Joysticks: better or not?

[Ion]

I am 'ambidextrous' so to speak with joystick and mouse..I use the joy for more evasive strong moves...mouse for more precise (specially in the helo)

[sjhlax89]

I first started helo/plane flying in BF1942/DC, and it was HARD with the keyboard/mouse, so I whipped out my old Logitech Force Feedback. Immediately I could turn much easier in planes and whatnot. However my joy was a bit old, and had no Z axis, or no twistyness for those nongeometrical knowing people. So I had to set a couple buttons on my joy to help me with that. Somehow I managed to fly planes and helo's in DC to get where I wanted to go.

Some forum trolling on the DC forums some more and I was shown the perfect solution as to how to hover with the DC helo controls. For those of you who know how the DC controls were, if you let go of your acceleration key on the keyboard, you'd drop. Some genious posted on the forums that what he does with his joystick, he set his primary acceleration controls to his keyboard keys W and S. Then he set the secondary controls to the throttle on his joystick. He then hopped into a helo with the throttle on his joy all the way down, he then rose the throttle until the helo was just about to take off from the ground. Then he could use the W and S keys to adjust his height, but if he wanted to hover, he let go of W or S, and the helo hovered. Brilliant. I did that and set my yaw keys to A and D, So now I have a joint Joystick/keyboard combo. Because thats how I did it in DC, thats how I have done it in BF2. In my opinion, this is perfect for me. Because I dont have yaw controls on my stick, I can easily do that with my keyboard. My mobility in helos is superior to most keyboard users, just because I think joys' are more natural for flight, but I still have that hover aspect. My combination also works for planes, no hindrances here. I dont ever touch my throttle while flying planes, I simply use W and S if I want to go faster or slower.

No one has yet mentioned a keyboard/joystick combination. I offer this solution to those anti-helo with joystick people. This probably won't help if you're having balance issues while trying to hover, but just think of it as equal and opposite reactions with your joystick. Also, I dont know if this helps with balance issues, but try taking yaw controls off the joystick and using the A and D keys for yaw. I hope this helps some of the non-believers in capable joystick helo pilots.

Maneuverability is key with the joystick

Stability is key with the keyboard.

I say take the best of both worlds :-)

[stawned]

ok i am confused ...
which is a better joystick? the:

Saitek Cyborg Evo
OR
Logitech Extreme 3d Pro


Ive read reviews of the logitech, and they say that max 1-6 months and joystick fails on u.
Donno anything about the saitek ...

Any help please - need help for the right decision!

Cheers

[holybadger]

apperently the seitik (how ever u spell it) is very good quality

[Wynterheart]

Well i have a Saitek Cyborg EVO (with wire). It is amazing brillient for planes and perfect for choppers. just takes a bit of practice with the choppers, imo it is def worth getting a joystick.

thats the one i have. while flying in a plane is a lot easier, i find trying to target stuff is a lot harder. i just need to practice with it i guess. i think helo is easier with mouse and kyb though.

[sbikerbud]

Ok thanks ya I love it it is sooo much easier to do rolls and manuever easier with it. I still like to fly heli's with mouse and keyboard cause i notice it is much easier to control and land in a hurry with out crashing.

One question on the logitech what is the throttle looking thing for in front goes minus to plus (-+)? Also what are your buttons set at...

I set mine like this

trigger=guns
left thumb= missle
top middle button...throttle
right bottom is set for flares
left bottom=switch weapons

i dont use the very bottom buttons for anything..

Again thanks for all the info :)

I set the two buttons on the base for E=eject and 9=schute (just in case )

[sbikerbud]

**Also again to the logitech joystick... Has anyone gotten that lever with the "+ and _" to work in front. I thought it was for throttle but it won't work.

Go to the Key assignment screen for planes and helos (one at a time) in the options.
Put the slider on the joystick to the centre position
Click on the key option for accelerate and whilst it is "active" push the slider on the joystick forwards.
It should set decelerate automatically to the opposite direction.

Save the key set-up and the throttle should now work.

[Propeck]

thanx alot mate, thats a great help, do u know anything ago the evo force, does that have lag isues?

I don't know anything about the EVO Force stick, but of course, perhaps the best place to investigate about whether there is or not would be Saitek's own forums!

[Jaxx]

Go to the Key assignment screen for planes and helos (one at a time) in the options.
Put the slider on the joystick to the centre position
Click on the key option for accelerate and whilst it is "active" push the slider on the joystick forwards.
It should set decelerate automatically to the opposite direction.

Save the key set-up and the throttle should now work

Didn't work but no biggy im used to using it on keyboard... got 9 kills today with plane never shot down :) (in one map of course, all planes and heli's)

[PBAsydney]

JOYSTICK
JOYSTICK
JOYSTICK

It makes me want to cry to see people defending keyboard / mouse tactics!

[Frinkahedron1]

I've been playing flight simulators for years now, so naturally, I dug out my old Sidewinder (old enough to require a serial to usb port adapter :laugh: ) and plugged it in.


I still can't figure out how people can do any kind of maneuver with a mouse...

[jrw2k]

JOYSTICK
JOYSTICK
JOYSTICK

It makes me want to cry to see people defending keyboard / mouse tactics!

*sigh*, it makes me want to cry to see ppl defending joystick.
I personally have a Saitek Cyborg EVO, its parked there i dont touch it, tried it obsesively, and... nah!.
keyb/mouse is the way it was meant to be, you gotta practice a little bit to get the feeling/instinct going (it's like when you learn how to ride a bike) and then more and more practice, play with the mouse sensitivity, yaw pitch factor to your like (eg.i don't invert mouse). with key/mouse the control you have over the chopper can't be described with words, you just have to try it.
what to do:
Never practice on poulated servers
instead:
Create a local multiplayer game.
you will crash over and over again, have patience it took me 30-60 mins to get the feeling/instinct going, once you get it going you will not regret it, you will also come back to this thread and thank me, even offer some kind of compensation ($$$), which I will politely refuse, but then you will insist and oh well.. :p .
my two cents.

[Jaxx]

Always depends on what you like. If it isn't broke don't fix it. Me personally I love the joystick, but if mouse works for you then all I can say is "meet ya in the ski's man" and we shall see :)..............

[joetomic]

I use just my laptop and mouse. I'm a very capable heli pilot but I don't fly any planes simply by preference. It all comes down to choice. People attain skill by practicing. You can either practice with your keys/mouse or a joystick.

[Dr. Bullet]

ok i am confused ...
which is a better joystick? the:

Saitek Cyborg Evo
OR
Logitech Extreme 3d Pro


Ive read reviews of the logitech, and they say that max 1-6 months and joystick fails on u.
Donno anything about the saitek ...

Any help please - need help for the right decision!

Cheers

I haven't actually used the logitech, but I did touch it and mess with it a lot at CompUSA. It seemed cheap and easily broken compared to the Cyborg Evo.