Hardware & Technical Joystick Troubles - Using a Thrustmaster

Philip Coutts · May 5, 2014

So I finally got my hands on a Thrustmaster Hotas and it's a nice piece of kit (other than the fact that my wife is still laughing at the size of it and the name...). It feels right to be piloting using the Hotas set up and it's a solidly made unit that is for sure.

But and it's a big but I am absolutely useless with it. I've been using an xbox 360 pad and I think I'm a half decent pilot but when I try and use the Thrustmaster I become the pilot of a flying brick. I think years of xbox gaming have ruined my senses and I'm over-compensating a lot. I find it really hard to stay on ships tails, far harder than when I was using the xbox controller. I'm going to practice an awful lot but does anyone have any tips to help me out? I really struggle to manouver if the ship I'm chasing is just outside my reticule.

Any help would be appreciated.

Memnoch · May 5, 2014

Practice, practice, practice. It's interesting to hear about you overcompensating. You were probably moving the thumbs sticks more and now presented with a larger thumbstick, as it were, you are doing the same. The stick (Which model did you get by the way?) has a greater degree of accuracy than those tiny sticks and with time you will un-learn your previous skills and learn new ones.

For fun I suggest high speed runs through the asteroid belt, trying to dip as close to the rocks as possible.

stephen_usher · May 5, 2014

I think it's just a matter of re calibration of the brain. I find Xbox/PS3 controllers almost impossible to use as they seem to have a non-linear response. (It's not helped by most games mapping the most sensitives controls to the left stick and I very right-handed.)

Flying E: D with an Xbox360 controller I found that I was all over the place and could hardly hit anything, even with gambled weapons!

Memnoch · May 5, 2014

I've never tried a controller with ED but I would imagine that, by comparison to a HOTAS setup, their tiny range of movement is going to hamper your ability to finely control you craft. Having said that I would imagine that someone who has used one for a long time probably has a very good handle on things. But I would argue that a good pilot with a controller, with some practice, could become a very good pilot with a full sized stick.

Spiggs · May 5, 2014

Hi Phil, I have a thrustmaster HOTAS and went through a similar thing and hadn't used a joystick in years. It's probably not what you want to hear but it really is just practice and getting used to it.

I remember really looking forward to flying my sidewinder with it, but I was all over the place when I started and couldn't hit the side of a Coriolis station with an anaconda.

But after a short while I got better, and in fact I didn't even notice that I'd improved to the point where I was comfortable with it and could side-slip around asteroids, mostly anyway.

It also depends how you have is set up. I have yaw on the twist of the joystick and side thrust on the rocker at the back of the throttle with up and down on the the two lowest throttle thumb buttons. The top button I have reserved for 50% forward thrust so I can hit the turning sweet spot without thinking when in combat. But, others have things configured differently so it's all down to your personal preference.

Stick at it squire, you'll be running rings round people before you know it.

Hope that helps!

Philip Coutts · May 5, 2014

Thanks for the replies. Here's an amazon linkie thing for the joystick I got:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrustmaste...8&qid=1399280877&sr=8-1&keywords=Thrustmaster

It's a thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X and as I say I'm very impressed with it. It's certainly not a problem with the stick, it's a problem with the user! I've not had a joystick for probably about 20 years. To my eternal shame I've been a child of the playstation / xbox generation and I think by using pads all the time I've become so used to them that the joystick is a huge change. I figured that practice was going to be the solution but as always you have to see if there are any sneaky shortcuts!

I've gone back to the single player combat missions and I've played the first 3 over a few times. The first 2 I get on okay with but the 3rd is more challenging. As I say I get the ship in my sights and struggle to keep it there I've become very twitchy in my movements. I blame Sony and microsoft for this one!

Back to practicing before Alpha 4 then!

Spiggs · May 5, 2014

Yup I have exactly the same joystick. One thing that may help, I started off with the resistance quite high, but I found I was fighting the stick rather that flying it. I loosened the on the bottom right off and found that much easier.

My flying improved too

, oh stoppit, please yourselves!

Philip Coutts · May 5, 2014

I haven't played about with the resistance yet so I might have a look at that tonight. Also the name of the thing is just a pun-fest, who came up with "Thrustmaster"?!

Spiggs · May 5, 2014

Philip Coutts said:
I haven't played about with the resistance yet so I might have a look at that tonight. Also the name of the thing is just a pun-fest, who came up with "Thrustmaster"?!

LOL. Indeed, let alone combining it with HOT-AS! The mind Boggles!

Aleksej · May 5, 2014

Have you correctly assigned the axes for the joystick? Check that you have axes assigned to joystick movements, not separate pitch up/down, roll left/right etc. In the first case you have analogue controls, in the second - digital. And you will fly a brick if you have digital controls assigned.

Philip Coutts · May 5, 2014

Aleksej said:
Have you correctly assigned the axes for the joystick? Check that you have axes assigned to joystick movements, not separate pitch up/down, roll left/right etc. In the first case you have analogue controls, in the second - digital. And you will fly a brick if you have digital controls assigned.

This sounds interesting. I'll definately check this out tonight, thanks.

Philip Coutts · May 5, 2014

So I've playe scenario 2 for what feels like the 1000 time and it is starting to click. I've adjusted the sensitivity of the joystick to be as slack as possible and really find that's made a differnece so thanks spiggs. What I've found out is more or less as I suspected all along. I'm so used to making what feel like large movements with my 360 pad that I've been doing the same with the joystick. Instead of making small adjustments I've been way over compensating and moving the joystick way to fast and too far. The range of movement is massive compared to the joypad and I've just been far too gung ho with my movements. I'm starting to make far more subtle and smoother adjustments and it's starting to feel really "right". I think after a bit of hard work it will make me a far better pilot. So a big thanks for all the advice and a big booooo! to all my years of console gaming which has ruined my gaming skills with a joystick. It's a long way back but I'm on my road to redemption......

Spiggs · May 5, 2014

Yay, glad to hear it's all coming together for you, look me up when your out in the beta Sir! Happy to be a wingman.

Philip Coutts · May 5, 2014

Spiggs said:
Yay, glad to hear it's all coming together for you, look me up when your out in the beta Sir! Happy to be a wingman.

Ha ha thanks, you might live (or die!) to regret that offer.....

Steve_T · May 6, 2014

Philip Coutts said:
Thanks for the replies. Here's an amazon linkie thing for the joystick I got:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrustmaste...8&qid=1399280877&sr=8-1&keywords=Thrustmaster

It's a thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X and as I say I'm very impressed with it. It's certainly not a problem with the stick, it's a problem with the user! I've not had a joystick for probably about 20 years. To my eternal shame I've been a child of the playstation / xbox generation and I think by using pads all the time I've become so used to them that the joystick is a huge change. I figured that practice was going to be the solution but as always you have to see if there are any sneaky shortcuts!

I've gone back to the single player combat missions and I've played the first 3 over a few times. The first 2 I get on okay with but the 3rd is more challenging. As I say I get the ship in my sights and struggle to keep it there I've become very twitchy in my movements. I blame Sony and microsoft for this one!

Back to practicing before Alpha 4 then!

I think you're definitely right in your appraisal. I've not really used consoles and when I got a 360 controller for Elite I found it incredibly hard keeping ships in my sights. I got myself the Thrustmaster Hotas X instead and my gameplay improved immediately.
As the other posters have said, it'll be a case of practise, practise, practise to retrain your muscle memory with the new controller.

Philip Coutts · May 6, 2014

The re-training is goping well. I'm slowing down my movements and becomming much more fluid and smother and far less jerky and rash in my movements. One other thing I'll mention is that by going back to the combat missions I'm flying with the basic loadouts whereas for a fair old while in the multi-player I've been flying with gimbles. There is a huge difference, gimbles just make life that bit easier but again it's all about re-training and getting back to the basics.