The Joystick/Controller discussion thread

[Silh]

A second stick may work for you then. If you have pedals (which most Warthog users do) then your pedals would control forward and reverse throttle, your left stick would control up/down/left/right thrust, and you would have a 2nd trigger button and 2nd secondary trigger button. You would then need to bind yaw to something, if you use it, usually twist, maybe on the 2nd stick? This setup would take a day or so to get fully acquainted with, but a few Star Citizen pilots prefer dual sticks. If I get an ambidextrous stick I like with pedals, I may try this out myself.

Another option is to build a Delta Throttle, which takes the 2nd stick concept but streamlines it. You lose a few buttons, but controlling the lattice of your ship requires a smaller learning curve. And you would have to build it yourself, or pay someone to build it for you.

Here is a link in case you haven't seen this yet. http://www.deltathrottle.com/

I was eyeing the Delta Throttle the other day, as well as the 3dconnexion devices. The latter is rather pricey... and also has no buttons on the though, which I think is the main dealbreaker. And while I could always mod it to include buttons, I'd really hate to hack apart an expensive piece of kit like that.

The Delta Throttle looks neat, but I wouldn't be able to make one myself. I'm also a bit worried about how fragile the thing looks!

 

[Darshendros the Eternal]

Currently using keyboard and mouse (with surprising agility) but I'm looking to switch to HOTAS. Only question is WHICH ONE??!?! D: ... Eyeing a X-52 Pro and CH Pro set that are roughly the same price. Does the twisty thing make much of a difference?

 

[AsukaZ]

(...)

I think its what you are comfortable with. I am sure if I put more time into it, the gamepad or mouse & keyboard would be viable for me. My perception is that anything that involves flight, be it space or atmosphere based is more realistic with a stick. Biased perception no doubt.

Agreed it comes down to personal preference, whatever you use, if it works for you then it's all good.

Having said that though you make a good point re the realism of using a stick, As I understand it FD themselves recommend a HOTAS/Joystick setup, "Play the game the way it was intended" or something similar I read somewhere.

Personally that's outweighed by the convenience of being able to lean back in my chair without having to stretch out to reach the joystick.

but yeah. it's all horses for courses.

 

[Quarrel]

Using x52. Very happy with it, have all the buttons mapped and no need for a keyboard. I usually switch to mouse if i am in the galaxy map. (much quicker that way)

 

[grusum]

I bought a Thrustmaster T Flight Hotas X, the throttle was ok but I didn't like the stick so I bought a Thrustmaster T1.6000M which uses the same sensors as the Warthog. I am happy with it.
I have them both plugged in and use the throttle on the T Flight X while using the T1.6000M as the main stick. I use the second stick here and there and i have plenty of buttons across both devices.

 

[Dommarraa]

Keyboard only, no mouse.
I can play on the toilet

 

[Time Streamer]

Yep! Another joystick thread

Ok here's the deal: Own a X52 Pro over almost an year. Had an Trust GM-2500 before, so as you can imagine i'm quite happy with it. As a sim lover i have been thinking about a new Thrustmaster Warthog, even without twist function for rudder. My X52Pro is still inside warranty and in a good state. IMO the X52 is sturdy, durable, never worn out and has enough buttons for my needs. If worth it, can you fellow CMDRS point me a good set of pedals? (With a good price/quality ratio). Yes i know that a Warthog for ED is overkill as i've read there. But i play lots of sims like Flamming Cliffs 3, Falcon BMS and Jane F-18. So is it worth it?

 

[SquidgyB]

If you play sims in general then I'd argue a good HOTAS and pedals are pretty much essential, along with TrackIR (or preferably a cheap DIY option - FaceTrackNoIR/Freetrack/Opentrack with a diy IR clip or EDTracker).

As for pedals... I can't really comment. I purchased a set of old Thrustmaster Elite pedals in the mistaken belief that old = quality. I ended up making my own

 

[Magic Man]

As far as pedals go, you have the CH and Saitek offerings at the "lower" cost end and the MFG/Slaw pedals at the "higher" cost end. There are other sets again but they are either even harder to get hold of or at an even higher price point.

Depends what you want and how much you want to pay.
The CH pedals always got good reviews for build quality but many don't like the sliding action. The Saitek pedals get reasonable reviews but often complaints about dust getting inside and fouling them.

The MFG and Slaw pedals are built to order with potentially long wait times and cost double what the others do. They are however built to last and are extremely accurate and smooth.

I've been using an old set of Simped pedals from over ten years ago - they were the higher end option of their time and haven't failed me to this day so were well worth the higher cost over the competition of the time and are still as good today as the day I bought them. I just fancy something a little more though (metal, toe brakes) and have a set of Slaw pedals on the way to me.

 

[Time Streamer]

Ok. Gonna do some research on the pedals. What about the Warthog? Can anyone speak in his name? Never found anyone saying Warthog is bad, but my fears rest inside what they call 'force sensing'. I belive this is the F-16 joystick emulation where the joystick reacts to the pressure you put on it, not to its movement (as these controllers are "fixed"). I belive that is a mod i can buy apart from the Warthog right? Saw opinions saying force sensing was making controls too stiff.

 

[Hempstead]

Ok. Gonna do some research on the pedals. What about the Warthog? Can anyone speak in his name? Never found anyone saying Warthog is bad, but my fears rest inside what they call 'force sensing'. I belive this is the F-16 joystick emulation where the joystick reacts to the pressure you put on it, not to its movement (as these controllers are "fixed"). I belive that is a mod i can buy apart from the Warthog right? Saw reviews saying force sensing was making controls too stiff.

Warhog is pretty solid, except three problems. Even with those problems, I wouldn't fly with anything else.

#1. The rubber buffer ring tend to get out of position, get pinched and delaminate. When that happens, you have 3 choices. a. Get warranty to have a replacement or purchase 1 from TM with mailing cost around USD $25 or something in that range, b. Remove the ring, grease the hell out of it, and risk wear, c. make a ring yourself, or get a PTFE ring from me for USD $8. I am only doing the PTFE ring to help fellow Warthog owners out, I sometimes even lose money selling it, depending on the mailing cost to your location. The full spec. of the PTFE ring is published out there on the Internet, you are welcome to make it yourself or even sell it.

#2. The stick spring mechanism causes a bit of dead center. But when in the dead center range, the MLX90333 Hall sensor still picks up correctly and precisely. It's not a big problem, as most mechanical gimbals have this problem. And most other mechanical gimbals don't allow picking signals correctly in the dead center range, case in point, TM Cougar.

#3, TM doesn't make any rudder anymore and TARGET software does not support any non-TM devices. But this not really a problem as most newer games, including ED support multiple devices. Just use whatever USB rudder you have, not controlled under TARGET.

You can buy FCC3 mod for the Warthog to make it force sensing, but it's very pricey. Personally, I don't like force sensing, as there are two sensory mechanisms used in this scenario. 1. The pressure sensory on your arm. 2. The positional sensory of your arm. I don't like giving up the positional sensory. I find having both helps me piloting, but others don't mind losing the positoinal sensory. Your call.

 

[Pharrett]

I bought the Warthog a couple of months ago when the price dropped. Worth every penny.

Paired them with some CH pro rudders.

Its a massive step up from the Logitech 3d extreme I'd been using...

 

[Time Streamer]

Thanks for answering a full opinion about Warthog. Then, it's worth it. The rubber ring is indeed troublesome though. Anyway, i guess i'm gonna try and buy an warthog . Feeling a bit sad about my x52pro. Never let me down. Now i have to sell it Any more opinions about the Warthog are welcome. I'm eager to know more about it.

 

[Witzo]

Yep! Another joystick thread

OK, now that we have one: a friend of mine is having difficulty finding a left-handed stick. Does anyone have suggestions for him?

 

[mikeclfc]

Cyborg Fly 5 joystick

I have tried in vain to get my joystick to work but no matter what I do I can't get it to work any help would be appreciated

 

[Horrgakx]

Go to the game controller in Windows, does it appear and can you calibrate it?

 

[Asp Explorer]

Does the light come on when you plug it in?

 

[Kiblams]

Hmmm.... I use the fly 5 and it works out of the box. There is a profile that FD have set up, but I use my own custom one.

 

[mikeclfc]

when I go into the settings for the controls there is only keyboard and mouse there is nothing about my joystick

 

[Kiblams]

when I go into the settings for the controls there is only keyboard and mouse there is nothing about my joystick

How about in 'devices and printers'?