The Joystick/Controller discussion thread
looks like the new one for win 8 has all the config stuff as well going to play with it tonight. Really great info thanks Holven
"Discrimination" is a harsh word. There's a huge difference between discrimination and laziness.
It isn't Frontier's fault that they allowed vast control customization. And it doesn't make sense to blame anyone when there are products like this:
http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/quad.html
Pair that up with a Thrustmaster T-16000.M and you have a left hander's HOTAS. Or go with dual T-16000.Ms. I understand it isn't quite the same as a specially designed HOTAS without as many hat switches and fiddly bits but it serves the same purpose. Grab an ambidextrous joystick with more buttons, flight sim specific controllers or use your keyboard for the rest.
EDIT: CH Products has this beast too:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002A59Z4/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?qid=1424797127&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&keywords=ch+products
Sorry if I'm being rude but there is too much complaining and not enough doing these days. It took me 5 minutes to find that and I'm right handed so I wasn't very passionate about finding a solution for myself. Takes less time to search than to fire back at others and wait for a reply.
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I've just bought a set of Saitek Pro Pedals, and am getting used to the feeling. So far I'm pretty impressed with them.
My question is whether it's "normal" to invert the Yaw axis or not. I.e should pushing out my left leg turn the ship left or right?
Given I've no experience with pedals I reckon I could teach myself either way. But I may as well learn it the more common convention of there is one.
So far I've tried both ways, and neither feels like the "one true method" to me at the moment.
My question is whether it's "normal" to invert the Yaw axis or not. I.e should pushing out my left leg turn the ship left or right?
Given I've no experience with pedals I reckon I could teach myself either way. But I may as well learn it the more common convention of there is one.
So far I've tried both ways, and neither feels like the "one true method" to me at the moment.
In a conventional aircraft pressing the left rudder panel yaws the craft to the left and pressing the right pedal yaws right.
At the end of the day its whatever you find works best for you
At the end of the day its whatever you find works best for you
I've changed a few times during my first days of pedal use, until I finally found out that my brain works best when I push out right leg to turn left and push out left leg to turn right. This is not a question of "normal", it's what works best for you.
While demoing Elite at EGX it made me chuckle when a fan arrived sat down at the X52 Pro and demanded that I invert the controls "Because that's how real pilots fly!"
...I referred him to the Ambassador next to me: CMDR "Chi" Raxe aka RAF Flight Lieutenant, Robin Crosse!
One of the DangerDogz has his pedals the wrong way round, so when he had the chance to control an aircraft he had to decline the opportunity in case he messed things up
its amazing I can actually play with sensitivity with the logitech interface stick works like a charm now its great
I'm using one of these too (also had it for ages). I found it useful to set a deadzone for the throttle - much easier to find zero thrust. Still, if using keys works for you...
Joystick Control Set-up for Beginners
I've spent over 10 hours playing the game and getting frustrated with my joystick controls, or lack thereof. I had a significant dead zone in all three axes (pitch, roll, yaw) and have spent at least another 10 hours trying to figure out if I had a bad joystick or corrupt driver, or some other problem. Turns out the problem was me. So I present this guide for all the other newbies out there. Much of this information was gleaned from these forums -- but it's scattered all over and not succinctly. Or if it is, then please tell me where it is.
When you go into options and controls, you'll notice a preset drop-down list at the top. I don't think it matters which one you choose because as soon as you start making changes, it switches to Custom. I assumed the left column was for keyboard and the right for joystick and that's generally true, but not entirely. If you hover your mouse over, e.g., the left column at Yaw Axis you'll notice that the pop-up box tells you this is analog input. If you hover your mouse over the left and right columns at Yaw Left you'll notice that the pop-up box tells you this is digital input. This is important! Keyboard and most joystick buttons should be set up as digital input; however, the joystick pitch, roll, yaw axes should be set up as analog. If you set them up as digital as I did, you basically have pitch on or off and control is a real bear! Same goes for throttle if you control that with your joystick -- set up as analog and should be on Continuous rather than one of the increments that you can choose (like 12.5 or 25%).
Once you finish your control scheme and click apply, then it'll be saved as:
C:\Users\<Windows Profile Name>\AppData\Local\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Bindings\Custom.binds
It wasn't intuitive to me where this was. You don't need to go there or tamper with it unless you want to create a custom preset. To find this location, you'll need to go into Control Panel/folder options and make hidden files and folders visible. So once you have your Custom.binds you can go in and make a copy and re-name the copy to whatever you want. I named mine after my joystick model. Leave the re-named file in that same folder and it'll now show up as a preset drop-down at the top of controls. You can even make changes to it using options/controls and it'll be saved as that same name when you click Apply.
So thanks to all of you out there that provided an education for me -- and I hope this helps some new pilots.
I've spent over 10 hours playing the game and getting frustrated with my joystick controls, or lack thereof. I had a significant dead zone in all three axes (pitch, roll, yaw) and have spent at least another 10 hours trying to figure out if I had a bad joystick or corrupt driver, or some other problem. Turns out the problem was me. So I present this guide for all the other newbies out there. Much of this information was gleaned from these forums -- but it's scattered all over and not succinctly. Or if it is, then please tell me where it is.
When you go into options and controls, you'll notice a preset drop-down list at the top. I don't think it matters which one you choose because as soon as you start making changes, it switches to Custom. I assumed the left column was for keyboard and the right for joystick and that's generally true, but not entirely. If you hover your mouse over, e.g., the left column at Yaw Axis you'll notice that the pop-up box tells you this is analog input. If you hover your mouse over the left and right columns at Yaw Left you'll notice that the pop-up box tells you this is digital input. This is important! Keyboard and most joystick buttons should be set up as digital input; however, the joystick pitch, roll, yaw axes should be set up as analog. If you set them up as digital as I did, you basically have pitch on or off and control is a real bear! Same goes for throttle if you control that with your joystick -- set up as analog and should be on Continuous rather than one of the increments that you can choose (like 12.5 or 25%).
Once you finish your control scheme and click apply, then it'll be saved as:
C:\Users\<Windows Profile Name>\AppData\Local\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Bindings\Custom.binds
It wasn't intuitive to me where this was. You don't need to go there or tamper with it unless you want to create a custom preset. To find this location, you'll need to go into Control Panel/folder options and make hidden files and folders visible. So once you have your Custom.binds you can go in and make a copy and re-name the copy to whatever you want. I named mine after my joystick model. Leave the re-named file in that same folder and it'll now show up as a preset drop-down at the top of controls. You can even make changes to it using options/controls and it'll be saved as that same name when you click Apply.
So thanks to all of you out there that provided an education for me -- and I hope this helps some new pilots.
Another good idea for people firing up the game for the very first time is to start in the 'toxic waste' tutorial, and set most of your controls there. It will be much more forgiving of things like inverted axis, since you'll already be floating in space. My very first time logging in I was in a starport, and tried to launch. As soon as the pad let go of me my ship started slamming around into the little buildings, and trying to correct it just made things worse. Several of my axis were inverted, including throttle.
Also, spend some time thinking about what hardware you're going to be working with. Many controls (cargo scoop, landing gear, etc) you will have some time to activate. In combat however, time is of the essence. Cycling through targets, moving your energy pips around, launching heat sinks/chaff/etc. will become very important to do quickly. Spending some time thinking about what you want where early in the game will pay dividends, because the longer you stay with one control layout the more you will remember it and the easier it will become. And if you're intimidated by combat at first and think that you might never go that route, realize that your tastes may change. I was terrible at it at first, and always got stomped in the combat tutorials. Now I've spent time in every occupation, and bounty hunting is by far the most enjoyable to me. Spending some time mining will help refine your ship control skills and good habits like scanning your radar regularly, all while giving you a decent income in the beginning.
Also, spend some time thinking about what hardware you're going to be working with. Many controls (cargo scoop, landing gear, etc) you will have some time to activate. In combat however, time is of the essence. Cycling through targets, moving your energy pips around, launching heat sinks/chaff/etc. will become very important to do quickly. Spending some time thinking about what you want where early in the game will pay dividends, because the longer you stay with one control layout the more you will remember it and the easier it will become. And if you're intimidated by combat at first and think that you might never go that route, realize that your tastes may change. I was terrible at it at first, and always got stomped in the combat tutorials. Now I've spent time in every occupation, and bounty hunting is by far the most enjoyable to me. Spending some time mining will help refine your ship control skills and good habits like scanning your radar regularly, all while giving you a decent income in the beginning.
Good point, Jack. I've had to learn the hard way -- trying a new control set-up in game is not the way to do it. So now I always go to one of the tutorials if I change bindings. And speaking of my past mistakes, if you find your ship yawing, rolling or pitching uncontrollably, then make sure all the mouse bindings in that first section of Controls are turned OFF. It's a lot of fun trying to exit a station when you're rolling and trying to compensate with joystick (and in my case with the roll binding set to digital, no less) and doing all this without crashing and getting out in time before the station destroys you! I could've stopped the rolling if I'd just moved my mouse a little, but at the time I didn't know that was the problem.
Depends on your budget, X55, X52 Pro or X52 are some of the better one's (pot luck on quality), plenty of buttons.
That would depend on your budget, there are £25 joysticks that will just about get you into the game, £50 ones with better layouts for throttle and £150+ HOTAS solutions that many will swear by but few can reasonably afford.