The Joystick/Controller discussion thread

[dandirk]

Question: What is the advantage of a throttle peripheral in ED specifically over say a KB? Been thinking about a HOTAS but I already have a stick and it seems like the KB is more than adequate for your off hand.

Throttle device seems more beneficial if you have to manage/maintain your speed when your target speed is ever changing (plane combat sim). In ED the sweet spot for maneuvers is static and clearly marked (blue).

Just seems a specific throttle device doesn't bring much to the table and in some cases could be more complex... I found the kb to be decent at using both left/right console/menus and great just tapping the thruster for docking. KB has almost unlimited button/location options vs a throttle device.

I am a noob so don't have a ton of PVP or combat experience but I just can't see how an actual throttle could be a similar replacement to the KB like a joystick is to the mouse.

- - - Updated - - -

sorry for the double post... I just signed up and said an mod had to review the post, then I was able to immediate respond to another thread so thought my first post got lost

 

[Para Handy]

The advantage of a hotas / throttle is in combat - it really makes a HUGE difference. I use the thustmaster hotas-X at the price it is, you can't beat it and it takes up much less room than all the other alternatives.

Go buy it off amazon and if you are not pleased as punch with it, send it back (free) for a refund.

 

[Engadine]

What is "Elite Dangerous TARGET Preset" in post 10?

 

[Para Handy]

What is "Elite Dangerous TARGET Preset" in post 10?

It is explained in the footnotes within the image - it is an acronym.

 

[MartialDoctor]

To give a slightly different answer than the others, I recently bought a Logitech Extreme Pro 3D as my Thrustmaster Hotas X bit the dust after a couple years of usage. I thought the Hotas X was a good stick but I have found that, overall, I like the Logitech better. I must prefer the feel of the Logitech as it has the perfect amount of resistance that I'm looking for. The Hotas X, no matter how I adjusted it, did not get as good as a feel as the Logitech. However, the Hotas has a much better throttle as the Logitech is just a very small switch that is very sensitive!
Still, as the Logitech has the better feel to it and allows me to control more precisely, I do prefer it. Anyways, just a second opinion. The Hotas X is still a good purchase as well.

 

[Potnoodle]

Thanks for all the answers, all very useful. I had a look at all the hotas mentioned and some look so cool but since I won't use it for much other games at present I decided to be conservative and buy the thrustmaster t-flight hotas X at the price and managed to get new from shop.bt.com for £32.95 delivered. I can tell quickly if I'll get hooked on a game and when I do I usually play them for a few years, and I'm hooked on this so I don't mind buying something to make it more enjoyable.

 

[Lightspeed]

i to have just bought the game
for me i went for the thrustmaster t.16000m less than £40 good quality build and it works straight out of the box
decent video review of the stick on elite dangerous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTaWDpw3108

I concur ... works a treat.

 

[Scotty113]

Hi
Ive been using that stick since I started really. I worked with the generic binding and then started to make my own as I wanted to use more buttons. I think that way you get to used to whats where. I also found this and printed it out http://i.imgur.com/kZSCidZ.png.

I use the tophat for thrusters at the moment and anything I need quite quickly I put on the left side (as Im right handed). I had disastrous ending when I tried to bind the throttle, so I've left that on out.

I hope that helps, give me a shout if you want to talk about other bindings

Good luck Cmdr

 

[Midnight Sun]

It's a really nice stick once you've used it enough to loosen up the spring. There are drivers on the Thrustmaster website and also a config file (which I didn't use cos I set it up manually):

http://ts.thrustmaster.com/eng/index.php?pg=view_files&gid=1&fid=3&pid=285&cid=1

 

[Sir DragonKing]

question, joystick vs mouse

im a well seasoned player i have won and lost battles, i use a mouse/keybored to play elite dangerous,


dose a joystick really improve your in game performance that much?

my mouse has 7 or so buttons on it
{button 1 primary fire}
{button 2 secondary fire}
{button 3 headlock}
{button 4 chaft launcher}
{button 5 Cycle next fire group}
{scroll forwards increase speed 50%}
{scroll backwards decrease speed 50%}



is a joystick really worth buying with a mouse like that?

 

[ShimEnki]

im a well seasoned player i have won and lost battles, i use a mouse/keybored to play elite dangerous,


dose a joystick really improve your in game performance that much?

my mouse has 7 or so buttons on it
{button 1 primary fire}
{button 2 secondary fire}
{button 3 headlock}
{button 4 chaft launcher}
{button 5 Cycle next fire group}
{scroll forwards increase speed 50%}
{scroll backwards decrease speed 50%}



is a joystick really worth buying with a mouse like that?

I use the mini joystick thats on the logiteck game pad along with the logiteck game mouse with the 25 buttons...it, the mini joystick is smooth and has made all the diff for me

 

[Antmax]

You have to decide if you want an authentic and more realistic flying experience or not. If you just a point and click kind of player and don't care about the more sim like nature of ED then a joystick may not make much difference.

I played WarThunder for two years with a joystick before ED and absolutely detest mouse control in flying games. But whether it actually makes it easier I don't know. It certainly didn't in that game. What I like about joystick control is ED is that you never have to touch the keyboard and with my set up I have analog rudder and lateral thrusters. Combined with head tracking the game is much more immersive with the stick and feels more authentic. Whether it makes you better, I don't know. More manouverable maybe but perhaps less accurate over long distances.

In the end you have to decide why you play the game and what you are looking for in your controls.

With my setup I typically put the keyboard away during flight but still use it in the galaxy map for looking around and entering text. But it's not needed at all during flight.

 

[Araviel]

its all about what you are used to,
I have been playing games and flying sims for years whit just mouse and keyboard.
I feel very confident whit it and think i can go up against anyone, but put me in front of a stick and a throttle and i will fly like a donkey.

 

[Antmax]

I'm used to mouse and joystick too I used them a lot prior to getting into ww2 era flying. I just find it incredibly dull. So I don't think it's entirely what you are used to. I enjoy driving sportscars competitively and dislike automatics and all the computer assists because you lose a lot of fine control and communication/feedback from your vehicle when you need it most. It's similar with flight sims and ED. Using a mouse transfers a lot of controls to 21st century fly by wire computer assistance which takes away what essentially makes flying involving and fun for me..

To be honest its not as big a deal with ED because there is too much computer assistance in the game regardless of what control you have. I don't enjoy combat because damage does not really effect the flight and damage models in any meaningful way. Computers compensate and make it feel pretty much the same regardless.

So it ultimately comes down to what you want out of the game. That will determine which is the better controller for you.

 

[Cliffson]

Two Joystick setup - alternative to Hotas - Anyone else use it?

Hi Cmdrs

I see a lot of threads about this or that HoTaS set up, or saying they have a joystick but want to get a throttle now, but no one talking about using 2 joysticks. So I thought I'd share my set up and a few words on why I like it. Suggestions for improvements Welcome.

I started using a 2 joystick set up a couple of months ago, I liked the idea of a HoTaS but wanted something that would work in all 3 directions so I came up with this set up:
RH: MS-sidewinder2.
Pitch and Yaw bound to the main axis, roll to twist.
Fire 1,2 for primary seconday weapons, fire 3 for target forward, fire 4 for change firegroups.
Hat: Down Chaff, Left Heatskink, Up SCB

LH: Thurstmaster 16000
Up-down-left-right to lateral thrusters. Twist for FWD backwards thrusters.
Trigger - FA-off toggle
Power to Eng/Weap/Sys on the three top buttons
Hat Left boost, right zero throttle, up/down increase/decrease throttle.

Various other controls on bases of joysticks, target subs, target next/prev/highest etc.

The main reasons I really like this set up are:
Full analogue control on all thrusters and direction axis.

It feels very natural, point the stick in the direction you want the ship to go (once you get used to twist for go/reverse)

Everything you need for combat is available without moving your hands from control thrusters or direction control.

So does anyone else use 2 Joysticks or have their own take on it they'd like to share?

Fly safe

Cliff

 

[Windscreen Smudge]

I've seen quite a few people use it. I don't find the idea appealing, myself. 3 decades of PC gaming has made sure that my left hand works best when it's just loafing about pushing buttons and a throttle is optimal for that.

Everybody who tries it seems to like it though. Kind of sad that the choice of left handed sticks is... Well.. almost non-existent.

 

[SushiCW]

There's quite a few of us who do. Here's my layout:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=10967&page=290&p=2745994&viewfull=1#post2745994

 

[Dozer.k.a.o.]

i think is the perfect layout for using it with FA off, but with FA on i don't understand how it can be comfortable to keep all the time the left joystick pushed foward (or twisted if i understood you well) to keep the ship in movement.

But i notice you didn't say where you have the throttle control.. mybe in some slider? How do you control ship in Supercruise?

 

[Cliffson]

There's quite a few of us who do. Here's my layout:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=10967&page=290&p=2745994&viewfull=1#post2745994

Thanks for sharing and good to know . However I noticed you've actually bound jettison all cargo to a button.... what kind of sadist are you?

Also how does this shift business work? can you set it in the controls menu or do you have a seperate program which sets it up?

i think is the perfect layout for using it with FA off, but with FA on i don't understand how it can be comfortable to keep all the time the left joystick pushed foward (or twisted if i understood you well) to keep the ship in movement.

But i notice you didn't say where you have the throttle control.. mybe in some slider? How do you control ship in Supercruise?

It was a bit odd at first but the wrist got used to it quickly, also you don't tend to hold it twisted all the time. I mostly fly a Vulture, keep in close, and use the lateral thrusters instead to strafe around targets rather than following it like a plane would in atmosphere.

I have throttle bound to the left hand hat (push up down to incriment it) and also 100% 75% bound to base keys for supercruise control and when I need constant thrust like docking/running away.

 

[Belan]

I just picked up a TM Flight X HOTAS just so I could use the throttle with my TM 16000 flight stick. Does that count?