The Joystick/Controller discussion thread

[salad]

the z axis was off center

Just got one, can confirm Z-Axis is offcenter.

Well, its not the end of the world I guess I'll have to deal with it lol]

Its the only downside tho, I'm loving the joystick overall.

 

[DidierDrbois]

Question to the 11.15% (as of now) flying the mighty Warthog. How do you guys yaw since the stick doesn't twist? Is it a major pain the backside or easily manageable?
_
My X55 is (unsurprisingly) letting go after a year and I'm looking for something of quality. The Warthog seems to fit the bill except the lack of stick twist. Don't want pedals though.

 

[Brujah]

Question to the 11.15% (as of now) flying the mighty Warthog. How do you guys yaw since the stick doesn't twist? Is it a major pain the backside or easily manageable?
_
My X55 is (unsurprisingly) letting go after a year and I'm looking for something of quality. The Warthog seems to fit the bill except the lack of stick twist. Don't want pedals though.

I thought the Warthog had yaw pedals, no?

Edit: So yeah, should've read the second part. I would guess that the Warthog's not for you if you don't want pedals. The T-Flight HOTAS X does the job for me, at a fraction of the price. Very solidly made for how much it costs.

Edit2: So I should also add that I remapped my controls to be more 'spacey'. I use forward and back for pitch, but left and right for yaw. I use the stick's twist function for roll. Makes more sense to me in a 3D environment.

 

[DidierDrbois]

I thought the Warthog had yaw pedals, no?

Edit: So yeah, should've read the second part. I would guess that the Warthog's not for you if you don't want pedals. The T-Flight HOTAS X does the job for me, at a fraction of the price. Very solidly made for how much it costs.

Edit2: So I should also add that I remapped my controls to be more 'spacey'. I use forward and back for pitch, but left and right for yaw. I use the stick's twist function for rotation. Makes more sense to me in a 3D environment.

Cheers Commander, the HOTAS X looks pretty good must say but I feel it has too few buttons. Do you use the keyboard with it a lot?

 

[ries]

About these joyful sticks and whatnot... they all in general are built robust-like. Any for female to grip that doesn't require bicep of a gorilla?

Ill like to vote for the x52 pro. Im in the same camp as you, and most sticks are WAY to stiff to keep playing for a few hours without having some serious biceps. The x52 pro is very light to handle, I can almost steer with my pinky. I believe that lightness is being frowned upon in the flighsim world, where they are modding the x52 with a stiffer spring. For me its perfect though

 

[Noob McNewbie]

Cheers Commander, the HOTAS X looks pretty good must say but I feel it has too few buttons. Do you use the keyboard with it a lot?

I keep the throttle and stick in front of me, the wireless keyboard to my side. The keyboard only comes into play for docking and exploration for me.

The real problem with it is the dead space in the stick. I'd say the first 20% or so of both pitch and roll have ZERO input for me. Therefore, I don't do combat, just trade and exploration. It still causes some irritating problems, but not lethal problems that way. On the bright side, I do like the throttle rocker switch for yaw control and the fact it adapts to a lefty with little discomfort.

I will be trashing the Thrustmaster soon, though. Most likely try the Logitech, the price makes it easily disposable if it's trash, too. Otherwise, I'll look into CH Products. Their sticks seem to use a base I was very happy with decades ago.

 

[Ozram]

I keep the throttle and stick in front of me, the wireless keyboard to my side. The keyboard only comes into play for docking and exploration for me.

The real problem with it is the dead space in the stick. I'd say the first 20% or so of both pitch and roll have ZERO input for me. Therefore, I don't do combat, just trade and exploration. It still causes some irritating problems, but not lethal problems that way. On the bright side, I do like the throttle rocker switch for yaw control and the fact it adapts to a lefty with little discomfort.

I will be trashing the Thrustmaster soon, though. Most likely try the Logitech, the price makes it easily disposable if it's trash, too. Otherwise, I'll look into CH Products. Their sticks seem to use a base I was very happy with decades ago.

Logitech is definitely not trash and is quite cheap. With a CH HOTAS on the other hand, you won't EVER need anything else. Between my Fighterstick and Pro Throttle I have control of everything but typing the names of systems I am looking for on the Galaxy map. Took a while to map everything but once it's done (and in your head) it becomes incredibly intuitive. No need for a dead zone either.

 

[scbfromnc]

Having a problem binding an axis to Driving Turret Controls, specifically to the Yaw Axis for the turret. I use a CH Pro Throttle and I use the mini-joystick for lateral and vertical thrust for my ship -- no problems. So I thought I'd use that same mini-joystick to control my turret on the SRV. I can bind the pitch to the y-axis of that mini joystick, but can't bind yaw to the x-axis. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Can't be a malfunction of the mini-joystick since it works fine in the ship. What bindings are others using for that turret?

 

[Saltyseadog]

Having a problem binding an axis to Driving Turret Controls, specifically to the Yaw Axis for the turret. I use a CH Pro Throttle and I use the mini-joystick for lateral and vertical thrust for my ship -- no problems. So I thought I'd use that same mini-joystick to control my turret on the SRV. I can bind the pitch to the y-axis of that mini joystick, but can't bind yaw to the x-axis. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Can't be a malfunction of the mini-joystick since it works fine in the ship. What bindings are others using for that turret?

Not 100% certain of my facts here but as I have just finished reading a few threads on weapons I will have a go and excuse me if someone comes along and says that's rubbish, lol. As far as I understand it you have 3 options in your right hand status menu to set your turrets to.

 

[scbfromnc]

Not 100% certain of my facts here but as I have just finished reading a few threads on weapons I will have a go and excuse me if someone comes along and says that's rubbish, lol. As far as I understand it you have 3 options in your right hand status menu to set your turrets to.

Here's a copy of the relevant section of the controls. After problems with the mini-joystick I bound keyboard keys to pitch and yaw -- but it's a crude way to control and not very accurate.

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

Not sure if I posted it here or in another thread but, for those using an X52 or X55, or maybe another brand of HOTAS/joystick with a POV hat. Is it normal that if you assign your POV hat to the thrusters (up, down, right, left), you can't have 2 of them simultaneously working? On the Mac, with my X52, I can usually go diagonally, that is move up and left or right. I tried the same X52 in Windows with the same bindings but there is no action if I move the POV hat to the position between, say, up and left. It's either up, down, left or right.

Is it the standard behavior under Windows (7 64-bit)? If not, what are my bindings missing? I copied the bindings I am using in Mac OS X to Windows. Everything works as expected (almost).

The other thing I found I couldn't get to work is the pinkie button. I can't use it as a modifier. Am I missing something as well for that one?

Thanks in advance!

 

[CMDR Eryn Liamson]

Not sure if I posted it here or in another thread but, for those using an X52 or X55, or maybe another brand of HOTAS/joystick with a POV hat. Is it normal that if you assign your POV hat to the thrusters (up, down, right, left), you can't have 2 of them simultaneously working? On the Mac, with my X52, I can usually go diagonally, that is move up and left or right. I tried the same X52 in Windows with the same bindings but there is no action if I move the POV hat to the position between, say, up and left. It's either up, down, left or right.

Is it the standard behavior under Windows (7 64-bit)? If not, what are my bindings missing? I copied the bindings I am using in Mac OS X to Windows. Everything works as expected (almost).

The other thing I found I couldn't get to work is the pinkie button. I can't use it as a modifier. Am I missing something as well for that one?

Thanks in advance!

I'm using an X52 in Windows, and for the directional thrust control I use the hat on the throttle. By default it was set to a 4-way hat though, so wouldn't register the diagonal positioning. You can change this to an 8-way using the profile software.
Not sure about the modifier for the pinkie switch, I use that for FAOFF.

 

[M. Grey]

Not sure if I posted it here or in another thread but, for those using an X52 or X55, or maybe another brand of HOTAS/joystick with a POV hat. Is it normal that if you assign your POV hat to the thrusters (up, down, right, left), you can't have 2 of them simultaneously working? ...

As the answer above: You have to set it from 4-way to 8-way in the Saitek profile editor software. You can do this for every coolie hat if needed.

The other thing I found I couldn't get to work is the pinkie button. I can't use it as a modifier. Am I missing something as well for that one?

Thanks in advance!

Go to Saitek control panel and disable "clutch" mode for the pinkie. Not quite sure, but should be "MFD" tab. Now you can use it as a "SHIFT" key.
In the Saitek profile editor you can even assign any button as a shift state. I did this for the 2nd Trigger. Now I have almost every button/coolie mapped with three functions. 2nd Trigger SHIFT profile is mostly for landing and macro stuff.
See SST manual page 5 "Shift States/Modes"

 

[Oogie Boogie]

Question to the 11.15% (as of now) flying the mighty Warthog. How do you guys yaw since the stick doesn't twist? Is it a major pain the backside or easily manageable?
_
My X55 is (unsurprisingly) letting go after a year and I'm looking for something of quality. The Warthog seems to fit the bill except the lack of stick twist. Don't want pedals though.

I have a pedal but use the yaw with the mouse function (just left/right) on the Thruster instead. Even in PVP fights I don't see any disadvantage for me until now.
So my pedals are below the table unused...

 

[Andrej]

Question to the 11.15% (as of now) flying the mighty Warthog. How do you guys yaw since the stick doesn't twist? Is it a major pain the backside or easily manageable?
_
My X55 is (unsurprisingly) letting go after a year and I'm looking for something of quality. The Warthog seems to fit the bill except the lack of stick twist. Don't want pedals though.

It really easy, i just use rudder pedals. You should try to steer SRV with pedals, it is surprisingly natural.

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

Guys, thanks a bunch for my X52 problem. I thought I should be able to do it. Never occurred to me to set it in the control panel as we don't have one when running OS X.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

As the answer above: You have to set it from 4-way to 8-way in the Saitek profile editor software. You can do this for every coolie hat if needed.


Go to Saitek control panel and disable "clutch" mode for the pinkie. Not quite sure, but should be "MFD" tab. Now you can use it as a "SHIFT" key.
In the Saitek profile editor you can even assign any button as a shift state. I did this for the 2nd Trigger. Now I have almost every button/coolie mapped with three functions. 2nd Trigger SHIFT profile is mostly for landing and macro stuff.
See SST manual page 5 "Shift States/Modes"

One question, though: do I need to specifically use a profile to do this? Can this be setup by default, when I boot in Windows or will I have to activate the said profile each time before playing?

 

[M. Grey]

...
One question, though: do I need to specifically use a profile to do this? Can this be setup by default, when I boot in Windows or will I have to activate the said profile each time before playing?

You can set your profile as startup/default in the taskbar notification area with right-click on the saitek icon.
I use the saitek software since it is easy to use. You can make different profiles with SHIFT states and it's easy to make macros.

I think if you're not using the pinkie as a shift key, then there is no need to use the saitek profile software, you assing all buttons ingame. As soon as you want to use shift states you'll need the software (or something similar) since you assign a keyboard key to the button and bind the keyboard key ingame to the desired function.

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

You can set your profile as startup/default in the taskbar notification area with right-click on the saitek icon.
I use the saitek software since it is easy to use. You can make different profiles with SHIFT states and it's easy to make macros.

Thank you!

 

[M. Grey]

You're welcome!
Should you have any questions, feel free to ask.

If you're editing your profile "live", while E: D is running, atfer saving you have to load "empty profile" and reload your profile via Saitek icon to take the changes affect.

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

You can set your profile as startup/default in the taskbar notification area with right-click on the saitek icon.
I use the saitek software since it is easy to use. You can make different profiles with SHIFT states and it's easy to make macros.

I think if you're not using the pinkie as a shift key, then there is no need to use the saitek profile software, you assing all buttons ingame. As soon as you want to use shift states you'll need the software (or something similar) since you assign a keyboard key to the button and bind the keyboard key ingame to the desired function.

Hmmm... ok, I'm in the Profile Editor now. I was able to change the POV hat on the throttle from 4-way to 8-way. Saved my profile. Now, I'm not sure how to set the "Pinkie"(?) to act as shift. When I click the little button with a small "play" icon in it, a popup appears and the only choice is "Latched". I know what a latch is but I don't understand what it means in this context. I'm sorry but English is not my native language.

I was able to set my edited profile as the startup profile but it was not obvious. I'm a Mac OS X user, not Windows. It was not obvious that I could "right-click" on an already displayed popup to summon another popup. But I did it!

Now, the only thing I'm not sure like I said is how to make the Pinkie as a shift (or modifier) key.

EDIT: oh, another thing I've seen but haven't found is the "clutch". What's the clutch?