20 replies to this topic

[Sickario]

Been thinking about getting them in a month or two, unless their advantage is less than I'm assuming it is. I do okay with mouse and keyboard (for a noob), but I wonder if I could aim better and maneuver better if I had a joystick and throttle, and if so are cheaper ones okay or do the more expensive ones offer any major advantage?

[SuperFunkTron]

It depends on how much patience you have to configure it. My wife bought me the amazing Warthog HOTAS with new thrustmaster pedals, but I was so frustrated by the process of setting it up and mapping each button and getting both leg and torso turning working correctly that I have it sitting on the side until I get some more important real life matters completed. That or they finally make it much easier and offer a few default set ups that would save me the time.

[Rogue Jedi]

how much would I recomend joystick for MWO? I would not, unless you have some sort of disability preventing use of keyboard and mouse.

for most people keyboard and mouse will be far superior to joystick and throttle, I had realy wanted to use my saitek x52 pro ^{(which is a great 5 year old HOTAS which I use for several other games)} HOTAS ^{(hands on throttle and stick)} for MWO but it feels much less accurate than HOKAM ^{(hands on keyboard and mouse)}.

there are people who like joystick and mouse but in my experiance keyboard and mouse are optomal.

sorry

[Sickario]

Rogue Jedi, on 18 January 2017 - 01:42 PM, said:

how much would I recomend joystick for MWO? I would not, unless you have some sort of disability preventing use of keyboard and mouse.

for most people keyboard and mouse will be far superior to joystick and throttle, I had realy wanted to use my saitek x52 pro ^{(which is a great 5 year old HOTAS which I use for several other games)} HOTAS ^{(hands on throttle and stick)} for MWO but it feels much less accurate than HOKAM ^{(hands on keyboard and mouse)}.

there are people who like joystick and mouse but in my experiance keyboard and mouse are optomal.

sorry

No need to be sorry, I'm looking for good info and you gave it (and SuperFunkTron was helpful as well). Many thanks!

[Warspawn]

Don't bother with a joystick. As mentioned above, a mouse is way...WAY better. I happen to play flight sims so I had purchased a CH Pro Fighterstick setup with pedals for my simpit; the throttle and pedals work great with MWO.

Go with a good Throttle like the CH or Saitek. Map the buttons to keyboard functions...it works great! Also...get a set of rudder pedals for independent controls for your mech direction. I use a CH Products Pro Throttle with tons of buttons mapped, and Saitek Pro Flight rudder pedals. Using a cordless Logitech G700s for my weapons

*edit* on a side note, my first couple of HOTAS setups were all Saitek, but they weren't very durable (had to replace them about every 18 months). The Saitek pedals fit my feet better than the CH gear, so I've stuck with them. On the other hand, the CH joystick/throttle setup has lasted about 7 years now without a hitch--very impressive!

Edited by Warspawn, 18 January 2017 - 01:54 PM.

[TercieI]

99% of the good players use keyboard and mouse. A very very small number use joystick and mouse. I know of no good players who primarily use joystick.

[TooDumbToQuit]

I use a mouse and a


Logitech G13 Programmable Gameboard with LCD Display


http://ttps://www.am...ds=logitech+g13

• Naturally contoured design follows the natural shape of your hand and fingers for increased comfort during long sessions
  
• 
  
• Onboard memory lets you program up to 5 ready-to-play profiles, so you can take your personal preferences with you
  
• 
  
• Customizable backlighting lets you choose your colors and easily locate the right key in low-light conditions or lights-out play
  
• 
  
• 25 programmable keys allow you to assign keyboard functions to suit your style of play and create macros on the fly
  
• 
  
• The high-visibility GamePanel LCD displays game stats, system info, and communications from fellow players

For my left hand. And, there is a thumb joystick but I use it for Jump Jets and MASC. (works very well for these)


The price JUMPED, I paid $35.00 for mine.


http://i56.photobuck...7L._SL1500_.jpg

Edited by LikeUntoGod, 18 January 2017 - 05:52 PM.

[TooDumbToQuit]

[TercieI]

Oh, yeah, keypads, lots of keypads (I use a Razer Nostromo since it actually fits my hand unlike the Logitech ones). Those count among "keyboard" when discussing control schemes.

[Void Angel]

Not at all. I know of no one who has gotten a joystick to work as a zero-order controller in this game. This means that to perform an operation - say,moving your point of aim on the screen - you have to go through additional operations: for a joystick, you move your aim in the direction of the point (e.g. Target A,) then go back to center to stop on target. A mouse simply moves to the point; both can overshoot, but the joystick has that dead zone in its center, adding a delay to everything that you do.

To get a joystick to be the possible equal of a mouse, you'd need to set up the joystick so that it had no dead zone, and so that its range of motion corresponds to the area of the screen. I don't know if that's ever been done in MWO.

You can achieve a fair amount of success if you're stuck using a joystick - but while things like tactical knowledge and positioning are independent of your controls, you will be playing with a handicap if you use a joystick. No matter how used to it you are.

Now, using a joystick to control motion is another matter; if you can get analogue turning to work, it should be potentially superior - but I'm still not sure it's worth the trouble.

[Sickario]

Yeah I think I'll just stick to keyboard and mouse, then, but you guys have given me much food for thought. One advantage to being a lefty is I use the mouse with my left hand and use the keyboard's keypad for almost everything else. I still need practice but I can move around pretty well. However, it may be a while before I master the circle-strife that I've seen on certain Light mechs.

[PhoenixFire55]

Mouse and keyboard is the way to go if you want to be effective. Joysticks, gamepads or even simply using keyboard only increases immersion but decrease pretty much everything else.

[Xaat Xuun]

I bought the x52, back in MW3, about the time MW4 came out.
damn I could pilot like a mad man with the light mechs, but
I couldn't hit anything
it was fun to use, I was just too uncoordinated to use it for shooting. I would had needed more time if I wanted to use
if I didn't have to shoot anything I was having a ton of fun, felt like I could out pilot anyone out there, The immersion it brought to the game was awesome

I went back to my Cyborg

now I just play like I did with MW2, Keyboard & Mouse

[S 0 L E N Y A]

I would take a Xbox controller over a joystick

[Sickario]

Boogie138, on 21 January 2017 - 07:04 PM, said:

I would take a Xbox controller over a joystick

I've got a gamer controller, maybe i should try it out.

[Deeber]

A joystick and throttle suit me well (far better than mouse/keyboard), but I'm probably an atypical player. I tried using mouse/keyboard when I started playing MWO, but didn't like that arrangement. The keyboard felt too limiting for controlling mech movement (discrete rather than continuous control), and the mouse felt too erratic (even with sensitivity turned down).

I already had a CH Products HOTAS, and was able to get it set up for MWO without too much difficulty. I use the throttle to accelerate/decelerate, the mini-joystick on the throttle to steer, and the joystick to control torso rotation, aiming, and weapons. (In effect, my left hand controls the bottom half of the mech and my right hand controls the top half of the mech.) With the HOTAS, I get a lot more responsiveness in steering and less responsiveness in aiming (which brings it down to manageable levels, for me).

As I said, I'm probably an atypical player ... but perhaps, one day, there might be someone reading this who might also benefit from using a HOTAS rather than mouse/keyboard.

[The Basilisk]

Sickario, on 18 January 2017 - 01:27 PM, said:

Been thinking about getting them in a month or two, unless their advantage is less than I'm assuming it is. I do okay with mouse and keyboard (for a noob), but I wonder if I could aim better and maneuver better if I had a joystick and throttle, and if so are cheaper ones okay or do the more expensive ones offer any major advantage?

Not at all.
MWO is designed for mouse and keyboard and not too long ago didn't realy feature a usefull joystick support at all.

However most ppl will tell you that playing with Joystick or even worth with rudder pads will make your reaktions too slow and the coordinational efford you have to put up with your gear too great to concentrate on the game.

[sam wesson]

Hi. Fully qualified idiot here. I use a joystick and mouse to play MWO.

Joystick in my left hand, controlling movement and certain weapons, JJ's, targets locks, VOIP.
Mouse, right hand. Controlling aiming and 3 weapons, usually direct fire for close targets.

The joystick makes hitting moving targets much easier because your mech isn't jerking around. All the turns are smooth. So you can take shots while making some advanced aerial moves. Much like the idea of swinging through your target in ***** and trap shooting.

The stick cannot be used for aiming without some serious study of how to map the controls to snap back to center. Which I could not figure out.

Very much prefer using the joystick to control the mechs movement. Lights or assaults.

Anyway, yes. It works. Quite well. I can take shots while using the stick that can't be taken by mouse.

Later, have fun.

BTW this silly editor has blocked the word s k e e t as if it were offensive.

Edited by sam wesson, 26 January 2017 - 10:42 AM.

[Amatsukaze]

FWIW I am a diehard Thrustmaster fan being huge into flight sims. I use my TQS (throttle quadrant system) as a throttle & for locking targets & such but the joystick just isnt deft enough for aiming. I use my mouse for turret traverse, aiming & firing.

[Sickario]

sam wesson, on 26 January 2017 - 10:39 AM, said:

BTW this silly editor has blocked the word s k e e t as if it were offensive.

Reported! Just kidding. What kind of joystick do you use?