PS4 Thrustmaster hotas 4, yay or nay?

[PS4gamer]

Hi all,

I have a chance to grab a PS4 thrustmaster on next day delivery, but I'm reading very mixed feelings about it.
Some are saying it's awesome and the ship control is far better than a DS4 and others are saying it's not very good and the DS4 is better for ED.

So to the people who have or had one. buy or not buy?

 

[dayrth]

I have no experience with either, so take my advice with a pinch of salt, but I have used KB and mouse, game pad, standard joystick and hotas with ED, and the hotas wins hands down for me. Once you've found a setup to your liking and your used to it the controls are almost instinctual and very responsive.

Especially now that I am using VR I don't think I could use any other controller.

 

[Foddy]

I've not played with the HOTAS, so I can't answer your question. (Sorry!)

However, I would like to say that the DS4 can be set up for excellent control - I often make use of all six axes concurrently while docking and it feels very natural to me. I would advise you to remove (almost all of) the dead zone and it is then beautifully responsive.

I have read that players find the HOTAS more immersive, and I can't argue with that, but at the end of the day, it has to be a personal choice.

 

[iadesdragon]

HOTAS = Game Changer

use Hotas with PC / Games for 20 Years tried DS4 on the PS4 to see if it performs...

Controls are so much more precise with the Hotas. The Sticks on the DS4 are not really meant for precession control of 6 DOF

I can fly & land ok with the DS4 but it's far from precise enough so I touch the Toast Rack, The Mail Slot or other structural parts of the Station over and over again. Never ever happened to me with the Hotas

Also did not win a single dogfight till now using the DS4

 

[Old Duck]

I'm very much liking the DS4, to the point I'm wondering if HOTAS might actually be a downgrade for me. Now I'm with a DS4 like a Millennial is with thumb-typing on a smartphone - I'm very good with it (years of practice). I like having the two separate sticks for flight controls as it allows me to kite in combat, which is a very useful evade while attacking maneuver. I suppose this can be done with HOTAS, but I'm not sure if I would have the same level of control.

I also like how DS4 uses the analog buttons (cough cough Monkey cough) for throttle control on the SRV. Driving the SRV is cake with the DS4, but I've heard that at least some are struggling with SRV using HOTAS.

Then there's the gyroscopic head look, the vibration feedback, touchpad, etc. Finally, there's the fact that the HOTAS is this big honking appliance the size of my microwave oven (and costs almost as much), whereas my DS4 is easy to hold and fits nicely into the drawer when done.

But like I said, I'm more like a Millennial when it comes to gaming than the old (middle-aged) man that I actually am, LOL.

 

[Bigjimknickers]

I bought ED Sunday, played Monday/Tuesday on DS4, hated it.
Bought hotas 4 yesterday & it's a game changer.
Loving ED now. The feeling of swooping into a landing pad & docking nicely is awesome!! Plus I'll obviously get better & better.
All imo of course.

 

[PS4gamer]

Hmm.. it seems to be a very 'marmite' thing.

 

[Foddy]

I also like how DS4 uses the analog buttons (cough cough Monkey cough) for throttle control on the SRV. Driving the SRV is cake with the DS4, but I've heard that at least some are struggling with SRV using HOTAS.

Hah! The first time I got in a SRV (in a station) I tried to mo... 400 Credit fine for shooting in a no fire zone! Ooops. So they're reversed, in which case I need to p... 400 Credit fine for shooting in a no fire zone!

I'm sure it gives more control, but I wish there was a way of stowing the weapons just in case!

 

[Old Duck]

I'm sure it gives more control, but I wish there was a way of stowing the weapons just in case!

I wish there was a way to stow weapons (which do actually stow automatically when you approach your ship) so to get rid of that target reticle blocking my nice view! Ninety percent of the time I have no need to shoot anything while driving around, I just want to sight see!

 

[Whiskey_chaser]

Only thing putting me off buying a HOTAS is being left handed - not sure I have the dexterity in my right hand to make it worthwhile.

 

[Jintosh]

Love the HOTAS so much I bought two (I got the HOTAS X for the PC, and now I have the HOTAS 4 for the PS4. the HOTAS X is still working too )

 

[STRONTIUM DOG]

when I it comes to control if you can flight assist off and home run a Coriolis, I don't care if your using a mobile phone app to control ya ship you have good control piot....................
(if you ever need to look at your controller or keyboard whilst playing your doing something wrong as in combat a millisecond wasted is not good)voice attack can help a lot here.
its all down to personal preference hotas is far more immersive than say an x box controller but I can use either and have great control on both when correctly configured to my perference

 

[Sandpit]

If you want more of a sim feel, then yes. I just purchased one a few days ago and it's definitely worth the price in my opinion. It is surprisingly well-built and functional given the price point in comparison to other HOTAS models out there.

Only thing putting me off buying a HOTAS is being left handed - not sure I have the dexterity in my right hand to make it worthwhile.

I'm left-handed as well. If you're used to gaming on a controller then it shouldn't be too hard. Your right hand is going to be controlling the flight stick (just like your controller) and your firing controls more than anything else. Plus you can remap every button on it to make it a bit easier.

 

[CMDR Lukas Vance]

I like having the two separate sticks for flight controls as it allows me to kite in combat, which is a very useful evade while attacking maneuver. I suppose this can be done with HOTAS, but I'm not sure if I would have the same level of control.

What is this kite you speak of?

HOTAS user and love it. Not even picked the DS4 up other than to try the touch pad on the galaxy map (yuck). It's a VERY personal thing. You either love it or you don't; there doesn't seem to be any in between.

 

[robjef]

Although I have some issues with the Hotas, I couldn't ply a game like elite without it. I tried playing with the DS4 and it just felt wierd, like: why am I flying a space ship with a controller? Yes the SRV controls are wierd and I drive like a drunk teenager but I'm too lazy to land on planets very often anyway. No problems with headlook and ship control is a breeze I often enter and leave stations at 200+ never crashed (got fined a few times though lol)

To each thier own, but I don't regret my purchase one bit, in fact I wish there was a 'premium' version with better build quality.

Edit: Just wanted to add, never used a flight stick/thrust before so it did take a bit of getting used to, a few days I think before everything became natural.

 

[Damienc]

I would say NO if you can use a controller and whilst a Hotas is better than a controller in my opinion without doubt, I personally would not recommend anyone buying the Hotas 4.

The reason being is that I have used basically the Hotas 4, although it was the Hotas X which is to me identical but for PS3 and PC.

There is not enough buttons on the Hotas 4 for me to comfortably play the game and whilst the Hotas 4 iirc does offer more buttons than the DS4 it is still not enough for me.

If you could also bind functions to a keyboard at the same time as using the Hotas 4 then it would be worth buying and I would recommend it without hesitation because a Hotas, is a complete game changer for me.

Since currently you cannot bind functions to the keyboard or DS4 whilst using a Hotas 4 then you are swapping 1 limiting controller for another.

If they allowed 3rd party Hotas setup's to work which currently they do not for what ever reason we do not know, then I would not recommend the Hotas 4 and instead from personal experience having owned both I would recommend the X55 or X56 since they have enough buttons to map practically everything you could want within the game.

So currently no I would not but in the future potentially but it depends on what is added to the game in the future in terms of input device support.

 

[Sandpit]

There is not enough buttons on the Hotas 4 for me to comfortably play the game and whilst the Hotas 4 iirc does offer more buttons than the DS4 it is still not enough for me..

uhm.... not sure what you mean here. It has just as many buttons so how can it not have "enough buttons"?

 

[willowfan]

You can also assign functions using a "shift" button X + Y, immediately doubling the number of buttons available, or more if you use more than one "shift". HOTAS 4 has plenty of buttons

 

[Damienc]

I mean it doesn't have enough buttons, because having to assign "/Modifiers" means it doesn't have enough buttons.

I reached Sagittarius A* the other day, and nearly ended up back in Colonia because the Controller does not have enough buttons, and you might ask why well simply I went in to the free camera mode and without realising it I caught the button for the "Thrusters" and started to travel towards the Black Hole.

Luckily when I came out of the camera I noticed it and had to jump to another system at 150% heat, nearly exploding and luckily I had a AFM onboard so I could repair modules.

Now I know with the Hotas that wouldn't have happend but still having to hold one button down whilst pressing another causes issues, like dropping out of supercruise because you want to open the system map or galaxy map, boosting in to a station because you want to put your landing gear down.

The Hotas 4 would not resolve that, but allowing a keyboard to be used at the same time or a Hotas with more buttons would resolve all of that.

So again at the moment in it's current state I would not recommend the Hotas 4 to anyone unless they 100% cannot play with a controller.

 

[Sandpit]

I mean it doesn't have enough buttons, because having to assign "/Modifiers" means it doesn't have enough buttons.

I reached Sagittarius A* the other day, and nearly ended up back in Colonia because the Controller does not have enough buttons, and you might ask why well simply I went in to the free camera mode and without realising it I caught the button for the "Thrusters" and started to travel towards the Black Hole.

Luckily when I came out of the camera I noticed it and had to jump to another system at 150% heat, nearly exploding and luckily I had a AFM onboard so I could repair modules.

Now I know with the Hotas that wouldn't have happend but still having to hold one button down whilst pressing another causes issues, like dropping out of supercruise because you want to open the system map or galaxy map, boosting in to a station because you want to put your landing gear down.

The Hotas 4 would not resolve that, but allowing a keyboard to be used at the same time or a Hotas with more buttons would resolve all of that.

So again at the moment in it's current state I would not recommend the Hotas 4 to anyone unless they 100% cannot play with a controller.

I understand what you're saying, what I don't understand is why. The OP is asking about a DS4 vs HOTAS. Your reply was "it doesn't have enough buttons", but it has just as many buttons as a DS4, the exact same buttons so I'm not sure how it can't have "enough" buttons compared to a DS4...

In other words, if it has just as many buttons as the DS4, how can it possibly be considered inferior to the DS4 by not having enough...?