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| HotRod | HanaHo Games, Inc |  | |
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- The Controller
The Hotrod is actually an arcade gaming control panel. It features authentic arcade joysticks and buttons.
What makes it well suited as a pinball controller is that two of these buttons are on either side of the unit, just where the flippers would be on an actual pinball machine.
The Hotrod is a large, heavy unit, measuring 24" by 11", and is 6" tall. It weighs about 15 pounds, so it's well suited to heavy use. The buttons work extremely well, and give an authentic arcade feel. It comes in two configurations: the HotRod, and the HotRod SE, the difference being the number of buttons. For a pinball controller, both versions should work equally as well. The Hotrod acts as a keyboard, with each button or stick movement corresponding to a key.
- Installation
Installation of the HotRod is straightforward. It plugs into a PS/2 keyboard port, then the keyboard plugs into the HotRod. No drivers are needed. If you use a six-pin port for the keyboard you need an adapter. Both the keyboard and the HotRod are always functional. The unit is not compatible with a Macintosh.
- Setup/Configuration
This is where things can get a little complicated. One of the major limitations of the HotRod is that the controls are not reconfigurable. (This is apparently to avoid problems with ghosting, where when you press down three keys, a fourth one will register.) This fixed layout is not a problem with most games that are configurable, as all that needs to be done is to configure the program to the joystick. There is a diagram in the HotRod manual that shows which keys the controls correspond to, or you can even press the buttons on the HotRod when you're choosing the controls in the program.
This works fine as long as all the keys are configurable, such as in Timeshock, but problems occur with games like The Web, which lets you remap some keys but not all, and Rollemup (a German Pinball game I found on the internet), which does not allow remapping at all. In this case, a remapping program is needed, and thus far, I have found the best one to be ZDKeyMap, which is a freeware program available for download. It works quite well for all the programs I've tried, because it actually changes the layout of the keyboard in the control panel. Some remapping programs operate on top of windows, and can be preempted by the game. The one problem with this program is that it cannot save configurations, but if configurations are written down, they can be entered in about a minute.
- Flipping
This is the best thing about the HotRod as a pinball controller, and though I'm not actually that experienced a pinball player, this feels about as close to the arcade as I can imagine. The flipper buttons are authentic arcade buttons, and extremely responsive. The durability of the buttons and the unit as a whole, combined with its weight, enables me to hit the buttons as hard as I like without fear of damaging the unit or causing it to move around. In every pinball game I've tried, it's truly an arcade feel.
- Tilting
Unfortunately, there's no special motion sensor in the unit for bumping the table, so this function has to be assigned to the controls. I like to use the joysticks, as they're durable and easy to hit quickly, but buttons on the top of the controller could be used as well. It works nicely, though it probably is the one thing that reminds you you're playing a computer simulation and not the real thing.
As for the other controls, I like to map the plunger so that the ball launches when I pull the right joystick down, which feels very natural, and of course the start button starts the game.
- Support
Once again, this works with any game that has keyboard controls, though for any game that does not allow remapping, I highly recommend ZDKeyMap.
- On the Whole
This is a great controller. I bought it for classic gaming, but when I realized how good it would be for pinball, I had to invest in some pinball programs as well. I really couldn't imagine a more authentic way of playing pinball on the computer. The basic unit is $180, so it's a little expensive, but it's really a quality product with a great feel that will take all the abuse that can be dished out. The biggest problem with it is the lack of programmability, but with a keyboard remapper, this can be overcome, and the HotRod will always work with any pinball game that uses the keyboard. In my dealings with the company, they have always been very responsive to my inquiries, and the head of the company is a frequent poster to gaming message boards. All in all, a top notch product.
The product is currently available online, and is supposed to be available at stores soon.
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