53 replies to this topic

[man du]

CMDR Sunset Shimmer, on 28 April 2016 - 04:27 PM, said:

What does ambidex have to do anything with what OP was asking for. I put in my 2 cents... I could care less about ambidex support considering the only real reason outside of being left handed to have an ambidex joystick in MWO is for the stupid "stick/mouse" combo some players use.

For me, a joystick is 100% pointless in MWO if I cannot accurately use a full HOTAS setup for the game. BUT I do flightsims and spacesim's as well.

Why is it stupid? It is pretty darn efficient and I play really well with that combination, not to mention the immersion factor. My stick isn't ambi though. My Extreme 3D Pro works just fine in my left.

But man, oh man, if there was a viable and affordable right hand joystick option I would be all over it.

[Ovion]

CMDR Sunset Shimmer, on 28 April 2016 - 04:27 PM, said:

What does ambidex have to do anything with what OP was asking for. I put in my 2 cents... I could care less about ambidex support considering the only real reason outside of being left handed to have an ambidex joystick in MWO is for the stupid "stick/mouse" combo some players use.

For me, a joystick is 100% pointless in MWO if I cannot accurately use a full HOTAS setup for the game. BUT I do flightsims and spacesim's as well.

Ambidextrous provides versatility, allowing for Stick + Mouse, or stick, or twin stick (if you feel that way inclined).

HOTAS is also very expensive, especially as an entry level that you don't know if you'll be sticking with it or not.
As above - the X52 setup is £130 / $160 +
That's a lot of money, especially if you shelve it.

The Cyborg Evo is solid and will serve the job well, especially for MWO, for less than 1/6th the price.

I use my pair of Cyborg Evo's for MWO (though these days I use K/B and Mouse too, depends on my mood), Elite Dangerous, and a few other games.

man du, on 28 April 2016 - 04:47 PM, said:

Why is it stupid? It is pretty darn efficient and I play really well with that combination, not to mention the immersion factor. My stick isn't ambi though. My Extreme 3D Pro works just fine in my left.

But man, oh man, if there was a viable and affordable right hand joystick option I would be all over it.

Saitek Cyborg EVO Joystick, let your dreams come true.

Edited by Ovion, 28 April 2016 - 04:55 PM.

[Helsbane]

Rushin Roulette, on 28 April 2016 - 12:24 AM, said:

The one and only way to play;

Ice cold Coca Cola, when passing rapidly through my nose as I choke on a laugh, is not refreshing in any way...

[CMDR Sunset Shimmer]

Ovion, on 28 April 2016 - 04:53 PM, said:

HOTAS is also very expensive, especially as an entry level that you don't know if you'll be sticking with it or not.
As above - the X52 setup is £130 / $160 +
That's a lot of money, especially if you shelve it.

Wrong:

http://www.amazon.co...ustmaster+hotas

Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS. Quite cheap, Works well [had it for over a year during the MW4 free release, in an older model than this.]

As an entry level HOTAS, you could do much, much worse, and much more expensive.

[LordNothing]

ive bought a lot of bad hotas (how do you even plural that?). ive had 3 saiteks, i got maybe 8 months out of those. them bought a ch fighterstick, throttle and pedals. that was 8 years ago. only recently did my fighterstick start acting weird. been wanting to try the thrust master warthog for awhile, but that one is up there in price last i checked.

Edited by LordNothing, 28 April 2016 - 06:14 PM.

[Lightfoot]

I used a Logitech 3d force feedback for awhile till it broke, but it's replacement was the Thrustmaster T16000m for about $43 which is so much better. But you have to open the bottom and zip-tie two coils of the return spring together because the centering spring is too strong. Once done though the stick becomes more accurate than a mouse because the stick position is tracked across a magnetic grid so the cursor goes exactly where you place it. It's been working fine for two years and counting now in MWO and Elite and Rise of Flight.

Edited by Lightfoot, 28 April 2016 - 07:54 PM.

[Mister Blastman]

[man du]

Lightfoot, on 28 April 2016 - 07:47 PM, said:

I used a Logitech 3d force feedback for awhile till it broke, but it's replacement was the Thrustmaster T16000m for about $43 which is so much better. But you have to open the bottom and zip-tie two coils of the return spring together because the centering spring is too strong. Once done though the stick becomes more accurate than a mouse because the stick position is tracked across a magnetic grid so the cursor goes exactly where you place it. It's been working fine for two years and counting now in MWO and Elite and Rise of Flight.

Do you have video of either you modifying the Thrustmaster or game play using the modified JS? I would love to see both, not that I don't believe you, but because I would love to play dual JS and seeing how someone else gets it done is the closest thing I have to "try before you buy." Or maybe just a how-to on the zip tie part.

[The Lobsters]

I use this. It's cheap and can be used in either hand.

Also, pro tip. Reverse the throttle in the client so that you pull back to go forward. It really eases fatigue on your hand as to move forward you simply rest your arm back. It also make finding the correct direction when trying to reverse easier. It sounds counter-intuitive but actually is more intuitive once you get the hang of it.

Edited by The Lobsters, 07 May 2016 - 01:48 AM.

[dwwolf]

Tm16000 from thrustmaster for lefthand throttle/leg control. Hall sensors ftw!
Use a gaming chair with joystick rest or your arm will be fatigued.

Edited by dwwolf, 07 May 2016 - 03:41 AM.

[Lightfoot]

man du, on 29 April 2016 - 03:41 AM, said:

Do you have video of either you modifying the Thrustmaster or game play using the modified JS? I would love to see both, not that I don't believe you, but because I would love to play dual JS and seeing how someone else gets it done is the closest thing I have to "try before you buy." Or maybe just a how-to on the zip tie part.

I found a post on how to do it, but I can't seem to find it now. I followed their instructions which were to start by opening the base (which voids the warranty of course) with a medium phillips head screwdriver on the 6 screws.

Once open you see the bottom of the stick base is behind a metal plate with 4 screws. Open that and you see the return spring. Loop a small plastic zip-tie around two coils and pull them together tightly. Cut off the excess length of the zip-tie. This shortens the physical spring length and lowers the tension. I looped in front of the stick. There is a residual bump from the zip-tie in pushing the stick all the way forward, but does not affect aiming and in MWO or other games you almost never push the stick all the way forward.

Then replace the metal plate being sure any wires are clear. Snug up the screws in rotation is best. You know,, get them seated lightly and then go from one to the other as you tighten them fully. Replace the joystick base. It's fairly easy to do, I didn't feel it needed any special skills, but I have done computer building etc. So do this at your own risk. I just figured it was worth the risk of somehow ruining the joystick to get a very accurate joystick. So far no problems though after 2 years. Thrustmaster should really include a return spring adjustment screw or something, but then I guess they would want $100 for it.


I found the link, but RSI seems to have moved it or removed it. Go figure. Also I had to join the website to try to link to it, but it's still dead. https://forums.rober...spring-strength .....was where I found it.

Edited by Lightfoot, 07 May 2016 - 05:39 AM.

[Warspawn]

Rather than a joystick, I'd suggest investing in rudder pedals + throttle. I'm running CH Products Pro Throttle + Saitek Combat Rudder pedals. The rudder controls your leg direction, and you are able to map all useful keyboard functions to the throttle...plus intuitive "push forward-go faster // pull back to reverse" sliding throttle.

I do have a CH Fighterstick joystick that I use for Aces High (combat flight sim), but not quite precise enough compared to a mouse for MWO.

Edited by Warspawn, 07 May 2016 - 06:57 AM.

[CMDR Sunset Shimmer]

What makes me sad is, Mechwarrior 3 worked wonderful with a HOTAS, and has a lot of similar mechanics to MWO [burstfire AC's, Damage over time lasers, ect.] but that's because torso movement wasn't nerfed to high heavens.

That's literally, all that needs to change for HOTAS to be viable, is the way torso movement works. If this was standardized across all variants, HOTAS would work wonderfully... unfortenately, for some reason, torso traverse distance has become a "balancing" mechanic.

[Lances107]

I do not know op if y our even paying attention to this thread but ill lay it down for you as plain as I can. It does not matter what modle you pick. In MWO, despite the Joystick being a huge part of Mechwarrior, the mouse is the only item that gives you pin point accuracy. Instead of fixing this, they have chosen to ignore this rather large part of the Mechwarrior game series. Now many have sworn up and down that using the joy in your left and your mouse in your right works. Me I tried it and it felt off but honestly I did not work with that set up for long. I may go back and give it another go. Right now I am using joy and keyboard. My precision is lacking all the time. I can only say this use the joystick you want but the type of joystick is going to make no difference one way or the other for aiming in mechwarrior online. These naysayers like things simple and plain, adding a joystick adds a whole new level to the game.