HOTAS vs Xbox Controller. Just a thought.

[DustyArne]

I've bin thinking about this some time now.

But besides immersion and that its simply awesome to have a HOTAS. It it really better then the XboxOne controller?


I mean, with tweaking the controls on the controller for the last year I think I have found the sweet spot.

I can roll, yaw, pitch, turn, and strafe with the two thumbsticks on the Xbox controller "without" switching to " alternative flight mode". The only thing missing is freelook. I can't freelook because I have strafe on my right thumbstick, and I need to press it to enable freelook, but then, I can't strafe.

Now I've bin thinking about the HOTAS. Unless it comes with rudder pedals, you always have to sacrifice on of the above mentioned features. You have the flightstick, and you can move it left and right, (roll), up and down, (pitch), and you can, I think, Twist it, (yaw). I'm missing strafe here.

Af course throttle control is much better with the HOTAS, that is for sure. And there are more buttons to assign as the xbox controller. I'm purely talking about moving your ship here.

And then there is free look. How do you freelook with a HOTAS if you don't have a VR headset?


Talking about a VR headset, I think, the best control in game, purely based on ship movement, is to have a Xbox Controller, in combination with a VR headset for free look..

Now, I havn't seen a HOTAS in real for the last 5 years, so its possible there are new buttons, or pan switches that I didn't thought of. So please let me know your thoughts. Any PC HOTAS users here that wants to share their setup?

 

[Frank]

Personally, I think the best controller is the one you got used to.

I an an XB One pad user, but that's because I found it easy to switch over from my XB360 gamepad when my Oculus CV1 arrived. I do use a few other input devices other than the gamepad itself, and being able to freelook over to the sidepanels to activate functions is very handy, but I have also started using some of the multi-press combinations on may gamepad as I've gotten used to where they are.

I've had a go at the HOTAS setups at a few Elite conventions, and I've struggled with them. I've decided they just aren't worth the expense and hassle.

 

[YinYin]

There are tons of different HOTAS including hats, sticks and levers on both throttle and stick. It really depends on the specific hardware.

By the way, doesn't the xbone controller have a gyro for head look?

 

[Windie004]

I've bin thinking about this some time now. But besides immersion and that its simply awesome to have a HOTAS. It it really better then the XboxOne controller?I mean, with tweaking the controls on the controller for the last year I think I have found the sweet spot. I can roll, yaw, pitch, turn, and strafe with the two thumbsticks on the Xbox controller "without" switching to " alternative flight mode". The only thing missing is freelook. I can't freelook because I have strafe on my right thumbstick, and I need to press it to enable freelook, but then, I can't strafe. Now I've bin thinking about the HOTAS. Unless it comes with rudder pedals, you always have to sacrifice on of the above mentioned features. You have the flightstick, and you can move it left and right, (roll), up and down, (pitch), and you can, I think, Twist it, (yaw). I'm missing strafe here. Af course throttle control is much better with the HOTAS, that is for sure. And there are more buttons to assign as the xbox controller. I'm purely talking about moving your ship here. And then there is free look. How do you freelook with a HOTAS if you don't have a VR headset? Talking about a VR headset, I think, the best control in game, purely based on ship movement, is to have a Xbox Controller, in combination with a VR headset for free look.. Now, I havn't seen a HOTAS in real for the last 5 years, so its possible there are new buttons, or pan switches that I didn't thought of. So please let me know your thoughts. Any PC HOTAS users here that wants to share their setup?

I have both for the PC version and I eventually always go back to the joypad. It just feels right. I also don't play the PC version as much as I do Xbox in fact I don't think I have had the PC version on for the last 6 months. Just my preference as others have said it's personal choice and I prefer the joypad.

 

[Deleted member 110222]

Well... I use a Saitek X52 on my PC client. And I recently started getting more out of it since I found my perfect SRV layout for it.

But, is it better than an Xbox controller? Let me tell you something. If we look at this competitively... No, it isn't.

Source? The 360 days where I dominated flight combat games. A few of my rivals used a HOTAS on the 360, as they were available on that console. I, on the other hand, used a completely standard 360 pad, and wiped the floor with my HOTAS wielding opponents.

As said above, the best controller is the one you know best, not that one marketed as the best. Loads of people use an Xbox One controller on PC, or even a 360 pad. Heck, I know one guy who uses a PS2 pad, and that's not a joke.

So no. HOTAS is nit the be-all & end-all. I just use one because I like it.

 

[Armholeeio]

Ha To Hotas it's so last century , mind control is the future with a little hand suggestion for you can then use

Spoiler

 

[Deleted member 110222]

I've bin thinking about this some time now.

But besides immersion and that its simply awesome to have a HOTAS. It it really better then the XboxOne controller?


I mean, with tweaking the controls on the controller for the last year I think I have found the sweet spot.

I can roll, yaw, pitch, turn, and strafe with the two thumbsticks on the Xbox controller "without" switching to " alternative flight mode". The only thing missing is freelook. I can't freelook because I have strafe on my right thumbstick, and I need to press it to enable freelook, but then, I can't strafe.

Now I've bin thinking about the HOTAS. Unless it comes with rudder pedals, you always have to sacrifice on of the above mentioned features. You have the flightstick, and you can move it left and right, (roll), up and down, (pitch), and you can, I think, Twist it, (yaw). I'm missing strafe here.

Af course throttle control is much better with the HOTAS, that is for sure. And there are more buttons to assign as the xbox controller. I'm purely talking about moving your ship here.

And then there is free look. How do you freelook with a HOTAS if you don't have a VR headset?


Talking about a VR headset, I think, the best control in game, purely based on ship movement, is to have a Xbox Controller, in combination with a VR headset for free look..

Now, I havn't seen a HOTAS in real for the last 5 years, so its possible there are new buttons, or pan switches that I didn't thought of. So please let me know your thoughts. Any PC HOTAS users here that wants to share their setup?

Just read your OP again and to answer your question about head-look, well I control it with the mouse hat. Yes, the Saitek X52 has a hat which is your mouse control. I use that hat to control my head-look.

Am thinking of buying TrackIR though. Actually use my head to control the camera. Much cheaper than VR too, and any PC can run it.

 

[Mole HD]

Here's a rough idea of what you can set up with a HOTAS like the Saitek X52 pro like mine, I've gone with roughly the same profile with a few personal tweaks for preference.
You also have 3 modes into which you can program different functions to the same buttons by simply turning the mode switch one click (the big silver next to the 'select nearest hostile target' button)....

Don't even have to touch the keyboard or have a combo switch button. There's so many buttons you couldn't use them all....plus 6 axes of flight control without having to change flight modes by clicking a thumbstick... You can even look around the cockpit whilst using thrusters, or follow a target as you're turning or pitching in the heat of a bunfight...There's quite simply no comparison to flying with an Xbox controller, I've tried both. The Xbox controller I'm fairly competent with but always got frustrated at having no head look when using thrusters...or feeling comfortable when in FAoff due to having to switch flight modes for certain control functions.

At the end of the day, it's down to personal preference and functionality...since I've been playing flight sims for many years, it's great to get back to the HOTAS.

 

[DustyArne]

Here's a rough idea of what you can set up with a HOTAS like the Saitek X52 pro like mine, I've gone with roughly the same profile with a few personal tweaks for preference.
You also have 3 modes into which you can program different functions to the same buttons by simply turning the mode switch one click....

Don't even have to touch the keyboard or have a combo switch button. There's so many buttons you couldn't use them all....plus 6 axes of flight control without having to change flight modes by clicking a thumbstick... You can even look around the cockpit whilst using thrusters, or follow a target as you're turning or pitching in the heat of a bunfight...There's quite simply no comparison to flying with an Xbox controller, I've tried both.

[url]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i353/MoleHD/SaitekEDAlpha_zps6yp7ysqv.jpg[/URL]

This is pretty awesome. thanks for sharing. It did answer some questions.

How does "toggle head look" works?

I didn't know you can strafe via the throttle handle.. This is indeed much improved/better then the HOTAS I saw back then.

 

[Jon flint]

Well, I play on pc with an xb1 controller, I do like the easy access to headlook. If I'm using my x52 I use the edtracker on my headphones for headlook.

 

[UnhappyDev]

I would prefer HOTAS + foot peddles. You *can* do everything on an XB1 controller, but more advanced manoeuvring is difficult, at least it is for me.

For example, I would much prefer to control lateral thrust with foot pedals, that way you can combine lateral thrust, up/down thrust and yaw to turn tightly on jousting ships. This is *not easy* on an XB1 controller (I have an elite controller).

I've tried mapping lateral thrust to my left thumbstick, but in the heat of battle I find myself rolling instead of strafing. In all honesty, I find it easier to toggle control modes

 

[iconoclypse]

There are tons of different HOTAS including hats, sticks and levers on both throttle and stick. It really depends on the specific hardware.

By the way, doesn't the xbone controller have a gyro for head look?

No gyro for Xbone. PS4 will implement sixaxis for freelook though.

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It's worth saying. I think, that the fact we're even having this discussion is a testament to how well FDev have utilised the Xbox controller. It truly is a work of art how they've implemented such a complex control system to the pad. AND we should also thank them for not dumbing it down either.

 

[Mole HD]

This is pretty awesome. thanks for sharing. It did answer some questions.

How does "toggle head look" works?

I didn't know you can strafe via the throttle handle.. This is indeed much improved/better then the HOTAS I saw back then.

There's a little hat switch on the front of the throttle I use for thrusters you can't quite see from the pic...the twist on the flight stick also does yaw left and right like a rudder so you can thrust in one direction and yaw in another (like circle strafing).

There's also a D-pad and a hat switch on the flight stick, perfect for headlook on the hat...toggled by a button on the throttle. The hat is also used for pip management when toggled by the same button on the throttle. There's even a mouse controller on the throttle as Unikorn mentioned, left button under your thumb and right button under your finger on the front of the throttle with a thumb controlled mini joystick to control the mouse cursor.

 

[DustyArne]

There's a little hat switch on the front of the throttle I use for thrusters you can't quite see from the pic...the twist on the flight stick also does yaw left and right like a rudder so you can thrust in one direction and yaw in another (like circle strafing).

There's also a D-pad and a hat switch on the flight stick, perfect for headlook on the hat...toggled by a button on the throttle. The hat is also used for pip management when toggled by the same button on the throttle. There's even a mouse controller on the throttle as Unikorn mentioned, left button under your thumb and right button under your finger on the front of the throttle with a thumb controlled mini joystick to control the mouse cursor.

damn, anyone want to buy a XboxOne?

 

[iconoclypse]

damn, anyone want to buy a XboxOne?

DO NOT even THINK about leaving us for the master race!!

 

[Mole HD]

damn, anyone want to buy a XboxOne?

It's all down to Microsoft and their shortsighted lack of support for a flight stick... The PS4 has support via Thrustmaster, no reason the Xbox doesn't have the support. After all, it's only a software tweak.

You haven't seen the Logitech G13 gamepad I've got yet either... Google it [yesnod]

 

[DustyArne]

I'm going to held of any decisions I make after the release of the Scorpio.

I'm really curious what this will bring us regarding joy sticks, and optimizing Elite Dangerous.

 

[Mole HD]

I'm going to held of any decisions I make after the release of the Scorpio.

I'm really curious what this will bring us regarding joy sticks, and optimizing Elite Dangerous.

I was tempted to wait for Scorpio before making the choice too...then I decided that with Microsoft tying another platform into the closeted and restrictive online presence that is Xbox live just wasn't for me.

Online protection is a big thing, sure... but as most of us are adults and well used to the snake pit that is internet life, I for one certainly didn't need Microsoft making the decision on when and where I chose to spend my online free time.

It came down to that simple choice in the end...

 

[DustyArne]

One thing is for sure, since I play Elite, I don't play much other games anymore.

It saved me a lot of money, but also, my XboxOne is pretty useless as a console now. I might as well buy a PC.

But like I said, I will wait for the Scorpio.. it all a matter of what Frontier, and Microsoft will do regarding Elite.

 

[iconoclypse]

It's all down to Microsoft and their shortsighted lack of support for a flight stick... The PS4 has support via Thrustmaster, no reason the Xbox doesn't have the support. After all, it's only a software tweak.

You haven't seen the Logitech G13 gamepad I've got yet either... Google it [yesnod]

FSM! That G13's fugly! MY EYES!

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I'm going to held of any decisions I make after the release of the Scorpio.

I'm really curious what this will bring us regarding joy sticks, and optimizing Elite Dangerous.

I might wait until the Scorpio's kid. UNLESS ED starts implemented Scorpio-only features. Kind of how I used to play Destiny on 360 until Taken King became non-360. But Bungie did me a solid in offering the Legendary edition of the game with a discount that made it cost LESS than Taken King on its own!! BARGAIN!

- - - Updated - - -

I was tempted to wait for Scorpio before making the choice too...then I decided that with Microsoft tying another platform into the closeted and restrictive online presence that is Xbox live just wasn't for me.

Online protection is a big thing, sure... but as most of us are adults and well used to the snake pit that is internet life, I for one certainly didn't need Microsoft making the decision on when and where I chose to spend my online free time.

It came down to that simple choice in the end...

So that sounds like, as a DRXer, you're going PC-only?!