Joysticks ?

[Surge1975]

iv been playing BF2 for a wile now and managed to rack up a pretty good score,i very rarley use tanks,planes or choppers i do all the hard graft on foot,well anyway i can fly the choppers and tanks if needed but when it comes to planes i strugle,would a joystick help me out in anyway,this is a picture of 1 i was looking at,but it looks like it will be a pain in the arse to set up!

[Sneaky Assassin]

Re: Joysticks ?

That's a great joystick I have heard many good things about it but it does look a bit complicated to set up, they might have a set-up for bf2 pre installed or one you could download, I have just got a cheap stick and does me fine (not that I am a good pilot to be honest)

[The Soup Nazi]

Re: Joysticks ?

I use a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. I used it for about 6 months and it finally started crapping out on me, so I opted to purchase on of those Saitek's for something like $120.00. After lots of frustration trying to setup the joystick in BF2 (the game doesn't recognize all the buttons as being unique- lots of conflicts in configuration found), I downloaded a profile from the Saitek Forums that someone had made.

I played in a couple empty servers for a few hours trying to get a hang of that joystick, but could never get used to how loose the stick felt. The throttle on the left hand was a thing of beauty. So was being able to mouse look / work with Commo Rose without needing to touch the keyboard/mouse while flying. But that stick just drove me mad.

I returned the Saitek and bought another Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. All is well... :)

I know some people who fly with the Saitek exclusively and do so with great success. But it was going to be such a long time before I got used to the new feel, so it wasn't worth it to me.

Edit: here is a link to the thread on the Saitek forums regarding BF2 setup with the X52: http://www.saitekforum.com/showthread.php?t=7329

[TheGhost]

Re: Joysticks ?

If I was going to get one of the fancy two hand setups I would go all out and get a Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar, despite the insane price. The two hand setups are really for hard core sim flying IMO, and if I was that into it I would do it right and spend the money.



However, if all your doing is flying in games like BF2, such a setup is really overkill. The flying is pretty basic, and you don't need to map dozens of controls. I personally use the Logitech Freedom 2.4, it's more than enough for BF2 and it still does respectably well if I decide to play around with a more serious sim now and then. I like the fact that it is cordless and that the base has a fairly small profile. I play with it sitting in my lap and when I am not in a jet I can just reach over it to my mouse and keyboard without it being in the way at all. Amazon is having a sale on Logitech stuff right now, you can get the Freedom 2.4 from them for $45.

[Tegan]

Re: Joysticks ?

Unless you plan to become a serious Falcon 4.0 junkey, those two handed setups are a bit overkill :) But that's just my opinion.

[The Soup Nazi]

Re: Joysticks ?

I had that Logitech Freedom joystick when I first started flying in BF2. The joystick felt fine, but the hibernate mode that it automatically goes into after 2 (something like that) minutes of inactivity was maddening.

Picture this: you're camping out at the enemy airbase with an M95 waiting for a jet to spawn. It finally does and an enemy hops into the jet. You deftly snipe the pilot out of the cockpit and high-tail it to the jet. You hop in and try to take off... only to find your joystick has "gone to sleep!" You mash the buttons of the joystick to get it to wake up again only to get killed by an enemy AT/whatever. Yay. Happened to me on multiple occasions.

Match that with the poor quality my particular Logitech Freedom had... I played on it for about 2 months and it crapped out. The Extreme 3D Pro has been much kinder to me. They may be better now, though.

[TheGhost]

Re: Joysticks ?

When I first started using the Freedom I crashed a few times while trying to take off because of the going to sleep thing, but now I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me. Just keep the throttle at full, this doesn't seem to be affected by the sleep mode, that way as soon as you get in the engines start to spool up immediately. Give the trigger a squeeze as soon as you are in the jet to bring the joystick out of sleep mode, and by the time the jet actually starts rolling the joystick is completely ready to go. I can see why some might consider this an inconvenience, but for me it is a very minor trade off for the freedom of movement I get with the joystick and because I like having it right in my lap.

[WarGimp]

Re: Joysticks ?

I used to have a HOTAS/stick combo for playing X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter, back in the day. Rocked a lotta arse.

If you're into any other games that involve flying and you feel like droppin some coin, that set ain't bad at all. I've personally played with 'em and definatly liked the feel. Yup, it's lots of setup, but if you're looking at toys like these putting in some geek-tweak time is expected.

Oh yeah... the glows are cool fer funkin up your desk too. Combine it with an Eclipse keyboard and yer all set for that lights out cyber-warrior thing.

[tw33k2514]

Re: Joysticks ?

what no one likes the Saitek CYBORG EVO?

[Tegan]

Re: Joysticks ?

Ya know...I am seriously considering the Saitek X-52 now...I actually enjoy playing more hardcore flight-sims, and I've wanted a really nice joystick setup for a while. At 99 bucks, it's hard to beat as an entry HOTAS setup...plus, I have no joystick to "adjust from", so picking up the flight controls in BF2 shouldn't be too hard (especially with the pre-made configs floating around)...

Anyone have those? Can you attest to the quality? Obviously they will get a little thrashing in BF2...lots of quick jerks and twists for rudder...just curious if they hold up.

[WarGimp]

Re: Joysticks ?

In my experiance, Saitek products are better built than Logitech.
Logitech puts out some great stuff but their quality control has been slipping a bit and general contruction standards have never been that great.

You can feel comfortable picking up a Saitek product and knowing that it's gonna last you a good long time.

[Tegan]

Re: Joysticks ?

In my experiance, Saitek products are better built than Logitech.
Logitech puts out some great stuff but their quality control has been slipping a bit and general contruction standards have never been that great.

You can feel comfortable picking up a Saitek product and knowing that it's gonna last you a good long time.

Sweet :)

I just ordered it from Best Buy for in-store pickup. Should have it in my hands tonight :) Excited to see how it works out.

[Scotty]

Re: Joysticks ?

I just went with the Cyborg Evo. Works great. More than enough buttons to map most everything over to it so I don't have to mess with the keyboard while flying.

A Hotas setup for BF2 is silly. All you really need to be able to do is steer, adjust throttle, and shoot. If you get into something like Falcon 4.0 or Lomac, the seperate throttle and extra controls would be nice though.

[Eden]

Re: Joysticks ?

iv been playing BF2 for a wile now and managed to rack up a pretty good score,i very rarley use tanks,planes or choppers i do all the hard graft on foot,well anyway i can fly the choppers and tanks if needed but when it comes to planes i strugle,would a joystick help me out in anyway,this is a picture of 1 i was looking at,but it looks like it will be a pain in the arse to set up!

Ive got the same stick, its not hard to set up. install the software and plug in.

However you will find it easyer to not use a profile when playing BF2 but instead use the in-game control options to set it up. BF2 hass issues with profiles.

The X52 is a great stick but it might be overkill if you dont play many other flying type games. But I would defenetly recomend Saitek no matter what you buy.

I would suggest you avoid Logiteck, when it comes to joysticks they they are not the best option.

[BeerStein]

Re: Joysticks ?

Ive got the same stick, its not hard to set up. install the software and plug in.

However you will find it easyer to not use a profile when playing BF2 but instead use the in-game control options to set it up. BF2 hass issues with profiles.

The X52 is a great stick but it might be overkill if you dont play many other flying type games. But I would defenetly recomend Saitek no matter what you buy.

I would suggest you avoid Logiteck, when it comes to joysticks they they are not the best option.

I disagree with not using profiles.

I have been using profiles since I got the thing and I have never had a problem. You just have to remember to load a profile to the stick every time you reboot your machine or unplug it. that will happen no matter what the game.

simple to use and setup - do not be scared by all of the functions.

it is pretty much the best you can get and my flying game has improved 100x since going from logitech to this.