Can't fly with a broken stick

[Loriath]

Last night my Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS took a 3 1/2 somersault with a double twist off my desk. No Biggie, not the first time that has happened... but it is, apparently, the last time.

Fired it up this morning to find my ship does a port yaw with a vertical pitch no matter what you do with the stick. I did all the usual things, replugged, rebooted, calibrated. Nothing worked. Took it apart to discover that the pots or sensors or whatever inside the white casing inside the base are pulled apart and cracked. So no chance on fixing it. And no warranty

On the negative side, I will NOT risk my ship and its data 4Kly out exploring on my ability to play the game with a keyboard and mouse. So effectively, I am parked.

On the plus side, In 3 days an X52 pro will be sitting on my desk assuming the mail is on time.

So, assuming that I have 3 days to kill before I get back into Key-Binding hell, what do you have for suggestions for a CMDR to do in the mean time. It's a given that I will be playing a lot of Elite:Forums. But what else can one do to keep from going space bonkers while waiting for a new stick to arrive?

I already am messing with Voice attack profile making. So don't suggest I let the Butler fly the Space Camper. I have seen how it does just trying to get my pizza order right

 

[AJ_Impy]

Use the tutorials with your keyboard, see if that takes the edge off your need, or gives you the courage to play the game Star Trek style rather than Top Gun style. If nothing else, it might give you some ideas for new bind arrays when the new toy arrives.

 

[Tryst]

You could play the combat tutorial and learn to use the keyboard and mouse, it's not as hard as you'd think and I actually prefer it to a joystick.

 

[FatteusTwerpage]

Freecell. So much Freecell.

 

[Trafalgar Law]

I managed to break my joystick the other day in a similar fashion, flying with mouse and keyboard is actually quite easy (the hardest thing is actually docking with m+k) and you shouldn't have any problems with any NPC's you meet. Practice a bit in the tutorials first to get used to it a set it up as you like (I'd recommend binding yaw to x-axis and roll to a and d)

 

[Loriath]

Sorry folks, regardless of how many of you say to try the Keyboard and mouse, I will not. I tried it when I first got E and could not do a thing. I refuse to risk my exploration data.

But I did completely rewire my desk, clean my PC and adjust a few things on my desk that were annoying me. All set to get the new sticks up and running. Just need to print out a few Button Templates and decide how I want it setup.

Wife is happy, no more cords on the floor by the desk. Happy to oblige as she was the one that told me to "Order a new one". I guess the mope and sigh's worked better than I thought. Wonder if I can get the same result when the stick arrives so I can get the ED-TRacker. I am sure that I can at least get a good gaming headset out of the deal.