Which Control Device Do You Play Evochron With?

General discussion (space-sim gaming, astronomy, and sci-fi entertainment in general, etc.).

What controller do you use?

Keyboard and Mouse
0
No votes
Gamepad
0
No votes
Joystick (single stick)
0
No votes
HOTAS Joystick
1
100%
Other
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 1

Drache Rott
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Post by Drache Rott »

Old School Ch Flight Stick Pro...or a Thrustmaster Pro Flight Control System 93 ams 08-25 ..at least when I reinstall a game port on my computer that is... By the way Vice... your sytek x52 wont save you..it might only slow down the enevitable ;) . Honestly I have not used the latest sytek controls but I broke both a cyborg and the x39 in testing real fast. but it could just be my hand strenght. I had a MS rep at fry electronics talking about how good a ms side winder was and I told him it felt weak. He bet me the buying a sidewinder versus him buying me ANOTHER CH flight stick pro that the sidewinder would hold up. 10 minutes into the demo I crushed the grip on the sidewinder in my hand into plastic splinters. I have only ever broke 1 of my Flight stick pros and that one turned out to be defective and they gave me a new on on the spot at thier plant in California(I lived about 35 minutes away from them at that time) . I have read that the X52 pro model uses metal gears and several other things to make it stronger I am temtped to check it out. Any one that actuly puts a good beating ona joy stick instead of limp wristing it have any views?
MMaggio
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Post by MMaggio »

Well, you woke up the Saitek promo guy.
I've been using the Saitek "X" series controllers since the first X35 made for Win3.1
I have 3 X45's and an X52, and yes, over the years I have broken a few. I never was able to actually "crush" one in my bare hand. Are you related to "Odd Job" from the James Bond movie?
The only thing that ever failed was an occassional button. I returned it to the repair center and I must confess, they never, ever, fixed my controller.
Instead, the gave me a BRAND NEW ONE every time! At no charge! Even when the controller was out of warranty.
I also have a Thrustmaster w pedals and I found the Thrustmaster harder to program and not as versatile as the Saitek X series. On the Saitek X series, every buttun & switch is programmable at least three times in the same game profile. To my knowledge, no other controller offers that kind of versatility and power.
But, you gotta' go with what works best for you... SAITEK RULES!!!
Have fun......
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
Drache Rott
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Post by Drache Rott »

not Odd Job no.... ;) as far as hand strenght goes I used to work our serious like + I used to fight MMA style fights back before they were called MMA haha. I used to work my hands like crazy becuase a person person that cant break your grip cant get away. On a side note.. CH used to send me a new flight stick on a regular basis when ever they would update the design with a paid shipping lable to send back the old one. between me and my friend chris and my brother danny we would keep the joysticks in use on wing commander privateer or descent or descent 2 or to many peoples astonishment, Duke nukem 3d and quake2. they started refering to us as thier testng team as they said we would wear out thier sticks worse and break them in ways that thier testing machenes wouldnt. the last joy stick I got from them was 6 years ago when I moved from california to south carolina and I havent been able to break that stick yet.

[Edited on 3-4-2008 by Drache Rott]
madmax
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Post by madmax »

I have a cyborg and you must have good strength to break it quickly but the sidewinders are tough.
Drache Rott
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Post by Drache Rott »

I was alot stronger back then. I seriously douby I could crush one like that now...but I would be very likly to bust it in a hairy dog fight. I actuly took out the steltek probe in privateer with out having the empowered gun, took me 35 minutes of perfect flying. I was sweating bullets and my arm was going numb.. then I manged to kill it and the game promptly gave me an error code and locked up. Turns out your not suppsoed to be able to do it and the game wasnt meant to handel it..I tried again and killed the probe again and the game didnt mem error out but it the prob showed back up when I left sector and was in me like stink on shit ...I gave up and let it kill me. I then found one of the springs in my ch flight stick was broke too..haha.

[Edited on 3-4-2008 by Drache Rott]
MMaggio
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Post by MMaggio »

Well sir, with an endorsement like that, you have piqued my interest. Perhaps I should take another long look at your controller...
Anybody who can take out the "Probe" without the big gun can fly with me anyday!:)
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
Drache Rott
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Post by Drache Rott »

I will be sure to take you up on that. I have promised vice a severe beating when I have the gear to go tow to tow (sic) with him. so I am sure I will need someone to train with to get my self up to steam in this game. it has been a few years since I had a good space flight game to tear into.... I keep wanting to go kick the guy who made freelancer in the nuts. I mean seriously...no joystick. I am glad I found out before I bought the game. I would have been pissed. and I am sorry but all the wing commander games can not make up for the insult to us jet jocks thats freelancer was.
Skiiwa
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Post by Skiiwa »

Just ordered the CH qudrant and the CH fighterstick..CANT wait for them to get here. CH has always been the most durable. My x36 is in the closet and wont calibrate. I think my x45 still works but havent plugged it in since I got my x52. The price and the rotating nobs are the best thing about the Xseries. I love using them for my trim or rudder and throttle on my shipsims. I alsolike the pretty blue lights. :P

I never did figure out how to get my CH pro pedals to work with my X52 in ER. Does anyone else use this setup?. I have major problems in a few other games.(Planetside for one). Hopeing my new stuff will fix this.

The CH pro stick I think Is the most comfortable stick ever made..I just wish it had a dozen or so more buttons.

I still fool around with Freelancer. I WAS pissed when I found out It didnt have Joystick support, and so were a million other people. Give him a kick in the nuts for me if U ever meet him. I still am scratching my head over that one.
hitman2002
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Post by hitman2002 »

Its a Saitek X52 for me

[Edited on 8-3-2008 by hitman2002]
Skiiwa
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Post by Skiiwa »

I wish they would put the Rocker back on the throttle. I think that was one of the best controler Ideas in a long time. The twisting handle thing SUCKS. I took my laptop to work to let some friends try to fly. ALL of them keep crashing because they would twist the joystick when trying to take off.
MMaggio
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Post by MMaggio »

I agree! I hate the "twist"! Especially in space oriented games. A turn to the left, pull back on the stick, a twist, another turn, and I'm hopelessly lost! Without an horizon, I find it difficult at best to know where I am.
That's why I have 3 X45's! They should last me the rest of my gaming carrer.
Shame on Saitek!
Btw, Saitek Rules!!
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
Drache Rott
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Post by Drache Rott »

I hate the twist myself..feels unnatural.. the only games I ever found it usefull for was mechwarrior 2 and the heavy gear games
MMaggio
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Post by MMaggio »

What Saitek needs to do is get rid of all those useless lights & junk on the throttle box that no one has time to look at during combat anyway, and replace the "rocker" and add....Force Feed back! Now that would be cool!:cool:
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
Drache Rott
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Post by Drache Rott »

yuck yuck.... no force feed back... I dont mind a chair that shakes or moves but I dont want some artificial thing trying to wrench the controls out of my hand. I have driven or piloted enough differnt types of devices though extreme situations that I can tell you I dont have a steering wheel or a control stick trying to shake its way out of my hand. on the other hand I have had force feed back devices piss me off by disturbing my game play enough to make me mess up what I was doing. bio feed back devices like the r360 3d arcade flight machene was cool..it spun you around which ever way you rocked or roll the craft, but it did not shake your controls
MMaggio
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Post by MMaggio »

Awww, and yeah, I agree. I tried a couple of force feedback controllers awhile back and although you can adjust the vibes, it still was difficult holding the pipper on the target while firing.
Btw, I do have two 50 watt "Bass Shakers" bolted to my "combat chair" and the realism is absolutely jaw-dropping!
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
Skiiwa
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Post by Skiiwa »

Same experiance for me with Force feedback..Need somthing that shakes me, not my controllers. I have a headset that pulls power from a USB port that Vibrates. It adds WAY more to my immersion than I thought it would. Standing under the helicopter blades In Arma Is Very interesting.
MMaggio
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Post by MMaggio »

I have that headset too! Between the head set and the bass shakers in the chair, kicking in the afterburner is a way cool experience!:cool:
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
Drache Rott
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Post by Drache Rott »

well just to piss people off I will tell you the best part of my system is my 61" samsung monitor in 1280x720. it maybe just me...but any space sim looks good when the cockpit is large enough to really seem like a cockpit ;)
Skiiwa
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Post by Skiiwa »

61inch wont work in my house..I dont think I could get far enough away for me to see the whole screen:D Biggest I could do is 42ish. Any bigger and it wont fit over the fireplace. A 61inch 1080p tv is probably still in the $3k range..WAY to much for me:P
MMaggio
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Post by MMaggio »

I run a Mitsubishi 65" @ 1920X1080. It's too old to go any higher. I have a friend who plays on a 10' X 12' projector screen! Now that's BIG!;)
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
jazzylg
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Post by jazzylg »

Hi, I'm the new guy. I use x52! It's still awesome.
Skiiwa
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Post by Skiiwa »

Welcome jazzylg! x52 is a great controller.

My CH quadrant and Combatstick just came in!! Im gonna have to figure out how to do that config file Vice was talking about as it didnt solve my problem with ER trying to use my Pedals as my controlling joystick:(

CH combo Is INCREDIBLE in FS2004, FSX, Testdrive unlimited, and Virtual Sailor. All the games I had time to test so far :P (Tried ER and it was stuck on my CH pro pedals still) GOD I love Reverse thrusters In the FS games! I dont know how CH does it, but this combo just seems smoother than my X52...It could be because I paid 3 times the money though:o

[Edited on 3-11-2008 by Skiiwa]
MMaggio
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Post by MMaggio »

Yeah, that IS a problem. Good thing I'm "independently wealthy"! [jk]
I'll just keep my eyes open for a used one on Ebay...
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
Brian Rubin
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Post by Brian Rubin »

A space sim ain't worth its salt unless its flown with a joystick, IMO. Exceptions like Freelancer happen once and again. ;)
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Skiiwa
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Post by Skiiwa »

Originally posted by Brian Rubin
A space sim ain't worth its salt unless its flown with a joystick, IMO. Exceptions like Freelancer happen once and again. ;)
What saved Freelancers Butt is its ability to be Modded. I still fool around with that game. There is a Pretty good Star wars mod That I found on Lancerreactor