Windows Star Citizen

Has the new version of the Hangar come out so I can look at my proper Avenger!

 

Hangar v9 came out today, so yes, you can go have a look at your Avenger. Not sure what model is currently present in it though.

 

Already downloaded and looked. Nothing new on the Avenger or Freelancer, apparently its more bug fixings and back end stuff for the patch later this month which will 'add features the community will enjoy'

 

I'm really waiting on the Cutlass model to arrive, as the statue looks silly!

 

You have plenty of other stuff to look at for now

 

So true! I wonder if the Retaliator & Gladiator are going to be added to hangars...

 

Not any time soon is my understanding

 

The update is close to 2GB though...so maybe there will be an Avenger update (I can hope at least)

 

Honestly, I checked, there isn't. Thats all coming with the end of the year patch, it does say it in the release notes...

 

Yeah, I just checked my hangar and none of the models have been updated. The Avenger is still accessed via an external stair rather than the new model with a built in ladder, and my Super Hornet still has its guns on the wrong way round.

Itching to get the dogfighting module now. I've got my HOTAS ready to go, and the wife bought me the Saitek Combat Flight Pro pedals for Christmas. Somewhere down the line for full launch I might go for a 3x landscape monitor setup.





Contemplating getting a cheap dynamo label printer to change things on the HOTAS throttle if necessary. I know there's rumours of a Star Citizen branded HOTAS/joystick but I doubt they'll be a match for the Warthog at RRP of £350. Expecting something more in the £100-150 range tops.

 

Well jel, but my x52 does me well Monitors are old hat, you want a Rift matey Thats what I'm aiming for!

 

How would you know what keys, switches etc to hit with a Rift on though?

 

I wonder when we will finally see X55.

Rift + dedicated joystick they working on = perfect ride

 

Alas, I can't use a Rift due to amblyopia from birth, so I'm down to normal screens. However that has been my thought all along with the Rift - how the hell do you control something that goes beyond one or two basic inputs?



That's the sneak preview for the X55. Can't exactly make much out, but it appears to be a pretty standard spring-balanced joystick (ie: won't be force sensitive like the X65-F) and would most likely sit as a replacement of the X52. Could be a simple swap of the X65 to a gimbal mechanic plus a handful of cosmetic changes.

Also don't think it's going to be SC branded or anything. Saitek will want to sell it to all people interested in joysticks, not just SC owners.

EDIT: So, I'm calling the X55 as:
1) Circa £150
2) HOTAS
3) Gimbal, spring loaded joystick (not force sensitive) with yaw added (so no pedals required)
4) Plastic base with metal highlights on stick/mounts
5) Throttle may be metal

Found a pic!

So yes, looks like a stripped down X-65F. Dual throttles. Mainly plastic build.

 

How much time do you spend looking at your controls in game? I spend approximately.....zero. Even easier with a joystick.

 

Depends on the game. With a HOTAS setup although a lot of the important stuff is at your fingertips (flight controls, guns!) other bits and bobs need you to look - dropping landing gear, arming alternative weapons etc. The more 'immersive' a sim (ie: realistic), the more buttons or keyboard presses involved.

The stick will get you from A to B. It won't let you enable countermeasures, arm and fire multiple weapons, control navigation, look at maps, access trade, etc etc without looking!

 

A game like Star Citizen will surely have a lot mapped keys; I can't imagine you'd be able play it by touch. Only time will tell but I see it as a potential issues for playing with the Rift.

 

I'm planning on building a 3-axis throttle some time in 2014... or 2015... maybe. Un-sprung forwards and backwards, maybe with detents - up-down and left-right sprung to zero position. Pitch and roll on a stick, I'm liking the look of the black mamba lite (upgraded to pro-firmware) but am holding off to see what their metal stick looks like. Yaw on pedals, either home brew or I might reach into my pocket; that'll give me all six degrees at my finger (and toe) tips.

I like the idea of a two stick set-up, but using a sprung stick for a throttle and rotational controls for linear movements grated on the back of my skull, so it's DIY time.

 

I wish someone would make a new decent force feedback joystick. My Force Feedback Sidewinder 2 has two buttons that need to be pressed hard to work.

 

Have you considered ripping it up a bit? Either just fixing the switches - be that contact cleaner, silicone grease, or new switches. Or making-a-new/modifying-the-existing stick; keep all the existing buttons on the SW2 controller, and use something like this to control any new buttons and/or hats you add to it, a two axis hat for class 2/3 weapons, a four button hat switch for navigating in-game menus, etcetera!

Though I'd be inclined to go non-FFB, there won't be any friction acting on your ship after all, G-forces as redout/blackout perhaps, but were I designing a spaceship (don't ask me to, it won't be pretty) it'd be completely fly-by-wire in teams of control.