Hey all, I'm Novint's CEO. There has been a lot of debate on other threads about the effectiveness of the Novint Falcon compared to a mouse. I think this is an important concept (and this is a long post to give such a complicated subject fair analysis).
I would say, though, that I think it is only a small part of the value for many users. One of the main things the Falcon is strongest at is creating a sense of Immersion and actually 'being in the game'. Here are some quotes reflecting that idea.
• Wired: "Half-Life 2 suddenly becomes an entirely different game"
• PC Magazine: "After experiencing Half-Life 2 this way, I honestly don't want to play the game any other way."
• Tech-Gaming: "…Next, we tried Haptic-Life 2… Overall, it was a completely engrossing experience and made going back to playing Half-Life without the Falcon completely lifeless."
• IGN: "The Half Life 2 experience with the Falcon is arguably worth the price of admission in and of itself"
• TechDigest: “How do you make Left 4 Dead even better than it already is? The answer: play it with the Novint Falcon pistol grip mouse controller.”
• Joystiq: “We're big fans of Novint's Falcon controller … We were even more excited after we wrapped our mitts around the new pistol grip and played a little Left 4 Dead.”
• Arstechnica: “We've always been impressed by the Falcon experience and it's a blast with Left 4 Dead”
• Associated Press: “It's so real; it's hard not to feel a pang of guilt when splattering foes.”
There are hundreds more articles, quotes and user reviews with similar sentiments if you look into it. You can start on Novint's boards or you can look at media reviews and stories.
http://home.novint.com/news/media_coverage.php
I think the added Immersion and fun is what is going to be most important to many people. The Falcon controls are very similar to a mouse's controls, and it is instantly useable, and easy to quickly pick up, making games much more fun. I give demo after demo after demo at trade shows, and universally people have very good first experiences. Even after only a minute of playing, they're in using it well and having a good time, amazed at the level of touch and realism the Falcon brings.
Ok, all of that being said, I do think there are many users who want to play competitively with the Falcon. A fair question then (and the reason for starting this thread), is "can I play as competitively with the Falcon as I can with my mouse?"
The answer is yes, with practice. Everything you can do with the mouse you can do with the Falcon. Many things you can actually do better with the Falcon. I know this to be true from personal experience, and we plan to show it rather than just say it, in our contest where we'll be giving away free Falcons if you can beat a Novint employee who will be using a Falcon. I think one of the biggest misconceptions of the Falcon is that it is like a joystick or that it generally won't be competitive against the mouse.
Here is some explanation of how and why the Falcon is more competitive than a mouse with practice.
First off, the control for the Falcon is basically the same as the control with a mouse. It is direct position control - you move right-left, the cross hair moves right-left in a one-to-one fashion. You move up-down, the cross hair moves up-down. With the mouse, when you get to the edge of your workspace you have to pick it up and move it. With the Falcon, when you get to the edge of your workspace, you just push against a virtual spring, and you keep moving. That's a big advantage when you learn how to use it. It's almost like having a reactive rubber band surrounding your mousepad. Also, you feel things in the game that you don't get with a mouse. When you're shot, for example, you feel exactly what direction it precisely came from, and you can react quicker. I've lived in TF2 when a pyro blasted me using a Falcon where I would have died with a mouse. You learn to react from the feel of it, and you can instantly turn to where you feel the attack coming from, knowing where your opponent is exactly before you start moving, rather than knowing generally where your opponent is, and then needing to find him visually. Forces help your brain to react better. You feel a subtle forces when you uncloak as a spy or when as your sticky bombs are becoming ready to fire, letting you feel more precisely when you can strike. It's a small incremental bonus, but you get used to it, and all of the added feedback and understanding makes you better. The control itself has advantages too. Ultimately, given the outer workspace usage of the Falcon, where you are pushing against virtual springs, you can spin faster than even a movement on a 4000 dpi mouse. If you really crank up the spin rate, and practice a lot, you'll be able to be faster and better.
I think, ironically, that the debate will shift in the future to whether the Falcon should be allowed in professional competitions given the advantages it gives.
It generally takes about 20 hours of play to get to a point where you are as competitive with a Falcon as you are with the mouse. Some people it will be 10 hours, some 30. It depends on how skilled you are, how quick you pick new things up, and how competitive you really want to be (vs just enjoying a new compelling experience)
Below, in another post, is a summary of some of the other questions people have had on the boards and elsewhere.
To show that one can learn to play competitively with the Falcon as well as the mouse, we're going to show you how one of our employees, JohnT, (i.e. a falconer) fairs against mousers in a contest. We didn't hire a ringer for the contest - he's been an employee for over a year and is a good TF2 player. In his words last week "I'm now better in TF2 in all but one class than I am with the mouse. Also, I'm better with the scout than I think I ever could be with a mouse, no matter how much I practiced." This is coming from an experienced player. Last time I played with him, he was at about an 8 to 1 kill to death ratio, which isn't shabby. Usually he's around 3 or 4 to 1 (usually I'm around 1 to 1 when I'm playing one of my preferred classes). John's a good player with a mouse or Falcon, but he is beatable if you're really good (and if you are, might as well get a free Falcon). If you get a 20 to 1 kill ratio, you're better than John and you probably can beat him, but you'll still see that he is competitive.
I'll post details on the contest itself in the next post.
thx all, tomnovint, ceo
We'll keep moving through the queue during the match times.
