Newcomer / Intro What are you up to?

[Spaceman Si]

I keep considering the idea of a Virpil Constellation Alpha joystick. Much as I love my T16000, I get the impression it won't last forever, and the twist yaw axes long since went on it's holidays. (The throttle is just fine, and after the Nyogel application, it is better than when I first got it out of the box, even).

Does anyone have any experience with the Virpil sticks? I know that @Rock Hunter waxed enthusiastic about them a while back - are you still around to add anything sir?

The stick and base are not what I would call cheap by any means, so I'm prevaricating... but they do look so very nice.

 

[Codger]

Do you find the military hull better than reactive composite?

I haven't compared them in game, so I can't say. So far the shield has never dropped, anyway

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

I was one system from Maia. There were hundreds of them. I thought it was an FC infestation at first.
Got to Maia, picked up some Meta-Alloys and a bag of chips and straight to Deciat. Luckily, that's only 8 jumps for me now.
I remember years ago going to the Plaiedes and it seemed to take an age, but I was in an unengineered T-6 back then.

Last time I went 'Goid hunting, it was in Asterope (I think) where I concentrated on threat 4 and 5 NHSS's. I'm not good enough to go higher. In these, you'll get ~4 scouts who will be on you as soon as you drop from SC.

And they'll hit you with corrosive weaponry which will start to eat your hull.

I have a Krait II for such encounters. It is fitted with one beam - which I think I will change - and all other weapons are AX MC's.

It also has a decontamination limpet controller.

They are fast little blighters too and when they die, they release a cloud of corrosive stuff which is best avoided.

And I grab the mats.

Now I'm writing this, I fancy a revisit and loadout change. I think the scouts are still rated as elite but have been nerfed a bit.

 

[Rock Hunter]

I keep considering the idea of a Virpil Constellation Alpha joystick. Much as I love my T16000, I get the impression it won't last forever, and the twist yaw axes long since went on it's holidays. (The throttle is just fine, and after the Nyogel application, it is better than when I first got it out of the box, even).

Does anyone have any experience with the Virpil sticks? I know that @Rock Hunter waxed enthusiastic about them a while back - are you still around to add anything sir?

The stick and base are not what I would call cheap by any means, so I'm prevaricating... but they do look so very nice.

A few weeks back (or was it months, lockdown has played havoc with my grasp of time) I tried to set up my old X-56 on my second PC thinking I’d like to use my primary account to blast Guardian sentinels whilst I used the SRV on my alt to get the FSD whatnot. I was shocked at how loose and sloppy the joystick felt compared to the Virpil. It didn’t take long to give up.

Without doubt they‘re a lot of money for a peripheral piece of equipment but the step up in feel, solidity and certainly precision is astonishing. I won’t bang the Virpil drum too loudly as I don’t doubt that there are other manufacturers providing equally good products but you can definitely see where your money has gone. Buying my X56 has given me the throttle that I still use, very happily, with my Constellation Alpha but at £200 I now think that money would have been better spent going towards a higher end stick sooner. Hindsight eh, always such an expensive thing.

I should point out that mine initially arrived with the thumb hat switch failing to recognise an input when clicking left on that button, but it was sent back and replaced quickly and easily...and this was when they first came out and numbers were very low. Other than that it’s been nothing but a pleasure to use. Playing in VR I really appreciate the ease of reach, well designed layout and firm click of all of the triggers and buttons as well as the excellent palm rest which makes extended playing very easy. The yaw is often where I realise the build quality. I had a X55 snap on me and the X56 always felt loose and vague which, added to my expectation of another snap, never gave me much confidence. Totally different story with the Virpil.

Using that damned hindsight from earlier, I’d only ever buy at the quality end or the budget end now. The X HOTAS (was it Thrustmaster?) was absolutely brilliant for its price, if a little limited. The Virpil is truly high end and should last for many years. Whereas my experience of the X56 is that it’s very pricey for what it is and gave me the least value.

It doesn’t look like I managed to avoid banging that drum after all Sorry

 

[Spaceman Si]

It doesn’t look like I managed to avoid banging that drum after all Sorry

But that is precisely the "happy customer even though it was really expensive" drum banging that is really useful

Thanks for all the info and case study material! I think I might well be going down the Virpil road in the near future. What base did you get? And did you mount it on anything?

 

[Ashnak]

What base did you get? And did you mount it on anything?

Not Rock Hunter, but to answer these two questions for me:

• the WarBrd base (for desktop use)
• an Ikea Poäng chair:

Spoiler

edit:

P.S.: if you'll use it mainly for ED, also get the CosmoSim cams. I use the soft center version, the detent is barely noticeable. Now I just need a softer action for the twist (which is not available/configurable).

 

[Ant hill]

Well I like the X56. It's odd to say so because it is currently glitching for me. The throttle stops working occasionally but I've also had phantom key presses. Also the main joystick configuration is off-centre causing a constant slight drift down of the nose unless corrected. It was trying to fix the driver files for that that seemed to start the glitching. I'm not very good with computers.
Having said that I'm happy with my upper mid-range quality choice. It's my first HOTAS and I love what it brings to game play and I don't feel a lack of quality while playing.
If you're looking at the Virpril you can presumably afford it, you probably shouldn't by shy of spending the extra to get the quality. But despite the recent issues I still like the X56.

 

[Rock Hunter]

But that is precisely the "happy customer even though it was really expensive" drum banging that is really useful

Thanks for all the info and case study material! I think I might well be going down the Virpil road in the near future. What base did you get? And did you mount it on anything?

Like Ashnak I got the Warbird base, which my wife laughs at because of the name ( little boys toys apparently,) but unlike Ashnak mine just sits on my desk. The base doesn’t move despite not being fixed down unlike my previous joysticks which would occasionally need another hand to anchor during heavy movements. Everything’s there to mount it though if you need to, well pre drilled holes at least.

 

[Rock Hunter]

Not Rock Hunter, but to answer these two questions for me:

• the WarBrd base (for desktop use)
• an Ikea Poäng chair:

Spoiler

edit:

P.S.: if you'll use it mainly for ED, also get the CosmoSim cams. I use the soft center version, the detent is barely noticeable. Now I just need a softer action for the twist (which is not available/configurable).

Oh how I’d like to make a sim-pit, maybe one day.

 

[Rock Hunter]

Well I like the X56. It's odd to say so because it is currently glitching for me. The throttle stops working occasionally but I've also had phantom key presses. Also the main joystick configuration is off-centre causing a constant slight drift down of the nose unless corrected. It was trying to fix the driver files for that that seemed to start the glitching. I'm not very good with computers.
Having said that I'm happy with my upper mid-range quality choice. It's my first HOTAS and I love what it brings to game play and I don't feel a lack of quality while playing.
If you're looking at the Virpril you can presumably afford it, you probably shouldn't by shy of spending the extra to get the quality. But despite the recent issues I still like the X56.

My X56 is the grey version and I’ve never had a problem with it, I’m still using the throttle and see no reason to change or upgrade from that despite now knowing of the Virpil quality, perhaps if it gives out but at the moment I’ve got no reason.

I‘m not trying to disparage any controller but I was shocked going back to it after having had the Virpil for several months. When I upgraded to the X55 from my HOTAS X I loved the extra buttons and options it gave. We’re pretty lucky to have so much choice and across a good range of budget options.

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

My X56 is the grey version and I’ve never had a problem with it, I’m still using the throttle and see no reason to change or upgrade from that despite now knowing of the Virpil quality, perhaps if it gives out but at the moment I’ve got no reason.

I‘m not trying to disparage any controller but I was shocked going back to it after having had the Virpil for several months. When I upgraded to the X55 from my HOTAS X I loved the extra buttons and options it gave. We’re pretty lucky to have so much choice and across a good range of budget options.

Welcome back! Haven't heard from you for while! @@@07

 

[Skürt Avil]

Glad you picked up the chips. It would be a shame to go all that way and not have something hearty for the road. Did you get crispy bits as well?

We'd call them 'Scraps' in my hometown but where I live now they call them 'Fish bits'. Took a while to realise that. The person behind the counter would often think you're looking for a fight.
Actually, my local chippy regards them as a waste product and gives you a funny look when you ask for them.

Hmmmm... Chips with Scraps.

Last time I went 'Goid hunting, it was in Asterope (I think) where I concentrated on threat 4 and 5 NHSS's. I'm not good enough to go higher. In these, you'll get ~4 scouts who will be on you as soon as you drop from SC.

And they'll hit you with corrosive weaponry which will start to eat your hull.

I have a Krait II for such encounters. It is fitted with one beam - which I think I will change - and all other weapons are AX MC's.

It also has a decontamination limpet controller.

They are fast little blighters too and when they die, they release a cloud of corrosive stuff which is best avoided.

And I grab the mats.

Now I'm writing this, I fancy a revisit and loadout change. I think the scouts are still rated as elite but have been nerfed a bit.

Thanks for the advice. I think the take away for me here is stay away until I've got a fully engineered Krait or something.

 

[Rock Hunter]

Welcome back! Haven't heard from you for while! @@@07

Thanks Tyres. I read more than I post....and my advice is usually terrible so I don’t often drop by Newcomers. Silly, it’s always been the civilised place to be (That emoji looks smug, it’s not meant to be smug....I’m also terrible at emoji’s.....if we get emoticons in Odyssey I’ll no doubt confuse or offend on a regular basis!)

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Speaking of "long time, no see" type CMDRs, I wonder what happened to Bob Lighthouse?

 

[Spaceman Si]

Speaking of "long time, no see" type CMDRs, I wonder what happened to Bob Lighthouse?

Bob got hit by the ban-hammer a while back. He was last seen at the end of August 2019.

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Oh really? I know he could be a bit... abrasive sometimes but I didn't realise he was booted! Ah, well...

So...

I updated my Krait II loadout so it has three large AX MC's and one medium with one slot that's now empty. I'm wondering what to put in tthat slot as this build purely for scouts. Just took out 12 and got a whopping 1%.

 

[Spaceman Si]

Not Rock Hunter, but to answer these two questions for me:

• the WarBrd base (for desktop use)
• an Ikea Poäng chair:

P.S.: if you'll use it mainly for ED, also get the CosmoSim cams. I use the soft center version, the detent is barely noticeable. Now I just need a softer action for the twist (which is not available/configurable).

Like Ashnak I got the Warbird base, which my wife laughs at because of the name ( little boys toys apparently,) but unlike Ashnak mine just sits on my desk. The base doesn’t move despite not being fixed down unlike my previous joysticks which would occasionally need another hand to anchor during heavy movements. Everything’s there to mount it though if you need to, well pre drilled holes at least.

Thanks both

So the war-bird base can work with just being placed on the desk / flat surface without having to be screwed in place, or needing to use the Virpil mount? That is very good news, that would work better for me like that. I can see a point at which I get a sim chair set up, but that time is not just yet, so having it be stable enough just on it’s base would be great.

Do the cosmo cams make Elite better? I assume they are “soft return”, so the stick doesn’t spring back to the centre as soon as you let it go? I tend to fly actively, and with FA off, so I’m not sure if a soft return would be good for that or not. I also like dabbling with flight sims (not MSFS 2020 just yet though, I am waiting until 30 series cards become more available for that!), so maybe the standard cams might work better for me?

I very much appreciate any and all comments and advice

 

[Codger]

As I have understood it until now, combat rank depends on the number of kills you make. As you progress you stop being rewarded for killing ships far below your rank.

In the Wiki there's a nice little table that shows how many "points" you get for each kill, based on your rank and the rank of the enemy:

Combat

Combat is an archetypal pilot career recognized by the Pilots Federation. Combat encompasses multiple sub-roles, such as Assassin, Bounty Hunter, Mercenary, and Pirate. Increasing Combat rank requires destroying other ships, and defeating pilots with higher Combat ranks rewards a greater amount...

elite-dangerous.fandom.com

According to this, since I'm rated Dangerous, I should not get credit for anything below Competent, and only a tiny bit for Competent.

But, from my experience this week with my T-10 experiment, this appears to be wrong!

I've been hanging out in the Low RES, killing lots and lots of ships for massacre missions, but they are low-ranked. I've seen nothing above Competent, and Competent is very, very rare. It's mostly Harmless thru Novice in there.

And yet, my combat rank has been going up steadily (I was about 30% into Dangerous at the beginning of the week, and I'm now 43%). And I even have a fighter pilot with me, who supposedly takes half my experience.

So...I'm mystified by this. It appears that the Wiki, which I have always believed, is wrong? Hmmm.

 

[SCiARA]

As I have understood it until now, combat rank depends on the number of kills you make. As you progress you stop being rewarded for killing ships far below your rank.

In the Wiki there's a nice little table that shows how many "points" you get for each kill, based on your rank and the rank of the enemy:

Combat

Combat is an archetypal pilot career recognized by the Pilots Federation. Combat encompasses multiple sub-roles, such as Assassin, Bounty Hunter, Mercenary, and Pirate. Increasing Combat rank requires destroying other ships, and defeating pilots with higher Combat ranks rewards a greater amount...

elite-dangerous.fandom.com

According to this, since I'm rated Dangerous, I should not get credit for anything below Competent, and only a tiny bit for Competent.

But, from my experience this week with my T-10 experiment, this appears to be wrong!

I've been hanging out in the Low RES, killing lots and lots of ships for massacre missions, but they are low-ranked. I've seen nothing above Competent, and Competent is very, very rare. It's mostly Harmless thru Novice in there.

And yet, my combat rank has been going up steadily (I was about 30% into Dangerous at the beginning of the week, and I'm now 43%). And I even have a fighter pilot with me, who supposedly takes half my experience.

So...I'm mystified by this. It appears that the Wiki, which I have always believed, is wrong? Hmmm.

isn't it something to do with the massacre missions? I'm sure I read somewhere that if you take elite massacre missions any kill is awarded as elite (or something to that effect)? did I dream that??

 

[Codger]

isn't it something to do with the massacre missions? I'm sure I read somewhere that if you take elite massacre missions any kill is awarded as elite (or something to that effect)? did I dream that??

If that was true it would explain things!