MadCatz Lights now available

[Richard]

Thank you for the answers. Froglet, I agree that all these companies face the same issue; game developers mostly cannot be bothered because they feel the user base is too small for these niche products. It is a kind of chicken and egg situation, and unfortunately you need to take the first step.

It is true that games these days often leave the studio half finished and are then patched several times online. However, usually after a few months the games stabilize and developers move on to their next project. It would be so much better if amBX supported a few major releases even if the script would arrive a few months later. That would not require that much work and would go a long way in creating some excitement and demand for the devices. The lights alone look much better too when scripted. I believe that MadCatz is in a much better position than Philips to reach the target audience with these products, and they also don't seem to price them out of the market like Philips did. So I'm hopeful.

But if no new games work with fans and rumble, most people will conclude that amBX has abandoned these products and why ask MadCatz for a product that doesn't work with any of the more recent games? Throw us a bone every now and then please!

[Froglet]

We often are involved in the script creation for the game developers, we can therefore add fan and rumble support into the supplied scripts.

Age of Conan is a good example, this has an amBX support update which has been launched alongside the MadCatz lights and is live now - you can play it for free with your amBX kits. The Philips fans and rumbles are supported in the effects that we helped design.

We'll do our best to bring you some new multi-sensory content on a regular basis and keep the windy dream alive

[Froglet]

A quick update:

You can now purchase from the UK and France Gameshark stores as well as the US and Canada.

UK : http://store.gameshark.net/Cyborg_amBX_ ... C/4988/245
France: http://www.gamesharkstore.fr/Cyborg_amB ... C/4922/289

There seems to be a continuing delay in the German store having the product available, I'll post again once this is resolved.

[TiVo]

How are these powered? USB or AC?

[katepandyv]

First set ordered , opinions coming once they arrive and setup .

[Langaleer]

How are these powered? USB or AC?

They are AC powered and its 1 USB connection per light required

[Kryss2k]

They are AC powered and its 1 USB connection per light required

So if I want 4 lights I need 4 USB ports? If that's right I can see a lot of USB hubs being sold...
And assuming that's the case does using a hub cause much of a delay?

[Milmoor]

A delay is unlikely since otherwise mice and external drivers wouldn't work on a USB hub. I use this one internally since a severaly lacked ports and needed some external ones inside the case. Discovered a 24 port external one while finding a good link for the internal one.

[ThaSchaap]

First of all, I know this is not amBX UK's fault, but;

- The UK store of MadCatz only ships to the United Kingdom
- The US store of MadCatz only ships to the United States
- The DE store of MadCatz only ships to Germany
- The FR store of MadCatz only ships to France

As a Dutch customer, I am very disappointed. Quite a few of the current amBX users are in The Netherlands.

(Yes, I e-mailed MadCatz about this)

[TiVo]

So if I want 4 lights I need 4 USB ports? If that's right I can see a lot of USB hubs being sold...
And assuming that's the case does using a hub cause much of a delay?

Al lot of Hubs and Power Strips.

Another question.
Is the AC power a regular plug, brick or ???

[Richard]

I thought I read you can daisy chain them?

[Kryss2k]

I thought I read you can daisy chain them?

Unless they've changed them I don't think that's the case... the version I saw on youtube didn't have a port to daisy chain with... although that would be a nice addition.

I've got a nice 5 port (4 external and 1 internal) USB PCI card in my PC as I have a door on the front of my case adding front ports via a bay isn't an option I'd like... but I also have a USB hub (you can get them cheaply on Ebay).

I got my card and hub from Ebay - they both cost about £2 I think. and work fine.

[rogmi]

If it's of any use to anyone, I played around with different numbers of the Philips AMBX kits and various combinations of hubs and different length cables. Click on the USB tab on the link at the bottom of this post. I assume that connecting the Madcatz would have similar effects.

There may be an advantage in having one USB connection per light in that it should be much easier for people who want to extend their lights. With the Philips lights, extending the sidelights meant buying very expensive cable, and it wasn't easy to get. With the Madcatz lights, you just need to use easily available USB2 cable for up to 5m from the PC, or a combination of cable and hubs (or repeater cables) for longer distances. See the examples for maximum length etc. on the site).

It's also possible to extend the USB over network cables with suitable Cat5 adaptors at each end. I did some experimenting with this and got mixed results. Although I tried differnt adaptors, I think that they were USB1 and I seem to remember there was a delay / degraded performance. I'm certain I also tried some adaptors that were marked USB2, but the results were the same. Unfortunately, I see that I didn't post the information on the site and I'm not sure where my notes are. If I find them, then I'll post the information.

[@lien]

Cyborg amBX™ Gaming Lights for PC
SKU: CCB43521E002/04/1
Preis €99.99
This item is currently backordered.

(Gameshark germany)

why is it backordered?

[rogmi]

One useful thing about the Madcatz lights is if you want to use them for spotlights etc. for, say, a party, their single connection will make them much more flexible than a wallwasher. Imagine setting a few up in the garden on a nice summer's evening