X55 Non centred roll - is this normal?

ArakAtak · Feb 21, 2015

Hi All

I have recently added an X55 to my desktop for obvious reasons.

I have found however that I cannot roll the ship and stay centred on a target.
With mouse/keyboard I have no problem at all rolling/spinning continually while remaining dead centre on a target (ship/star/station any point of reference really)

With the joystick however there is always a shift to the left or right in the same direction as the roll before the roll begins (ie. slide left before anticlockwise roll)
The crosshair always moves about 30 - 40 mm (on screen) horizontally and then the roll starts but of course the target is off centre so I need to try to jiggle it back in to target and is extremely difficult. It's like horizontal thrust is active for a short burst before rolling. This never happens with the mouse.

There also seems to be a small hesitation or step in the roll just after it begins (when it does begin). After about the first 3-5 degrees of tilt it has a pause/twitch and then continues.
It is a little hard to explain but I hope you understand what I mean.

I have mapped roll to X axis and yaw on twist.
At first I thought it must be yaw coming into it but I tried adding a large (200+) dead zone to the twist axis and it made no difference. I haven't tried disabling yaw completely but I really don't see any effect like this at all when pitching in Y.

I have fiddled with curves and dead bands (in the Saitek software) on X,Y and Z(Yaw) and can't seem to make it any better. Stick seems fairly smooth physically, action feels the same all round and as I said I never see it happen in Y axis.

I hope I have explained it clearly enough, otherwise I might need to try and make a video. This is killing me. I've ordered a T16000M this morning just to see if it does the same thing, and to get me through the next week or so. The X55 needs to be returned anyway as one of the throttle buttons didn't work when I got it and the adjustment springs were missing from the box (Saitek quality eh - can't say I wasn't warned!) So other than that I really like the stick and the number of buttons, I don't really want to go with a T16000 (and get a CH throttle) but the X55 is unusable for anything but exploration at the moment.

(I posted this elsewhere on the site but just realised it was in the wrong place)
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks

MaraJade · Feb 21, 2015

I think I know what you mean and it does the same for me. Are you rolling with flight assist on or off? Not sure if that would make the difference. I'll have to test in game.

QziQza · Feb 21, 2015

Hi there,

I run an X55 Rhino, not had any issues with it, the 2 links below are for my binds..

the 1st is my Elite Binds and the second my madkatz binds

ED Bindings C:\Users\*username*\AppData\Local\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Bindings

Aside from the keybinds ive also created some dead space to acount for steady, stick free flight.

X55 Rhino Bindings C:\Users\Public\Documents\Mad Catz\X-55 Rhino

I though it may be worth comparing to see if it was hardware vs software.

Best regards

Qzi

Kandarus · Feb 21, 2015

Set a dead zone maybe? I have a CH set though and haven't had this problem at all.

Valethar · Feb 21, 2015

Have you disabled the 'Yaw into Roll' setting in the ED options menu? That may have something to do with it. I'm not 100% certain of that, as I don't have that particular unit, but it may be worth a look.

OfftheRails · Feb 21, 2015

Pretty sure you're talking about this behaviour:

ArakAtak · Feb 21, 2015

Valethar said:
Have you disabled the 'Yaw into Roll' setting in the ED options menu? That may have something to do with it. I'm not 100% certain of that, as I don't have that particular unit, but it may be worth a look.

I just picked up a Thrustmaster 16000M and it doesn't seem to have the same problem. Well nowhere near as severe anyway.
While setting it up I did just find the 'yaw into roll' setting, I need to plug the X55 back in to check that. It is off for the T16000.

I also just tried what many here seem to do by swapping yaw and roll axis. Weird at first but now it seems much easier to track a target. I initially resisted this as I am a flight sim/warplane type pilot so was being a bit traditional. Then I thought - hang on I'm piloting a spacecraft here, same rules don't apply anymore.

This would certainly alleviate the problem.

I do actually prefer the feel of the T16000 over the X55, it is smaller to grip and seems less jerky overall. If only it had all those lovely buttons.

I am using Aussiedroids preset which seems to work well. I have changed deadbands + curves as he has X for yaw and RZ for roll. Doesn't seem to change the side slip though.
Anyway, I'll keep fiddling. It must be an X55 thing, maybe even the sensors could be dodgy although it does seem to track OK in the Saitek setup software.

Valethar · Feb 21, 2015

I think the X55 is one of the units natively supported with it's own ED profile. It's entirely possible that the yaw into roll setting is active by default, where it may not be for the T16000.

It could also be a weird bug of some sort. After the 1.07 patch, my X52 frequently gets some of its inputs confused, but only in ED. The throttle will also adjust sensor range when I move it. Outside of ED, it behaves itself. It's also possible it's just typically poor Saitek quality control and the stick itself is misbehaving.

With any luck, it's just the yaw setting and you can cure it fairly quickly with that.

ArakAtak · Feb 21, 2015

Thanks everyone, it was the yaw to roll option. It was set to 'on initial roll'

I have now had a lot of fun trying all the different options and it seems that 'yaw into low roll' is very handy as it gives you a nice extra strafing axis if using X for roll. I still find I can stay relatively well centred when rolling using this.

Still not 100% sure wether to stick with that or turn it off and use x-axis for yaw which also gives very nice fine strafing control but still feels a bit weird.

(Also T16000 still feels better lol)

Aussiedroid · Feb 23, 2015

ArakAtak said:
Thanks everyone, it was the yaw to roll option. It was set to 'on initial roll'

I have now had a lot of fun trying all the different options and it seems that 'yaw into low roll' is very handy as it gives you a nice extra strafing axis if using X for roll. I still find I can stay relatively well centred when rolling using this.

Still not 100% sure wether to stick with that or turn it off and use x-axis for yaw which also gives very nice fine strafing control but still feels a bit weird.

(Also T16000 still feels better lol)

I found yaw into low roll the best option myself, although I don't mind the default setup either. Doesn't seem to hinder the flight much, but then again I started with the X55 so it was always my default as such.