The Joystick/Controller discussion thread

[Iskariot]

Yep it's very easy to get used to it and everything soon feels natural.

Also controlling the ship with a left hand while the avatar uses the right was wierd to me. Just didn't feel right.

I'm a X-52 loving lefty.

I didn't even think of that.
What if you buy an Oculus and use a joystick with your left hand and you see your avatar using the right hand in VR.
That must be a very disconcerting experience.

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I always used the PC mouse with the right hand(because I imitated my parents I guess) and since then I can't imagine using a mouse or joystick with the left hand. I don't know how it's for others, but I bought a Thrustmaster T.Flight for this game and it works well, even though I've never used a joystick before. Just a matter of habits.

Yes I know several left handed children myself (I work at a school) who always use the mouse with their right hand.

 

[DaggerSnake]

I used a mouse left handed for a long time, but all the best gaming mice are contoured for right.

I retrained my hand. Took a few months but now going back feels odd.

I consider myself 100% lefty. I can barley hold a spoon without shoving it in my eye with my right hand. But it's kinda a head game and muscle memory. I wanted to used a hotas and a good mouse so bad, I pushed through.

It's a right hand world, when in Rome...

 

[AlexRyder]

It's a right hand world, when in Rome...

Sounds sinister...

(sorry couldn't stop myself)

 

[ProTankerDestruction]

Thank you all for the advice. I think i will try to use a regular right handed joystick because some of you have said and I am one of them who can do most things with the right hand that most people can do. So much so that I have learned both how to wield a sword, shoot a bow, and fire a gun accurately with my right so I think I will be good with a right handed one for now.

 

[777Driver]

I didn't even think of that.
What if you buy an Oculus and use a joystick with your left hand and you see your avatar using the right hand in VR.
That must be a very disconcerting experience.

I fly purely in the Oculus rift, having a left handed hotas setup is not disconcerting in the slightest.

@Protanker - I had the pedals and throttle custom built for me. The logitech stick will work with any setup, ED just see's it as another joystick.

Don't listen to what others say about having to use a right handed stick, use what is comfortable for you. I also do a lot of things right handed, including playing guitar. For me personally, it feels better having the stick in the left hand, same deal with driving manual, I'm happy shifting with my right hand in the UK, but it feels way better in my home country shifting with the left.

 

[CMDR Rison]

I use the Thrustmaster T-16000M with keyboard... Nice and accurate!

From what I hear, this joystick has amazing reviews and is completely ambidextrous. If I ever went for a dual joystick motif, I would get two of these.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

I'm left-handed, but was forced to use right-handed sticks in the USAF. Using a right-handed Warthog now. I've used left and right biased mice (now using std mouse on right), and use custom grips for my pistol.

 

[Cataclysm72]

If all else fails, youcan always build your own. Like i did.

I'm lefthanded too but i have no problems using a righthand stick by the way.

 

[Dogeh]

From what I hear, this joystick has amazing reviews and is completely ambidextrous. If I ever went for a dual joystick motif, I would get two of these.

Yep - it comes with an adaptor thingie for left handed folks.

 

[dave11]

I have the Thrustmaster T.1600m and it is excellent. I'm a righty, but this joystick is very quickly adapted to left-handed: the grip that your thumb rests on is removed with one screw and you get a left-handed thumb rest with the joystick for the other side, and the base that your hand rests upon rotates after loosing a single screw. Very easy to access, a one minute job to fully convert it. It's a great price, has twist stick for yaw, and feels very precise. The only negative I can think of is that the base is illuminated green at the base, but it really doesn't bother me - there is a youtube vid somewhere which shows you which wire to snip in the base to disconnect it if bothers you. The only thing I have added is I bought a nice cheap £5 mouse mat from amazon that it sits upon to stop it moving around (my desk is not very grippy) and now it doesn't budge at all.

 

[Sire]

I have recently started playing Elite: Dangerous and I only have 360 hours logged. I was wondering if anyone could recommend me and my left hand to a good joystick for left handed people. I have searched and found some but the reviews have been very mixed from all the way to very bad to quite good. If you can I would like it if you could recommend one that is not terribly expensive BUT I want to find a good one for left handed people NO MATTER THE COST(I might have to wait awhile before I buy it though).

Tanks for the advice. :3



Yes I meant "tanks"

I have a Thrustmaster and learnt to play with the right hand... for free.

 

[Inodoro Pereyra]

I look for the same, but I prefer to get a HOTAS and learn to use it... I cant write an O with the right, but can fly any ship at any speed thru the mailbox scratching the ship less than one in hundred times...
Anyway, since as early as 1984, I use right mouse setting with left hand... and as lefty software support... that's good.

 

[Cheapchips]

I'd recommend the t16000m + keyboard combo too. Not a lefty, but as people have said it converts. It does have a horrible green glow light around the base. It's easy enough to open it and cut the cable to the LED though (I know some players like their PC gear looking like a car that belongs on Southend seafront. Can't say that's to my taste)

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

Advice on joystick

So, I've been playing ED for over 6 months now. Initially with the keyboard and mouse only but then, I remembered I had an old Logitech Wingman Strike Force 3D somewhere.

Put it back to work and decided I would never play with a mouse again, unless I don't have the joystick.

However, lately, I've been wondering if my old joystick is not starting to show its age (and the abuse it got). The movement of the stick itself is not always smooth. I'm not sure but I think that the values sent by the joystick to the game when you pitch and yaw are not that great, specially the pitch. I have to apply a bit a pressure to make sure my Python will change direction, specially when coming from a hyperspace jump and trying to avoid the star. I had to use my mouse while traveling last weekend and it seemed to me that the mouse was giving me much more pitch than the joystick.

I think I'm at the point of getting a new one but I'm a bit hesitant.

This is a picture of my joystick (well, not mine but one similar to mine):

Spoiler

As you can see, this specific joystick has basically 2 POV hats, and I'm using both. The one on the left I use for changing PIPs, while the one on the right is used to target components on my target when in a fight. There are also 3 buttons on the top, one I use as the alternate trigger (left top one), the other one below it is bound to activate my shield cell bank and the one below the 2 POV hats is used to boost.

I have a budget around $50 for a new stick and would like to keep it around that.

I looked at the Thrustmaster T-16000M. It looks nice but it's basically missing one POV hat, so I'm not sure about that one.

I also looked at the Mad Catz V.1 and the F.L.Y.5 with the throttle which have similar POV hat configuration. What I'm not sure is whether the small trigger between the buttons that enclose it is actually the POV hat. If they are additional buttons and not the POV hat itself, maybe I could use that as a replacement for my 2 POV hats.

Anyone understands what I'm talking about?

Any other recommendation that I might have missed? I obviously searched the forum but it seems the search returns all threads that have at least one message with the keywords. It would take me a week to go all over them to get advice.

Anyway, if anybody has some suggestion, comments or recommendations, please let me know!

Thank you in advance!

 

[Buglet]

Your joystick sounds like it's pivot is playing up. A popular joystick for us Elite: Dangerous pilots is the T Flight HOTAS X, cheap but very good, with that POV Hat.

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

Wow! Thanks for the suggestion! I missed that one. Upon close inspection, I never realized it had all those buttons on the throttle. Looking good, thanks again!

 

[Buglet]

You're welcome. It easily copes with all the in-game actions and controls and, after a few weeks, I've rarely had to touch my keyboard while playing. Providing you make one or two shift-like keys you can operate the entire ship from just the joystick and throttle. Best bit is they separate so you can have both throttle and joystick on either sides of your keyboard!

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

I was reading about it and just read that it's detachable. Even more awesome. I think I'm going to get this one, unless someone post something better, but for the price, it would look hard to beat.

How long have you had yours? Does it feel strong? It seems to be made mostly of plastic on the outside, but how does it feel when you use it?

 

[Para Handy]

A popular joystick for us Elite: Dangerous pilots is the T Flight HOTAS X, cheap but very good, with that POV Hat.

It gets my vote too, absolutely brilliant value for money.

 

[Buglet]

I've had mine for a few months and I also use it for ArmA 3, FSX, and even Euro Truck Simulator! It's quite sturdy. I haven't had any problems yet other than the joystick started to make a quiet squeaking sound when I moved it - a drop of oil sorted it. It's also compatible with a PS3, if you have one. The best feature by far is both the twist-function on the joystick (which I use for yaw) and the pedal-lever on the back of the throttle (which I use for lateral). Very accommodating for Elite Dangerous' extra axis of control (which not many joysticks of this price offer).

A couple things to make note of. When you get your joystick make sure to head over to Thrustmaster's website and download the drivers for the stick, otherwise you won't be able to use the 5-axis of the controls (without the drivers, games will think the rudder-pedals and the joystick twist is the same thing).