The Joystick/Controller discussion thread

[yah-ta-hey]

Ok, so when an interdiction attempt is made i immediately grab the mouse...for its far smoother
and i can easily track the escape portal. Its a very basic logitech gaming mouse, not the G600 one.

My question is, are any of you skilled pilots using advanced gaming mouse pads for their smoother tracking instead of a joystick?

Never have and until I really need one, I probably won't use a gaming mouse. I use a standard 5 button optical mouse by microsoft.

- - - Updated - - -

If I'm totally honest.. Yes I love my HOTAS and as my wife forked out for it as a. Birthday gift (it's an A10 Warthog) I'd have to be suicidal to put it down but..... Whilst the keyboard side of k/board and mouse was rather imprecise the mouse side of the set up was really accurate down to tiny twitch adjustments. My keyboard is a mechanical gaming board but as there is no level of graduation in the switches it felt clumsy but the mouse was sweet to use

Have your wife talk to my wife about how great it would be to get a a-10 warthog HOTAS for my birthday. Those are a serious piece of equipment.

 

[Nexliar]

I upgraded from the T Flight to an X55 Rhino after the number 5 key went out on the T Flight after 2 months of use. Personally I love it. I really researched the X52 and X55 and settled on the X55 do to the fact that it seemed more customizable, has way more buttons, and the throttle and stick are 2 separate devices. I guess its a matter of opinion but I'm happy I got the X55 over the X52 Pro

 

[irtuk]

I am a bit torn here. I have a saitek X52 but the damn thing has a problem, the stick frequently disconnects and reconnects resetting it's zeroed poisition, so if you happen to be in a tight turn when it does it, your new "zero" is the position the stick was in when it glitched.

So, I have made my mind up to get rid of it, hand it down to one of my kids maybe but what to replace it with?

The warthog is expensive and does not, as far as I can see, have a rotary stick for rudder which I like, but the X55 RHINO is a saitek product and I have doubts about the build quality.

Has anyone owned both of these products and feels able to comment on the build quality of the 55 over the 52?

 

[Windscreen Smudge]

I am a bit torn here. I have a saitek X52 but the damn thing has a problem, the stick frequently disconnects and reconnects resetting it's zeroed poisition, so if you happen to be in a tight turn when it does it, your new "zero" is the position the stick was in when it glitched.

So, I have made my mind up to get rid of it, hand it down to one of my kids maybe but what to replace it with?

The warthog is expensive and does not, as far as I can see, have a rotary stick for rudder which I like, but the X55 RHINO is a saitek product and I have doubts about the build quality.

Has anyone owned both of these products and feels able to comment on the build quality of the 55 over the 52?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY0mTd0SOLg

Strong language warning, he's gruff but he knows what he's talking about.

Can't be posted enough times. Unless you have huge hands the X55's button placement is a problem. The Warthog can be picked up for $250 on Ebay, new, on an almost daily basis. Price isn't really a reason to avoid it. CH Products has a similar button layout to the Warthog if you don't feel the need for a steel stick, and I actually prefer their throttle over the Warthog for Elite: Dangerous. You don't need a bunch of toggle switches and knobs for ED, buttons and hats are more efficient.

There are also specialty sticks like VKB's stuff. I've always had a strange attraction to the Black Mamba but never been brave enough to jump on it.

https://flightsimcontrols.com/store/joysticks/vkb-fat-black-mamba-for-non-eu/

Buy something that's built right and don't worry about it again. CH Products, the Warthog, and VKB fit that description.

 

[scbfromnc]

I am a bit torn here. I have a saitek X52 but the damn thing has a problem, the stick frequently disconnects and reconnects resetting it's zeroed poisition, so if you happen to be in a tight turn when it does it, your new "zero" is the position the stick was in when it glitched.

So, I have made my mind up to get rid of it, hand it down to one of my kids maybe but what to replace it with?

The warthog is expensive and does not, as far as I can see, have a rotary stick for rudder which I like, but the X55 RHINO is a saitek product and I have doubts about the build quality.

Has anyone owned both of these products and feels able to comment on the build quality of the 55 over the 52?

Haven't owned any Saitek products since I looked at the latest reviews in Amazon and saw a lot of complaints about quality. I (and many others that I've noticed in this thread) went with CH Pro Throttle and Thrustmaster T16000M joystick. CH makes well built, well designed products. However I didn't choose their joystick since it doesn't have twist action. The T16000M is a very inexpensive joystick. It's not top of the line, but gets pretty good reviews, has twist action and I've had no problems with it.

 

[Gimmename]

I just switch my X52 Pro to Warthog and oh my gosh ) That thing is heavy Feels like a real thing, but so much harder to fly with it. And I'm REALLY need a pedals now ) First couple of times I berely leave the dock Seriously, It's like I newbie again D Goodbye fixed weapon for couple of weeks

But I really really like the feel of it and amout of buttons. I even have couple unbinded switches left on throttle.

After Warthog X52 feels like toy

P.S. Not best time to switch controller when CQC beta just arrived

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

It seems it's like many things in life, it's a hit and miss situation. I've read many different threads and asked questions before I decided to use a Saitek X52 (which I absolutely love, btw, coming from an old Logitech WingMan). Many people had great things to say about their Saitek, others reported them breaking within a few months of having them...

EDIT: oh, and I'm sure the Warthog must be a dream but I didn't (and still don't) have that kind of money to put on a flight control system...

 

[Rankaze]

If anyone here is contemplating the MFG Crosswind rudder pedals, I heartily recommend them. Got mine last week, and they are amazing. Far better than either the Saitek Pro Combat or CH Pro Pedals I have used previously. Incredibly smooth movement, extremely precise... they really are as good as advertised. Better, really... they have well exceeded my expectations.

 

[irtuk]

So I have a CH Fighterstick and Pro Throttle in my basket over at one site, and a Warthog in my basket over at overclockers ... and I have been mulling this over for some eight hours now, including the question "just how much do I use rudder.."

decisions decisions..

 

[Wrongway]

I have both. At the moment I prefer the Warthog stick paired with the Pro Throttle. I have CH and Saitek rudder pedals. Both have their plus and minuses. I have tried flying without rudder pedals but just cannot do it. Probably due to years of flying light aircraft and flight sims which both use rudder pedals it becomes natural.

 

[irtuk]

I really can't see what I use rudder for, at least in combat a "proper" turn is more effective than a rudder turn, at least I think, and I don't fly or play other simulation games that much so I am not really dialled in to needing pedals, not sure I have room for them anyway!

 

[Der Zeitgeist]

I just dropped a ton of money ordering the full CH HOTAS set (Fighterstick, Pro Throttle, Pro Pedals), after I got sick of my Saitek X52 Pro. I didn't have any really bad problems with the X52, it served me well for the last three years, it just seems such a big waste that it has so many controls like sliders, rotaries, mouse controllers, that can hardly be mapped in most games, when you would just want more hats and buttons.

It just seems so badly thought out, nice ideas in principle, but terrible design in practice.

 

[irtuk]

Yeah the pedals bump it up from "very expensive" to "very, very expensive" and I am not 100% convinced that very very expensive is going to be universally appreciated Chez Moi.

 

[Cataclysm72]

I decided to build my own rudder control, and since I already had the joystick bit working the rudder was actually very easy to add. I think I may have spend $20 on acrylic plate laser cutting, a little 3D-printing (at home), $10 on bolts and washers, and $2 of electronics to get it where it is now. Here's some older footage of the prototype. I've stiffened it up a bit but it basically is the same thing with pedals now.

[video=youtube;570gaoXnRuQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=570gaoXnRuQ[/video]

 

[Ving]

So I have a CH Fighterstick and Pro Throttle in my basket over at one site, and a Warthog in my basket over at overclockers ... and I have been mulling this over for some eight hours now, including the question "just how much do I use rudder.."

decisions decisions..

You can always use the side thumb-hat on the Fighterstick for rudders. Or use the mini-stick on the Pro Throttle for rudders and vertical thrusters, as lateral thrusters aren't used very much other than docking (where you can use an override).

 

[Wrongway]

I really can't see what I use rudder for, at least in combat a "proper" turn is more effective than a rudder turn, at least I think, and I don't fly or play other simulation games that much so I am not really dialled in to needing pedals, not sure I have room for them anyway!

I think most people rely on yaw (rudders) to line up accurately on a target. But the method you use can be pedals, twisty stick, some other analogue input device or a digital input such as a couple of keys or a hat. It then comes down to muscle memory. I have got used to pedals over the years so thats my preferred method. Each of the methods has it's pluses and minuses. Pedals are extra cost and take up room. Some argue a twisty stick can interferes with using the other two axis on the stick. I don't like using buttons either, that just feels all wrong in every way. The other days I setup a laptop downstairs to mess around with elite. I grabbed the Fighterstick and Pro Throttle but left the rudders on the main PC. I mapped yaw control to one of the hats. Those were the scariest attempts at docking I have had since I started. Went and grabbed the pedals.

It's whatever you get used to. But yaw is a control that you will use and need to control in some form or another.

 

[Rojo Habe]

I find for general flying and combat, a small amount of Yaw Into Roll does the trick. This completely screws me up for docking so as soon as I lower the gear it becomes roll-only. From this point on I've assigned yaw to my steering wheel! Not ideal but useful enough for small corrections on approach to the docking bay.

Logitech rumblepad, so only two analogue sticks to play with, by the way (one for attitude, the other for thrusters)

 

[irtuk]

Anyone with a set of CH Pro Flight Rudder Pedals able to measure them for me? I have a very limited space under my desk and moving the PC sadly is not a viable option right now as it's plumbed into a heat exchanger on the other side of a wall...

 

[Cataclysm72]

Anyone with a set of CH Pro Flight Rudder Pedals able to measure them for me? I have a very limited space under my desk and moving the PC sadly is not a viable option right now as it's plumbed into a heat exchanger on the other side of a wall...

http://www.amazon.com/CH-Products-Pedals-Simulator-300-111/dp/B0000512IE

• 15.8 x 13.2 x 7.8 inches ; 1.7 pounds

 

[irtuk]

heh awesome thanks. I was looking on the CH site and they didn't list the dimensions there that I could see.