looking to buy a joystick

TurboTim07

TurboTim07

Rear Admiral
well im thinkin about gettin a new joystick cuz my Sidewinder Pro doesn't have a usb cable so i can't use it for my laptop <which is what i use now to play pretty much all of my games> and I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience with this joystick http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/prod/x45.htm ? i've read good reviews about it but i've also read some bad reviews so i want to know if it's as good as they say? I've always wanted a joystick and throttle for Wing Commander and MechWarrior but if this joystick's not as good as they say then I can handle just gettin a cheaper joystick and mixing it with the keyboard. so... anyone have any good advice?
 
Heh, from what I've heard, it's pretty good. Got one with the Ace Combat 5 PS2 bundle (same OEM).

Really ought to compare it with my Cougar though. One of these days.
 
Ive got one of the old X35/36 combos, and it's easily one of the best joysticks I've ever used. There's a touch of dead zone on the stick, which might be a setting I havent found somewhere, but the contsruction is sturdy, the layout is great, and the handling is smooooooth. (joystick is now several years old and still going strong) The 45/46 were the same but sturdier when I took a look at them but the profile is smaller than the 3-series so it didnt quite fit my hands (a big beef with the first generation was that they're MASSIVE. I dig it, most dont.). There's apparently a 5-series out as well, which LOOKS pretty but I havent had a chance to examine in person.
 
The X series has some drawbacks that might bother you or not.
The reasone I did NOT get one was
a) It is too small for my hand. That 'sabre' like handle restraints my hand too much.
b) You cannot programm the throttle.
c) I don't like twisting handles all that much. That is what rudder pedals are for.
 
what do you mean you can't program the throttle? do you mean the buttons on it or the throttle itself? like how the throttle acts? cuz i read somewhere that it can only do full speed or full stop but i didn't know if that was true
 
Should have been more clear I suppose.
The X... throttles only support analogue modes and thats it afaik. You can of course program the buttons however. But lets say you'd like the play strike commander and map the keys from 1 to 0 to the throttle axis...

Personally I find it rather cool to be able to do funky stuff like
'press left mouse button', 'double klick DX1', "move mouse 30 pixels right", "steer joystick left for 1 second", "modify axis response curve to exponential", "trim rudders +5 right" and then "reverse rudder axis" all mapped to individual sectors of the throttle (I know this is a STUPID example, but a possible one on some sticks...)
More useful scenarios include programming ejection as pushing the throttle to full and then to none in 0.5 seconds or to have an afterburner detent like in modern aircrafts (100% thrust is already achieved at 80% of throttle, pushing farther up adds burners).
 
My personal stick choice is, and has always been, Thrustmaster. The Afterburner 2 is a great stick for a very reasonable price - and the optional driver software makes it pretty programmable. As for the Cougar...d00d you're rich. I assume it kicks as much arse as it looks like it should, though?

Anyway...Afterburner 2 is definitely my pick over the flimsy Logitech or Saitek sticks. I just seem to bust sticks way too often to use anything but Thrustmasters.
 
Why program the throttle? You can't program the X and Y axes, so why program the throttle and rotation axes? That doesn't make any sense at all. They're analog axes, not buttons.
 
I second the Thrustmaster endorsement. After destroying 4 sticks in around a year, I bought a Thrustmaster FCS Mark 1, and it's been going strong for over a decade since. You won't be able to use that model of course, as it predates USB ;) I hear they have newer models though.. I'll be getting one of them if my trusty Mark 1 ever dies.
 
Oh, the FCS Mark 1 belongs to my brother, sadly, but I have used that stick for several years and I second the fact that it is INDESTRUCTIBLE.
 
Wow. That's one heck of an El Cheapo...nice stick for what amounts to less than 20 bucks. It certainly doesn't SOUND like it would be very durable, but if (Sivar forbid) my Afterburner 2 were to go, maybe I should look into Logic3.
 
The 'stick got me through Prophecy, WC3, X-Wing Alliance, TIE Fighter and has yet to fail me. To boot - it has a serial port/USB converter. No reason to drop crazy amounts of money on tech thats been around since the late 70s.
 
Ive only had two joysticks - and the reason I don't use my old two-button one was because it used a serial port! (Loved that thing though - got me through a ton of great flight sims!)
 
ChrisReid said:
Note that the Ace Combat 5 stick comes with the X52, not the X45 as the thread originator was looking at.

http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/prod/x52.htm
Click to expand...

Uh, my Ace Combat 5 stick is most definitely *NOT* the x52. I think the x52's not even released yet. It's the x45. (x52's got a very interesting LCD display...). OTOH, I would like to know where that little tidbit of information came from...

Now, back on topic... I do like the heft of my Thrustmaster better than that stick (Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar), though there are several faults that people have worked around for more money. Which can be annoying since it's a $200 joystick to begin with, with $200+ mods you can have to improve it.

OTOH, it's extremely programmable, and when it's programmed, acts like a regular USB joystick/mouse/keyboard, so there aren't any compatibility problems.
 
I'd get a Microsoft Sidewinder 2 Precision, pictured here, which is on Ebay here . It doesn't have force feedback, but it's very durable, the buttons are acessable and it responds perfectly and has no resistance. Played Wing Commander Prophecy, Secret Ops, Standoff, Crimson Skies, Mechwarrior 4 Mercs, worked perfectly in all of them. If you have an older machine, I use the CH Flightstick, pictured here:
here. Very durable, easy to use, and simple, the only problem is that it uses a Gaming Port and not a serial or USB.
 
Nomad Terror said:
Why program the throttle? You can't program the X and Y axes, so why program the throttle and rotation axes? That doesn't make any sense at all. They're analog axes, not buttons.
Click to expand...

Well a) as I said there is the afterburner. On real jets it is placed above the maximum cruising speed on the throttle. So some of us prefer to have ot there as well which is impossible without programming unless the flight sim supports it. Also as I said there are many games that do not support analogue throttles... And I'd still like to use one for them
b) your assumption is false - I can program the X and Y axis... What do you want there? Mouse? Cursor keys? Throttle and Rudder? Inverted axis?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top