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Good joystick for space sims

TheGreatOne

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Feb 15, 2014
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What would be a good stick that fits the criteria:
- Can be found for cheap (maybe used) on eBay (or some game store located in Europe). I don't want to pay 150+ euros for some high end model like Saitek x52pro
- Compatible with modern PCs. It can be from the 90s as long as I can hook it up to my computer out of the box. In fact being old is prefered if it means I can find one dirt cheap online.
- Compatible with all the classics: TIE fighter, Wing Commander series etc. Being able the play modern games like Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous is a plus but not nessecary.
 

Mangoose

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What would be a good stick that fits the criteria:
- Can be found for cheap (maybe used) on eBay (or some game store located in Europe). I don't want to pay 150+ euros for some high end model like Saitek x52pro
- Compatible with modern PCs. It can be from the 90s as long as I can hook it up to my computer out of the box. In fact being old is prefered if it means I can find one dirt cheap online.
- Compatible with all the classics: TIE fighter, Wing Commander series etc. Being able the play modern games like Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous is a plus but not nessecary.
Best thing to do, however, list your budget.

I'm not exactly sure for space sims, but I played flight AND space sims, so I got HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick). Basically you have a joystick and a throttle lever, as in modern fighter.


Within my budget (which was whatever cheapest HOTAS I could find lol), my research brought me to this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CXYMFS/ Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X Flight Stick
 

TheGreatOne

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Lets say the price of a new game (60 USD/e) is what I'm willing to pay at most. Not very much for a specialized controller, I know. If its a more expensive stick, I'll likely buy a used one, which should halve the price.

I should say that I am willing to pay some extra for a stick with more buttons if it makes the controls less convoluted (ie no stick+keyboard control scheme).

Have you tried playing X-Wing/TIE Fighter/Privateer/Wing Commander 3-5 on that Thrustmaster? I just saw some one selling a used one for a decent price. If it works on those old games smoothly, I might buy it.
 

warpig

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I use Logitech Attack 3 for space sims (it costs around 25$). I don't know how it works with dosbox games, but it's ok for gog versions of X-wing, Tie Fighter, Freespace, Independence War and other windows games.
 

Mangoose

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:Flash:

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It is quite simple:
- If you want compatibility with old Dos games on an original dos machine, you need a joystick that connects to a gameport. Those won't be compatible with modern PCs out of the box. I don't even know if there is still a way to get a gameport on a modern PC.
- If you want compatibility when using Dosbox, every modern joystick will work. Dosbox can use you USB joystick and emulate a gameport joystick.

For space sims I would recommend a joystick with 4 axis + coolie hat. Thus you will have a throttle axis and a roll axis and use the coolie hat to look around the cockpit.
Keep in mind that most old Dos games only support two axis, as this is the standard for a gameport. If the game supports more axis then only for specific joysticks (normally a Thrustmaster Flight Control and/or CH Flightstick), which use some wild trickery to transmit the extra information through the gameport, which must be read in a specific way by the game. Again, Dosbox can emulate both of those joysticks.

As for specific joysticks, I currently use a Logitech Extreme 3D pro. It has four axis, a coolie hat and 12 buttons. Again, dosbox can be used to map any of the buttons to keyboard keys, as normally dos games don't support more than 4 buttons.
Another alternative is the Thrustmaster T-Flightstick X. I actually had this for a short period, and I liked the bulkier design better than the Logitech. However the bulky stick itself gave me hand cramps, so I traded it in for the Logitech. I guess it is a question of personal preference (and anatomy).
Saitek has some alternatives as well, but I have no experience with them.
Unfortunately, all of those joysticks have the roll axis integrated into twisting the stick. I used to have a gameport joystick (a Boeder Flightstick Pro - notice how this stick has hardware switches for Windows and Dos compatibility and Thrustmaster and CH emulation for Dos) that had the fourth axis as a separate, self-centering wheel that was handled with the thumb. I actually liked this design better, as with the current design, it can happen that you accidentally twist the stick, when you just want to move it. I have not been able to find such a design again.
 

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