Hardware & Technical A good cheap flight stick?

[BigBadBeef]

Hey all, I intend to buy a flight stick specifically for this game, it absolutely must be HOTAS and I cannot accept anything less- good game demands good product.
Unfortunately I'm on a budget (well I technically got money but I'm unwilling to spend) and I need one that's reasonably priced.

I have already located thrustmaster t-flight that is supported by this game...

...but its a bit short on buttons, is there anything else?
To those that have "just a stick", let me clarify: hotas means hands-on THROTTLE AND STICK!

Thank you all in advance.

 

[harag]

It really depends on how much you want to spend and how much you love elite to spend said amount. Me I started Elite D with the mouse & keyboard, I tried the F710 controller I have, then I went out and bought a X52pro for £120 UK pounds or so from Ebay. The game is designed with the X52 in mind and I think it's a great HOTAS and well worth the money for Elite, but that is my opinion. Only you can decide, especially when you don't mention how much you're willing to spend it's pointless us telling you what to get.

 

[MASTER_DEATHDEALER]

My Thrustmaster T was good, but the stick had a large deadspot in all directions i could not get rid off that made it hard to use in combat for precise shooting. I now use an X52 PRO stick and CH Throttle and i love the combination, but its 250 bucks so not cheap. The X52PRO stick is awesome, but its a bit bulky. I wont use rudder pedals just for my own comfort so its the best stick with a twist.

 

[Jupitus]

I use that Thrustmaster and have found it to be very good (I bought it for this game)... it has enough buttons for me although I don't have the pips settings (eng/sys/wea) mapped to it.

 

[Newt_Othis]

I'm finding my t-flight to be just right (for me).

If you're worried about the number of buttons don't forget you can use combinations to radically increase the functionality. I've seen a configuration that uses buttons 5,6 and 7 as modifiers for flight, combat and misc.

 

[CmdrKull]

You can also assign one button as an 'alt' button and effectively double your available assignments. I did this with a sidewinder pro (9 buttons) and ran out of things to assign. Granted, some things I preferred to keep on the keyboard so that the flight sick was all about combat where I don't want to hunt for keys.

Edit: ninja'd by a newt

 

[Sandmann]

What do you call cheap? The stick you already have is probably the cheapest I'd consider. I went for the X52 (non pro) which costs a bit more than 2x what your current stick costs. I'm happy with it, it has lots of buttons and acts "professionally" in game. I think you can get the CH Pro equivalent for about the same price. After that prices just get silly in my opinion, but your mileage may vary.

 

[BigBadBeef]

Well as money is concerned I might be convinced to go about as far as 2x the price of t-flight, but it better 2x the product the t-flight is. Considering the upcoming titles and even the indies, there is a genuine space sim spree going out there and even if by some damn miracle I end up not liking the t-flight, there are still others to choose from... at least there will be.

 

[CMDR ONI Vox]

Ello there! I was considering the same thing. Started playing ED with mouse/key but wanted a HOTAS. After reading countless forum posts and reviews/youtube reviews/comparisons I decided to go with the x55 rhino hotas. Its the newer version of the already ageing x52 pro. the really big selling point for me is the stick is really sensitive/accurate without the need to mod. I see that all the knowledgeable ppl seem to magnet mod their x52's. I don't wanna have to open and mod my HOTAS!

Also, this vid was the best review imo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIM_kt_18yI

Hope you make the right choice!
Remember, to get a better HOTAS than the rhino you will have to spend $200-300 more!

 

[BigBadBeef]

Ello there! I was considering the same thing. Started playing ED with mouse/key but wanted a HOTAS. After reading countless forum posts and reviews/youtube reviews/comparisons I decided to go with the x55 rhino hotas. Its the newer version of the already ageing x52 pro. the really big selling point for me is the stick is really sensitive/accurate without the need to mod. I see that all the knowledgeable ppl seem to magnet mod their x52's. I don't wanna have to open and mod my HOTAS!

Also, this vid was the best review imo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIM_kt_18yI

Hope you make the right choice!
Remember, to get a better HOTAS than the rhino you will have to spend $200-300 more!

aw man... that review, its a bit technical for a joystick noob such as myself.:S That rhino costs about 4x as much as the t-flight, is it really 4x as good? And why would X52 be a bad choice despite the fact that its aged?

 

[CMDR ONI Vox]

x52 isn't a bad choice. I was debating between the x52 and the pro edition until I realized that the x55 was only $30 more than the x52 pro. the x52 pro is already about 7+ yrs old and to preform like more modern/new sticks will require a ''magnet' modification. I do NOT want to feel like I need to open and mod my flight stick. also, all the posts I found from ppl who owned a x52/x52 pro and moved up to the x55 rhino all said it was a big step up, and that the stick was really smooth/precise.
I didn't want to spend $200 but its more than worth the price. And to get a better one would cost around $400-$500 (Thrustmaster Warthog)
I love my x55. got it Monday via fedex. buttery smooth and really ads fun to the game.

p.s.- Elite Dangerous has a x55 control profile already installed. other profiles can be downloaded from the Saitek web site.

 

[BigBadBeef]

Look, its not that i don't believe you, but until now I've been a mouse & keyboard kind of guy. The last time I bought a controller was an acme pad for 40 bucks, I couldn't get used to the damn thing while playing X3: Terran conflict and so I went berserk with rage and crushed the thing in my hands.

What worries me is buying a good pad and then not being able to get used to it and It starts piling up dust somewhere in a corner.

By the way, people keep dissing saitek for its build quality, what's up with that? I mean, 200€ product and it keeps breaking down or you even buy one broken?

 

[Luceferous]

I'd be tempted to got for the x52 pro Flight over the x52 'vanilla'. There are certain positive design changes between the two. Elite also plays very well with either of these. They're sort of the unofficial official sticks. Probably the x55 is your best choice, but it is pricey, and there have been high failure rates with early batches.

 

[BigBadBeef]

what about the fail rates of the X52? People in my country joke about saitek, calling it failtek because they fail often and don't last long.

 

[Geraldine]

I use a Speedlink Black Widow flight stick. Its basic but reasonably priced (Maplins are selling them for about £30) and I find its perfect for playing ED. Although yaw control is mounted on the throttle on a rocker switch. So that can take a bit of getting used to.

 

[BigBadBeef]

Okay, it would seem we are at an impasse, so lets approach this differently:

Does fighting in ED require a joystick which has high accuracy and zero deadzones? Because from what I saw, you probably need to do some precision manuevers to line up your shots. And mr. Gerakline, I prefer a 5-axis joystick over separate rudder control, thank you.

 

[Luceferous]

Okay, it would seem we are at an impasse, so lets approach this differently:

Does fighting in ED require a joystick which has high accuracy and zero deadzones? Because from what I saw, you probably need to do some precision manuevers to line up your shots. And mr. Gerakline, I prefer a 5-axis joystick over separate rudder control, thank you.

I've used a Warthog, F65x, x45, full CH HOTAS, xbox controller...other sticks I can't remember the name of, and for me the best stick by far is the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2. My advice is to spend money getting a good one from ebay and you'll be wracking up the kills in no time. It's almost too easy! Force feedback is coming to Elite, and the Il2 games make great use of it. The sidewinder FFB is the Il2 stick of choice in fact. You'll love it.

 

[Geraldine]

Okay, it would seem we are at an impasse, so lets approach this differently:

Does fighting in ED require a joystick which has high accuracy and zero deadzones? Because from what I saw, you probably need to do some precision manuevers to line up your shots. And mr. Gerakline, I prefer a 5-axis joystick over separate rudder control, thank you.

mr. Gerakline !?!

To answer your question above, no, you can even also use a game pad if you prefer and many do. But staying with joysticks you wouldn't go wont with the X55, a real nice stick is that. If I had the money though I think I would go for a Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog. Love the look of at setup and it has many features. Not cheap though.

Good luck though, hope you find something to your liking.

 

[Luceferous]

Just to put Saitek's reliability reputation into perspective, 5 out 6 of my CH Products HOTAS elements were faulty out of the box and had to be returned, my Warthog failed after 8 hours of use, and the design has a long track record of pretty major issues. By contrast, all of my Saitek stuff works fine...though you'd be a fool to ignore the forum threads detailing the quality issues. The only manufacturer that has never let me down in terms of gaming peripherals is Microsoft. Their stuff seems to be highly reliable. I'd say get a x52 pro or x55 from Amazon and if necessary return it until you get a good one. All of the current sticks are built to a cost, not a quality. And don't be fooled by CH fanboys: the latest manufacturing batches come with a sticker that says it all: 'Assembled in Mexico'. Like I say, Cost not quality.

 

[BigBadBeef]

Just to put Saitek's reliability reputation into perspective, 5 out 6 of my CH Products HOTAS elements were faulty out of the box and had to be returned, my Warthog failed after 8 hours of use, and the design has a long track record of pretty major issues. By contrast, all of my Saitek stuff works fine...though you'd be a fool to ignore the forum threads detailing the quality issues. The only manufacturer that has never let me down in terms of gaming peripherals is Microsoft. Their stuff seems to be highly reliable. I'd say get a x52 pro or x55 from Amazon and if necessary return it until you get a good one. All of the current sticks are built to a cost, not a quality. And don't be fooled by CH fanboys: the latest manufacturing batches come with a sticker that says it all: 'Assembled in Mexico'. Like I say, Cost not quality.

Okay then, so X52 pro it is, X55 is a bit much for a beginner like me. I just saw it on a picture and I already got a vertigo from all them' fancy buttons. So, when you keep returning and finally get a good one (if you don't get a good one straight up from the box), how long do they last?

mr. Gerakline !?!

To answer your question above, no, you can even also use a game pad if you prefer and many do. But staying with joysticks you wouldn't go wont with the X55, a real nice stick is that. If I had the money though I think I would go for a Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog. Love the look of at setup and it has many features. Not cheap though.

Good luck though, hope you find something to your liking.

Whoops, my bad, reading small letters on 23" monitor from far away.

By the way, this would be my first joystick, wartog is really too much!