I'm thinking about picking up some sort of entry level flight controls for a few games I jump in and out of and potentially even having a go at some of the flight sims. I've been looking at some of the Saitek/Logitech/Turtlebeach stick and throttle combos but honestly I have no idea what I'm looking at. I'd really like some sort of feedback capable device as I saw the difference that made when I moved to FFB for racing sims many moons ago. Has anyone currently got and/or using something they would recommend to try out?
hotas wartog, i am into space sims, i got mine when i was heavily in elite and still use it for X3/X4 games. damn shame no mans sky support is iffy for any flight stick
How “serious” are you about it? Because this is a deep rabbit hole… You can spend anything from £70 to… well… more than you’d ever think. Back when I started playing Elite Dangerous, I picked up a Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X. Cheap and cheerful, but it was enough to dip my toes in the water. I did end up using it for a good 200 hours or so, and I had all sorts of plans to get a better setup. But then I stopped playing Elite, and now I haven’t touched it in 3 or 4 years. The HOTAS Warthog, for example, is an excellent HOTAS setup, but I definitely wouldn’t consider it a “dipping my toes in the water” device. I paid £70ish for a cheap HOTAS that I enjoyed using but is now gathering dust; I’d be kicking myself if I’d paid £400 for a HOTAS that now serves as a shelf warmer. Personally I’d say that force feedback isn’t really something to worry about if you’re planning to play mainly space sims; for actual “flight sims” then it’s definitely a nice to have feature. Beyond that… it’s not really a market I’m familiar with any more, I’m afraid. I did find a YT channel a while ago that had some good reviews & recommendations for budget flight sticks & HOTAS setups. I’ll see if I can find it again.
So yeah, I'll probably mostly be playing DCS or mil-sim type games like ARMA. It's actually only since looking these things up and doing a bit of research I've really become aware of the whole space sim genre, it all looks pretty cool so I might have to have a go. That's kind of my issue, I am aware of all the benefits of higher end gear now, I know the gimbals in things like the warthog etc are much better but I'm just trying it out for now and don't want to break the bank in case I also end up with a shelf warmer. I just missed out on a WINWING fighter stick for £85 on fleabay so I'm chatting to a gent on FB marketplace (shudder..) about maybe shipping out a Logitech x56 for me @£100. I think it'll do for trying out.
That would definitely be a solid option. General opinion of the X56 seems to be that it’s a bit overpriced for what you get, but £100 would definitely be enough to convince me to get one. This is why I wasn’t so bothered about force feedback in a flight stick. Force feedback makes sense when you’re simulating aircraft control surfaces in an atmosphere, but I mainly use a flight stick for space sims… where there is no atmosphere… Elite: Dangerous was my drug of choice, really. I’m a bit young to have played the original when it came out, but I am old enough to remember some of the sequels. Soon as I tried it in VR I was absolutely blown away. I wanted the Saitek X52 HOTAS, because that’s what the in-game flight controls were modelled on. That’s a bit old now though, Elite: Dangerous came out 10 years ago…! I do still get tempted to jump back in now and then. There’s a big update coming soon that adds player-led colonisation and it seems to be getting the community buzz going again. Though if I recall correctly, the last time I played I’d got most of the way to Sagittarius A for a passenger run - SagA is the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, so it’s a fair old slog to get there! It could take me ages to get back to my “home” port, and I wouldn’t want to start a new character because I’d racked up a fair amount of cash… I picked up Everspace 2 almost a year ago based on a recommendation, but I don’t think I played more than an hour or two. I also picked up X4 Foundations at the same time, but I haven’t even installed that yet… It feels like it’ll be a big commitment…! The YouTube channel ObsidianAnt is a great place to look for recommendations for space games. He was doing a crapton of Elite and Kerbal Space Program videos back when I was playing both, but he covers a lot more games now. Edit: Aha! Got it! It was this one: Mysh (@WatchMysh). They’ve literally just published a “2024 HOTAS Buyer’s Guide”:
Big disagree. One of my favourite moments in gaming was when I was first playing space sim Independence War with a Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro: the attitude thrusters were shot out, and the stick went dead-fish left-to-right. Still fighting me vertically, but completely floppy horizontally. As my engineers repaired the thrusters, the stick shuddered back to life and began recentering again. It was *ace*.
Ooooh, I-War! Now you’re stoking the nostalgia fires! That game was amazing for its time, the Newtonian flight model was so much better than other games of the era. I had a “total conversion” mod back in the day which turned it into a Babylon 5 game - I think for the sequel, rather than the original. It was bloody ace jumping into a Starfury and buzzing around the station!
@Byron C Yes I watched that video right away when trying to make a choice, I think that's where I got all the info on the different gimbals. I got cold feet with FB marketplace for the usual reasons and ended up spending the extra getting a brand new x56 from Amazon. I applied some man-math in this decision, supposing I could replace the stick itself *IF* it gets serious use, I've read they're far worse in construction than the throttle unit and the throttle itself is actually pretty good since it can be split between L&R or locked together, plus lots of mapping options. They can also run independently from one another so picking up a fancier stick further down the line is likely to be the only other expense. I find it curious that besides the Microsoft Sidewinder (which I've seen for sale at a whopping £8) force feedback seems reserved for the ultra high end. I've been testing DCS in VR and honestly it would be nice to have some feedback, something about pulling 8G upside down while feeling nothing definitely breaks immersion. But we can't have it all I'm a sucker for going balls-deep before I know her name too, I've considered taking an old game port yoke, throttle, pedals and comms box for a bargain price on the understanding that it has been tested and working with a USB adapter and Windows 11. Might have to do it, for the civvie flight sims.
Yeah force feedback in flight sticks seems to have gone the same way as with racing wheels… You can get lots of really great budget (and budget-ish) devices that’ll work really well, but if you want force feedback you have to step up to a whole new level of expensive… Sounds like a solid choice. After watching that video I posted, I’ve almost convinced myself of an upgrade path if I decide to “get back into” space sim games again… The T-Flight HOTAS X has a throttle unit that’s tethered to the stick, so buying just a throttle or just a stick would end up being a bit cumbersome… I kinda like the idea of HOSAS for space sims, so I’ve almost talked myself into a pair of WinWing Ursa Minor sticks: a “Fighter” model for the “main” stick and a “Space” model to use as throttle. The idea is that you take the springs out of the Y-axis and increase the clutch friction - the stick holds its Y-position so you can use it as a throttle. It’d be nice to lock off the X-axis, but the manual only shows a locked position for the Y-axis. It’s very tempting, but I need to see whether I actually get back into this sort of game properly. Even if I do, I’ll still need to apply a fair bit of the aforementioned man maths in order to justify it My plan for today is to finish wiring the bike’s dashcam/CarPlay screen mirror, maybe go for a quick blast for an hour, and that’s it. I’ll have plenty of time this afternoon/evening to re-familiarise myself with Elite: Dangerous - maybe I’ll even dust off the VR headset again
So after a whole lot of messing around I've got and setup the x56.. As much as I thought this was a case of spending too much just to test the waters with this kind of thing, I wish I had just jumped ahead a level in many ways and spent more. Good things about the x56; the amount of mapping options particularly on the throttle unit, which is also quite comfortable to use. It looks quite pretty too. That's about it. It feels like it's going to come apart in my hands at any moment, this thing has ONE drop in it, wouldn't even have to be from height. While the stick is very comfortable for my hand it's far too light. It would have been nice to have a solid weighted base, given the size of the unit. Every time I reach the limit of the axis the whole unit lifts from the desk. Caveat, I'm new to this, I could easily be mishandling the poor thing or expecting far too much. Realistically though for £180 I expect more solid construction.
Good thing is though... ... you bought it from Amazon, so you should have a pretty smooth returns process . Unless it was 'Sold By' a third party on Amazon, which can sometimes be a little bit of a PITA when it comes to communication.
So after many hours of having a death grip on this thing and aching palms, it has it's place. I'm never going to say the quality of materials used are acceptable at the price point however it has performed really well in MSFS 2020. The abundance of switches on the throttle have all been used, this could soon turn into a problem as I look at more simulated flying, I'm focusing on flight controls for now, you won't catch me doing checklists or turning on/off cabin lights. I tried Elite Dangerous, works really well in terms of controls, mapping them however was a nightmare. I also just really didn't enjoy the start of the game, feels like it might be a bit too 'roleplay-ish' for my liking, i'll go back to it a few more times because I know there's a lot to take in. Speaking of which I've been looking at Star Citizen as an alternative to this and reading the thread, anyone has any thoughts on that I'd like to hear them, worth getting and trying as a complete newcomer that struggled with Elite? Here's where it really showed up to play, War Thunder believe it or not.
