Hardware & Technical The Joystick discussion thread

Cristari

Cristari
Ouch Sorry for that. I am still playing with my original FatBoy and the controller that came in the box. In fact for every PS I have had I have always had the same controller that was shipped with it!
 

Kerrash

Kerrash
A little birdy tells me, that I may be getting a Saitek X52 for my birthday this year :p :D

Any owners out their who would like to share their opinion? Obviously I am going to using this to play E: D, so is it suitable? And what the heck is the difference with the Pro version?
 

Davidtq

D
Kerrash said:
A little birdy tells me, that I may be getting a Saitek X52 for my birthday this year :p :D

Any owners out their who would like to share their opinion? Obviously I am going to using this to play E: D, so is it suitable? And what the heck is the difference with the Pro version?
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If you can stretch to the pro version buy it! The pro version has better centering due to a dual spring setup, metal parts instead of plastic in more failure prone areas, better programmability and better sensors on the main stick mmovement!

I dont doubt the x52 is a great stick as it will ahve the HOTAS setup but the pro should last longer and feel better. I went for the pro in the end and havent regretted it.

Its a great set up Ive had one for a good few years. Gives a beautifull flying experience. Until youve used a HOTAS setup you wont appreciate just how much difference the constant throttle adjustment makes. It really does completely transform the aiming and shooting experience. The prgramability function is simply brilliant. You can apply keystrokes etc to buttons. So in oolite I have my which injectors on one of the throttle buttons, I have target ident on a thumb button on the stick, and the missiles of course under the safety flap (not that I ever use them) Ive got POV hats to flip views etc.

Oh and a word of advice, when using hotas dont try joystick int he centre and throttle to the left, have throttle on your left joystick on the right keyboard \ mouse in the centre, takes a few secons to get used to but its far better than the traditional joystick centre layout. Its also as far as I know how most fighter cockpits are laid out these days.
 

N6MAA10816

N6MAA10816
PhilHibbs said:
When I wanted a joystick for Elite on the beeb, I ordered a dual-axis potentiometer from Maplin, mounted it in a bit of drainpipe and two jam jar lids, put a button in another piece of narrow plastic pipe, and wired it all up myself to a connector. I held the joystick part between my knees and used my left hand to steer while I held the fire button in my right hand.

If I needed to fire out of the rear view I just turned the joystick part around.

Up hill both ways, etc.
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OOPs! Try again!...
I like you very much Phil! That is my way of thinking...'out of the box'!
Bet you own a Land Rover too? :D
 

JKF

JKF
SlinkyJim said:
If and when you get it, let me know what you think, i'm looking to get one at some point later on in the year when i've finally re-built my PC :)
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I have the X52 Pro Flight and it really is a nice piece of kit. Modifying it for games that don't allow in game assignment is straight forward too.

I'm currently messing around with Evochron Mercenary and it works very well with that so far; shame I don't :eek:

I've been thinking about getting Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals but I'm not sure how I would use them.

Ideally, if in game control is good enough, then I'll assign them to lateral left/right movement which might be good for dodging missiles: maybe :D
 

Garron

G
I will probably be looking to buy a joystick for the game. No idea what kinds are about. research is required by me I think. This will include a trip to PC World to have a 'play' to get feel of what is best for me. Then buy online as usual.
 

JKF

JKF
Garron said:
I will probably be looking to buy a joystick for the game. No idea what kinds are about. research is required by me I think. This will include a trip to PC World to have a 'play' to get feel of what is best for me. Then buy online as usual.
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Popped in to PC World today, two different branches actually, and was very disappointed with what they had in stock and absolutely nothing to handle in the PC games accessories.

Seems that these days games are just for consoles as far as PC World are concerned.

Hope you have better luck.
 

CkVega

C
I've got a wireless saitek thing and an Xbox 360 pad, I will see which one feels better when the game is released (either that or use kb + mouse).
 

Slopey

Volunteer Moderator
Slopey
JKF said:
I've been thinking about getting Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals but I'm not sure how I would use them.
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Rudder pedals aren't going to be much use - they require too much physical translation to have the desired effect in a space game (especially if you have 3 axis on the stick).

They're best used for (shock surprise) rudder input, whereby you're going to put an amount in to keep the ball centered, slideslip or cross control in an aircraft.

Those don't take large, constantly switching inputs, but more applied pressure to a certain value.

I have the X52, and rudder pedals, and for space games, I use all 3 axis on the stick, and use the rudder pedals as very comfy foot rests! ;)
 

Captain N

C
Yeah but what do you even need 3 axes in Elite for? I can only count two axes of rotation, pitch and roll, and I sure hope they're not going to include yaw. I suppose a HOTAS type of setup would be nice for controlling throttle, but that's somewhat overkill.

Actually, even if they included yaw, you wouldn't need more than 2 axes of control, since yaw tends to make roll pretty much pointless in a space environment. Only things you'd use roll for would be docking and landing and in those cases it might even be automated (see: Frontier)
 

G.T

G.T
Will start with Xbox controller, see how I get on, ESP with sensitivity and dead zone. The beta will be good chance to test and program spare buttons
 

JKF

JKF
Slopey said:
I have the X52, and rudder pedals, and for space games, I use all 3 axis on the stick, and use the rudder pedals as very comfy foot rests! ;)
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Thanks Slopey. I'd pretty much come to the same conclusion myself, based mostly on which axis I could possibly assign them to, but also that really they're meant to control the rudder/brakes of an aircraft.

I've only ever used them in a 737 simulator and they didn't half make my legs ache, especial landing on one engine :D
 
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