The Joystick/Controller discussion thread

[Zeeman]

How about modding the T16000M? I use it as part of a HOTAS with a CH PRo, problem is, I find it lacks enough buttons ont he stick, however, having ripped it apart for a look, discovered that it is almost like it was made with modding in mind. Everything is easy to get to, it easy to move functions from the base (where they are useless to me) and mount them somewhere on the stick. I am currently looking at adding one hat, and an additional button on the thumb rest for the second trigger. Just need to figure out where I can source high quality parts form in Aussieland (or wait for my next US trip...).

Your issue sound different, but they may be just as easy to fix...

Z...

 

[tawittle]

Upgraded to a warthog stick + keyboard over my old T-1600M. It was easy to mount because I just put it in one of the drawers in my desk: no fancy cockpit required. Manged to snag it for 285$ from amazon and I have no regrets.

 

[Zeeman]

ANyone know if the Cobra M5 (V2) is still available from somewhere?

Thanks,

Z...

 

[sndle9]

Currently I use the CH Fighterstick & Pro Throttle with the Saitek Cessna pedals and I'm very pleased with the setup. The only complaint is no centre indent on the throttle so I use a fairly large dead-zone to compensate. I don't miss the twist stick function at all (now) and the mini thumb-joystick on the throttle is great.
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This CH setup does not look as cool as others of similar price, but I prefer the design/control positions for actual use and that matters more to me than looks.
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I feel it's better suited to VR too as all switches are on the main throttle/stick control with none on the base to hunt for with a headset on.
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For a first HOTAS I'd recommend the Thrustmaster T-Flight though. A bargain for the price, just wish the connecting lead was a little longer.
The T16000M is a great ambidextrous joystick for the price too if you are not ready for a HOTAS yet.

 

[fossil]

ANyone know if the Cobra M5 (V2) is still available from somewhere?

Thanks,

Z...

https://flightsimcontrols.com/store/available/defender-cobra-m5-joystick-revb/

 

[Zeeman]

https://flightsimcontrols.com/store/available/defender-cobra-m5-joystick-revb/

You rock! Thanks!

Bought and paid for.

Z...

 

[Anyd Tellock]

I can't face reading through 354 pages of comments but has anyone mentioned the Hori FlightStick 3? I've just bought a broken one off ebay to act as a base for a custom build. The throttle was broken but the stick wasn't. Although it's made for the Playstation it worked 'plug and play' within windows 7. The stick has an 8 way hat, an analogue thumb stick and 7 buttons plus the trigger. It would be an excellent buy if you can find one cheap. It doesn't have twist but it has a paddle on the throttle. I'm in the process of taking it apart and it's very well made with proper big pots like in CH sticks.

 

[Cataclysm72]

I can't face reading through 354 pages of comments but has anyone mentioned the Hori FlightStick 3? I've just bought a broken one off ebay to act as a base for a custom build. The throttle was broken but the stick wasn't. Although it's made for the Playstation it worked 'plug and play' within windows 7. The stick has an 8 way hat, an analogue thumb stick and 7 buttons plus the trigger. It would be an excellent buy if you can find one cheap. It doesn't have twist but it has a paddle on the throttle. I'm in the process of taking it apart and it's very well made with proper big pots like in CH sticks.

someone put up a topic for that one, if you are interested. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=235871&highlight=Hori+flightstick

 

[AminalEd]

I always played Elite and Elite Plus with a Joystick. ( I know many of you have never even seen these games not alone played them but I've been in computers for a very long time lol). Well here is my problem. I have a Saitek( probably spelled wrong) that I've never really been able to use as it has always had a bad drift. No matter what I've tried it on it is a no go. I have now tried the basic combat Tutorial) with my mouse and thee roll is way too fast ( I'm a Nam vet handicap who does everything basically wrong handed ) and I'm new to all the terms so I've no idea how to slow it down to a usable pace so that I can actually keep my aim. I never had the problem with the originals so I figured I'd try a joystick. I would need a fairly inexpensive one that will move when I need it to not on it's own so it cannot be too sensitive and must be able to be used left handed. Please any ideas either how to slow down that mouse movements, and/or a decent joystick. it would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[GraXXoR]

I always played Elite and Elite Plus with a Joystick. ( I know many of you have never even seen these games not alone played them but I've been in computers for a very long time lol). Well here is my problem. I have a Saitek( probably spelled wrong) that I've never really been able to use as it has always had a bad drift. No matter what I've tried it on it is a no go. I have now tried the basic combat Tutorial) with my mouse and thee roll is way too fast ( I'm a Nam vet handicap who does everything basically wrong handed ) and I'm new to all the terms so I've no idea how to slow it down to a usable pace so that I can actually keep my aim. I never had the problem with the originals so I figured I'd try a joystick. I would need a fairly inexpensive one that will move when I need it to not on it's own so it cannot be too sensitive and must be able to be used left handed. Please any ideas either how to slow down that mouse movements, and/or a decent joystick. it would be appreciated. Thank you

I only use mouse when aiming fixed weapons at a distance since it is far more accurate than using a joystick.
I use a combination of the "mouse sensitivity" setting and "mouse power curve" settings from within elite (they are nearly minimum and minimum respectively) and I have a gaming mouse (razor naga or something like that) where you can set resolution buttons using the razer software. You can lower the resolution of the mouse to get more precision or up the resolution to be more agile on the fly.

Even as a casual mouse user and almost full time HOTAS user, it is far more accurate than a joystick, since mouse is the primary pointing device used by CADCAM after all.

I presume you've played with the mouse sensitivity and power, dead zone and relative mouse rate settings all to no avail. If that is the case, please try a mouse with inbuilt resolution settings.

 

[AminalEd]

I only use mouse when aiming fixed weapons at a distance since it is far more accurate than using a joystick.
I use a combination of the "mouse sensitivity" setting and "mouse power curve" settings from within elite (they are nearly minimum and minimum respectively) and I have a gaming mouse (razor naga or something like that) where you can set resolution buttons using the razer software. You can lower the resolution of the mouse to get more precision or up the resolution to be more agile on the fly.

Even as a casual mouse user and almost full time HOTAS user, it is far more accurate than a joystick, since mouse is the primary pointing device used by CADCAM after all.

I presume you've played with the mouse sensitivity and power, dead zone and relative mouse rate settings all to no avail. If that is the case, please try a mouse with inbuilt resolution settings.

looks like I'll have to change my mouse for now, but in the meantime I'll set everything down like you suggested. Maybe I'll at least be able to wing the tutorial basic combat anyway lol. Thank you

 

[simulacrae]

I don't think the Space Shuttle had twist in the joystick? never heard about that, however I could just be wrong.

Space shuttle control system (PDF)

Neat ! Ya you got me looking up NASA control stick documents - this one is a review of hand controller technology : Hand Controllers for Teleoperation

 

[GraXXoR]

looks like I'll have to change my mouse for now, but in the meantime I'll set everything down like you suggested. Maybe I'll at least be able to wing the tutorial basic combat anyway lol. Thank you

You're very welcome... It is often easier to set sensitivity to a minimum with a larger power curve. That way, small movements around the centre do very little but larger excursions cause geometrically more aggressive responses. Also, the dead zone is nice to have so that you don't have to keep fiddling with your mouse.

Oh, one very important thing.Try with your mouse set to pitch on Y and YAW on X not pitch and roll... Use two adjacent keys on the keyboard or thumb keys on a suitable mouse for roll. You can increase the horizontal sensitivity of the mouse cursor to compensate for Elite's broken Yaw mechanism.

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

I always played Elite and Elite Plus with a Joystick. ( I know many of you have never even seen these games not alone played them but I've been in computers for a very long time lol). Well here is my problem. I have a Saitek( probably spelled wrong) that I've never really been able to use as it has always had a bad drift. No matter what I've tried it on it is a no go. I have now tried the basic combat Tutorial) with my mouse and thee roll is way too fast ( I'm a Nam vet handicap who does everything basically wrong handed ) and I'm new to all the terms so I've no idea how to slow it down to a usable pace so that I can actually keep my aim. I never had the problem with the originals so I figured I'd try a joystick. I would need a fairly inexpensive one that will move when I need it to not on it's own so it cannot be too sensitive and must be able to be used left handed. Please any ideas either how to slow down that mouse movements, and/or a decent joystick. it would be appreciated. Thank you

You have spelled Saitek correctly. To eliminate the "drift" on a joystick, you need to increase the "deadzone" for the axis where you experience the drift. I have a Saitek X52 Pro and I had to move the deadzone one notch for every axis. Have you tried that? Options -> Controls -> Flight Rotation. That's where the deadzone settings are.

Like someone suggested, you can try to lower the mouse sensitivity and the mouse power curve. I don't play with my mouse anymore but my power curve is completely off.

If you're looking for a good and affordable joystick, I have heard that the Thrustmaster T-16000m is pretty good and is ambidextrous.

Good luck!

 

[PiLhEaD]

I can recommend the Thrustmaster T-flight X hotas, if anyone's looking for a cheaper hotas.

I've had mine 3 years with no issues to report, the build quality is excellent, the controls still very smooth, and there's no extra software needed.

A few more hats would have been welcome, but it's pretty much spot on for for ED once you realise that you can define one of the buttons as 'shift' thereby doubling the uses of all the others.

 

[gofast1993]

I needed a cheap joystick and I found a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro for a reasonable price. I'm not disappointed at all on this device. [smile]

 

[Nodeity]

How does the Thrustmaster Warthog Software actually work?

I've moved from the Fly5 to the X52, then, a brief battle with the X55 and now I have a Thrustmaster Warthog. The X55 was a nightmare btw, I have normal sized hands and that thing was just too big, so I sold it at a loss and was glad to see the back of it. The TM Warthog on the other hand fits beautifully and feels great, no doubt I'll get used to it's eccentricities. The software on the other hand is a bloody nightmare! I managed to set up the TM in Elite without it running at all, although getting the yaw to work naturally with a hat is problematic. Is there a reason I need to run the software that'll make the TM work better in game? And if so, how does the game know where the software is and how does the software know where the game is? I want to get to know the software, particularly whith Star Citizen, when it finally matures. Any experts out there that can help a software Gimp..? [redface]

 

[Nickola]

In fact, there's already an available profile on the forum for the Warthog (Stick & Throttle).
Maybe you can use it, or as I've done, adapt it to your needs.

Nickola

[Edit]
The main advantage on using the Thrustmaster's software is that it can virtualize all your TM Device (Warthog / T16000M / etc etc ) into 1 single joystick, which is useful for some Simulators that do not recognise more than one joystick.
[/Edit]

 

[CMDR RAY-ZOR'SHARP]

I dusted off a cheap Cyborg 3D to use with KB and M and never looked back, I would be loathed to say any Joystick will do but the Cyborg is pretty low on the totem pole and works just fine for me.

Forgot to update this,

About a month ago I changed to a CH Fighter Stick (to compliment my CH Throttle which I had been using for a month before that).

Once I got used to the loss of the twist grip Yaw all was good.

Very happy with the CH setup.

 

[Bigglesof206]

I have CH throttle, joystick (Flightstick), and pedals - and for what it's worth I'm happier in DCS flying my Huey with pedals, and all that realism stuff for aircraft sims, but for precise control and the thing doing what you want I found the mini joystick on the CH Throttle was absolutely fine for rudder control....after a succession of cheaper setups (TM1600 good, FLY 5 bad - lousiest quality control ever) using twist rudder it took me a while to actually buy a non twist stick setup, thinking I'd find it hard to convert.

Funny thing is, once I got used to it (all of 30 mins or so in use, if that) I realised it felt perfectly fine, and I remembered that many years ago I hesitated to buy a twist grip stick, wondering if I'd get used to it having used keyboard for rudder for so long.....

Dave