I know it's been asked before but. . . Keyboard and mouse or controler better for accuracy?

A friend and I regularly get together to play elite on the PC. We play in the same room with our tvs next to each other so we can readily see what's on the others screen. I've had Xboxs for the last 15 years so I play with an Xbox One controller, my friend started programing DOS when he was five so naturally he's keyboard and mouse. In several instances I've noticed it seems he has much more accuracy in combat. Ive just barely gotten into trying out fixed mounts and it seems to me a mouse would be much better for hitting targets. I've heard joysticks are great but for now in just wondering about the difference between kb&m vs controler. Thanks for any thoughts.
 
I would think a mouse is more precise than controller, but I've never used a console.

I started with M&K, moved to joystick then went to HOTAS. I had fun with all of them, but the HOTAS does let me fly the ship a lot easier with all needed controls on the HOTAS itself.
 
My experience with others that use KB&M is that they do find better accuracy. There are specifics for Sensitivity and that kind of stuff. Setting up your mouse correctly can yield impressive control.

Personally I use a HOTAS for the fun of it, and I have a big problem handling a mouse, so I cannot give you any deep advice.
 

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Mouse is inherently more accurate.

But in my opinion, of a much steeper learning curve.
 
If we took the 20 or so guys who made the top spots of each PvP league, approaching 90% are KB+M.

But there are respected exceptions to that rule.
 
If you really want precision, trackball.

Such an unpopular device but ohhh it is so good. You can crank up the relative return rates with it and get really good FAoff precision, but you don't have to bind alternate pitch and yaw keys for supercruise because you can just free-spin that ball. It's a shame there doesn't seem to be any made with lots of extra buttons on them.
 
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I use both regularly - hotas at home on my rig & laptop with m&kb when working away - & the m&kb is, as has been noted, more accurate...but not 'hands down' in comparison to the higher end hotas hardware. It just about wins with the greater fine adjustment in combat!

My accuracy is scary when using my laptop & if you had the misfortune to see my fixed wep attempts in my vid posted in that AI thread today, then you'll know that I'm also pretty scary with a hotas...in particular if you are located behind my target! :p

NB - Any tips from the grand master Truesilver would be much appreciated :D
 
A friend and I regularly get together to play elite on the PC. We play in the same room with our tvs next to each other so we can readily see what's on the others screen. I've had Xboxs for the last 15 years so I play with an Xbox One controller, my friend started programing DOS when he was five so naturally he's keyboard and mouse. In several instances I've noticed it seems he has much more accuracy in combat. Ive just barely gotten into trying out fixed mounts and it seems to me a mouse would be much better for hitting targets. I've heard joysticks are great but for now in just wondering about the difference between kb&m vs controler. Thanks for any thoughts.

I have switched 2 weeks ago from KB+M to Hotas and that's hoe i feel:

After getting used to the complete different buttons and keys and programming everything, i have MUCH more accjracy with the Hotas. That's what i was hoping for.
I can target my opponents much better during proper flight maneuvers because it goes all hand-in-hand. I have set some macros to a few buttons for much faster pip settings. I have 5 presets that i'm using most for general purposes and they're done with just one key.
The x-56 Rhino comes with rotaries on the throttle which i have set to landing override for lateral and vertical thrusters which makes tje Achenar challenge a sunday morning walk :D

I was flying for 2 years now with KB+M and got really good at them, but i'm already better after 2 weeks on the Hotas due to the possibility of more accurate analog inputs rather than the digital inputs.
The only thing where i still have problems is the SRV. With digital inputs on KB+M i can race like a pro in every environment, but with Hotas the SRV feels still sick and i don't get done anything this way because the analog inputs take too much time for getting good at the SRV. Maybe it will feel better after some more time but for the moment that's how i feel.

For controlers lime on consoles i just can say.....i've never managed to get used to any sort of shooting gameplay on a gamepad. NEVER! I really can't recommand them but that's personal opinion from me :|
 
Such an unpopular device but ohhh it is so good. You can crank up the relative return rates with it and get really good FAoff precision, but you don't have to bind alternate pitch and yaw keys for supercruise because you can just free-spin that ball. It's a shame there doesn't seem to be any made with lots of extra buttons on them.

I use an old MS Trackball Explorer:

http://www.trackballmouse.org/microsoft-trackball-explorer/

Not many buttons, but a couple of extra anyway. I don't use it for this game, but I love it for FPS games.
 
I find the mouse is superior for accurate for aiming, especially for fast twitch movements.
(However this is less relevant in a vehicle/flight game like Elite, which doesn't have 90° snap-turns. Not to mention gimballed/turret weapons)

At the same time, a HOTAS is vastly superior for movement, since you're able to control 6 analog axes simultaneously, while at the same being able to press half a dozen buttons.


As a result I play primarily with HOTAS / Rudder pedals / Headtracking — But I sometimes takes my hand off the joystick in order to use the mouse for railgun sniping.
 
Meh,

If I wanted to feel like I was using a computer, I'd fiddle with some spreadsheets.

To me, it's worth any reduction in ultimate accuracy for the additional immersion that a decent joystick or wheel provides.
 
For controlers lime on consoles i just can say.....i've never managed to get used to any sort of shooting gameplay on a gamepad. NEVER! I really can't recommand them but that's personal opinion from me :|

Seems to be a hard one to answer because it's going to come down to how comfortable OP is with both devices to begin with.

For me keyboard and mouse is far better/more accurate than a controller for flying my ships (I've tried both my XBox controller and Playstation controller) whereas I'd never drive the SRV with anything otherthan a controller but that's speaking as someone who finds FPS games pretty much impossible with a controller due to always having had PCs as my main gaming platform and Amigas before that. Mouse and keyboard is objectively more accurate than a controller assuming a good quality mouse but that's not going to be the critical issue if OP is relatively cack-handed with a mouse compared to controller.

I've still never played this with a HOTAS but previous experience of using one means I know that with a decent one I would be able to control my ship better and it would feel more natural to me than with any other device; whether that equates directly to improved combat performance is probably open to some debate though.

There's no right or wrong to it OP - just try both and see what you hit more with.
 
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Hands down KB+M are more precise over HOTAS or a controller.

For pure open space aim, I would agree.
I think hotas is more precise in a racing type situation.

CQC is very hotas friendly, with all the obstacles and the semi-gimbaled weapons.
 
It depends on you. If you've never used a mouse before then it will be much harder than a hotas. However if you don't have much experience with a hotas than a KBM setup will probably seem easier (at first).

Like everything, practice practice practice. I am probably the best person I know of at interdictions, so much so that I get "accused" of using a mouse, lol. But no, I use a full hotas setup. A fairly cheap one (fcs). It's not the gear though, it's the user behind the gear.
 
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