Choices Choices

[Memnoch]

I'd be interested on the X65, as a fellow Warthog ownder I've never tried a force sensing stick before and was wondering whether it is easier or harder to fly with it?

PS, please try and break your posts up into paragraphs. A big wall of text not so easy to read and some people may just gloss over it as TLDR.

 

[michaelfife]

x52 pro / trackIR combo for me.

 

[Reaper99]

I'd be interested on the X65, as a fellow Warthog ownder I've never tried a force sensing stick before and was wondering whether it is easier or harder to fly with it?

PS, please try and break your posts up into paragraphs. A big wall of text not so easy to read and some people may just gloss over it as TLDR.

LOl Memnoch...you are so right about the wall and will fix...kinda used to just dealing with information I've forgotten about posting in forums lol.

The x65 out of the box has four presets as to how touchy the stick is...ie how much force you apply verses its responsiveness...

I tended to switch between semi twitchy( very responsive) to slightly sluggish( more force to change direction) depending on what I was doing...ie landing or pulling to a station to dock I wanted a bit of sluggishness so not to over compensate...but in a fight I wanted fast response...as its changed on the fly on the throttle it was easy and a fun stick to use, the hard part is the not moving and getting the deadzone right in software so as not to get the constant drift from holding the stick and having the natural pressure of your hand and arm on it.

Wathog beautiful just beautiful and a bit easier for adjusting back to with lack of supporting games for stick jocks like me. its target gui is a pain for me though and I tend to run a basic script just for joystick and throttle activation...ill be glad when I figure out that system and I feel more comfortable in building a script template that works well for diff games...dsc a10 was built to use this marvel...but the other stuff you gotta tweak some.

 

[tooterfish]

that must be some new changes as the one I purchased a bit over 2 years ago has pots...

Both x52 models have definitely always used Hall sensors on the stick axes. They do use a pot for the twist axis though.

http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/x52pro.html

"The X52 Pro uses the same magnetic hall sensor, non-contact technology as the X52 but we’ve doubled the number of sensors to improve response."

 

[Reaper99]

Both x52 models have definitely always used Hall sensors on the stick axes. They do use a pot for the twist axis though.

http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/x52pro.html

"The X52 Pro uses the same magnetic hall sensor, non-contact technology as the X52 but we’ve doubled the number of sensors to improve response."

Thanks for the tech heads up brother...now im going to go pull mine apart and take pics to prove im right....NOT...I am totally believing ya...I probably was remembering the twist axis ...I do know that the pro started drifting a bit after 6 months...but coulda been that one pot come to think on it...appreciate your fast respone tooterfish and look forward to seeing you guys in space...already feeling memories from yester years in the alpha.

 

[Memnoch]

...the hard part is the not moving and getting the deadzone right in software so as not to get the constant drift from holding the stick and having the natural pressure of your hand and arm on it.

This is what I read on SimHQ and put me off it straight away. Interesting to see that the X55 has gone away from this method so either this it is aimed at a different price point or they have given up on force sensing technology.

Wathog beautiful just beautiful..

I know what you mean. Especially the throttle. It looks like it just got pulled out of an A10!

 

[Reaper99]

I'd be interested on the X65, as a fellow Warthog ownder I've never tried a force sensing stick before and was wondering whether it is easier or harder to fly with it?

PS, please try and break your posts up into paragraphs. A big wall of text not so easy to read and some people may just gloss over it as TLDR.

By the way Mennoch...as a warthog owner and quite possibly more adept at the gui...got a guide or script you wouldn't mind mailing to a fellow warthog user in dire need of a good general script to run for ED and upcoming SC...yes I know my 2 favorite authors of space opera's and adventure...couldn't help one without doing for the other and now having spent for the alpha...brit sterlings hitting me for another 300 plus us...ive backed both just about equally lol.

 

[Memnoch]

To be honest, you don't really need one, with one very important caveat. It works perfectly well without using TARGET at all....except you cannot use buttons 1-19 on the throttle independantly of the stick, and vice versa, as the game can only see the one device. Which is to be fixed soon as far as I know. This pretty much limits you to the buttons and metal switches on the control base.

The way around this is to create a virtual stick in TARGET that allows all 32 buttons to be used. I haven't actually bothered having a go at this yet but it is very easy to do from what I have see. Just select both devices in the profile you create, select a button on the stick, select a key on the keyboard for it to press and that's one button done!

As far as I know you don't even need to worry about which key you assign to the which button. If you already have a good idea of which switches and buttons you wish to use in-game, then you can assign any old key to those buttons, even just selecting `....=, q..],a...# and \.../. It may look like nonsense but when you configure the keys in game you are using the buttons and not the key presses they issue.

 

[Reaper99]

To be honest, you don't really need one, with one very important caveat. It works perfectly well without using TARGET at all....except you cannot use buttons 1-19 on the throttle independantly of the stick, and vice versa, as the game can only see the one device. Which is to be fixed soon as far as I know. This pretty much limits you to the buttons and metal switches on the control base.

The way around this is to create a virtual stick in TARGET that allows all 32 buttons to be used. I haven't actually bothered having a go at this yet but it is very easy to do from what I have see. Just select both devices in the profile you create, select a button on the stick, select a key on the keyboard for it to press and that's one button done!

As far as I know you don't even need to worry about which key you assign to the which button. If you already have a good idea of which switches and buttons you wish to use in-game, then you can assign any old key to those buttons, even just selecting `....=, q..],a...# and \.../. It may look like nonsense but when you configure the keys in game you are using the buttons and not the key presses they issue.

tried your way not even loading target and aside from the throttle being odd it was a charmer...side note a general generic target script by choosing new...add stick and throttle with vanilla assignment then running makes the throttle accurate and fixed for min max definition...without target it flipped on my end

 

[Foul Ole Ron]

Right, Decision time is coming....

What do I choose?

Joystick, either the Saitek x52 pro, or a cheap HOTAS Thrustmaster x. Both look comparible, apart from saitek having more buttons, and the HOTAS being 80's esque in styling.

It all comes down to budget. The x52 pro is probably the best mid range stick. If you have a big pile of cash to blow the Thrustmaster warthog is the best out there but at over 300 quid it's a pricey bit of kit. A lot of people I know who play flight sims swear by it though.

 

[Memnoch]

tried your way not even loading target and aside from the throttle being odd it was a charmer...side note a general generic target script by choosing new...add stick and throttle with vanilla assignment then running makes the throttle accurate and fixed for min max definition...without target it flipped on my end

If the throttle is wrong way round you can just re-assign the the throttle by toggling the "Invert" button at the end of the dead zone line.

 

[Reaper99]

It all comes down to budget. The x52 pro is probably the best mid range stick. If you have a big pile of cash to blow the Thrustmaster warthog is the best out there but at over 300 quid it's a pricey bit of kit. A lot of people I know who play flight sims swear by it though.

You are spot on my friend...generally speaking (very much so)...x52 pro=100-150 us last check could probably get cheaper, x52=75 plus or minus, x65=roughly 300 plus depending on source and avail, warthog= 400 plus and that can get ridiculous.

there are cheaper hotas rigs available and some in line at x52 range....when saying cheaper might change to cost effectiveness versus use, I wouldn't invest in the high end stuff less a. you have lot of disposable cash and more importantly b. if you will get use/value out of it.

The man hit it on the head...some of us have preference based solely on asthetics to...so it boils down to personal choice and funding, having feed back from the forum might help you with a general start point though. Some of the controllers mentioned in the forums I went to the link posted on em just to see what it was. In short there will definitely be something that fits your need, then there will be the I really want it one, and then...will my wife shoot me dead one if she sees the bill one...or like me have all three and pray my wife doesn't read this post.

 

[Reaper99]

If the throttle is wrong way round you can just re-assign the the throttle by toggling the "Invert" button at the end of the dead zone line.

lol nope I fergot to set the flight assist ....aside from what you pointed out worked great...I did the invert for x axis so that my yaw left went left and yaw right went right versus how it was by default...that was the only thing I changed at present....thinking of changing a few other things like the look feature to one of the hats...but still thinking on getting the track ir rather than that. being right eye dominate...the OR doesn't really hold appeal for me like those that actually compute both screens at same time with the goggles...ir a good choice though.