2: The Extreme 3D Pro really is a good stick (well, for $30), I've got no complaints.
I also have no major complaints. It works well in fs2o, to the limits of my piloting abilities. It works in Mechwarrior4MTX3 really nicely - the rotate axis is really useful for nailing those pesky little light scout mechs with heavy artillery. It works in Kerbal Space Program - or it would if I could figure out how to bulid a stable enough rocket to get off the launch pad with enough juice left to make orbit. I like the way it fits my hand, and I can easily reach the throttle and additional buttons with my off hand without having to move the actual stick at all.
Complaints? hmmmm... well there's almost a full degree of play in the x-axis' center. I guess that's bad? Um, and the base isn't quite the perfect shape to sit on my desk, so I have to move it when I'm done with a game. And when I'm gaming in the dark, sometimes I'll hit the wrong control with my left hand when I try to press one of the buttons on the base, but only if I'm not looking, and the worst that that can do is change how my guns are linked, which is easy enough to hit the button twice more and toggle back, and it's always really responsive.
Short version: I moved up to the Logitech extreme 3d thingey about a year ago, when I finally had to put my old logitech wingman (not the wingman extreme, or the wingman attack or the wingman ultra whatever, the plain old wingman - two buttons, left-right, up-down, and a throttle. I played through Wing Commander II on that sucker, back in the day. Such a good time. Say, Wing Commander Team...) aside - I built a new rig and the new sound card didn't have the game controller plug that my '90s relic Soundblaster had had. The new stick is crazy awesome. I can pitch and yaw and roll and throttle all at once! My skills are once again the limiting factor in my piloting (though I'm sure someone else could be skilled enough to run up against the hardware's borders.)
