ButtKicker & CoD

[BigPickle]

I've been using Buttkicker for a while now and game with it on a wide range of games.

What is a buttkicker :

Basically the main components are in two parts, the first is an electronically driven piston attached to the chair support.

http://www.thebuttkicker.com/gaming/09-images/hookup-clamp2.jpg

The second is an amplifier that is plugged into the sound card or tv etc.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/images/stories/2009/april-2009/buttkicker-kit-amplifier-rear.jpg


Flight sims can give you a stunning immersion increase while using this beast.
You can actually feel the RPM of the engine if the game sounds are high quality.
CoD isnt the greatest example of balanced sound, at the moment so I tend to find if i have the kickers volume up high i get great engine vibrations but when something loud happens the kicker will virtually destroy itself and your chair and ass at the moment, so i would advise being sensible with the volume as it is a powerful beast.

An excellent example of being almost there is in the Blenhiem waiting for the engines to warm up, you can feel the tone change in the engine through the vibration as well as the sound.

A Bit Costly, but highly recommended. Gaming just isnt as fun without it now.

http://www.buttkickergear.com/ButtKicker_Gamer_p/bk-gr.htm

[Doc_uk]

I want one:grin:

[ATAG_Dutch]

:grin::grin:Hilarious!!:grin::grin:

That's got to be on the shopping list after I've got new stick and pedals.

Any hints on cost Pickle?

Edit: Sorry, was laughing so much I missed the link!

[Rattlehead]

Looks really good!
How long have you had it for?

I guess all we need now is some smelloVR set or something...

[djwolters]

I'm wondering how damaging the low frequency output of that thing is to the structural integrity of your house ;)

[BigPickle]

Hahaha, on their US site they say that basically your neighbours wont hear a thing, and mine dont its true, lol it would be too painful to stand too loud i shit you not :-P

Rattlehead, ive had mine for nearly 5 years now, I gotta replace the amp as the version one has a coil based old style amp and of course that type of mechanical amp will wear out over time, but mines still alive and well, just the fan makes starnge noises everynow and again.
The new version 2 has a nice spangley digital amp so it will have a greater life span.

I'm telling you guys, if you fork out the cash, you will be astounded with how awesome they are, watching fims and listening to music is wicked too.

[Rattlehead]

Looks like the attachment part for the actual unit may be a problem though...it looks like it'll only mount to a rather small diameter chair support. (Unless you somehow modify it.)

Oh, and it looks like it's out of stock at the moment.:(

[BigPickle]

Looks like the attachment part for the actual unit may be a problem though...it looks like it'll only mount to a rather small diameter chair support. (Unless you somehow modify it.)

Oh, and it looks like it's out of stock at the moment.:(

Nah its cool that diameter of the clamp is big and its hinged, you loosen it all the way and it can go wide so there isnt really a limit if you see what i mean.

Oh, and it looks like it's out of stock at the moment.:sad: shit i feel bad now :(

UK gamers look here for the best prices

http://www.shakercentre.co.uk/aspbite/categories/index.asp

[15.Span_Valalo]

Not in Stok :( :( :mad:

[Oldschool61]

Hahaha, on their US site they say that basically your neighbours wont hear a thing, and mine dont its true, lol it would be too painful to stand too loud i shit you not :-P

Rattlehead, ive had mine for nearly 5 years now, I gotta replace the amp as the version one has a coil based old style amp and of course that type of mechanical amp will wear out over time, but mines still alive and well, just the fan makes starnge noises everynow and again.
The new version 2 has a nice spangley digital amp so it will have a greater life span.

I'm telling you guys, if you fork out the cash, you will be astounded with how awesome they are, watching fims and listening to music is wicked too.

Hows the wife/girlfriend like it

[Rattlehead]

Nah its cool that diameter of the clamp is big and its hinged, you loosen it all the way and it can go wide so there isnt really a limit if you see what i mean.



Okay, glad you cleared that up. :) It could be a lot of fun I think, even if the price is quite steep.

TrackIR is next for me though.

[Doc_uk]

Okay, glad you cleared that up. :) It could be a lot of fun I think, even if the price is quite steep.

TrackIR is next for me though. And trackir isnt exspensive :)

[ATAG_Dutch]

And trackir isnt exspensive :)

Just do what I did and have the wife buy it for your birthday.

Hmmm, that's a thought................:grin:

[Gromic]

I was seriously considering purchasing a gamer2 here in europe but have decided to hold off for now.

If my old lady ever saw how much it cost then I wouldn't have to buy a buttkicker. I'd already have one at home!

[Saintblu]

Wow... Track IR was geeky enough... If I bought this my wife would leave me.

[BigPickle]

Hows the wife/girlfriend like it

The price was an issue but so is she. And she's a boring so no fun on the funky chair :-P

[BigPickle]

Okay, glad you cleared that up. :) It could be a lot of fun I think, even if the price is quite steep.

TrackIR is next for me though.

Mate with Arma2 i have flashbacks its so immersive :-P

[Meusli]

I was seriously considering purchasing a gamer2 here in europe but have decided to hold off for now.

If my old lady ever saw how much it cost then I wouldn't have to buy a buttkicker. I'd already have one at home!

I think that counts for most of us. :)

Well I might start dropping hints now about it then ask her in doors to get it for my bday later in the year. It's worth a shot...

[BigPickle]

Nah your going about it all wrong. Save up for it. She dont even have to know then.
$5 or £5 each week, you'll get there thats how i did it.
I think I showed her it on the net and said "I'm getting it, but I dont wanna make us struggle so i'll only put aside £5 a week. i know it will take ages for me to have enough to buy it but I wanna do the right thing by us so we dont have to struggle"

Cunning as a fox ;)

[Meusli]

Nah your going about it all wrong. Save up for it. She dont even have to know then.
$5 or £5 each week, you'll get there thats how i did it.
I think I showed her it on the net and said "I'm getting it, but I dont wanna make us struggle so i'll only put aside £5 a week. i know it will take ages for me to have enough to buy it but I wanna do the right thing by us so we dont have to struggle"

Cunning as a fox ;)

I am not the sort of person who can hide £5 a week from my wife, she is not dumb and I am not clever enough. :) As for letting her know I am saving £5 a week with her knowledge that would never work either as she would probably spend it when I am not looking. Cheap on eBay or wait till I have her feeling guilty for something, that is usually my way. :D

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

Looks really good!
How long have you had it for?

I guess all we need now is some smelloVR set or something...

Got that too: http://techsling.com/2011/01/play-games-with-the-right-smell/

[Hunden]

Hows the wife/girlfriend like it

I was thinking the same thing and or the wife leaving me for the chair.lmao

[Rattlehead]

Got that too: http://techsling.com/2011/01/play-games-with-the-right-smell/

You're kidding me! :eek:

[Blakduk]

I got a Buttkicker a few years ago off ebay- it's great but i only tend to use it when i'm using headphones as the fan in the amplifier is quite loud. Interestingly it seems to work better for me in CoD than Il2- i find the engine vibration really hits the right frequency with the Buttkicker. It's very immersive in this sim and basically means i dont have to monitor the tachometer at all- it's literally by feel (i must admit i am spending the vast majority of my time in Merlin powered planes as i struggle to get the best out of it using CEM).
The Buttkicker is great for immersion in FPS's as well- i remember the first time my wife used it in Half-Life 2. She was sitting in the chair during the opening scene when the train is pulling into the station and nearly jumped out of the seat when the train came to a sudden stop- it totally freaked her out that it recreated so accurately the sensation of being in a train as it shudders to a halt!
One comment i must make about it- the sales pitch is that it is totally silent however my house has a wooden floor and the Buttkicker is basically a subwoofer. The low frequency sounds do travel through to other rooms and any loose parts of the chair (such as the gas lift handle) tend to rattle if you dont secure them.

My advice to people considering a Buttkicker or a TrackIR- go for the TrackIR as it transforms the experience of flightsims, whereas the Buttkicker is a nice luxury. I often fly with the Buttkicker off, but always with the TrackIR on.

[Derinahon]

Looks like the attachment part for the actual unit may be a problem though...it looks like it'll only mount to a rather small diameter chair support. (Unless you somehow modify it.)


Alternative mounting:
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/4343/photoanu.jpg (http://img715.imageshack.us/i/photoanu.jpg/)

I got mine about a year ago and couldn't live without it now. It really shines in race sims letting you feel the curbs, bumps etc. and FPS's. With CoD it works to a degree, but if it's turned up and you pass through flak you're in for a shock!

[Rattlehead]

This product is definitely on my radar now. Geez, CoD is going to wind up being one expensive game. (But worthwhile)

[PaulWF]

For some reason it's not working in cliffs of dover for me - it's like I am not getting any subwoofer feed. Tried tweaking the sound configuration but no luck yet.

[Honeymonster]

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9922/bodyshaker.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/bodyshaker.jpg/)

Hi guys I'm new here (this is my first post).

I have a Rockwood body shaker I have had lying around for ages (same technology as a Buttkicker).

I plan on hooking it up to an old amplifier (any 4Ohm with decent power will do) and conecting it to the sub output on my sound card, I might add alow pass filter if I get too much rumble. You can get these things for an absolute fraction of the cost of a Buttkicker (about 40 euros), they are designed for home cinema and cabriolet cars. I will simply screw it underneath my chair (it has a wood base).

I'll let you know how I get on when I get round to it but I have other higher priority things on the project list at the moment. I have a feeling it will have very near results for a fraction of the cost. :)
It also seems the Aura Bass Shaker is another popular alternative.

Cheers

Ben

[BigPickle]

Awesome thanks for the info, cant wait to see how you get on.

Muesli just take a deep breath, think 'balls of steel' and tell her, and put the cash where she cant get it on a card or eat the damn stuff if you have to hide it :-P

Marriage is tough fella's let Muesli's plight be a message, woman and tech dont mix :)

[Honeymonster]

Well I got a spare half an hour for a temporary hook up and test so here we go. :grin:

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6932/kicker.jpg (http://img231.imageshack.us/i/kicker.jpg/)

The only amp I had available was one side of my precious Soundstream mono blocks which will undoubtedly not be a permanent fixture. :neutral:

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/5575/dsc00273b.jpg (http://img850.imageshack.us/i/dsc00273b.jpg/)

One problem with using this amp is the lack of a volume control and built in pre amp it's really designed to be driven with something with a much better output than a soundcard. This reduces the maximum output from this beast considerably.

There wasn't enough room under the chair to mount the shaker anywhere other than to one side and this unfortunately feels quite noticeable. So a better mounting solution or two shakers is really necessary for the best feel.

So does it work...

In a word yes. :grin:

I don't have a butt kicker to compare it with but I would say two of these would be more than enough for even the craziest amongst us and still a LOT cheaper if you can find a reasonably priced amp.

Finding the right amp is the key. For settings I used the sub output on the pc then selected 5.1 with bass management in my realtek sound settings. I deselected rear and centre speaker as my headphones are only stereo and this works pretty darn well. If you select stereo the sub output gets disabled with the realtek system, others may be different. The low pass filter built into the pc/soundcard proved perfectly adequate. Noise is very minimal but vibration is not. :grin:

You can feel the engine rumble and the bullets, not bad for half an hours work. The bullets could be sharper but I'm sure another one would sort that out. The worst thing is when you get a message on messenger and it sends a shiver up your spine. lol

Anyway hope some of you found my little experiment interesting.

Cheers

Ben

[BigPickle]

cool thanks for the info mate :)

[Rattlehead]

Anyway hope some of you found my little experiment interesting.

Cheers

Ben

Very much so, thanks for the input.

[ATAG_Doc]

Does it with movies to?

[Tiger27]

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9922/bodyshaker.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/bodyshaker.jpg/)

Hi guys I'm new here (this is my first post).

I have a Rockwood body shaker I have had lying around for ages (same technology as a Buttkicker).

I plan on hooking it up to an old amplifier (any 4Ohm with decent power will do) and conecting it to the sub output on my sound card, I might add alow pass filter if I get too much rumble. You can get these things for an absolute fraction of the cost of a Buttkicker (about 40 euros), they are designed for home cinema and cabriolet cars. I will simply screw it underneath my chair (it has a wood base).

I'll let you know how I get on when I get round to it but I have other higher priority things on the project list at the moment. I have a feeling it will have very near results for a fraction of the cost. :)
It also seems the Aura Bass Shaker is another popular alternative.

Cheers

Ben

I have a couple of the old Aura Bass shakers, I picked up a vest and a cusion for a couple of dollars at a secondhand store, they are to uncomfortable in the vest and cusion, so my plan was to take them out and bolt them to my seat, glad to see it should work.

[Tiger27]

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9922/bodyshaker.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/bodyshaker.jpg/)

Hi guys I'm new here (this is my first post).

I have a Rockwood body shaker I have had lying around for ages (same technology as a Buttkicker).

I plan on hooking it up to an old amplifier (any 4Ohm with decent power will do) and conecting it to the sub output on my sound card, I might add alow pass filter if I get too much rumble. You can get these things for an absolute fraction of the cost of a Buttkicker (about 40 euros), they are designed for home cinema and cabriolet cars. I will simply screw it underneath my chair (it has a wood base).

I'll let you know how I get on when I get round to it but I have other higher priority things on the project list at the moment. I have a feeling it will have very near results for a fraction of the cost. :)
It also seems the Aura Bass Shaker is another popular alternative.

Cheers

Ben

I have a couple of the old Aura Bass shakers, I picked up a vest and a cushion for a couple of dollars at a secondhand store, they are to uncomfortable in the vest and cushion, so my plan was to take them out and bolt them to my seat, glad to see it should work.

[KG66_Manta]

Has anyone got the buttkicker to work with COD? I hve no problem with it working with IL2 410 but it seems that COD will not work with the buttkicker


Strange how all my other games work with it, any ideas?

[BigPickle]

the last patch has made it very weak i thought, you have to crank up the volume on the BK. Also check to see if you have bass re-direct on/off on your sound card settings.

[335th_GRAthos]

I have my butt kicked every time I go online, why would I want an extra tool for it...

No, seriously, interesting, thanks for reminding me, it has been a long time since I last saw it.