HOS 6DoF controller

A C Ender

A C Ender

Morbad

Morbad
Looks pretty neat. I've see other 6DoF sticks (as opposed to gamepads or gyroscopic mice), but they were all fully custom things never intended for production.

Design looks pretty complex though...hopefully it can be simplified a bit, without sacrificing inputs...perhaps by sacrificing complete ambidexterity in favor of swapable grips, rather than just hand rests.
 

Voracity_T

Voracity_T
Well if that does'nt have the power to turn the most plebian pilot into a god. Throttle inputs look goofy as hell though and thats a pretty important thing.



I want one.
 

Meta Boosh

M
I'm super excited about Sublight Dynamics .
I'm a little concerned about the slew axes. it doesn't always make sense to combine all 6 DoF on one stick.

It's great for google earth or 3d modeling etc programs like blender but for games it's not so simple. For complex combat and maneuvering, just throwing XYZ slew on a stick or a puck I have found inadequate or imprecise.

Rotation makes sense being return-to-center proportional rate control. I feel like that one is pretty much solved with the right stick with a twist.

But for throttle it's not clear.
I remember with descent and the logitech cyberman puck, leaving forward throttle on the "towards screen" axis kinda sucked, so maybe you'd split that out to kb 0/25/50/75/100 keys... :/

Typical "throttle ahead" works better with absolute + static (non-return-to-center) - so you're not having to exert constant pressure on the physical side. I'd want that on this stick, at least for that axis.

Still, I'm going to back these guys - it looks like a solid, well considered effort.
 

Morbad

Morbad
Voracity_T said:
Well if that does'nt have the power to turn the most plebian pilot into a god.
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Practical accuracy and axis separation remain to be seen, which will have a huge impact on it's final utility.

Regardless, the ideal of any control set, and game control options, should be to remove as many barriers to pilot will and control inputs as possible. ED does a pretty good job of balancing things, all things considered.

Voracity_T said:
Throttle inputs look goofy as hell though and thats a pretty important thing.
Click to expand...

I think most people would still have a separate throttle for games where being able to set and forget the main throttle, while also being able to quickly disengage it, would be useful (like ED and pretty much any flight sim). The translational axes on the stick it self would be overrides for combat maneuvering/landing/etc.
 

Voracity_T

Voracity_T
Morbad said:
Practical accuracy and axis separation remain to be seen, which will have a huge impact on it's final utility.

Regardless, the ideal of any control set, and game control options, should be to remove as many barriers to pilot will and control inputs as possible. ED does a pretty good job of balancing things, all things considered.



I think most people would still have a separate throttle for games where being able to set and forget the main throttle, while also being able to quickly disengage it, would be useful (like ED and pretty much any flight sim). The translational axes on the stick it self would be overrides for combat maneuvering/landing/etc.
Click to expand...

Agreed but the premise is very intuitive by the looks of things, certainly more natural than using throttle paddles for transitionals but at least thtas not too strange after a while.

Yeah it would make sense aye, but then at that point why have the extra axis if you're already well versed in using the aforementioned paddles? Admittedly this is quite a nieche thing but long term I cant see any reason, provided a better throttle mapping is designed, that this kind of thing couldnt become more normalised in the future.
 

Morbad

Morbad
Voracity_T said:
Yeah it would make sense aye, but then at that point why have the extra axis if you're already well versed in using the aforementioned paddles?
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Mostly because I already have four other throttles and even if I didn't, the extra buttons and the utility of a separate throttle axis would probably still be worth the modest increase in cost on top of this thousand-dollar stick.

Voracity_T said:
Admittedly this is quite a nieche thing but long term I cant see any reason, provided a better throttle mapping is designed, that this kind of thing couldnt become more normalised in the future.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I've been looking for something like this since the original Descent back in 1995. We're way over due for good 6DoF controls.
 

A C Ender

A C Ender
One thing to keep in mind is that this is only for one of your hands - nothing is stopping you from having something else in your other hand!

I think FA off will work fine for combat on the throttle, you push forward while you want to accelerate in that direction, and once you stop it keeps going at that speed. It's only a problem if you do FA on and you require constant input/throttle setting. But as said, using this stick, you still have one hand free. That could be on a classic throttle with plenty of buttons and functions which you now could use fully for throttle settings and functions, not having to use the buttons/axis on the throttle to attain 6DoF. Related to this, I could see a pad with buttons could potentially become popular (essentially a smaller more advanced and fit for purpose keyboard).
 

Morbad

Morbad
A C Ender said:
nothing is stopping you from having something else in your other hand!
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A second one connected to a second system/client so you can fly your mothership and your SLF at the same time! Not that I'm in favor of one player playing more than one account simultaneously, but it would be interesting to try.
 

A C Ender

A C Ender
Morbad said:
A second one connected to a second system/client so you can fly your mothership and your SLF at the same time! Not that I'm in favor of one player playing more than one account simultaneously, but it would be interesting to try.
Click to expand...

If someone can pull that of they deserve all credit!
 

Saltyseadog

Saltyseadog
Very interesting but personally I am so used to playing two handed on my HOTAS that I would find it awkward adjusting to being one handed.
 

A C Ender

A C Ender
avow555 said:
Looks impressive although I think all axis like this may be fairly inaccurate.
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What do you mean by all axis being inaccurate? Do you mean that it's hard to isolate each individual axis? It's supposed to use force feedback rather than position sensors, which are supposedly very accurate.

avow555 said:
Yeh I think I would still need a separate throttle also.
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While I certainly think having keys for the second hand will be useful, why do you think you specifically need a throttle? I'm playing with KBAM right now and flying FA off in normal apace I only use lateral thrusters to adjust speed, not throttle settings. Only time I use throttle is either to set it to 0 for FA on breaking or 75% for supercruise.
 

avow555

avow555
A C Ender said:
What do you mean by all axis being inaccurate? Do you mean that it's hard to isolate each individual axis? It's supposed to use force feedback rather than position sensors, which are supposedly very accurate.



While I certainly think having keys for the second hand will be useful, why do you think you specifically need a throttle? I'm playing with KBAM right now and flying FA off in normal apace I only use lateral thrusters to adjust speed, not throttle settings. Only time I use throttle is either to set it to 0 for FA on breaking or 75% for supercruise.
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Inaccurate to control or perhaps difficult with so many axis.

I don't think I need a throttle...
I know I need a throttle...personal choice from many thousands of flight hours.
 
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