Computer History|Computer hardware / software over the past 20 years.

Those of us who remember spending countless hours flying our virtual planes or jets with our keyboards, on such programs as Microsoft Flight Simulator or Falcon 3.0, certainly also recall yearning for a quality joystick. A thirty degree bank to the right made by holding down an arrow key just doesn’t feel the same as the same maneuver initiated by the tilt of a joystick. This lack of continuity led me on a search for my first computer joystick.

Being a long time arcade and console gamer, I was no stranger to this form of user input. This experience caused me to be rather picky when it came to buying my new device. Many models seemed flimsy and lacked the features I required. However, one model stood out above the crowd: the Microsoft Sidewinder 3D Pro.

The 3D Pro was both digital and analog. The digital mode addressed drift issues that were typical in older analog designs, but this mode required software that did not support most DOS based games. The controller offered eight buttons, a hat switch (great for changing views in flight simulators), and a throttle slider. Additionally, the stick itself twisted to support yaw controls in select games. Since this model was fully programmable through Windows based software, it was an excellent choice for all genres of games. However, I found it most effective when I found myself in a virtual dogfight.