornering effects, braking and accelerating accurately - the great thing about the TFS2 unit is that it does not appear to make many mistakes. Crashing and gravel-hopping also generates responses from the TFS2 unit; if you hit another car you'll feel an almighty "thud", and if you bounce across the gravel you'll be jumping in your seat! If you do happen to crash, you'll also feel the car scrape across the track as you rebound from the armco-barrier minus two wheels.

Playing Grand Prix 4 with the TFS2 is the closest I have felt to actually driving the car in-game from my computer seat, and it is the first piece of hardware i've used that has actually managed to simulate the effects of driving a car in a convincing way, and not one that feels overly artificial.

If you want to experience the difference that the TFS2 makes to the Grand Prix 4 experience its simple; try the game with the TFS2 IntelliVibe Unit active for 5 laps, then try it without, and the difference is huge - the TFS2 manages to add an extra degree of immersion that other hardware devices don't seem able to. Combine the TFS2 with a decent force feedback wheel, and your experience of Grand Prix 4 is taken to another level.

The great thing about the TFS2 system is that you can open up a file that allows you to edit the TFS parameters for Grand Prix 4 (and any other intelliVIBE game for instance) so that you can adjust the feedback effects to your preferences. This is quite complicated, but it does work - and you can also easily save the file for distribution across the internet, as well as import files that others have created. This is a good feature since you can fully customize your TFS2 unit to suit your individual preferences meaning you are not stuck with preset feedback effects that you cannot customize.

Hopefully, if enough people purchase the TFS2 unit then it will be possible to have a download section with many different TFS parameters available for download.