22 replies to this topic

[Baron Cunedda Kell]

Alright, I used to play Battletech/Mechwarrior years ago and recently found you guys... I used to use a joystick when I played and had tons of fun...but needless to say, got married, had kids, tons of bills with mortage, the joystick is gone..

Now I am back...I want to purchase a joystick again to play again..Yes I know I can use the keyboard, but I am getting smoked left and right..its a good day, if I can do 10 points of damage to someone before dying..

So I need advise, suggestions for me to look at joysticks..it doesn't have to be the best, but good enough to play this game..

[Inconspicuous]

They devs had trouble with joystick support and it is not so great in this game...

That said, I have heard the T-16000 works pretty well in this game.

[StarGeezer]

I just picked up the Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X Flight Stick. It's a nice, relatively inexpensive controller. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I only use the throttle portion of the stick with the left hand; I still use the mouse with the right hand. The stick isn't quite responsive or accurate enough to rotate your torso or aim your weapons...at least for now. But the throttle is a dream, very natural and progressive acceleration, and the rudder rocker works quite nice for steering.

The price tag when I ordered mine a few weeks ago was under $50.

[Hexenhammer]

The best joystick for MWO; a mouse.

[TLBFestus]

You could get yourself a RAZOR ARTEMIS!!!!

Sorry, just a joke for the long timers in MWO.

You are far, far better off with a mouse and keyboard than a joystick. Believe it or not, lots of players got themselves blown all to heck and back early on in playing this game. Give it some time.

[Pirate2Ninja]

Mouse all the way. If you're dead set on a joystick then prepare for a steep learning curve (with possible hardware issues) and set your compettive nature aside. When watching other players it always obvious who's using a joystick because the tracking is just not there especially when a light is running circles around you (that's not a play on words)

[Void Angel]

A logitech G500 or higher. =)
But seriously, I don't know of a zero-order joystick that's available on the common market - and if you can't find one, you should go with a mouse. It's only fair to your team.

[DirePhoenix]

The way this game is set up, I think it is really optimized for keyboard & mouse. That being said, I play using a Nostromo n50 and a Logitech Trackball.

IDEALLY, I think I'd probably have some sort of Thrustmaster style throttle for the left hand that moves in both the X and Y axes, and a right-handed Nostromo that changes out the thumb D-Pad for a trackball or analogue thumbstick like the Xbox and Playstation controllers have.

[Darklord]

If you have the cash go with CH products
With the control program that comes with the set up is easy and plays just like playing the Mechwarrior games of old.
It is pricey for the stick throttle and pedals it about $300

[Inconspicuous]

Void Angel, on 13 September 2013 - 08:21 PM, said:

A logitech G500 or higher. =)
But seriously, I don't know of a zero-order joystick that's available on the common market - and if you can't find one, you should go with a mouse. It's only fair to your team.

I believe the newer Thrustmaster sticks can do relative/absolute axis using the TARGET software.

[xenoglyph]

Hexenhammer, on 13 September 2013 - 07:39 PM, said:

The best joystick for MWO; a mouse.

[Deathz Jester]

Hexenhammer, on 13 September 2013 - 07:39 PM, said:

The best joystick for MWO; a mouse.

[Corvus Antaka]

Thrustmaster Cougar modded to be a zero point controller.

The mouse is good.

An extremely well set-up custom joystick is better.

[Hammerhai]

Basically it has all been covered here.

a. Mouse is far easier, btw be sure to set your mouse dpi to no more than 1.8 - 2k dpi. You want a mouse response that is fairly sluggish, as odd as it sounds until you remember you want to be able to aim without overshooting in a furball and still be steady when sniping zoomed in.

b. Best of both worlds is Throttle, Rudder and Mouse. (HOTAM).

c. If you are interested in Star Citizen, that promises proper joystick support, but is at least 2 years off, and things change. They did with this game, giving rise to an absolute shitestorm on the forums over quite a few things. If, however, you are willing to gamble on that, you may want to get a fairly future proof aka very expensive setup.Me, I am single and competing in the "He who dies with the most toys, dies with the most toys thats liff" competition.

d. Fairly cheap, fairly good: T16000M, cheapest stick that has got hall sensors.

e. T Flight Hotas: Buy, yank the joystick, and use with a mouse. Cheap and not that sturdy according to EvilC, but probably serviceable enough, and easier to slip past SWAMBO. (She who always must be obeyed.)

f. Stay away from leftover G 940s. Very shoddy software and hardware.

g. If you are dead set on using joysticks: Welcome to the dark side. Bake your own cookies, the Dark Side teaches self reliance above all.
There is good news in that a joystick makes less difference when driving lights, as you fire on the move (or die). You will get rake with lasers anyways, so who cares. It also depends on the situation, in a brawl ok-ish with lots of experience, sniping is the thing it is least suited to.
Compensate and hold lasers on target with analog rudder, this often works. The biggest draw of HOTAS/(M) is the analog turning and throttle, which is much more enjoyable than digital inputs.

And I have seen many mousers who actually rake wildly when firing, so all is not lost.

Edited by Hammerhai, 14 September 2013 - 06:53 AM.

[MnDragon]

Its all been pretty well covered here. I, am full on dark-side, with a PhD in cookie baking. I refuse to use a mouse and I currently use a Saitek X52 Pro which I picked up for around $150. You can get a cheaper version for about $100. The thing that makes using HOTAS manageable as opposed to HOTAM is the user.cfg. http://mwomercs.com/...joystick-users/ talks about how to set up your user.cfg file so that you can tweek the controls and give you mouse like precision. It takes a lot of trips to the Training grounds and back to the cfg file, but you will end up with a joystick that is IMO, better than a mouse.

Edited by MnDragon, 14 September 2013 - 07:48 AM.

[Gremlich Johns]

I use the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and a razer Nostromo and I do just fine. (total cost was $100 for the two of them)

800 points in this match, on losing side and was still high scorer using my JS/Nostromo, so pooh-pooh on you guys who pooh-pooh joysticks.

Uploaded with ImageShack.com

got another, same controls (again, in a Hunchie 4G):

Uploaded with ImageShack.com

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 14 September 2013 - 12:26 PM.

[Void Angel]

The most any joystick can possibly achieve is parity with a mouse. If you have a zero-order joystick and you prefer it, knock yourself out - at that point it's a matter of preference.

[Baron Cunedda Kell]

Wow..never imagined I would get so much response..thanks... Well, as usual, I only get to do 10 points of damage before dying as usual..and me trying to hit a light mech..BAHAHAHAHAH! NOPE..they still run around me and I can't even get a shot on them, before they smoke me.....and yeah, thats with the keyboard and mouse...Argh...

So..I see all these suggestions..might I ask, are their links to these joysticks..and which one is the best that will go well with MWO...

[Hebdomas]

I can't really help with the joystick part, but for links either look on something like Amazon or copy and paste the joystick name into the search engine of your choice. As far as doing poorly with a keyboard and mouse here are some tips:

As Hammerhai mentioned you'll probably want to adjust the DPI on your mouse. The exact number is going to come down to personal preference.

Unlike some common FPS games which tend to reward twitch skills/fast snap shots, MWO tends to reward a slower style where the emphasis is on maintaining your aim. Piloting a mech is probably more akin to controlling a tank than anything else.

MWO now has a mouse sensitivity option. However, I've left mine at 100% and just use DPI to control my speed.

When facing lights it's important to lead them, focus on where they'll be not where they are. If you're caught in a circle of death/turn war drop your speed and turn in the opposite direction. If the light mech is circling you clockwise you'll want to go counterclockwise in order to get him in your cross-hairs. Having teammates nearby also helps.

A lot of decent mice and most if not all gaming mice have a configuration program that allows you to set up profiles. For example I have one for MWO with a lower DPI and one for everything else with a higher DPI.

[Chrithu]

Best Joystick for MWO is Mouse/Keyboard.

Why? Because aim is independant of movement the precision and speed advantage of a mouse over the joystick makes the joystick plain and simple a useless input method.