Ok. It's been a while. I've been: 1. Busy, 2. In Atlanta, 3. In Miami, 4. Busy.
And in an attempt to do something non-work related in my copious spare time I decided to scrounge the Internet for VR backhoe/excavator simulators (partly inspired by my sudden urge to knock dhd's house down).
And you know what? They all suck. We're not only talking minor annoyances here or sporadic design goofs. No, no. These wonderful products are fundamentally flawed. Clearly designed by people who: 1. Have never operated a backhoe, 2. Didn't even bother to go read the specs.
Not only are the controls inherently wrong. Arm, stick and bucket movements are restricted in the weirdest ways. I can't believe it. There are plenty of spec sheets available on www.jcb.co.uk, www.deere.com, www.caseih.com, etc.
Now, go do your homework! (Morons)