I have a HOTAS but dont bother with it. I would rather be able to sit on the sofa with my laptop than be banished to a man cave.
I am sure a HOTAS FA-Off ninja would cream me, but I dont PvP, so it is a moot point. Keyboard only (no mouse) is ample for PvE
I picked up a HOTAS specifically for elite and I play in the living room on a 100" projection, its consuming to say the least. In a 1-bedroom sized living room of a Brooklyn NY apartment, the screen fits perfectly in my field of vision. I'm not sure of your living room setup, but I have decent success with nothing more than a large lap board that sits just in front of my couch which holds the HOTAS and keyboard comfortably.. Sometimes its on my lap, sometimes its on the table just in front of me, and sometimes I stretch my legs and rest the board on them. Moral of the story... I think it depends more on the screen you're playing on than not... (but I highly recommend trying it out, it may not be as bad as you think)
..As far as my living room gaming setup, my projection, an optoma h181x, is displaying on a wall w/o a screen inputting 1080p@60hz. I am consumed with absolutely no qualms about the image quality.. ...And being that the projector is a HT projector, the operating fan is nearly silent!
As far as the topic of the forum (

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I find that you can master controls from any device, the primary difference is how you develop your skill with the controller whether it is a combo gamepad/mouse, gamepad, or HOTSAS. I've tried the gamepad and was feeling like the lack of buttons seriously hindered my gameplay where as my x52pro has all the buttons in the world to utilize. A gamepad and mouse would have been the least expensive alternative (and not by much when the controller is an XBOX ONE controller) but I Am happy I invested in the HOTAS, the gameplay is second to none and it is awesome to see the exact flight stick in the game being controlled as you're controlling yours!