The Joystick/Controller discussion thread

[cookiehole]

If you don´t want to spend too much money, take a Thrustmaster T flight HOTAS X.
It´s cheap, simple, has a good quality, the only downside is that it only has one coolie hat and not that many buttons, but if you are ok to use f.e. the mouse for headlook it´s great for the price.

 

[spacejumbofudge]

CH pro throttle and fighterstick FTW.

 

[OVMorat]

Me too. Great combo for flight games. Previously used the N52 with a mouse in some MMOs, but got tired of it (along with those MMOs) and put it in the closet. I have both ED and SC, so got it out of storage to pair with the T16000m since I didn't already own a throttle. So glad I did. I don't think I could play either game without it now. No desire at all to go buy a throttle. If I bought something new for the left hand, it would just be a new gamepad. I use voice attack, but I still like having bindable keys for everything. I use the bottom left key on the N52 as a function key, so with the gamepad and joystick there are like 58 programable keys / key-combos between the two without even using the buttons on the stick's base. Use voice attack for convenience and when a second doesn't matter.

What OS version are you running? I've recently pulled my N52 out of my "spares" box but there doesn't seem to be any programming software for windows 8.1.

 

[CommanderPablo]

Yet another joystick problem please help!

Hi all, I recently bought a Saitek ST50 joystick for £2 and have it connected (via a USB) to my laptop.

The stick works fine (only as a digital stick though) I can calibrate it in windows and all buttons/ directions work fine.

Trying to use it for ED is proving very frustrating, I have tried using it a generic joystick (nope) and tried manually setting the left/ right/ up/ down to the corresponding direction on the stick, in the options it accepts this but no matter what I do or how I set it I cannot get the ship to climb (only dive) and can't get it to roll right (only left)

Any tips before I go back to mouse/ keyboard (and no, the option of buying a better stick isn't available for another few weeks, it's either this or nothing...)

Thanks

 

[Wavey]

Try here https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17280

 

[Jetic007]

Logitech 3D Pro the way to go

I too bought my Logitech 3D Pro from Amazon and it is awesome.

 

[Caffinated]

it sounds like you're trying to set digital commands on an analog controller. The difference here is that digital is either "on" or "off", while analog encompasses a range of movement along an axis.

You shouldn't be setting "up" and "down" separately, you should be assigning a single axis to pitch - this is one setting, not two. Same with "left" and "right" - this axis should be set to yaw or roll depending on your preference.

If this doesn't work, it's possible that you might have a broken joystick as well. You did only pay £2 which is insanely cheap for any joystick. In all honesty, the ST50 is as feature starved as you can get when it comes to joysticks and even when you do get it working right it's unlikely you'll be very happy with it.

 

[burt]

^^ What this guy said.....Black Widow - cost around £20 I think and is a very basic flight system.

Four buttoms on the joystick handle and a directional button also. A Thruster stick with left and right buttons on this and 4 nice sized buttons on the joypad itself....
Agree with the above - don't install the driver, just let windows decide and use it's own and it works fine.....

Just to add to the discussion on the merits of T-Flight Hotas vs BlackWidow. I own the BW and I've tried both. The TF does have more buttons but when I tried the throttle - the range seems not to be continuous - ie it has slots at various points, say -25%,0,+25% etc. So thats good in one way - you can feel when you are stationary but it feels weird and interrupts a smooth throttle up or down and may stop you making fine adjustments (not that important in Elite but for flying heli's in Arma 3, very important).

The way I got round the lack of buttons on the BW was to download ROCCAT Powergrid on to my ipad, so I've got onscreen visual representations of buttons. It looks great too.
I considered Voice attack but would prefer not to have to continually talk while I'm gaming (a bit of a rarity I know - just look at all of the gamers on youtube).

 

[Runnybabbit]

I've been playing the game now for just over a week, and using an old Microsoft Force Feedback stick, which, though it doesn't have enough button options, is pretty efficient when combined with keyboard...

However, a very good friend of mine has just got a HOTAS upgrade from his son for Christmas, and lucky, lucky me has just been offered his Saitek X52... Now I just need to put a lottery ticket on and wait for the money to roll in!!

 

[Iain Stewart]

I was using the black widow fine, up until last week. I just plugged it in and then went into the control options and remapped everything by hand. I did always plug it in before starting the game though. Last weekend I was taking some stuff to the tip (in real life) and I had a quick peek in their recycling shop. I lucked out on finding a perfectly good Logitech Extreme 3D Pro for £2. Aside from not having any box or manual, it looks like I just brought it brand new. It's much better than the Blackwidow. My only quibbles would be that the throttle is tiny and not in the most useful of places (right behind the stick) and in a perfect world I prefer a HOTAS set up with a rudder rocker on the throttle, but you can't have it all. Overall, the Logitech stick feels much firmer, it has a lot more buttons, and it takes up less desk space.

 

[Sen Ti]

Logitech 310 controller (xbox type) from Amazon for $17.00.

 

[deathbloom1000]

recently got a extreme 3d pro

i recently got the logitech extreme 3d pro, now it felt good to me in use but i have this question about all joysticks, is it just this one or some. do any of them have that sensitivity motion for example if you use a mouse to fly in elite, depending how far away from center you move the faster it goes. do all joysticks not have this? or just some and the logitech i have? i have tried calibrating it and it apeared to be all working right. so i was just curious about this.

 

[Adept]

You can read reviews until you're blue in the face, for a budget joystick the Thrustmaster 16000m is by far the "best" stick. It is the only "cheap" joystick which has hall sensors (a magnet hovering above a sensor chip) while other budget joysticks have pots. The pots wear out in time and can become unreliable.

I don't care about the buttons on the thrustmaster (they're admittedly crap, I never even used the buttons on the base!)...but in combination with a separate throttle like the CH Pro throttle this combo is very good.

The Madcatz/Saitek Cyborg...I think is extremely ugly (it beats even the thrustmaster in ugliness which isn't exactly a beauty either ... but take my word, once you go HOTAS with a separate throttle...you don't want to go back to joystick only. My tip: Get thrustmaster 16000m, then save up some money (if you're on a budget) and get CH Pro throttle at a later time. Also check second hand forums/sites etc.

This seems like a very good suggestion. A good stick, with great value for money, and the option to add a throttle later. I really enjoy having the little thumb-joystick on the CH throttle for smooth translational thrust (up, down, sideways...)

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

Well, I got a used Logitech Extreme 3D pro in the end, and only paid £13 for it!

Had a quick try out and liked it a lot, just need more practice now as I'm so use to a mouse for games!

www.tiikoni.com/tis/view/?id=a7a29ba

The throttle lever is a bit difficult to use, so I just set two buttons on the stick to speed up or slow down.

If I get some more cash, I may well upgrade to one of the more expensive sticks, but for now, this will do me just fine!

And that is the important thing. Have fun and fly safe commander.

 

[styopa]

Sidewinder + G15

Has anyone built/found configs for the G15(series) for E? I've looked for a while, not found anything. Is there a repository for this sort of thing? If nobody has one, I'm happy to spend the time to build it myself, and post it here, but I'm afraid it'll just get lost in the static....

(was also going ask about eventual FF for the joysticks, but I found the 8 page thread of people hoping for it)

 

[Attis]

Not a very detailed list for a poll ...

 

[Sir_KeBe]

Steering with Joystick

Hi,
I have trouble to steer with my Logitech Freedom 2.4 joystick, it start slow and suddenly it moves very fast, i cant control the movement so i can fire on ex a ship. what can i do to have a stick that move the ship better?

// Kenth

 

[Himmel Tropf]

do you have flight assist on?
might also be a deadspot issue...

 

[LCplCombat]

Hold the joystick lower down, closer to the base and use your fingers for more accuracy, if you need a quick turn and arn't going for accuracy, move the top of the stick

 

[ME-tan]

You might need to re-calibrate the joystick.

 

[Henchman]

Did it help? i have the same problem.