25 replies to this topic

[Paul Inouye]

Yes... it's been a while... deal with it.


So you want to get your Saitek X52 Joystick and Throttle working. Well I've been messing around with this thing for a while now and this is what I have working.

Add the following to your USER.CFG file:

 
cl_joystick_gain = 8
cl_joystick_sensitivity = 0.75
cl_joystick_throttle_range = 0
cl_joystick_invert_throttle = 1
cl_joystick_invert_pitch = 1
cl_joystick_invert_yaw = 0
cl_joystick_invert_turn = 0
cl_joystick_deadzone = 0.1

The things you'll want to play with are:
cl_joystick_gain - The higher this value is set to, the faster a full throw of the joystick is going to move the reticule.

cl_joystick_sensitivity - The smaller this value is set to, the more sensitive your joystick will become. E.g. a slight throw of the joystick will trigger the movement. i.e. If you set this number to something big like 5, you'll smash the crud outta your joystick trying to get anything to move (which is funny in itself).

cl_joystick_throttle_range - This is a flag to tell your Joystick to have a middle STOP zone when the throttle is centered. Pushing forward makes you go forward, pulling back makes you go backward and putting the throttle in the middle will make you stop. I HIGHLY suggest you don't mess with this value. No I'm not going to help you with anything if you've messed with this value.

cl_joystick_invert_throttle - This will make sure that when you push forward on your throttle, you're going to accelerate.

cl_joystick_invert_pitch - When this is set to 1, you will look up when you pull BACK on the joystick. You will look down if you press FORWARD on the joystick. This is how airplanes work and how you should leave it unless you're some sort of demon spawn that does it backwards. If you are demon spawn, then set the value to 0 if you want to look the wrong direction when pressing forward or back on the joystick.

cl_joystick_deadzone - This is the amount of non-movement wiggle room when you're joystick is centered. The smaller you make this, the less wiggle room there will be.


Now all other settings (button mapping) is done in Menu > Options. I have mapped every goofy button on this joystick to every action of the game and it works. If it doesn't work for you, there's a problem between your chair and your monitor.

FOR REFERENCE (THIS MEANS DO NOT... REPEAT... DO NOT COPY AND PASTE THIS INTO YOUR ACTIONMAPS.XML FILE) After mapping simple controls, this is what my actionmaps.xml file looks like:

 
<ActionMaps version="0">
<actionmap name="hud">
  <action name="toggle_Weapon_Group">
   <rebind device="joystick" input="" index="1" defaultInput="j0_button4"/>
  </action>
</actionmap>
<actionmap name="mech">
  <action name="m_wg6">
   <rebind device="keyboard" input="insert" index="2" defaultInput=""/>
  </action>
  <action name="m_wg3">
   <rebind device="joystick" input="j0_button1" index="0" defaultInput="j1_button6"/>
  </action>
  <action name="m_wg2">
   <rebind device="joystick" input="j0_button4" index="0" defaultInput="j1_button5"/>
  </action>
  <action name="m_wg1">
   <rebind device="joystick" input="" index="1" defaultInput="j1_button4"/>
  </action>
  <action name="joy_turn">
   <rebind device="joystick" input="j0_axis_x" index="0" defaultInput="j0_rot_z"/>
  </action>
  <action name="joy_throttle">
   <rebind device="joystick" input="j0_axis_z" index="0" defaultInput="j0_slider0"/>
  </action>
  <action name="joy_torso_rotateyaw">
   <rebind device="joystick" input="j0_rot_z" index="0" defaultInput="j0_axis_x"/>
  </action>
  <action name="m_next_target">
   <rebind device="joystick" input="" index="1" defaultInput="j0_button5"/>
  </action>
</actionmap>
</ActionMaps>

NOTE: This file is AUTOGENERATED... do NOTcopy and paste this and expect it to save
Now go try this stuff out. It should work flawlessly. If it doesn't, I can guarantee you that the problem is sitting on your chair. If I find that this is the case.. I will NOT hesitate to call you out on the forums! You have been warned!

- Paul "The Bitter Joystick Handler" Inouye.

[Fishbed]

Great Paul! Saving my butt! I can get to it now, great great thanks!

Fish

[Wildedge]

Thank you Paul.

[Ixis]

Paul you are a legend m8 i've been wanting to plug my x-52 in since i started playing but i've read quite a few posts advising against joysticks because they don't offer the same reaction speed as a mouse and keyboard.I played mw4 mercs for 3 years using my x-52 and having to use a mouse and keyboard just feels wrong to me,many thanks

[Entropy11]

Thanks Paul. have an X45 here and hated not being able to invert throttle and pitch! (and having to use a toggle to reverse. what?) You're a lifesaver man.

*edit* never mind, the game is so tuned for mouse/kb that even plugging in the HOTAS is asking to lose. I went from 0 kills/15-30 damage a round to 4 kills 3 assists the match I decided to go back to KB/Mouse.

Edited by Entropy11, 03 November 2012 - 09:39 AM.

[Mathmatics]

Has anyone tried this? So far for me it feels like the game was never intended to be used with a hotas and runs way to crappily. Mostly the torso twist is 10X slower than with a mouse.

[Wildedge]

Mathmatics, on 10 November 2012 - 11:35 PM, said:

Has anyone tried this? So far for me it feels like the game was never intended to be used with a hotas and runs way to crappily. Mostly the torso twist is 10X slower than with a mouse.

I agree with you. And this should be advertised more widely so people don't waste time and money on the effort of making them work. Because I am such a fan of joysticks, I have tried two different joystick and throttle set ups, with dozens of attempts to customize the settings of each to make them respond well in MWO. I was very disappointed. I do not believe the developers have had enough time to make MWO joystick friendly. There are hardcore players who will report success with joysticks, but those players are few and far between. I have only gone back to the keyboard and mouse as a sad last resort.

[-Kite-Man-]

I realize joysticks are yet to be fully supported, and that's fine. But there is a very specific joystick-related issue I'm not sure that anyone else is having, so I wanted to ask here.

Currently when I bring up the Battlegrid or Scoreboard, or when I type into text chat, my throttle zeroes out. This is seriously problematic because if I need to return to base to prevent a cap, when I try to tell people I *am* returning to base, I stop dead in the battlefield as I type out the message. The same applies to trying to just check our locations on battlemap - I stop dead if I try to check it, or if I attempt to check out scores.

Is there any workaround for this?

[PeptoB]

Bucklar, on 11 November 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

I realize joysticks are yet to be fully supported, and that's fine. But there is a very specific joystick-related issue I'm not sure that anyone else is having, so I wanted to ask here.

Currently when I bring up the Battlegrid or Scoreboard, or when I type into text chat, my throttle zeroes out. This is seriously problematic because if I need to return to base to prevent a cap, when I try to tell people I *am* returning to base, I stop dead in the battlefield as I type out the message. The same applies to trying to just check our locations on battlemap - I stop dead if I try to check it, or if I attempt to check out scores.

Is there any workaround for this?

Sorry to say, there is no work around for this issue that we know of. It has existed for a couple of months now. Joystick support is slow in coming, but it's better now than when I started.

Pepto

[EternalCore]

@ALL: For Advanced joystick Setup & settings, go here: http://mwomercs.com/...ech-saitek-fix/

Edited by EternalCore, 14 November 2012 - 03:45 AM.

[DerLichtbringer]

Hello together.

I also want to thank you Paul!

I'm useing a Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2. I had problems with the throllte an the pitch too, but thanks to your help it works fine now!

[Ow Chi]

Paul Inouye, on 26 September 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

Now all other settings (button mapping) is done in Menu > Options. I have mapped every goofy button on this joystick to every action of the game and it works. If it doesn't work for you, there's a problem between your chair and your monitor.

Ok be gentle with me please because I just got my X52

Trying to give this a shot and am coming up empty so I have to ask; are you using a profile for the X52? Reason I ask is because once I got my stick setup and working (using profiles for other games) when I start MWO I see a bunch of the commands automatically mapped to the stick. But none of them work. I can still control via the keyboard and mouse but the stick and throttle are completely dead even though the key mappings would suggest otherwise.

So I am wondering is it a matter of clearing all of those out, creating a new SST profile that maps the keys to the stick? That is the way I have other (working) games configured but didn't see any mention of that in the OP.

[CyBerkut]

Ow Chi, on 26 November 2012 - 11:03 AM, said:

Ok be gentle with me please because I just got my X52

Trying to give this a shot and am coming up empty so I have to ask; are you using a profile for the X52? Reason I ask is because once I got my stick setup and working (using profiles for other games) when I start MWO I see a bunch of the commands automatically mapped to the stick. But none of them work. I can still control via the keyboard and mouse but the stick and throttle are completely dead even though the key mappings would suggest otherwise.

So I am wondering is it a matter of clearing all of those out, creating a new SST profile that maps the keys to the stick? That is the way I have other (working) games configured but didn't see any mention of that in the OP.

Paul's solution does not employ the Saitek SST profiler software. If you are going to use Paul's approach, you need to make sure you do not have any SST profile getting loaded, as that will conflict with the MWO client Options menu settings, etc.

If you do wish to employ the Saitek SST in some manner, then you need to fully understand what you are doing in which software, and ensure that you eliminate the conflicts.

[Ow Chi]

CyBerkut, on 26 November 2012 - 02:33 PM, said:

Paul's solution does not employ the Saitek SST profiler software. If you are going to use Paul's approach, you need to make sure you do not have any SST profile getting loaded, as that will conflict with the MWO client Options menu settings, etc.

If you do wish to employ the Saitek SST in some manner, then you need to fully understand what you are doing in which software, and ensure that you eliminate the conflicts.

GAH! Well that makes things even more confusing, because whenever I tried to use my X52 I do not have a profile loaded, didnt want to spend the time on it unless it would be worth it.

So it has me scratching my head; I can see a bunch of joystick_# entries in the controls that were not there before I got the X52, but if I try to reassign a key nothing happens. It's like it sees it but refuses to actually use it.

[Lambda Knight]

Is it possible to map the entire throttle range to the positive throttle and then use the "Invert Throttle" command to switch between positive throttle and negative throttle?

[CyBerkut]

Lambda Knight, on 27 November 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

Is it possible to map the entire throttle range to the positive throttle and then use the "Invert Throttle" command to switch between positive throttle and negative throttle?

Yes. Re-read the parts about cl_joystick_throttle_range in post number one in this thread. You may also need to mess with cl_joystick_invert_throttle to get the initial behavior you desire, but your invert throttle button would reverse it instead if you wish.

[CyBerkut]

Ow Chi, on 26 November 2012 - 03:22 PM, said:

GAH! Well that makes things even more confusing, because whenever I tried to use my X52 I do not have a profile loaded, didnt want to spend the time on it unless it would be worth it.

So it has me scratching my head; I can see a bunch of joystick_# entries in the controls that were not there before I got the X52, but if I try to reassign a key nothing happens. It's like it sees it but refuses to actually use it.

When you go to re-assign things in the MWO client's Option menu, make sure you are clicking your mouse into the (3rd) Joystick column. Once you have an entry selected for changing, then pushing the joystick button, or moving the controller axis desired should cause the entry to change. Also, make sure you make your axis changes down in the bottom part of that column, where the axis entries are. The entries up near the top are meant for keyboard users (and should be changed in the 1st column).

Also, double check that you do not have a default SST profile getting loaded that you just didn't realize was happening.

Do you have any other controllers hooked up (ie. a steering wheel, or gamepad, or ???) ?

[Ow Chi]

CyBerkut, on 30 November 2012 - 04:08 PM, said:

When you go to re-assign things in the MWO client's Option menu, make sure you are clicking your mouse into the (3rd) Joystick column. Once you have an entry selected for changing, then pushing the joystick button, or moving the controller axis desired should cause the entry to change. Also, make sure you make your axis changes down in the bottom part of that column, where the axis entries are. The entries up near the top are meant for keyboard users (and should be changed in the 1st column).

Also, double check that you do not have a default SST profile getting loaded that you just didn't realize was happening.

Do you have any other controllers hooked up (ie. a steering wheel, or gamepad, or ???) ?

Thanks, your advice did the trick as I was not looking at the right column

It's sort of moot anyway, I spent some time trying to get used to the controls and using a Joystick pales so much in comparison to the mouse that I am not going to bother with it.

[CRF Hawkeye]

if i recall right, this used to be all in the game,.. a s##load of options all to be reasignt with extra contolers like my x52pro in mind?
reading all this make's me go fall back on the n52te and mouse.
just hoping when this goes out of beta,... it's just in the game,..
it make's this game a lot more "gamey" and a lot less simulator and halfs the fun

<EDIT> ok dont actualy half the fun it's change the fun thats all
<re-EDIT> aperantly it's in the game just doesn't work like it sould,... im totaly won over by the way and think of trowing that x-52 for sale online, i had held on to it for the realease of this game so why keeping it, get myself another new gamepad instead.

Edited by CRF Hawkeye, 11 December 2012 - 08:06 AM.

[Desert Panther]

I personally can't see how can you aim with a stick and expect to hit something. People with a mouse will hit you 3 times or even kill you while you try to aim at someone with a joystick. This game is NOT a joystick friendly when it gets to aiming.