Hardware & Technical Cheap HOTAS - what is good - what not?

Rawrey

Rawrey
Hey :)

After some hours of testing around with the keyboard/mouse control my hands hurts as hell and im still
not able to fly the ship the way i want.
So i want to buy a HOTAS thingy ....

But i have never used something like that, so i have no Idea - whats good, and whats not.
What do you have for a hotas system?

Are they easy to handle for beginners - etc.
Is it easy to configurate them -
how many do they cost.

and so on


My budget: - about 40€ to 60€ (max.)

there are still some days to christmas - probably you can give me a good reccommendation :D
ahm, and i need the stuff avaiable in germany - so american only stuff would be useless for example.



Greets; Rawrey








// - translation made by google - sry about that
 

flint read

flint read
my friend loves his thustmaster T Hotas (and he certainly flys with it as well as i can) and it's reasonably priced i prefer my X52 but im a button junkie :D
 

Dukeajuke

D
Thustmaster T Hotas is best for the money. I bought one from Amazon for $45.00 about 2 weeks ago for this game and I was surprised at how good it was, how easy it was to setup (Win 7 and 8 have native drivers for it), and how well it worked with ED. It could use a couple extra buttons but other than that you can't really go wrong for $45.00.
 

Madjackal

Madjackal
Hello ^^
Word from a fairly newbie joystick user as the thrustmaster t.flight hotas X is my very first joystick ^^

What's good:
-Easy to use (plug n play)
-Easy to set up to your liking for the button etc
-Bit bulky and feel fine in hand.
-Easy to use for newbie (first timer with joystick/throttle and i've managed to clear most tutorial without issue.), it'll take some training to get use to it but it's not impossible (one setting i changed from the default config is the yaw into roll set on initial roll which kinda helped me to handle the whole roll stuff xD)

What's bad:
-Maybe not enough button. You can set the major command and few extra but you'll have to keep the keyboard a few of them.
-Throttle/joystick cable too short. You wont be able to set the joystick and throttle on each side of your chair (if you go full immersion :p)
-Bulky, the whole thing is bit big, i dont mind it but some may.


The joystick cost around 45-50€ and in my opinion for someone who just start into fly sim with joystick/throttle it's maybe one of the best
at this price. The main oponent is the saitek cyborg F.L.Y 5 which range in the same price, have more button but is way more compact
, the throttle being small and attached to the joystick. It might be good for someone who move often or play on smaller scale.

As for me, the hotas is good, easy to handle and get used to, super quick to set up as the game already got keybind for it but you'll
still want to mess with them to tune the key for your liking. Im still a bit messy flying and fighting but i managed to clear most of the tutorial (except incursion x.x downed to 20% the last ship before getting killed :c)



Dont know if i was of any help xD
 

Sardonyx

Sardonyx
I can only echo what others have said. If you're on a budget, the Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X is as good as it gets. It's a pretty decent stick, and is only about $45 US. It's not a Warthog, but it'll get the job done. Plenty of buttons on the stick & throttle.

That said, I've tried a couple HOTAS with Elite and so far I find the keyboard and mouse to be preferable. Normally for flight sims I prefer HOTAS, but the way the ships control doesn't seem natural when using a stick to me.
 
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Mister

Mister
If you want a decent one then you're gonna have to sink more cash into it.
Personally? I went with a second hand x52 I got on ebay. 80 odd quid joystick and I got it for 40.
Only downside? A bit worn. Yaws to the left a bit so it needs the deadzones setting up
 

aRtFuL

A
T Flight HOTAS is pretty much the only choice for budget (plus the quality is good anyways).

T Flight is better than Saitek x52 anyways imo, and x52 costs a lot more.
 
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jackalblood

J
i myself have a black widow speedlink and i love it first ever joystick used too not many buttons tho but works great with voice attack
 

Oddnoun

O
If you go "cheap" you will get something that is not up to last. My recommendation is to go for inexpensive.

Expensive - Thrustmaster Warthog
Inexpensive - CH Products Pro Throttle

You can pair that with any joystick to have a really strong setup for about $150. It is not cheap it is inexpensive.
 

aRtFuL

A
Space Dandy said:
IF you are new to "HOTAS thingys" you might want to start out with just one stick and see how you like it and go from there.


T16000m, if you like it you could then add a throttle or second stick!

The T flight hotas X is not very accurate btw.

There is a whole thread just about these two stick btw in the hardware section.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14836
Click to expand...

The problem with trying T16000M first it once you've try that you will never want to "downgrade" back to T Flight HOTAS or x52 :p

They are both not as good as T16000M in terms of sheer accuracy.
 

Space Dandy

Space Dandy
aRtFuL said:
The problem with trying T16000M first it once you've try that you will never want to "downgrade" back to T Flight HOTAS or x52 :p

They are both not as good as T16000M in terms of sheer accuracy.
Click to expand...

Indeed! Even more fun if he tries with two sticks... :D
 

Oddnoun

O
Weren't there reports that ED was not able to distinguish between two T16000M's because they have the same hardware ID?

However, two sticks and rudder pedals, for throttle control, is super fun and what I am using but not with T16000Ms. I am using the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and Attack 3. Both of those will cost you the same as 1 T16000M.
 

Space Dandy

Space Dandy
Oddnoun said:
Weren't there reports that ED was not able to distinguish between two T16000M's because they have the same hardware ID?

However, two sticks and rudder pedals, for throttle control, is super fun and what I am using but not with T16000Ms. I am using the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and Attack 3. Both of those will cost you the same as 1 T16000M.
Click to expand...

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15215 Alternately if low on cash he could just add 3D pro as second stick or whatnot.
 

Bazil

B
Space Dandy said:
IF you are new to "HOTAS thingys" you might want to start out with just one stick and see how you like it and go from there.


T16000m, if you like it you could then add a throttle or second stick!
Click to expand...

I was just going to link up to the T flight and T16000m on CCL Computers as I not long ago bought a T16000m on there for under £35 including postage. The t flight was under £32 inc. postage. However they are both showing as sold out now. :( If prepared to wait they might be back in stock in the new year.
 

aRtFuL

A
Bazil said:
I was just going to link up to the T flight and T16000m on CCL Computers as I not long ago bought a T16000m on there for under £35 including postage. The t flight was under £32 inc. postage. However they are both showing as sold out now. :( If prepared to wait they might be back in stock in the new year.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if they will a few shops that I go to don't carry it anymore.

I think the Thrustmaster T Flight HOTAS line might be replacing T16000M line entirely... so you might be left with the option of (from cheapest to most expensive): T Flight HOTAS, Saitek x52, Saitek x55, CH Pro, and then the ultimate - Thrustmaster Warthog.
 

Chantaz Verdaris

C
I wouldn't recomment T-Flight Hotas X.

I bought it because i didnt have enough cash for X52. I made such a huge mistake by buying it, but luckily i returned it yesterday (3rd time) and got the cash.


The stick itself isn't so bad. It looks well made, it has many buttons, easy to configure... BUT:

- it's a bit unstable when separated
- feels so cheap...
- the throttle part is too light, it moves when you apply pressure to the throttle itself

the biggest flaw tho is the way the stick is constructed.

A couple of hours after i bought mine, the stick began to make cracking noise when moved max to any kind of direction.
I returned it and got a new piece from the store. Came back home, plugged it - same thing AGAIN.

So i returned it second time. The store gave me another one. When i plugged it in at home - guess what, the piece of crap made the same annoying sound again.

I thought Thrustmaster made good products (i had Flight Stick X like a year ago, it wssn't bad) but is just sad.


Our of curiosity i today went to two other retailers that are selling the stick. I asked them if i can check if the sticks have the same flaw (or they're constructed this way). Unfortunately both of them were making the noise.

At first i thought that one of the stores had faulty batch of product or something, but after reading some of the reviews and testing additional two sticks from other stores i see that this is just a waste of money. It's not a product for 20$ but it really costs some money. Where's the goddamn quality?


Now im happy owner of X52pro. Yeah it costs 3 times what Hotas X, but at least it feels good to have something well made.
 
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Philip Coutts

Volunteer Moderator
Philip Coutts
I'd recommend the T-Flight Hotas X, I've had one for a year and had no issues with it. Pretty decent stick for the money, solidly built a decent amount of buttons. I use it separated and have no issues with stability at all. I've also used it solidly for a year and I've never experienced any cracking noises at all. I guess it's horse for courses but for the money the T-flight is an excellent stick.
 
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