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Talismoon TiltBoard Controller Mod
Manufacturer: Talismoon
Site: Buy from Divineo US / Buy from Divineo China
Price: $35.99


Overview : At long last it’s time for Xbox 360™ owners to feel the benefits of tilt sensation, something of which PS3™ owners have been privileged to since its inception. Moreover, the Nintendo Wii™ is a prime example of just how instrumental interactive controllers can be in providing a highly enjoyable gaming experience.

Talismoon’s Tiltboard sports a unique u-shaped board that puts the two Tiltboard control buttons within easy reach of gamers fingers, with one button conveniently located on either wide of the wireless controller battery pack. This gives gamers the ability to make on the fly tilt adjustments during a game without even stopping. This comes in particularly handy for instances in games when it is necessary to switch between both stick and tilt control.

The Tiltboard is an intelligent piece of kit and comes pre-loaded with TiltTune™ technology which is the most user friendly firmware available for such a device. Gamers have the option to adjust the tilt sensitivity, adjust the 0 degree in order to hold the controller at the most comfortable angle, invert the Y axis and turn the tilt function on and off. Everything required to enjoy the latest sensation in console gaming on Xbox 360™ comes in a convenient package and requires only seven wires to solder.

Features :

• Custom Fit Design
• 2 multifunction buttons within easy reach
• Requires soldering 7 wires
• "Best practice" install method eliminates control loss as controller battery life weakens
• Persistent memory keeps your TiltTune settings even if there is no power to your controller.
• The new tiltBoard comes preloaded with tiltTune technology (TM), the most user friendly firmware available, including:
  
  1. Adjust tilt sensitivity
  2. Adjust the 0 degree so that you can hold the controller at whatever angle is natural for you
  3. Invert the Y axis (independently for either the stick or the tilt)
  4. Turn the tilt on and off (switch between stick and tilt)

Quality/Usability : The Xbox 360 was the first next-gen console out of the gate..a year before the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation3. With both next-gen consoles having motion sensing controllers except for the Xbox 360, Microsoft has not addressed this issue but 3rd party peripheral manufacturers have and have stepped up to fill in the void.

TiltBoard first started off as just a mod by Adam Thole (http://www.adamthole.com). Once word spread like wildfire that there was a motion sensing mod for the Xbox 360, modders and gamers wanted to know how to make one or buy one. With the huge interest in the mod, Adam Hole offered the TiltBoard for a price but only limited quantities. Adam Thole then put up instructions on how to make you own TiltBoard with diagrams. The original TiltBoard was on a rectangular PCB board.


With a high demand and Adam having to solder each TiltBoard himself, he negotiated a deal with a well-known specialist peripheral maker, Talismoon. With this deal, Adam will not have to solder each himself, new compact design, professional looking and packaging. As a result of this collaboration, this is the end result that you will receive...


Performing this modification will require some soldering experience. If you do not have any experience with using a soldering iron, its best to have someone who does help you. That is of course, unless you dont care on spending additional money on another controller if you mess up. Hey, at least its a $50 or so controller rather then a $400 system.

The TiltBoard requires you to solder 7 wires on to the Xbox 360 PCB board on the controller and drilling two holes to the Xbox 360 back controller cover. I wont go into the full details of installing as it is fairly long but for instructions on how to install the TiltBoard, you can get them directly from Talismoon's website. You can also get the operating instructions here.

After installation has been completed, its time to give it a test run. Accessing the two buttons on the back of the controller is fairly easy. The button on the left side (viewing back) allowed us to toggle between tilt mode and non-tilt mode simply by pressing the button (quick press). This is great since not all games will require the tilt function. When the tilt function is enabled, the analog sticks with not work.

Holding the button down (1 second) will invert the Y axis. So if you tilt the controller down, you will go up. However, inverting the tilt will not affect the stick control.

The button on the other side (right side) allows you to set the tilt sensitivity by pressing the button once. To use this feature, tilt the controller to the position that you want to be the "maximum" setting for full tilt. This allows you to set how sensitive you want the controllers to be. The sensitivity is set on box axis and is separate, so you can set a wide sensitivity for turning right and left but a narrow sensitivity for moving up and down.

Holding the button down for 1 second sets the controller in RELAXED MODE. By default, the controller must be held perfectly flat and level for your object to go straight towards the "horizon" in the game. There are times where you dont want to hold the controller flat to go straight. An example would be if you were to lean back and relax in your chair. Sitting straight up or standing, our hands are usually the same level as our stomach. But when you're sitting back relaxing, holding the controller flat would be uncomfortable while sitting and us gamers have a tendency of slightly tilting the controller up especially with our arms on the armrest. With our arms on the armrest, our controllers are no longer the same level as our stomach but now with our chest. So with the RELAXED MODE set, you will not have to keep the controller flat with your wrist bent but slightly tilted up and your wrist straight and your object will still go straight.

You can view a videos of TiltBoard demonstation and in action:


Conclusion : Overall, the Talismoon TiltBoard Controller Mod is a great controller mod. The TiltBoard allowed on the fly adjustments by simply pressing or holding the two buttons on the back of the controller. The different settings that can be applied makes gaming easy. The Tiltboard also came with a drill bit to drill holes for the buttons. If they didnt come with that, people would either have too small or too big of a hole. It would of been nice if they included a template of some sort as to where to drill the holes.

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DecalGirl Xbox 360 Console Skin Kit
Manufacturer: DecalGirl
Site: Buy from DecalGirl
Price: $7.50 (face only); $17.00* (face+upper); $25.00* (face+upper+lower); $4.00 each (controller skins); HD DVD Player skin
*The "upper" skin is the side of the Xbox that is exposed when the console is used horizontally. If you stand the console vertically, we suggest the complete skin kit (face, upper and lower).


Overview : The faceplate concept is cool, but it leaves the rest of the console sitting there like a chunk of forgotten ivory plastic. The Xbox 360 is an impressive piece of equipment, and now you can take it to the next level with a DecalGirl skin kit. From face only skins to complete wraparound skin combos (shown at top), they're right here.

Quality/Usability : The Xbox 360 doesnt have that glossy look like the PlayStation3, PSP or the Nintendo Wii. It has a matte look to it. The 360 comes in a Ivory white color unless you get the Elite which comes in black or the Halo 3 Edition that comes in seaweed green. But 360 owners are able to customize their Xbox 360 by changing the faceplate. Its cool and all but if your faceplate is colorful and your system is white, it would look awkward.

In comes DecalGirl. Not only will it spice up the look of your Xbox 360 but it'll make it consistent and matching. DecalGirl offers three different choices to choose from: face skin only, face skin and top (when placed horizontal) or full kit that covers all sides of Xbox 360 (when placed vertical). Like all other DecalGirl skins such as the PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, DS and 360 HD DVD player, installation is very easy. DecalGirl is well-known for their high quality vinyl skins. Skins produced by DecalGirl are vibrant in color and durable. There are a lot of skins to choose from and there will be some that will catch your eyes. You can even match all your consoles such as DS, Wii, Xbox 360, etc. to have the same skin.

As mentioned above, there are three choices to choose from and the best option would be the full kit.

To apply the console skin, I simply started by matching the corners of the skin to the corner of the Xbox 360 for all three sections. Once matched, I did it to the other 2 corners and left the fourth corner alone. Considering the skins are fairly big, it should not be a problem applying the skin. There are a couple of ways to smooth out the skin. You can use a credit card or something similar, your fingers or a rag. I personally use my fingers first to set the skin in place and use a rag to flatten and smooth the skin out. I dont use a card because it has sharp edges/corners and if there is a small hard particle that got trapped underneath the skin, it can ruin the skin.

The faceplate skin can be a little tricky as it has a slight curve to it. Like above, I matched one corner and worked my way along the side to the other corner. Once one side is aligned, I started to work my way to the other end. It may take a couple of tries to get the skin evenly placed. But don't worry, DecalGirl skins are easily removable without leaving any sticky residue and if you mess up, just take it off and reapply!

The controller is also fairly easy as well. Simply make sure that the cut outs line up with the controller and you're set.


Conclusion : Overall, the DecalGirl Xbox 360 Console Skin Kit like all others, it looks great on the Xbox 360. I highly recommend any of DecalGirl skins as they are high quality, durable and goo-free! For the price you pay, you'll get your money's worth.

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