Syvenn, on 03 February 2012 - 03:44 PM, said:
one thing you could do is get a program like xpadder, and just map out all the keys. thats how I was able to play that mech warrior crysis mod with two joysticks. Takes a bit of time and test runs to do though, but well worth it if you ask me. I find some fun in just mapping them out and then taking a test drive in the first place. Makes the game five times as fun, and I feel that much more immersed.
Take a look at these posts
CyBerkut, on 10 February 2012 - 08:23 AM, said:
Most PC joystcks are aimed at the mass market / lowest common denominator. As such, they are made of low cost components. That nearly always translates to poor durability and fewer options.
Given that market reality, you are faced with several possibilities...
- Give up on using joysticks, and go with something else (ie. Mouse).
- Purchase low end products and then modify them to better suit your desires.
- Research the higher end products to find one that suits your desires (if one even exists). AKA The "get off your wallet" approach.
- Start from scratch and build your own, making it just the way you want it to be. [Small universal joints (cheap on eBay) make good gimbals to build upon.]
"Wimpy" (sticks) is very much in the eye (hand) of the beholder. If you search the controllers-related sections of various flight sim forums, you will almost certainly find modifications that people have done to change the resistance levels on their controllers of choice. Most often, that will be a matter of somebody changing/adding stiffer springs to their joystick. Sometimes it is rubber bands/o-rings added in, or replacing the existing springs in a stick's gimbal mechanism. A Saitek X-52 stick can be stiffened up by adding some sort of spacer(s) between the top of the centering spring and the bottom of the grip. This compresses the spring more, making it push harder upon the plastic beveled ring that rides withing the base's hole, making the stick less "wimpy". There is a good video on Youtube showing how one guy made said spacers from the top covers of CD blank packs. Be aware that increasing spring pressures can cause gimbals or centering mechanisms to wear out or break faster... you are altering design forces but not reinforcing the parts under load to compensate for it.
I have seen mods illustrated on forums where people have taken the piston mechnisms used as shock absorbers on Radio Controlled trucks/cars and used them as dampeners on joysticks. That approach might actually get you where you want to go. With a Saitek X-52 stick, for instance, you could attach 2 such pistons to the sticks shaft, anchoring the other ends of the pistons to bolts in the base's corner holes (the ones that let you mount the stick's base upon a board). Pick any two adjacent holes on the base and you will get dampening on both the X and Y axis of movement.
There are some sticks that have heavier centering mechanisms than others. Some throttle controllers are stiffer than others. I couldn't say which ones, if any, would feel good to you. You can probably get a pretty good idea though, by checking out some flight sim forums. You'll see folks complaining about 'this one's too light' or 'that one's too stiff'. If you want stiff springs, look for the ones that people whine about being too heavy, and you'll probably find what you want.
It comes down to, deciding what you want to have, and what resources (money/time/effort) you are willing to expend upon it. The quickest way to get there is most likely picking a controller that has the buttons, etc. that you want, and that lends itself to being mounted upon a surface --- and then modifying the centering mechanism to suit your taste.
The best way to get exactly what you want is to start from scratch and build your own. It can be a lot of work, and a steep learning curve to climb, but you can end up with something that fits your hand(s) exactly, has all of the buttons, switches, etc. that you want, and centering forces / resistance that you can set exactly where you want. You won't get it done in one day, but hey... MW:O isn't due out next week, either....
Take your time
plodder, on 12 February 2012 - 04:08 PM, said:
Xpadder? Well I went to look at it. Seems to be what I was looking for, but there was a comment that claims that it does not work on all online games, that it is blocked. I would hate to think I had my solution, only to found it blocked out..
Then
Orayn, on 14 February 2012 - 11:38 AM, said:
You could also use any combination of sticks, throttles, pedals, etc. all together with PPJoy, which allows you to map all of the axes however you please. PPJoy is also a much lower level solution than Xpadder, since it's recognized as a single (virtual) input device of its own, just like any other controller or joystick.
PPjoy might be my ticket.
6
I'll give it a try.
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