CH Throttle + CH Fighter/Combatstick, no pedals; good for ED?

[TeeWee]

Hi,
I'm in the market for a set of controllers, and after many thoughts, I'm considering CH Throttle Plus + either Fighterstick or Combatstick. I'm not going to get pedals: it just takes too much room and I'm not enough of a flight buff to justify the cost (yet).

But will I miss the extra yaw-control enough to be a deal breaker?

Again: no real flight simmer (used to play old Microprose games, but stopped playing flight sims after I went from CBM Amiga to my first x86 machines) so I don't want more cost and hardware than necessary.

 

[brumster]

No, you won't miss them. The yaw-into-roll feature can be used to fine-tune your aim and if you're used to the likes of other "gamey" control models like X-Wing/Tie/Freespace, the yaw-on-roll feature works quite well and I find is far more accurate and deadly than using pedals. If you use entirely gimbal-based weapons, it becomes even less of an issue - the only time you then ever really need yaw is when docking, and when scooping cargo...

 

[InfiniteGremlins]

I have this exact setup. You will want some form of yaw, but there are enough buttons and axises on the throttle that there are plenty of ways to set it up. Right now, I have X axis on the mini-joystick on the throttle controlling yaw, and that seems to work pretty well for me.

You can also experiment with using buttons for digital control of yaw, having a button to toggle roll/yaw on an axis, and the roll-into-yaw setting. Plus whatever you can script in the CH Control Manager.

 

[McCloud]

I use a simple Logitech Extreme 3D joystick and it works great. Most joysticks have a yaw-twist mechanism in the stick so I think you'll be fine without pedals.

I myself didn't have too many joystick games (used to use one for an old X-Wing game) but it definitely feels good to use one in ED!

 

[PiLhEaD]

I would miss not having rudder (aka yaw) controls in Elite - it can really help when entering a space station, and also when avoiding interdiction.

I use a Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X Joystick - it's pretty affordable, there are enough buttons for various mappings and the build quality is good.

 

[TeeWee]

I have this exact setup. You will want some form of yaw, but there are enough buttons and axises on the throttle that there are plenty of ways to set it up. Right now, I have X axis on the mini-joystick on the throttle controlling yaw, and that seems to work pretty well for me.

You can also experiment with using buttons for digital control of yaw, having a button to toggle roll/yaw on an axis, and the roll-into-yaw setting. Plus whatever you can script in the CH Control Manager.

No, you won't miss them. The yaw-into-roll feature can be used to fine-tune your aim and if you're used to the likes of other "gamey" control models like X-Wing/Tie/Freespace, the yaw-on-roll feature works quite well and I find is far more accurate and deadly than using pedals. If you use entirely gimbal-based weapons, it becomes even less of an issue - the only time you then ever really need yaw is when docking, and when scooping cargo...

My last joystick was a trusty Suzo Arcade joystick, 4 microswitches and 1 fire button for my C64 and later Amiga Games I was used to were Elite, Microprose Gunship and Stealth fighter, Their Finest Hour; I also played lots of XWing and TIE Fighter (but not: XW vs TIE) on PC. My reflexes are mostly "gamey" oriented as you can see.

Thanks for the recommendations. I do see that the CH Throttle has lots of hats and that little joystick, so one of those may just do for a yaw control. And I have been testing yaw-on-roll this evening using trackball-and-keyboard. I didn't know this option existed, so I'm happy to give that a spin.

I would miss not having rudder (aka yaw) controls in Elite - it can really help when entering a space station, and also when avoiding interdiction.

I use a Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X Joystick - it's pretty affordable, there are enough buttons for various mappings and the build quality is good.

I have given the Thrustmaster T-Flight a thought, but I'd rather go for super-durable with lots of configuration now. T-Flight and CH Throttle plus stick are just in completely different ballparks. And I may decide to buy this in two batches if I feel I don't want to spend so much in one go.

I use a simple Logitech Extreme 3D joystick and it works great. Most joysticks have a yaw-twist mechanism in the stick so I think you'll be fine without pedals.

Ah, but the whole point of this question is due to the CH-sticks not having a twist-action. It's not an oversight of CH, but, as far as I can tell, a conscious design decision that keeps the sticks more solid in their action and perhaps also more durable.

Thanks CMDRs! Something to think on...

 

[McCloud]

Ah, but the whole point of this question is due to the CH-sticks not having a twist-action. It's not an oversight of CH, but, as far as I can tell, a conscious design decision that keeps the sticks more solid in their action and perhaps also more durable.

Thanks for the clarification haha! I probably should've looked up CH-sticks as I truthfully didn't know what those were specifically.

 

[kursah]

I just upgraded from a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro with twist yaw to a CH Fighterstick without twist yaw.

I have spent the last week preparing for this though, by going back to using keyboard controls for some things (throttle with preset increments and minor adjustments... 1-5 and W/S keys). I also use A/D keys for yaw and it works great. I haven't tried the yaw into roll, but I did try the shift key for hold to change roll axis to yaw and it works well but I would rather have the button be used for a different function.

Overall the Fighterstick is larger than the Logitech... the force to move the stick is much much less on the CH part, but feels so much more precise it makes the Logitech almost laughable.

I am super impressed with this beast of a stick so far, and don't miss twist yaw even a little bit now...honestly once I retrained myself (easily done since I use Mouse + Keyboard on my lappy to play Elite and Evochron) to use the keyboard for keyboard yaw.

Twist yaw was a pain in the ass to learn and adjust to when i first purchased the Logitech years ago...I hated it but was excited to learn it. Took much longer to learn than to move onto something else. But then, for a budget stick the Logitech has been awesome, and will stay in my collection. The boys love it so maybe they'll get to use it on their gaming PC now.

I feel really content with getting the CH Fighterstick, it's an awesome piece of kit imho...sure it ain't pretty but I like how it looks...it's utility, and that's awesome for me. Keep in mind I only got to spend about an hour with the new Fighterstick (finals coming up...uhg). But it was an amazing experience thus far...I did a quick control scheme as now I have a lot of decisions to make for what switch controls what. I love all the access within thumb-reach. The stick moves smooth and is solid, there's no doubt about long-term quality here.

I plan to get a throttle someday in the future if I can afford to, now I sure can't...so that's part of why I was retraining with a keyboard to handle left-handed duties. I didn't want a bunch of buttons on the bottom of the stick...and I really considered the T16000M...but was able to snag a new open box Ch Fighertstick for almost the same price. Couldn't pass it up. I have 0 issues with yaw on the keyboard, it doesn't detract from my pilot immersion...and honestly it's more fun for me than the twist yaw...and that's what a game about...having fun!

 

[Tarman]

CH kit lasts forever. Definitely enough controls available between the throttle and stick to add in all your axis controls without pedals, even without touching extra stick modes. I've got the full set of kit; I use yaw on the stick with roll on the pedals, and the throttle hat for lateral thruster control.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I love my CH pedals, just saying. They're rather loud and clunky but work like a charm, and having yaw readily available can really save your behind in an interdiction. You can probably get away without it, but it's still worth having. They're no that high, so for storage you can always put them in the back of a closet

I also prefer the pedals over a twisty stick since you just have better control on the stick when you're not twisting it while you're maneuvering, switching targets, and shooting stuff with the same hand.

 

[Darkfyre99]

Before I'd gotten my Pro-Pedals, I used the bottom most hat switch on the Pro-Throttle (the one that looks like a rocker) to do the kinds of things I use my pedals for now. If that doesn't appeal for you, you can also enable the "swap yaw and roll" button, and whenever you need yaw, use that. And of course there's also the "yaw into roll" option as well.

 

[Ted Striker]

No, you won't miss them. The yaw-into-roll feature can be used to fine-tune your aim and if you're used to the likes of other "gamey" control models like X-Wing/Tie/Freespace, the yaw-on-roll feature works quite well and I find is far more accurate and deadly than using pedals. If you use entirely gimbal-based weapons, it becomes even less of an issue - the only time you then ever really need yaw is when docking, and when scooping cargo...

Apologies for bumping an old topic but what is this yaw-to-roll feature? I'm currently using a keyboard until I can set up my full CH HOTAS. I actually don't have enough surfaces at the moment to place the throttle and stick but I'll figure out something soon enough (for me the throttle MUST be on my left side, stick in front and mouse on right side. I used to use large speakers on both sides of my chair which were the perfect height). In the meantime what exactly is this feature? I'd like to experiment with it.

 

[MASTER_DEATHDEALER]

i use a CH throttle with a X52 pro stick and it works very well.

i like to be comfortable so i could never play with pedals or that stupid rift on my face or even track IR and if it hurts me a bit in combat ill live with it to be comfortable. i do use a 32 inch LCD Vizio TV which is awesome. I thought about a 40 but that would be to big.

I have played this game for sev hundred hrs and i have yet to look inside any of my ships. I could care less. Im looking out the front, baby!

 

[InfiniteGremlins]

Apologies for bumping an old topic but what is this yaw-to-roll feature? I'm currently using a keyboard until I can set up my full CH HOTAS. I actually don't have enough surfaces at the moment to place the throttle and stick but I'll figure out something soon enough (for me the throttle MUST be on my left side, stick in front and mouse on right side. I used to use large speakers on both sides of my chair which were the perfect height). In the meantime what exactly is this feature? I'd like to experiment with it.

It's in the control settings. Basically, it combines the roll + yaw into one axis, based on how far you move the stick/stick equivalent.

 

[Doomus]

I have this exact setup (CH Throttle Pro / Fighterstick) and it's epic. I map the vertical and lateral thrusters to the mini thumb joystick on the throttle and on one of the four way hats on the stick I have yaw left / right and throttle forwards / back for precision flying / landing ect. I love it. I will get pedals but I'm not in the hurry to get them that I imagined I would be.