I have the same stick and the same problem ... but then i realized Elite lets you assign one function to two (or more?) button presses. I now effectively use the joy button 9 (index finger on the throttle) as a shift, shifting the 3 thumb buttons, plus the stick's hat and buttons for about 10 more functions.
Hardware & Technical Reccomend a good flightsitck?
- Thread starter LeetNoob
- Start date
I have the same stick and the same problem ... but then i realized Elite lets you assign one function to two (or more?) button presses. I now effectively use the joy button 9 (index finger on the throttle) as a shift, shifting the 3 thumb buttons, plus the stick's hat and buttons for about 10 more functions.
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They work perfectly, but be careful of CH. You'll get a lot of fans telling you how great they are (and I've got a full CH HOTAS), but it's designed for aircraft sims. Bear in mind that E : D was pretty much designed on the Saitek 52 Pro. If you're looking to play space combat games, avoid anything that doesn't have a twist rudder.
They work perfectly, but be careful of CH. You'll get a lot of fans telling you how great they are (and I've got a full CH HOTAS), but it's designed for aircraft sims. Bear in mind that E : D was pretty much designed on the Saitek 52 Pro. If you're looking to play space combat games, avoid anything that doesn't have a twist rudder.
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It's easy to be seduced by the Warthog. I've had one, and on one level it's fantastic. On another level, one of the switch buttons broke and fell inside the throttle case and the stick developed stiction that steadily got worse....all within the first 8 hours of ownership! This was from a mid November shipment fresh from the factory too. The Warthog is halfway through its life-cycle, so if they haven't resolved these issues by now at the point of manufacture, they never will.
One more thing about the Warthog: That awesome throttle is actually quite restricted in usefulness. The Saitek x65f throttle is far more useful, and given that the x55 is based on the x65f, I'd be inclined to go with that rather than the Warthog. I'm using an x65f at the moment, and finding it an interesting experience! At least it hasn't fallen to bits...yet.
sorry to hear that about your 'hog, tempting fate here, but i haven't had any problems with mine, yet!
just curious, i haven't got or ever used a saitek setup, why do you say the 'hog throttle is restricted?
@Leetnoob, good choice, i would also recommend however that you keep the box. that way, after a couple of days flying, and you've been bitten by the bug and decide to move up a level, you've got a ready made, recycled, christmas present for someone! : )
Yeah. The Warthog throttle was interesting. I expected it to be the star attraction when I received the set, but it was the stick that really blew me away. If the throttle hadn't have failed, I'd have kept the set even with the stiction. The throttle's functions did niggle though. I loved the switches, but assigning functions to them was less convenient that it looked, and the throttle stick switches weren't that easily useful either. Highly immersive though.
I've got a Saitek x45 throttle, a CH Throttle Pro and a Saiteck X65f throttle sitting around the house at the moment and they all have certain functional and ergonomic benefits over the (admittedly astounding), Warthog throttle. The CH Pro Throttle is probably the best designed ergonomic device I've ever tried. It disappears under your hand. The amount of control it puts at your finger tips means you can use a much more basic joystick too. The mini stick on it is as good as many full blown joysticks. The x65f throttle is similar in function to the CH, but less successful due to button choice and placement, so in that respect it's closer to the Warthog.
Sitting the X65f beside the Warthog, I instinctively knew that the x65f made so much more sense on almost every level. The force sensing stick, once I'd got my head around the use of force sensing dead zones, gives an incredible feeling of 'realistic' flight control, especially in Spitfire and bf109e stuff weirdly enough. The little throttle control panel optionally that mounts in front of the x65f throttle is also much more useful that the Warthog's layout. Single button presses are just very practical in-game.
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I'll respond with one more vote for the Thrustmaster T16000m. For the money it is a great stick. Same magnetic HALL sensors as their joysticks that are several hundred dollars more, in a cheaper (but not crap) package. Plus it also uses the TARGET joystick tweaking software like the more expensive Thrustmasters (although I don't use it). You can sometimes find it on sale, as I got mine for $25 earlier this year. It has a nice wide base that is fairly heavy and a smooth motion on the stick and twist, so it pretty much stays put on the desk. Buttons are plastic, but still plenty responsive and trigger has a satisfying "click". It can also be switched for left or right hand use in less than a minute. I have it paired with a Nostromo gamepad for the left hand (older version than the new one pictured below with the sexy LEDs). I also ponied up the $8.00 for the full version of VoiceAttack.
I love that setup. It does everything I need it to with ease and I don't even use the stick's throttle or buttons on the base. There are so many bindable buttons that my VoiceAttack commands all actually have keys, they just have verbal commands too for ease of speaking when concentrating on other things. I set the bottom left button on the Nostromo as a shift-type key (I use HOME). So if I hold down that button I have another whole set of keys to bind. The joystick has pitch, roll and yaw for the stick. The hat button is set for headlook directions, and power management when holding my shift key. The other joystick buttons have my fire groups, fire group cycle, headlook toggle, deploy/stow weapons, and menu left/right. On the Nostromo I have throttle and left/right strafe on the direction pad, up/down strafe on the two buttons above the mousewheel, all-stop and disable assist on the big button next to the direction pad and 32 other key binds for things like frameshift, UI navigation, landing gear, targeting, throttle presets, comms, boost, etc.
For me, I would gladly give up the benefit of having a large physical throttle, to quickly set at precisely the level I want, with a few buttons in the left hand for the massive amount of controls a left-hand gamepad delivers. I like having every command at my fingertips as a backup to voiceattack. For convenience VA great, but sometimes you just need to hit something NOW, not in a second once you say it. With the T16000m and the Nostromo the only voice-binds I don't have physical keys for are a few UI commands like "right four" or "down three" to move the cursor around the menu and info screens. It would work great with a VR headset where you don't want to move your hands around because you can't see your desk. Although, I would miss looking at my diagram I made up to remember all the keys.
Edit: after looking for a link for the Nostromo, either the Belkin one I have or the newer Razers, I figure they must have been discontinued. Amazon has some Razer models for $200+ and old Belkin ones like I have for $150ish. Both of those prices are ridiculous. A decent left-hand gamepad should be between $49 -$89. There are other models within this range that should work just as well.
I love that setup. It does everything I need it to with ease and I don't even use the stick's throttle or buttons on the base. There are so many bindable buttons that my VoiceAttack commands all actually have keys, they just have verbal commands too for ease of speaking when concentrating on other things. I set the bottom left button on the Nostromo as a shift-type key (I use HOME). So if I hold down that button I have another whole set of keys to bind. The joystick has pitch, roll and yaw for the stick. The hat button is set for headlook directions, and power management when holding my shift key. The other joystick buttons have my fire groups, fire group cycle, headlook toggle, deploy/stow weapons, and menu left/right. On the Nostromo I have throttle and left/right strafe on the direction pad, up/down strafe on the two buttons above the mousewheel, all-stop and disable assist on the big button next to the direction pad and 32 other key binds for things like frameshift, UI navigation, landing gear, targeting, throttle presets, comms, boost, etc.
For me, I would gladly give up the benefit of having a large physical throttle, to quickly set at precisely the level I want, with a few buttons in the left hand for the massive amount of controls a left-hand gamepad delivers. I like having every command at my fingertips as a backup to voiceattack. For convenience VA great, but sometimes you just need to hit something NOW, not in a second once you say it. With the T16000m and the Nostromo the only voice-binds I don't have physical keys for are a few UI commands like "right four" or "down three" to move the cursor around the menu and info screens. It would work great with a VR headset where you don't want to move your hands around because you can't see your desk. Although, I would miss looking at my diagram I made up to remember all the keys.
Edit: after looking for a link for the Nostromo, either the Belkin one I have or the newer Razers, I figure they must have been discontinued. Amazon has some Razer models for $200+ and old Belkin ones like I have for $150ish. Both of those prices are ridiculous. A decent left-hand gamepad should be between $49 -$89. There are other models within this range that should work just as well.
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CH Stick Throttle and pedals for my set and track ir
CH are very very good and look misrable as sin
Easy enough to buy in the UK and can be fixed in tens minutes with a spoon and a cup off tea (if they ever need fixing)
The joystick pivot design cannot ever go wrong.
Again if they put some daft stickers on it and called a daft name like "Bulls horns" it would sell like hot cakes.
I had X52 and it was garbage, anything with a centering spring is, and lots of LEDS to draw power from your USB port is utter nonsense
The throttle was not bad but the rack and pinion for the halls effect sensors in the joystick was complete nonesense, there is a MOD on youtube that stops the dead zone in the centering of the joystick (ten min fix with super glue and screw driver will make it a awesome stick)
I have the rack a pinion in a draw, its not needed in the stick
CH are very very good and look misrable as sin
Easy enough to buy in the UK and can be fixed in tens minutes with a spoon and a cup off tea (if they ever need fixing)
The joystick pivot design cannot ever go wrong.
Again if they put some daft stickers on it and called a daft name like "Bulls horns" it would sell like hot cakes.
I had X52 and it was garbage, anything with a centering spring is, and lots of LEDS to draw power from your USB port is utter nonsense
The throttle was not bad but the rack and pinion for the halls effect sensors in the joystick was complete nonesense, there is a MOD on youtube that stops the dead zone in the centering of the joystick (ten min fix with super glue and screw driver will make it a awesome stick)
I have the rack a pinion in a draw, its not needed in the stick