Come on! That's right, suck it, zombies!
This is the future guys. I'm telling 'ya.
Greeting and welcome to LGR Oddware.
Where we take a look at the hardware and software that is odd, forgotten and obsolete.
And wow, today is all three, this is the Thrustmaster Wizzard Pinball Controller.
A set of an addon controller things to put on your PC keyboard,
to act pinball like a bumper controls.
As well as motion control for tilting the table.
I cannot wait to dive in this thing, this is a supreme oddware.
Is it going to be good.
So this right here is the Thrustmaster Wizzard Pinball Controller.
And yes, I recently got this, because uh...
Well, I've been looking for a long, if you could remember.
Way back when I did my video on the full Maxis collection of mine, I said this:
And with also, this version of it, which is the ...
Full Tilt! Pinball Wizzard Pinball Controller Edition by Thrustmaster.
This is just the CD they came packed in with the Wizzard Pinball Controller.
I don't have one of those...
Obviously that have changed
that I've been on look out for this ever since doing that video.
And when I finally got one, completely boxed and a good price,
this is just like the real thing, according to PC GAMER.
Oh, so cool.
It does come with the free version of a Full Tilt! Pinball, published by Maxis.
"Complete Retail Version At No Extra Cost!"
And yes, it is for Windows 3.x and Windows 95.
So we will be testing that out a little bit.
But yeah, let's just go ahead and take a look at the rest of this packaging,
where nothing is really cool.
Although, there is an another version of this that I think only came out in the UK.
They came packaged with a gamed called "Royal Flush".
And it had a box that look actually a bit like a pinball machine.
And that is even cooler than this.
So what the freak is this thing?
Well, this is made by Thrustmaster,
The same people that were responsible for doing
a whole ton of stuff, mainly joysticks.
Like the excellent F-16 flight stick.
This thing retailed for 39.95,
and uh, there's really not a whole lot else to talk about here,
just, uh, the fact that this is a box, it exists.
Oh yeah, there's some system requirement stuff there, but you know, pretty much...
You just need a computer that is IBM compactable and have a game port.
Because inside the box, you can see here, is actually plug into a
typically like a sound card, game port or whatever you have had a game port installed.
So you know, that attaches to a keyboard.
So these are the controllers themselves, um...
Pretty basic, very flimsy, plasticly kind of things, with crappy buttons.
They're really, really filmsy.
But anyway, this is kind of a cheap product, so I guess that make scene.
This sort of slide underneath your keyboard.
And it will typically come with a piece of Velcro?
To attach one side of the keyboard, in the other sides to
these keep from sliding around, because these do sliding around.
I just use something else, like typically, those 3M mounting strips.
We'll take a closer look at this in a monent,
but let's, uh, actually look inside the box here.
Because, well, you got, of cource, the software.
The configuration software and the Full Tilt! Pinball on this CD-ROM right here,
at least in this America version.
A quick start guide for the pinball controller, which is a...
Yeah, you pretty much just plug it in,
and then calibrate it like a joystick in the Windows 95.
And the... then there's a stuff for a... yeah, the Full Tilt! Pinball.
I would be curious to find out in the development, like, what made them do this?
I know there were a ton of pinball games back in the day.
Like, for example, there's another one that you can get with it.
This is by the people that made Crystal Caliburn, say pinball table.
Or uh, I think this is just a table.
Yeah, it comes with a CD-ROM called Loony Labyrinth.
There were so many PC pinball games back then. It was ridiculous.
So I guess it make scene that, you know, it would enough of a niche market to make this.
But, it still just so odd to me.
Inside, you also get the, the same quick guide or whatever, in a bunch of other languages.
A warranty card, some other warranty stuff.
And a Thrustmaster product catalog.
Yeah, here are the stuff they would made back in the day.
They did all sort of really strange little devices.
Mostly having to do with racing and flight, as you can see here.
But, this is another one that I actually want to get a hold of sometimes.
This is Pro Play Golf.
And it let you play a golf game with a actual kind of putter thing,
You will see a lot of different um, I don't know, place to have a virtual golf swing.
OK, I just give you a little bit more on the idea of what's going on here.
Just a closer shot. Isn't this lovely?
But yeah, here's the non-clicky kind of simulate a click, a kind of button.
Actually, when I take it apart, and then show you what actually goes on for the tilt control.
So inside here is actually a pretty straightforward as the button itself.
You can actually see the switch there, which...
You know, it's not the same kind of clicky metallic quality
that you could find in the arcade machine or really, pinball machine like micro switches.
I does a least click a little, it just feels really cheap.
And then these right here, you have these which control bumping and tilting.
You know, when you're moving around, or you bump in... either direction, really.
Then this little guy here will react,
and kind of finger out what you're doing as you move
and if you do too much, it till the table.
Which does did work, kind of similar to what real pinball table does.
Again, just much cheaper. And these are just really flimsy plasticky things.
And I feel like if I touch them too much,
they just going to explode, and give me shrapnel damage.
But yeah, let's go ahead and take a look at this things and action.
I guess I should put it back together first.
I know it's finally time to install these things,
to put it on the Packard Bell keyboard that I use lately 'cause nostalgia.
And yeah, this is literally a simple, a whole manage is.
You just slide under there, and there you go.
You also put it on the other side.
Like I said, it slides around. There's nothing that actually attach to anything.
So you really do need something in order to take care of that.
What I use actually, these little poster strips.
So, I can use anything obviously, Velcro will work too,
but these come off, without leaving sticky crappy residue.
And they keep these things in place. You just put on there.
That stick is on your keyboard. And that's pinball like, I suppose.
Doesn't feel anything like the actual click of a real pinball table.
But that's OK! We're gonna try it anyway!
And as you can see here hopefully, in the control panel of the gaming option
for Windows 95 or 98, in this case, you select it as a regular 2-axis, 4-button joystick.
And yeah, you can test it out and, try the motion, axes things there.
So that's cool.
And there's actually two different functions for each buttons.
Like, you press it halfway, it'll press one button.
And press it all the way it get two, er, there are two buttons for the button.
I guess that's for like doing things like, uh, swings, hits and whatnot.
And of course, you also got the Thrustmaster Wizzard configuration things here
which, you don't actually need to use.
Useless you're using a game or playing a game that
doesn't necessarily support this thing out of box.
Full Tilt! Pinball does. But if you have other game like come with preconfigured stuff
like 3DO Ultra Pinball, Crystal Caliburn... whatever, I really don't know what was it.
Full Tilt! Pinball, for some reason...
Basically this is a keyboard interpreter for the thing.
So if you wanted to, you could actually map this stuff to keyboard commands
in order to make it work with stuff that doesn't made for the joystick.
So let's go ahead and try Full Tilt! Pinball here. Because that's what it comes with.
Let's do Space Cadet, as well as the Skulduggery
and the Dragon's Keep. But we'll try Space Cadet.
And yes, there are two other tables that goes along Space Cadet.
Did you know that? I did! 'Cause Maxis.
Alright, so what we're doing here is go to enable joystick.
And when I first tried this, it didn't work,
because it actually has to be given the ID of one.
The Thrustmaster Wizzard program won't work either unless the joystick is mapped...
to ID 1, if it's like ID 2 or 3 or something, it's not gonna work. So just make sure that is that.
Yeah, this looks pretty good.
Pinball Wizzard Controller.
It might worked, that thing is sensitive as far as the tilt controls.
It's like it's bumping the table at all time.
It's not even touching anything.
That table is like an earthquake!
I will say though, that the buttons are themselves were surprisingly better than
you might imagine feeling how flimsy they are, just on their own.
But I mean it, you know...
Oh man, It's like playing pinball, it's pretty cool.
Somehow I think I turned down the sound effects, I don't entirely sure how that happens.
My word, I suck at this even more.
So here is what I am talking about this far is like,
I'm not touching anything and the table is bumping.
I don't know how well that showing up.
But yeah, if I tilt it,
I mean, it really does work. At least it kinda works.
The problem being... I mean, the bumping is really good.
That's neat.
But it does tilt, you know, pretty easily, so...
OK, gonna try with one more game here. This is Balls of Steel.
And it actually mapped to the keyboard control and doesn't support,
like joystick or... whatever.
This is... So, let's try this out.
And it do crap.
That's great.
OK. So obviously the thing is working.
Like it's mapped to the keyboard.
I guess that's typing thing.
That's typing things, so that's fine.
But when I gonna play it.
And it's mapped to the proper controls and everything.
It's a different story.
Nothing happens.
I don't even know why.
So uh, that kinda sucks.
I was totally given up, but that's kind of a, uh, I even don't know what I am doing.
So, let's try this.
It should be fun.
Well, that turns.
Uh, that moves forward.
That shoots.
And see, turing... I can totally do this!
They're shooting each other!
Come on! That's right, suck it! Zombies!
This is the future guys. I'm telling 'ya.
Gonna turn left, since the right doesn't work.
GO FORWARD!
Oh, this is way better than pinball.
Oh crap, what shoots?
I forgot.
I think that does, sort of.
That's right!
I wanna beat this level!
Oh, it can be the greatest things.
And I think I can just run through it.
Oh man.
Here we go. Oh, I almost had it for a second.
This is got to be what this actually made for.
Don't let the Imp see me!
He's in the corner! Oh, how do I open things?
Here it is!
Yeah!
Thrustmaster Wizzard Pinball Controller, ten star out of five!
Thank you for watching LGR Oddware.