What Joystick to buy?

[anchlovi]

Hi all,

I love flying, but when dogfighting I'm experiencing some maneuvering difficulties. The big issue is that it's hard (at least for me) to control two different sets of keypads. When I'm diving for a target I'm using mouse+keyboard and when trying to escape from AA I'm using the keyboard (and using the rear view).

Does a good joystick can solve all this issues? Does it support all the necessary keys like throttle and more?

Can you recommend one?

[Douwe21]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

Logitech Extreme3DPro, has everything a pilot needs;
Throttle control
6 buttons on base
6 buttons on stick
and a cap, 4 way, i use this for all views. Try it and you're hooked

[baggygreen]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

me, i got the logitech attack3. its cheap and nasty, and is everything you'll ever need for bf2, especially if you're on a budget!

[mr_o]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

I have the wireless one of what Douwe21 posted.

[Figge]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

i agree with douwe21, the Logitech Extreme3DPro is the best stick i have ever used.

[InsaneKitty]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

*same*

i have the extreme 3d pro aswell, and it rocks, i had a thrustmaster fox2, that might have been a slight bit better, but it broke after 3 years of intense BF1942 warfare :P

the best joystick is the Thrustmaster Hotas Cougar



but thats bloddy expensive :P
anyway, i use WSAD for throttle and steer, joystick for pitch and role, primarry and secondary fire, and spacebar for flares. works like a charm.

[Ruffian949]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

Had a Logitech Extreme 3dPro, constantly lost calibration in game. Wouldn't turn vey sharp to the left after playing 2-5 minutes would also want to roll to the right. Only way to fix it was to unplug the USB and replug it in. Tried uninstalling drivers, using microsoft XP drivers, cleaning registry, etc.. and could not get a fix. Switched to a Saitek Cyborg Evo and all is fine.

[The Soup Nazi]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

Had a Logitech Extreme 3dPro, constantly lost calibration in game. Wouldn't turn vey sharp to the left after playing 2-5 minutes would also want to roll to the right. Only way to fix it was to unplug the USB and replug it in. Tried uninstalling drivers, using microsoft XP drivers, cleaning registry, etc.. and could not get a fix. Switched to a Saitek Cyborg Evo and all is fine.

The same thing happened with my original Extreme 3D Pro after many months of abuse. I went out and got a new one and all is well again.

[jakswan]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

Logitech Extreme Pro, although I did have one that I had to re plug in every time I booted, eventually rudder stopped working. The new one I got works like a charm.

[Douwe21]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

I used the attack 3 too, as my first joystick, but i really found that i missed the twist action.
I would have one hand on the keyboard, for steering left/right, but i couldn't use the throttle control on the joystick.
This one has it all, but the Attack 3 is a good one to begin with, i believe.
In Amsterdam the Extreme3d costed only 10 euro's more, so budgetwise it really isn't that big of a leap. i payed 30 euro for it.

[[SoP]d4rk4$$4$$n]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

Ive got the Logitech Freedom 2.4 Wireless, and it gets the job done just fine.........just an annoying little habit of shutting off after a while to conserve battery life, although you can get around that.

[InsaneKitty]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

btw, i've never ever used the logitech or thrustmaster software ever, it slows down your pc, and standard XP drivers are just as effective.
with the Extreme 3d pro no calibration is needed, and yeah as with all joysticks you can't pitch as fast as with the keyboard, thats why i have my ctrl key programmed as pitch up, so in a loop or while turning i press the ctrl key to make my plane pitch with its max angle

[IndianScout]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

I've had my 3d pro for over a year, never had that problem, I also have a saitek and cant get used to it.

[TheGhost]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

The logitechs are decent, the problem is they use insanely cheap potentiometers. (that is the part that interprets the movement of the stick into an electronic signal that the computer can read) I had the cordless logitech that was given to me by a friend, it crapped out after about 2 months of solid use. I took it apart and the potentiometers are so incredibly low grade it really ticked me off. Logitech also refuses to send me replacements for them, even though I could easily swap them out myself. So... since I hadn't bought that stick in the first place I decided I wasn't really out any money, so I went and got the corded version at Circuit City. I paid $40 and also got the 4 year coverage plan for like $10. Now, every time their cheesy potentiometers wear out (about every two months) they replace it with a brand new stick. So screw you logitech, you could have sent me a $0.50 part and I would have been happy, but now I will get roughly 6 free joysticks a year for four years.

Moral of the story, get the stick, but get the coverage plan also so you can stick it to logitech.

[DeathDealer68NZL]

Re: What Joystick to buy?

Saitek X52 hands down.