Community Event / Creation Custom HOTAS

[Cheshyr]

Reading through the thread and responding.

Hand Grip is going to be tricky; no way around it. It seems that the biggest concern with grip size is usually how it relates to button placement and reachability?

The scaling of a 3D model is a good idea. 3D printing, SLA, etc... always feel like junk to me. If we went that route, urethane molded plastics would be the cheapest somewhat quality option. How does everyone feel about other materials for the grip? Wood, Metal, Ceramic, etc? Just brainstorming.

The Gravis was definitely designed by a mechanical engineer. Thanks for the photos; some interesting ideas. Adjustable tension for stick movement is likely the most complicated adjustability being proposed.

Thanks for the offer Daylen. I have a couple mechanical engineers at my disposal, but I may take you up on that depending on the route we choose.

Re: Rotation Locking... Do you mean actually physically locking the rotation, or just not reporting the rotation to the computer? The latter is trivial: if rotation lock is toggled, I can send neutral values in the USB HID Report for that axis regardless of the twist detected. Physically locking the rotation is a different discussion, and depends on our choice of displacement sensing or force sensing for the stick. It's moot for force sensing, but could be somewhat complicated for displacement sensing. Or, steel pin, yeah.

Re: Momentary Throttle... my vision here was a self-centering throttle with a friction lock that could be easily engaged. The end result would be a throttle that would work as either a return-to-center or a traditional static throttle. Hrm. That may be trickier than I thought, on reflection.

I'd assumed a couple hats on the stick, but hadn't considered an analog stick as well. Will add to the list.

Having to take my hand off the stick or throttle is something I'm trying to avoid if at all possible. The toggle switches are something I miss though, so maybe I can find a place to stuff a couple for things like light/scoop/landing gear. Ditto for the other button suggestions.

Probably not going to do anything LCD related. I've got a a 480x272 I'm using for a project for work, but frankly... they're expensive, time consuming, fragile, and don't really change how the controls handle.

I still want to try out force sensing with exaggerated deflection, but maybe I can put together a couple extremely bare stick prototypes, and get some feedback before making that decision. I'm gunshy about traditional deflection stick moving parts.

 

[Doolittle]

My current vision is loosely based on the Saitek X65, since Force Sensing plays nicely with Flight Assist Off mode. Personally, despite having my private license, I'm not a fan of pedals for gaming. Defaulting to twist for Yaw/Roll/whatever you prefer on that axis, but open to other suggestions.

Throttle/Thruster control feels like it could use a revamp as well. I'm thinking of something momentary, that returns to center when you aren't applying pressure, but with a friction lock on the throttle to keep it in place if desired... kinda like cruise control. Technically, we have thrusters for all axis, so it'd be nice to have an easy way to use them, preferably simultaneously. I'm using the CH Pro Throttle, and the analog stick is good for 2 axis, but not the third. Still thinking on this.

Which hand should house the UI controls? I've been using the throttle for now.

Thoughts?

Also using a CH Throttle with their Fighterstick. Have more than enough buttons to map everything you need. Plus using one button as a shift key opens up another 40+ buttons, not to mention the mode button giving over 200 combinations for both stick and throttle.

The little throttle thumbstick is great for Yaw and up/down or f/r depending on your preference. When landing gear down the thumb stick becomes thrust l/r u/d. Easy landings. All features on the CH products work with the game, but let the game set the deadzone if needed.

This is my 2nd hotas from CH. About 5 years for the 1st until MS decided that game port/kb port was a security hole, but in reality they just wanted to screw the manufacturers and promote their new USB devices they forced upon us. The 2nd CH hotas USB setup has lasted about 10 years now. Have replaced 2 switches which you can replace yourself if you can use a soldering iron. Little thumb analog stick is getting a little loose, but still works well.

You can't get much better than ED for control features. Thanks for making a true PC game instead of a wannabe console port, it's been a long time coming.

 

[Cheshyr]

Also using a CH Throttle with their Fighterstick. Have more than enough buttons to map everything you need. Plus using one button as a shift key opens up another 40+ buttons, not to mention the mode button giving over 200 combinations for both stick and throttle.

The little throttle thumbstick is great for Yaw and up/down or f/r depending on your preference. When landing gear down the thumb stick becomes thrust l/r u/d. Easy landings. All features on the CH products work with the game, but let the game set the deadzone if needed.

You can't get much better than ED for control features. Thanks for making a true PC game instead of a wannabe console port.

It's nice to see a game that enables and supports use of features specific to PC gamers, whether it's the Oculus or the various HOTOS. I agree; Frontier has done a great job on that.

CH Throttle almost works for me. The analog and the back center hat get the most use; most of the other buttons are incidentals for me, even though I do technically use them. It feels like it could be so much better though. I've been through 3 joysticks at this point, and none of them really stuck. Currently using the Thrustmaster X1600, but that's very temporary.

 

[Solidus_ty]

Dead Thread?

Is this thread dead now or are you still working on ideas of a custom build HOTAS setup. I'm actually working on my own right now as well and was wondering if there was more insight on this subject. Currently trying to figure out the right board to use to at least set up a few potentionmeters for a throttle set up and then from there i can figure out what else needs to be added including switches and force feedback. Then i wanna start on the Joystick as this one will require a bit more work to get it aligned correctly as well as good precision.
Speaking of precision is it better to use potentionmeters or would an optical sensor setup work or LED/LDR work... some other things going through my head to get this better than what i can buy right now.

 

[Magic Man]

For the requirements of such a game as this, I'd think something along the lines of...

A Cougar/Warthog style stick - i.e. four hats, dual stage trigger, pinkies, all the rest of the buttons etc.
*could* give it an optional twist, although I'd prefer pedals for yaw
A rotary click thumbwheel (like Logitech mice) could be good on the stick.

'Throttle', better termed as left hand controller, would be based on a 3dConnexion 3d controller to allow control of the 3 axis of thrusters. For 'constant' engine thrust/throttle, whether it could also support a fixed sliding or rotary motion, not sure. Alternatively use thrust rotaries.
Additional hats, boat switches etc. as can be accomodated