324 replies to this topic

[Long Draw]

I'm using the Logitech Force Feedback 3D Pro alongside my keyboard.

[Omega Alpha]

I use a Cyborg Rat 7, and MS Sidewinder... You can get the sidewinder for about $20 on Ebay... Mine was made in 1998. Still works well.

[Nasty9]

I use an x52 Pro, and sometimes an n52 as well depending on how many buttons I use. I don't play flight sims, just Mech games.

[Jack Corban]

Hi,

I've been with the Battletech universe for God knows how long but this one is a question i long to ask for certain time now.

Come the day we all are able to finnaly take our place in our beloved Battlemech how will you pilot your Mech?

I always controlled Games like Mechwarrior 3 and 4 with my Mouse and Keyboard despite the fact that i own a Joystick.
I never really came around to actually set it up cuz i thought it was redundant to do so while my Mouse and Keyboard was so precise in controlling my movement and aiming.

What will you be using? And why?

If you can, please explain to me why i should use a Joystick over a Mouse/Keyboard setup.

Best Regards,

Jack Corban

Edited by Jack Corban, 01 May 2012 - 11:09 PM.

[Avocet]

I always use a joystick to play MW games (since Multiplayer BattleTech: EGA, my entry into the series back in '92). My current rig is a Saitek X52 with a programmable joystick and throttle. My hands stay on those two controls rather than roaming over a keyboard. I can use an existing MW profile or create my own so that the commands I need the most are on the buttons I am the most comfortable with. Also, it feels more like piloting a 'Mech than tapping on a keyboard does.

[pursang]

I shall will my enemies into destruction!

[Vexgrave Lars]

After weeks of MWLL (thanks NGNG!! by the way.. very satisfying).. I've learned that the KB/Mouse grants you control that you just cant get from a flight-stick. Between setting configs and dying fairly regular../ redo/retry/redo for 4 days... I went back to M/KB. Sure enough.. more control. Less jitter. the sensitivity is right, no tweaking.. no dorking around. The sticks are "nice" and "pretty"... but when you need to drive a nail, you don't reach for a Cuisinart.

Trying to find the right dead-zones, Sensitivity, button config, blah ad nauseam P I T A!

Flying the Aero and Helos are stick friendly so they're still used.. but tanks and Mechs, the M/KB is really the way to go.

X45 compared to MS Sidewinder 5B Mouse and Keyboard.

[Egomane]

Joystick it is, or it isn't a simulator. Dual Joysticks will bei my weapon of choice.

Others will say that mouse and keyboard are more precise. But when the torso or weapons don't move as fast as your mouse that precision goes to hell and its just a matter of getting used to. I played with joysticks all my life and I will continue to do so.

The lack of Joystick is the main reason I never liked Freelancer or EvE-Online. Point and click just can't deliver the right feeling.

[Long Draw]

Egomane, on 01 May 2012 - 11:26 PM, said:

I played with joysticks all my life and I will continue to do so.

Egomane, that is supposed to be kept private.

[Paul Inouye]

Moving a merging with the main Joystick thread.

[Egomane]

Long Draw, on 01 May 2012 - 11:51 PM, said:

Egomane, that is supposed to be kept private.

Tell me again: How old is that joke?

[Sporklift]

CyBerkut, on 19 December 2011 - 09:01 AM, said:

Well, you have to evaluate what best fits your needs/wants.

- Do you intend to use rudder pedals? (Swiveling office chairs on wheels do not work so well for rudder pedal use).
- Do you want the chair to swivel?
- Do you want the chair to roll around?
- Do you want the seat to recline?

If you intend to go with a twisting stick (ala Saitek X52 / X52Pro) and not use rudder pedals, here is something you might look into:

http://www.getyourmo...-gaming-chairs/
http://www.getyourmobo.com/
http://www.getyourmobo.com/photos/

They aren't selling a chair, but rather a way to adapt a typical offic chair. The first time I ever saw their stuff mentioned was over on SimHQ. Back then, I don't think they had the removable keyboard tray... just the arm rests. The interesting thing (that doesn't appear to be well featured on their site these days) was that the arm rests fold. The mouse pad platform, and it's counterpart on the other arm, folds back over the arm rest for a more compact arrangement (if desired) when you are not using it. It would probably be easy enough to adapt that setup to hold a Saitek X52 (and perhaps even a smaller footprint keyboard between the Throttle and Stick). You might even be able to fit a keyboard that has a touchpad, or trackball mouse, to round out your controller needs.

Playseats are nice, but you may have noticed that they are not cheap. As someone else pointed out, if you do intend to use rudder pedals, they do make a version that does not swivel or roll. But then, if you are going to use rudder pedals, you might want to look into picking up a car seat and adapting it. ( You will be well on your way to making a full blown 'pit !!! )
.

I looked at the site and realized that it sort of looks like a kids' highchair. I considered buying it then I looked in my garage and figured out that I have access to heavy-duty plywood, the means to shape it, a drill, and numerous nuts, washers, and carriage bolts. Smooth the edges with a sander, cover it with some sort of material (old jeans would work) then bolt it to the arm rests on my cheap Walmart chair. RECYCLING

[sLyc3]

Sporklift, on 06 May 2012 - 12:44 PM, said:

I looked at the site and realized that it sort of looks like a kids' highchair. I considered buying it then I looked in my garage and figured out that I have access to heavy-duty plywood, the means to shape it, a drill, and numerous nuts, washers, and carriage bolts. Smooth the edges with a sander, cover it with some sort of material (old jeans would work) then bolt it to the arm rests on my cheap Walmart chair. RECYCLING

Sound's good. I'm no pro at any of this but id almost advise you to paint the surfaces with a few layers of wood protective coating. You know - stuff you'd use for the floor. Using jeans or fabric would mean that if its gets wet/dirty from a drink or anything of the sorts - it won't be pretty. Otherwise - If you have the craftsmanship to pull it off - awesome idea.

Caballo, on 25 January 2012 - 11:02 AM, said:

this thing just arrived:



Tested on IL2 and the feedback is just nice. the only drawback i see is the throttle control (Centered at the back of the base?... nuts), but i'm waiting for a separated throttle, so no worries

PICTURES OF THE PLAYSEAT COMING SOON

A separated throttle ?! My life has been a lie! Where? How? What do I google for?

Basically I haven't played a MW game since MW2, but am really psyched for MWO, and ever since I saw that one concept art of the cockpit - I've been wanting to get a HOTAS. I wanna do this right! So I was thinking of these options:

a.) Getting a X52 (Pro a bit out of my price range)
b.) Cyborg X + buying a Razer Nostramo (or G13) combo
c.) Thrustmaster M16000 + Nostramo/G13 combo
d.) Have my Mouse in my right hand and try to use one of the joysticks from options b.) & c.) in my left hand.

Don't have a lot of dosh and the Nostramo/G13 would probably come later, but if a separate throttle is really an option I'll most likely consider that over anything else. Only throttle I can find is a bit under 100€ tho and thus buying a joystick+throttle separately immediately seems more expensive and out of my price range...
I hate to say it but as you can see, I need help. And a lot of it. I know the Cyborg isn't the best (mostly the buttons worry me) and I'm almost leaning towards the M16000 because of this (not a fan of the look & design, but still), and I know that theres a vid of someone thrashing a X52 on his driveway because It's the third one that broke on him - but just try to help me out here - which of these setups is most likely to NOT fail and disappoint me? How often does the X52 fail? I need all the advice I can get.

Keep in mind that I have never used/owned a proper joystick, and most likely won't be playing much else with this setup than MWO and perhaps a free flight sim or two here and there.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any help in advance.

Edited by sLyc3, 07 May 2012 - 12:55 AM.

[Chuckie]

Vexgrave Lars, on 01 May 2012 - 11:10 PM, said:

After weeks of MWLL (thanks NGNG!! by the way.. very satisfying).. I've learned that the KB/Mouse grants you control that you just cant get from a flight-stick. Between setting configs and dying fairly regular../ redo/retry/redo for 4 days... I went back to M/KB. Sure enough.. more control. Less jitter. the sensitivity is right, no tweaking.. no dorking around. The sticks are "nice" and "pretty"... but when you need to drive a nail, you don't reach for a Cuisinart.

Trying to find the right dead-zones, Sensitivity, button config, blah ad nauseam P I T A!

Flying the Aero and Helos are stick friendly so they're still used.. but tanks and Mechs, the M/KB is really the way to go.

X45 compared to MS Sidewinder 5B Mouse and Keyboard.

I agree to a point.. I think this is more of a factor of MWLL control customization scheme being outside the game.. it makes adjusting and tweaking a setup a real PITA. I can't seem to get my setup right and with M/keyboard it doesn't seem to feel right either.

[Orzorn]

Chuckie, on 07 May 2012 - 08:02 AM, said:

I agree to a point.. I think this is more of a factor of MWLL control customization scheme being outside the game.. it makes adjusting and tweaking a setup a real PITA. I can't seem to get my setup right and with M/keyboard it doesn't seem to feel right either.

Its also important to remember that Crysis was never made to really support joysticks being the main method of play. Its a fast paced FPS at heart, something joysticks weren't exactly made to do.

[Chuckie]

Orzorn, on 07 May 2012 - 08:12 AM, said:

Its also important to remember that Crysis was never made to really support joysticks being the main method of play. Its a fast paced FPS at heart, something joysticks weren't exactly made to do.

True but trying to map a gamepad and get the thumbsticks to move fluidly has been a PITA.

Not sure why MWLL couldnt use the CryEngine management tool for control customization instead of their one that works outside the game. Overall its not very friendly.. but it may simply be that's what they had to work with. All I know is I am NOT a big fan of K&M and having to remember 20 million key commands.

The biggest problem though has nothing to do with how MWO will operate. My biggest problem with the MWLL Controls, is that the control schemes are different for the Elemental, Mech, Tank, and VTOL.. makes it a pain to try to setup. With MWO that won't be an issue.

[Orzorn]

CyBerkut, on 19 December 2011 - 09:01 AM, said:

Playseats are nice, but you may have noticed that they are not cheap. As someone else pointed out, if you do intend to use rudder pedals, they do make a version that does not swivel or roll. But then, if you are going to use rudder pedals, you might want to look into picking up a car seat and adapting it. ( You will be well on your way to making a full blown 'pit !!! )
.

Personally, I would be more inclined to create a sort of attachment for my chair that prevented it from swiveling. It wouldn't be hard, just a lower buck board that went underneath the wheel struts, then two metal rods (wood might have trouble with some of the strain), then an upper rod/board that went around part of the chair. This would be enough to stop it from spinning, and it would be pretty light and small. This works for my chair because I have a gap between my cushion and the metal plate that attaches it to the swivel as part of it design. The gap is just large enough to fit a metal plate or rod through.

So I suggest to anyone else just to examine one's chair and figure out an angle of attack for such a device if you don't want your chair to swivel.

[Steppin Razor]

I play MWLL left hand joystick + right hand mouse and love it. Set up like this...

Logitech Attack 3d pro

Left/Right X axis

throttle up/down Y axis

Masc trigger

Radar, JJ, crouch, lights, nightvision, power up/down ect. on the joystick buttons



Razer DeathAdder

Torso twist mX axis

Pitch up/down mY axis


4 weapons group buttons.

zoom in/out on the mouse wheel

It feels so natural and simmy with out losing any of the precision of mouse tracking/targeting.

Edited by Steppin Razor, 07 May 2012 - 08:37 AM.

[Aristo_]

I'm pretty set on using a HOTAS configuration and my birthday's coming up this summer, so with luck I can get my hands on a system in time for the game's release! That said, I want to be as accurate to canon as possible. A HOTAS setup with pedals would be my best bet to achieve the feel of being in the cockpit. I'm having a hard time deciding on a particular model, though.

The Saitek x52 (Pro in particular) has definitely wowed me; I'm thinking of using that with a set of pedals (haven't decided on a model). However, there's the option of the Logitech G940, which has the HOTAS and pedals all in one package. I'm not real sure which company to go with and which model(s) at that.

[L zard]

Well, Paul is using the G940 so you can't go wrong with that, lol!