General / Off-Topic Thinking of getting a HOTAS, a few questions

Psych0 Pigeon

Psych0 Pigeon
Hi CMDRs,
Looking to jump back into ED and seriously tossing up getting a HOTAS. Been scanning the forums and the web as best I can for info and setups and the like, a lot of info out there to digest. Have a couple of questions hoping to get some first-hand advice.

Firstly, well is it worth it? does it help/hinder? make a huge difference? worth the price of admission? (noted the previous few post indicate faulty equipment)

Is it truely plug and play? need a computer to set up? or can ED menu on the Xbox do the job?

And finally, due to circumstance I have lost my lounge room and now play sitting propped up on a bed in the spare room. I've seen pics of setups with stable table type lap boards, is this suitable? Or does it really need a desk/chair?

Thanks all for your time o7
 

Deleted member 110222

D
You need a desk and chair. The thing needs to be on a flat, stable surface.

Yes it's plug and play. I've never connected mine to the PC. I say this... I do have to plug the HOTAS in after turning the Xbox on. Other than that though, it works just fine.

Flight control is much more natural. You are controlling the ship with your entire arm. You don't see pilots flying airplanes with thumb sticks. They used full sized yokes, throttles and sticks. There is a reason for this.
 

LuxAeterna

LuxAeterna
Psych0 Pigeon said:
Firstly, well is it worth it? does it help/hinder? make a huge difference? worth the price of admission? (noted the previous few post indicate faulty equipment)
Click to expand...
Using a HOTAS is a huge difference (for me at least) for the better. Most of the keys that were inconveniently out of finger range are now at my fingertips.

Psych0 Pigeon said:
And finally, due to circumstance I have lost my lounge room and now play sitting propped up on a bed in the spare room. I've seen pics of setups with stable table type lap boards, is this suitable? Or does it really need a desk/chair?
Click to expand...

I use a laptop stand for my HOTAS & KB/M with my office chair in front of my 55" TV. My HOTAS is not bolted to the stand so it does have the tendency to move while playing if I haven't cleaned the stand or the rubber feet on the bottom of the HOTAS in a while. I'll finally bolt it to something as soon as I get my simpit built. The good thing about the stand is (most stands) you can adjust the height for maybe a kitchen chair or... the edge of your bed (I've done both at some time or another!) :D And it's small enough to be out of the way when not in use. It works for me, at least, in a one bedroom apartment.

I'm PC so can't comment for the Xbox compatibility or PNP.

Hope this helps CMDR,
Lux
 

Dsign

Dsign
It does make a huge difference ! I personally find it so great for the feel it gives you more than for the practical side of it. It is nonetheless easier, for me at least, to apprehend your ship with a complete axis control !

I would recommand a nice flat surface at a comfortable hight. After long sessions you will certainly feel your arms if you place it in a wrong way.

I never used mine on a console, but I know people do it, it seems pretty plug and play !
 

tafkabb

T
I use mine on my lap, you don't need a desk. Yes I'd say it's definitely worth it; using rails in a DBS with a controller, I occasionally hit. With a T-Flight, I occasionally miss
 

Psych0 Pigeon

Psych0 Pigeon
Thanks for the replies all,
I think I'll invest in one, especially Bongo if you say you manage to use one on your lap, I'll give it a go.

One more question regarding setup making sure I understand this right from watching YT vids. I would plug my controller in the front USB port as normal with the headset attached, again as normal (I keep it plugged in all the time anyways) and plug the HOTAS in one the rear USB ports ? that should allow me to use the HOTAS for flight and controller when needed to type in chat and use menus?

Sorry if this is a bit of a dumb dumb question
 

C4R1TON

C4R1TON
You will not regret it. I have the HOTAS X for my PC cmdr and the HOTAS ONE for my xbox commander. I use either a big recliner or propped up in bed. In both cases, I use an old top to a folding TV tray. I velcro'd them down on it so it gives me a stable platform I can just sit on my legs.

I'm able to type in just fine with the HOTAS vs controller. Just have to get accustomed to it.

Some may have an issue with USB availability especially if you have an external hard drive. Just have to spend a few extra bucks and get a USB hub. Problem solved.
 
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Psych0 Pigeon

Psych0 Pigeon
A USB hub you say, might be the way to go, and I was thinking of getting a TV tray type thing to use with it, good to know that works.

Thanks for the info everyone....I've been convinced, picking one up next week.

And some Sidewinders for practice, I'm sure I'll crash and burn as few times :)
 

Bob Lighthouse

Banned
Bob Lighthouse
I use the Hotas 4 which is pretty much identical to the X, and I'm very happy with it.
You'll want to set up the controls to your liking and that might take a while, but it's straightforward in the ED menus.
Fiddling with the dead zones is worth the effort.

I play in an office chair with the unit in my lap.
No problems with control or comfort.
 

Hooplah

Hooplah
Greetings,

Owning the PlayStation 4 Pro (I bought the thing just for ED...Being single I don't have a wife yelling at me but three dogs wanting attention! Frontier really nailed the ED console release with the Dual Shock 4 controller. Playing the game for years on the PC with an expensive HOTAS I was impressed. Those who only play with game pads on a console might not agree. Still adding in the Thrustmaster HOTAS 4 adds to the immersion of space flight. My assumption is Frontier learned from the Xbox and inproved upon it but that is conjecture.

ED is all about immersion in a massive galaxy. A HOTAS can only add to that on any platform. Per the latest upgrades they have probably improved on the Xbox version. I'd go for the Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X if I owned an Xbox. It is A LOT cheaper than some of the more expensive ones on a PC with Thrustmaster quality and reliability, The positive is more immersion. The negative is you can't sit on the couch with a game pad playing the game. It gets more involved. You decide.

Regards

33548x1691.jpg
 
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tafkabb

T
Psych0 Pigeon said:
One more question regarding setup making sure I understand this right from watching YT vids. I would plug my controller in the front USB port as normal with the headset attached, again as normal (I keep it plugged in all the time anyways) and plug the HOTAS in one the rear USB ports ? that should allow me to use the HOTAS for flight and controller when needed to type in chat and use menus?
Click to expand...

No, and a lot of people are annoyed about that since FDev disabled the controller functionality in the last update.
Although it's not a problem for me; I use the flight stick for all the menus, galaxy map, free camera, etc. It took a bit of work getting the menu controls to work inside the galaxy map but I've got it all sorted now. I'll post my controls if you need them, they're pretty intuitive
 

Psych0 Pigeon

Psych0 Pigeon
Hooplah, that set up looks pretty damn good!!! Thanks for posting it, I have no chance of getting that in my house unfortunately:(

Bongo, if it's not too much trouble that would be fantastic, def give it a try out.
 

Bob Lighthouse

Banned
Bob Lighthouse
BongoBaggins said:
No, and a lot of people are annoyed about that since FDev disabled the controller functionality in the last update.
Although it's not a problem for me; I use the flight stick for all the menus, galaxy map, free camera, etc. It took a bit of work getting the menu controls to work inside the galaxy map but I've got it all sorted now. I'll post my controls if you need them, they're pretty intuitive
Click to expand...

Is that Xbox only or something?
Pretty sure mine still works (PS4) and people are certainly still using Bluetooth keyboards in addition to the Hotas 4, on PS4.
 

Psych0 Pigeon

Psych0 Pigeon
BongoBaggins said:
No, and a lot of people are annoyed about that since FDev disabled the controller functionality in the last update.
Click to expand...

Sorry to be a pest, now that I've thought about this some more I'm slightly worried. One last enquiry which could be a deal breaker, will my headset still work when plugged into the controller?
 

Armholeeio

Armholeeio
Hopefully at some time other firms will jump aboard and get some xbox compatible HOTAS up and running, variety being the spice of life ect
 
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