Looking for advice RIFT

[Granty]

Hi,

Just purchased a RIFT today and I'm currently a keyboard and mouse player. So, I guess I'm going to need a joystick, think I'll try the Thrustmaster to start with. I'm sure I read somewhere a while ago about voice attack pack? is that right and how does that work?

Anything else I might need / read about before I launch in VR

Thanks

 

[TheChafing]

My setup is to use a HOTAS for the ship controls and the Xbox controller that came with my Rift for the menus and SRV. You could conceivably use the HOTAS for the SRV, but the Xbox controller felt more right, to me.

Keep in mind that if you're buying a higher end HOTAS like CH Products or the Thrustmaster Warthog, you'll also need a pair of rudder pedals. I'm partial to CH Products myself, although they don't look nearly as cool as the Warthog. Also, with rudder pedals, you'll need a non-rolly chair. I ended up using a car seat that I got from craigslist, and made a base for it out of 2 by 3s. Your spousal approval mileage may vary with the use of used car parts from craigslist as furniture in the house. I eased mine into it by decorating every room in my house with car parts over a period of ten years.

One thing you'll definitely want to know is that the reset button for the head position is the F12 key. If you set your rift up so you can also use it standing up for semi-roomscale, you'll need to zero the head position every time, unless you want the view to be from the pilot's lap.

 

[Verlaine]

I recommend the X52 Pro HOTAS, which I use for ship and SRV, because of the throttle's shape and the stick's buttons and hats. The Thrustmaster's stick has limited buttons and one hat only, and its single trigger feels cheap.

 

[Gortron]

The joystick you see in the cockpit is based on the X52 pro which is rather nifty. The X52 is similar and cheaper (and what I have). I recommend either but with a big word of warning: unreliability. Both are well known for developing faults. They may have gotten their act together now (try googling it) but be warned. Mine developed a fault with the mouse nipple thingy with the first week of having it. It's a shame because they are otherwise great products.

Voice attack, which you can downloaded a limited version of free to try, lets you bind key presses or joystick button inputs to voice commands. You can also buy HCS voice packs to go with it that have preset commands and that will talk back to you. They look rather cool but I've never got around to trying one.... there is a William Shattner one so I really should try it.
[video=youtube_share;1yX5nhBQ2XI]https://youtu.be/1yX5nhBQ2XI[/video]

 

[dogbite]

I have used an x52(non-pro) since it first came out and Saitek rudders with no issues. Applied the tension and magnet mods (easy-see YouTube). Went to Saitek after breaking my CH rudders and getting crap service, so nothing is perfect in the joystick world. The CH sticks are very accurate and durable but lack tension. I do miss the CH Force. Voice Attack is a must have. I use ASTRA voice pack which I have added commands to. She sounds much more like a ships computer than these Star Trek actors. Basic edits are pretty simple.

 

[Alec Turner]

Thrustmaster (T-Flight HOTAS X) is a brilliant starter joystick - £29 on Amazon? It's a no brainer unless you know from the outset that you want a top range stick, know which one and are prepared to stump up £100+ for it.

I've been using a T-Flight since ED day #1 and I love it. I've had one break (one button became unresponsive) and the other great thing about this stick's price is that I just went straight out and bought a replacement (which has worked perfectly for about a year and a half now).

One thing I would recommend is getting "Joystick Curves" ..

https://www.xedocproject.com/joystickcurves.html

It's free and allows you to configure response curves which deal with one of the sticks only significant downsides (especially if you're into fixed weapon combat) which is a lack of sensitivity around the central deadzone.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

i have an X55. its a great stick when it works with buttons and nobs coming out of the wazzu. but its build quality, esp the wiring in the throttle is rubbish. not sure if the X56 will get any better now logitech own them, butlaunch x56s were just as bad. i am on my 2nd unit and my warranty has now expired, but the fault is starting again.

voice attack is great for VR - tho gets confused if you liek to chat to friends when gaming. on my own its pretty much flawless. you can google for some good elite dangerous profiles.

done forget rift comes with an xbox 1 pad. i find space ships i use my flight stick, and the SRV i use my xbox pad. The beauty of ED is it supports multiple control methods at the same time.

my advice,. the galmap in vr sucks using a mouse. make sure you configure it for either the xbox pad or a flight stick

 

[Mack Winston]

I started with keyboard and mouse and a Rift DK2, and stayed keyboard/mouse for a year after getting the DK2, and did just fine with it.

Over time I've added stuff - first a joystick someone dumped on me, then added a CH Pro Throttle (because of its analogue thumbstick which can be used for the thrusters), then got rid of the free joystick and replaced it with a Thrustmaster T16000. So I've got both an excellent throttle and an excellent joystick now - essentially I mixed and matched rather than buying a HOTAS in a box.

I also recently got voice attack to voice command various functions. It's fun to bark orders at your NPC crew

Whatever you get I really recommend it includes an analogue thumb controller for thrusters.

I still use the old joystick, I've assigned that to camera controls in the 2.3 beta.

 

[Wood67]

Your spousal approval mileage may vary...I eased mine into it by decorating every room in my house with car parts over a period of ten years.

Now there's a statement of truth!

I also have the Saitek X-52 (amateur version). Don't need rudder pedals as it has the twist stick, but they are on my wishlist. I use the X-52 for all main controls (including SRV and Gal/Sys maps), plus a mini keyboard for typing system names when I need it, and the occasional binding that's not on the stick. I use a few macros programmed on the stick (most used being the Docking Request sequence).

I've also used VoiceAttack in the past, but tbh I found I didn't really need it. Might be useful if you are combat focused when time can be of the essence for balancing engine management and popping chaff/sinks etc. For most other activities I found I kept getting tapped on the (irl) shoulder by my other half and asking why I keep asking her to turn the lights on or off.

 

[Korben Dallas]

Here is the recent thread that might be interesting for you as well:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/334852-just-got-the-vive.

CH Fighterstick and CH throttle all the way. The analog thumb stick I set to roll and thrust; while the traveller is for throttle, saves me on needing a foot-pedal contraption for roll.

CH is durable but old fashioned looking (f-16 fighter stick). Not so impressed with Saitek X55 internals build quality - read what I posted in the link thread above concerning that.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[TheChafing]

Here is the recent thread that might be interesting for you as well:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/334852-just-got-the-vive.

CH Fighterstick and CH throttle all the way. Durable but old fashioned looking. Not so impressed with Saitek build quality - read what I posted in the link thread above concerning that.

I'm using a set of CH Products (stick, throttle, pedals) now, but before that, I had a cheap Saitek joystick that I've had for like ten years. It feels cheap, as it's made entirely out of cheap ABS plastic. In contrast, the CH ones are made of apparently industrial grade glass reinforced nylon, which is the same material they make stuff like power tools out of. The feel of it is what it is, but to Saitek's credit, that cheap $30 joystick still works perfectly after ten years of semi-regular use and more recently a few months of every day use in ED. My experience is that when joysticks fail, it's the centering mechanism that breaks, and the Saitek design dramatically reduces the potential for that to happen.

If you're not $350 to $400 committed to this, and it's totally OK to not be, I can imagine way worse than Saitek, especially in the sub $100 price range.

 

[Garagiste]

The T flight is as stated a total no-brainer for the money.
If you think carefully about how you configure it and use one button as a "shift key" you can have just about everything you need in your hands. Never used voice attack personally, I can see how it would be useful but the only things I still have bound on the keyboard I only use once in a blue moon anyway.

Hammering mine since the original Beta, and have also now got one broken button - I can live without it for the time being, if anything else goes I'll just order a new one as they're crazy cheap.

 

[Korben Dallas]

@TheChafing

Agreed there was a price difference.

The CH Throttle and the CH Fighterstick came at approx 300 Euros together.

The Saitek X-55 came at 156 Euros for the throttle and stick combo. I have no negative things to say about the Saitek X55 stick. It still worked flawlessly. The throttle is an entirely different matter.

I used the Saitek X55 pretty much a year and 4 months before it broke, like I said, when I removed the bottom cover from the throttle it was clear that the little cobwheels were eating at the little cables that connect the radials and the buttons to the electronics in the base of the throttle. You can find reviews of this flaw dating from a few years back and Saitek just ignored it plainly. Instead of wrapping the cables completely in the protective tape as to protect them from the cobwheels, they just half @ssed it with broken wires as a result. That is unacceptable for a 150 Euro controller after less than 2 years of operation. Luckily the warranty is 2 years so I returned it. I'm waiting on their answer now as to what they will do, replace or refund.

I felt obliged however to bring this to attention.

While I do like the X-55 throttle better in user experience (the top radial on the throttle is awesome to bind it to the roll in ED since you can keep a constant roll and concentrate on other things while in combat), CH products were made to last, hence their cost.

A donkey never hits the same stone twice, so after viewing positive reviews on CH users who had their CH sticks for 20 years or so, I opted for that instead of the Saitek Warthog which has approx the same price.

 

[Granty]

Thanks for all replies, lots to mull over whilst I wait for the rift to arrive, really appreciate it.

 

[vic]

I use voice attack for dictating my speech when in text chat, instead of having to clumsily type on my keyboard. Works GREAT!
I'm surprised not many people talk about using voice attack in that manner.

 

[Korben Dallas]

I use voice attack for dictating my speech when in text chat, instead of having to clumsily type on my keyboard. Works GREAT!
I'm surprised not many people talk about using voice attack in that manner.

There is no substitute for the swiftness and speed with which a button is pressed vs voice control, which in some cases needs to be repeated.

 

[dogbite]

There is no substitute for the swiftness and speed with which a button is pressed vs voice control, which in some cases needs to be repeated.

True, which is why speed crucial tasks are bound to a controller. Toggling things like maps or those, view blocking, panels while exploring or just requesting a particular song from my music library, well those are tasks Voice Attack handles just fine.

I also use VA to control things like my TV tuner (Hauppauge) channels and volume and a plethora of other things.