Hello CMDR's. If you are playing on the xbox one. dont waste your time with the T Flight Hotas one. seriously, just stick with your controller. If anyone ever makes another one, buy that one but dont bother with Thrustmaster's version. this is a letter i wrote to their customer service for anyone thinking of buying one of these.
Hardware & Technical Why the T Flight HOTAS One was one the worst mistakes ive ever made.
- Thread starter Sensei Jacksama
- Start date
Had a Hotas One since they launched. Ordered directly form Thrustmaster.
Never had a problem with it. Vastly improves gameplay in ED.
Regarding your letter? What was the point of that? Did it make you feel better?
Because I imagine the Thrustmaster immediately consigned it to the trash where, frankly, it belongs. Crude, abusive, full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, it's a perfect example of how not to write a letter of complaint. It's also borderline libellous (as you published it on a public forum) with your "North Korean Child's Labor camp" epithet.
The T-Flight HOTAS One is basically a rebranding of the tried-and-true T-Flight HOTAS X. I've owned two. Not because they are bad but because I gave the first one to my son when I switched to the Saitek X-55 ... a horrible mistake which resulted in me buying my second T-Flight.
I'm currently flying with Thrustmaster's T.16000m FCS HOTAS. I'm very happy with the products I've purchased from Thrustmaster.
I'm currently flying with Thrustmaster's T.16000m FCS HOTAS. I'm very happy with the products I've purchased from Thrustmaster.
I have a T-Flight HOTAS-X on my secondary PC - been in use for over 3 years with no issues and is an absolute bargain - so good in fact that I bought a new one as a spare over two years ago for when it broke - the spare is still sitting in the box.
I think the original post here is completely meritless.
I think the original post here is completely meritless.
Sorry guys but i have to disagre with you based on what i see. You may have had a positive experience with this device but mine was horrible. Yes it does greatly improve gameplay. that is not in dispute. What i do see is a product that malfunctions constantly and built with sub standard quality. the screw inside the Gimbal on both of my Hotas have malfunctioned causing the game to jerk and act "choppy" when you pull back on the stick. Like i said in my letter. there is no reason they had to use a screw in this particular instance when a simple plastic plug would have been a far better option. And yes i am being hostile towards them because this is the second one ive had that has failed on me and im tired of completely disassembling the thing every 3 weeks just to tighten up one little screw.
HOTAS 4 user on PS4. I don't think the flight stick is perfect. It's too easy to slide the bases around, I have a slight grind on the stick (right) side in certain movements, and the lack of rudder support for E
limits the amount of key mapping I can do.
All that said, this is almost entirely solved by the user. I had the problem with the bases sliding, so I figured out solutions for them: first I used anti-slip padding underneath them, then I clipped them down, next I'm considering using a router and carving slots for each of them in wood so I can basically just lock them in. The grind on the stick was annoying, so I used the adjusting wheel underneath to scale it back a bit. The lack of rudder support stinks; I saw on Reddit the other day a person suggest E allow us to use a peripheral plugged into the PS4 to allow for more key mapping, and I couldn't agree more; they suggested a number pad, I'd love to see that or even keyboard support.
Long story short, none of these things are due to Thrustmaster's build quality. And even if they were, it would still be $70/80US which is cheap for flight sticks.
If you still have yours, I'm happy to buy it off you. I have the game on Xbox as well and I've been thinking of getting one (just missed a $50 deal). The regular controller is just weak for me.
limits the amount of key mapping I can do.All that said, this is almost entirely solved by the user. I had the problem with the bases sliding, so I figured out solutions for them: first I used anti-slip padding underneath them, then I clipped them down, next I'm considering using a router and carving slots for each of them in wood so I can basically just lock them in. The grind on the stick was annoying, so I used the adjusting wheel underneath to scale it back a bit. The lack of rudder support stinks; I saw on Reddit the other day a person suggest E
allow us to use a peripheral plugged into the PS4 to allow for more key mapping, and I couldn't agree more; they suggested a number pad, I'd love to see that or even keyboard support.Long story short, none of these things are due to Thrustmaster's build quality. And even if they were, it would still be $70/80US which is cheap for flight sticks.
If you still have yours, I'm happy to buy it off you. I have the game on Xbox as well and I've been thinking of getting one (just missed a $50 deal). The regular controller is just weak for me.
Jacksama, have some rep, clearly you're hurting and seriously peeved with your purchase. I feel your pain.
Like the chaps/chapesses on this thread, I haven't had any issues with the Thrustmaster products I've purchased, but I'm well aware that there are many unhappy customers out there.
I have had issues with one Saitek product a good deal more expensive than the T-Flight, similar to your tale of woe. I didn't send them a snottygram, though. I asked them if they could supply spares (negat, product no longer manufactured or supported). I asked what they've done to improve the replacement. I was very impressed with their in depth and knowledgeable reply. I almost bought another.
Just like LeMKEPanther, I repaired and modified my controller. It was time consuming and a bit of a pita, but my controller now works again.
You've identified the problem with your kit and have a potential solution. Action it! How hard is it to shape a plastic pin and plastic weld/epoxy it into place? You could even threadlock the existing screw.
Look at the threads by people buying the crazy expensive VirPil and VKB controllers. They're filled with anecdotes about how problems are identified and sorted on kit that costs more than most part time workers earn in a month!
Tl;dr I feel for you, controllers are expensive and it sux when they don't work. But we're clever apes, it's well within our capabilities to repair or modify a device as straightforward as a game controller!
Like the chaps/chapesses on this thread, I haven't had any issues with the Thrustmaster products I've purchased, but I'm well aware that there are many unhappy customers out there.
I have had issues with one Saitek product a good deal more expensive than the T-Flight, similar to your tale of woe. I didn't send them a snottygram, though. I asked them if they could supply spares (negat, product no longer manufactured or supported). I asked what they've done to improve the replacement. I was very impressed with their in depth and knowledgeable reply. I almost bought another.
Just like LeMKEPanther, I repaired and modified my controller. It was time consuming and a bit of a pita, but my controller now works again.
You've identified the problem with your kit and have a potential solution. Action it!
How hard is it to shape a plastic pin and plastic weld/epoxy it into place? You could even threadlock the existing screw. Look at the threads by people buying the crazy expensive VirPil and VKB controllers. They're filled with anecdotes about how problems are identified and sorted on kit that costs more than most part time workers earn in a month!
Tl;dr I feel for you, controllers are expensive and it sux when they don't work. But we're clever apes, it's well within our capabilities to repair or modify a device as straightforward as a game controller!
With this HOTAS I see two very distinct types of user reviews.
#1 THIS IS GARBAGE
#2 Great flight stick
My guess is going to be that people that give review #1 do not treat their equipment very nicely. Slamming the stick around and generally being aggressive with the unit.
And people leaving the #2 actually care for their stuff. I don't mean to imply that they are mutually exclusive but I'm willing to be that it's more often than not the case.
#1 THIS IS GARBAGE
#2 Great flight stick
My guess is going to be that people that give review #1 do not treat their equipment very nicely. Slamming the stick around and generally being aggressive with the unit.
And people leaving the #2 actually care for their stuff. I don't mean to imply that they are mutually exclusive but I'm willing to be that it's more often than not the case.
Necro much?
My first T Flight Hotas One lasted for 5 days before it started randomly doing yaw to the left, I got it replaced and my second Hotas One has similar behavior to OP after 4 days of use. I may order third replacement from Amazon or try to fix it myself by tightening and putting some glue to the screw. I'm not an expert and have not found any good pictures to show what I need to open to get access to the gimbal.
I'm the proof that this isn't true. I love my T.Flight 4 and I slam the crap out of that thing. It creaks a ton, but that's due less to the build or my aggressive usage and rather because I had a major brain fart and used a silicon-based degreaser/lubricant instead of a regular silicon-based lubricant on the base of the joystick.
While I will agree that his letter is hard to read and will not accomplish much, the OP's issue and pain is nonetheless real. I've had the same issue.
Bought one unit. Obviously this is the lowest-end HOTAS adapted to the Xbox - it's plastic, feels flimsy - so I was mindful to use it gently. Loved it for 6 months. Then it started to develop a left yaw drift, and the B4 button was no longer working or springing back. Took it apart, found that the B4 button unexpectedly flimsy stem had snapped - I jury-rigged a fix with Krazy Glue and Play-Doh (aka plasticine).
Couldn't do anything for the drift. Contacted Thrustmaster, they said they'd send me a new one. After over a month of fumbling (they sent me the wrong joystick, had to send it back...), I get (presumably) a new unit. It immediately has a significant left roll drift - much worse that the yaw drift on the other one - and a slight pitch drift. Then they asked me to plug it in to a PC and record the drifts, which is a pain in the neck because I don't have a PC - have to borrow one.
At this point, I've somewhat given up on help from Thrustmaster. Sending me replacement after replacement isn't effective if the model has fundamentally shoddy design and build quality. Plastic joints will wear. When you take it apart, the wires are incredibly thin gauge, solder points fragile. Like the OP, I broke a couple of them just in reassembly, had to patch them, used heavier gauge wire. This is simply not a good piece of hardware. I'd happily spend more on a higher-quality model, but sadly there's no such alternative on Xbox - and there may never be, as I'm guessing the Xbox buyer is considered a budget gamer, when compared to the PC gamer.
I'm going to try to map the potentiometers' response curve, to see if they're to blame, maybe look into replacing them with Hall effect sensors. It may be uneconomical (each costs at least $20), but I might do it just for science. It may prove pointless, given the fragility of the rest of the unit.
It could be that the circuitry is to blame. Poor grounding? Firmware bugs? This would be harder to track down and fix myself.
I'd much rather buy a higher-end HOTAS and hack it to work with the xbox, but apparently Xbox controllers have an authentication mechanism that is hard to crack. I don't know for sure that the HOTAS One has it too, but I suspect so, given the separate xbox/pc switch, and the fact that this mechanism exists for MS to restrict input hardware to approved 3rd parties.
There's an aftermarket hack, the Cronus Max, but it involves piggy-backing on a dedicated controller for setup on every power cycle - a controller that I don't think can otherwise be used for, say, its headset (though maybe it can?). Also, the Cronus MAX requires a PC to set up, and I don't want to buy one. I also imagine you don't get any extra buttons with it, which is part of the appeal of the HOTAS (there's only so many button combos that will be effective on a standard controller, without interfering with other commands).
If the controller logic itself is sound, then maybe I could reverse-engineer its hardware sensor input configuration, and hook it up to a higher-quality unit that I'd have to cannibalize. But this sounds expensive and fraught with peril. I'd start with upgrading the sensors in the existing unit, if I can.
No matter what, it's quite an ordeal just to get something decent working. Sigh.
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Ok I dont agree with your rant style of letter. You could have left out all the personal feelings and just stated the facts. The hotas one stick does have its problems. I've gone thru 2 sets with the same problems and will not get a 3rd. I have a Hotas X and a set of T16000M sticks that work fine, but the hotas one set definitely has issues they need to address.
... cue dancing skeleton gif ...
I wrote that 2 years ago dude. The hotas one was garbage, still is garbage, and is the only available option for players on the xbox one hence the frustration. Plus that rant got me a full refund... Of the $80 I paid for that $15 stick.