Which Joystick Do You Use For X³?

Mav'r'ck · Post by **Mav'r'ck** » Mon, 27. Aug 07, 13:32

Teufel:

You tried Amazon?

As you can see, I joined in June...and that's when I bought my Cyborg Evo, for £30. Cheap at the price, its and excellent stick, and looks the part too.

I've heard the x52 is fantastic too...but seriously expensive it seems to me.

Other than the Cyborg, I wouldn't know what to suggest, as I bought it on the basis of the massively superior user reviews the stick got on Amazon.

Like the man said though, andy decent stick with throttle and POV hat for strafing will improve your X-perience!

roasted_monk · Post by **roasted_monk** » Mon, 27. Aug 07, 17:54

I second the motion on the Logitech Extreme 3d Pro!

Damn fine joystick. Very happy stick, great software, lots of buttons, solid feel, precise. Definitely my choice and is cheap. So easily replacable.

On a sidenote... I have 2 Microsoft Sidewinder 3D Pro's brand new still in the box. I got 6 of them during the Descent 3 tournament in vegas many many years ago and now I'm down to 2. They're not USB. But maybe I should ebay them.

Monk

Andyf · Post by **Andyf** » Mon, 27. Aug 07, 17:57

Anyone who has a game port and needs a joystick, I would heartily recommend getting hold of a microsoft 3D pro!

Post by **Nanook** » Mon, 27. Aug 07, 18:39

CH Products Flight Stick Pro, and Pro Throttle here. I bought my first Flight Stick Pro, game port version, right after they first came out, and used it heavily for several years until the USB version came out. Now that's all I use. These sticks are a bit more expensive than most, but they're very solid, reliable, and you can even repair them yourselves if something wears out. CH Products sells all the parts you need to keep your stick running. I've only had to replace a couple of springs on my old Pro stick, and the USB one has seen me through both X2 and X3 so far with no problems. I highly recommend CH Products sticks if you plan on using a joystick heavily, like I do.

ninjitsumonk · Post by **ninjitsumonk** » Mon, 27. Aug 07, 18:44

How much are you willing to pay?
If your willing to pay £30-£40($60-$80) I highly recommend the Xbox360 controller, all you need to do is download the official controller driver from microsoft or download XBCD(or something like that).
For anybody who doesn't know it has:
2 touch sensitive axis(left and right triggers)
2 "bumber" buttons(top left and right)
2 fully functioning analogue sticks(left and right)
4 buttons on right
D-pad
2 buttons on middle left/right
1 central button(not sure whether it is functional or not)
plus it has the bonus that it's actually designed for a games console.

Hansaw · Post by **Hansaw** » Mon, 27. Aug 07, 19:43

I also use the Logitech Extreme 3d Pro!

It is a great stick but mine seems to have an off centre drift problem in X3 sometimes which can be annoying but easy fixed by switching off the computer, pulling the stick from the USB port, switching the computer back on and once in windows plugging the USB back in. It resets and is fine.

This only happens sometimes and I am not sure whether its just my old Logitech Extreme 3d Pro losing its ability to centre correctly or if there is a slight off centre setup that happened when I 1st set the thing up. don't see how though as the stick has self centring.

But I love the twist handle that I use to roll the ship when in combat, has saved me many times, the fact that you have a throttle but I find I need both hands to use that if one is steering the ship I have to use my keyboard hand to throttle the ship up or down. But that is no biggy

Yep its a nice stick but I would not like to make a decision for you. Sticks are very individual things, some people swear by a make other by a any with a particular function and some or just never happy lol. However out of all the sticks I have had the Logitech Extreme 3d Pro! has been way the best stick for my needs and game play.

Stay safe!

Hansaw

Doktor Teufel · Post by **Doktor Teufel** » Mon, 27. Aug 07, 20:05

I have an XBox 360 controller, actually, but it's wireless (that's the version XBox 360s come with), and the receiver costs $20. The only games I really use a controller for are SNES emulations and the like, and I already have a controller for those, so I'm not too keen to pay $20 for a receiver when I can get a joystick instead for $25-$30.

ninjitsumonk · Post by **ninjitsumonk** » Mon, 27. Aug 07, 20:53

Really? I got 2 wired ones with mine. Doesnt the Xbox360 wireless come with an actual adaptor to plug into the Xbox360's usb's?

Xaffax · Post by **Xaffax** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 07:11

Thrustmaster topgun afterburner II (I Like it BIG)

avicenna · Post by **avicenna** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 07:27

I use a Radioshack F15 Combat Fighter joystick which I believe is a rebadged version of the Suncom F15 joystick.

This is by far the best joystick I have ever used. It is far superior to the Saitek stick that I had prior to getting this one.

There is one word for this joystick, and that is solid. It looks identical to the joystick used in the F15 Fighter. It emulates the keyboard and can be easily configured so that X3 can be run solely from the joystick.

Unfortunately, mine is beginning to show the effects of over five years of heavy use and if I ever see one for sale on ebay I will be bidding.

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 08:06

Andyf wrote:Anyone who has a game port and needs a joystick, I would heartily recommend getting hold of a microsoft 3D pro!

Brilliant advice, apart from the fact Microsoft haven't actually made joysticks in about 5 years now--therefore getting hold of such a stick is quite difficult.

Sarcasm · Post by **Sarcasm** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 11:33

I'm also a Saitek user - in my case a Cyborg 3D USB Gold which I think I originally bought to play X-BTF, though I'm now onto my second (I broke the rudder with some overenthusiastic acceleration!). I guess that range has been entirely replaced by the Evo's.

ezra-r · Post by **ezra-r** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 14:46

I use Logitech Wingman Attack3. Simple, effective, and very good price.

Andyf · Post by **Andyf** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 14:49

pjknibbs wrote:
Andyf wrote:Anyone who has a game port and needs a joystick, I would heartily recommend getting hold of a microsoft 3D pro!
Brilliant advice, apart from the fact Microsoft haven't actually made joysticks in about 5 years now--therefore getting hold of such a stick is quite difficult.

Well, given the previous post, I thought it was relevant!

BugMeister · Post by **BugMeister** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 15:49

when I can be bothered, I use an old (discontinued) Trust Predator 501

- it's not bad, but I prefer the M.O.U.S.E controls - better response IMO

Mars Mug · Post by **Mars Mug** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 17:11

I use my keyboard only for playing X, I don’t fiddle with my joystick at all

moot · Post by **moot** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 17:56

woolridge wrote:Saitek Cyborg 3D Rumble Force, it has 8 buttons, the POV hat thing, the 3 axis movement, the throttle control, and of course the trigger And the force feedback (it violently shakes when you are hit )

I have that joystick too, but how to you get force feedback? (No, I'm not saying I've never gotten hit before.

Hagallsson · Post by **Hagallsson** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 19:41

My joystick is an old Sidewinder Pro from when Windows 95 was new, and a 4 gb HD was huge. It features a throttle, POV hat, 4 buttons on stick, and 4 on the base, and a "rudder peddle" built in as another joystick axis.

Its been lying around since my family tried to give Flight Sims a try back then. Now, its just a lack of money thats keepin me from upgrading.

ouch · Post by **ouch** » Tue, 28. Aug 07, 20:50

I'm useing my good ole, sidwinder precision pro. (the original joystick port version)

the thing you have to be carfull of when getting a joystick is that some are designed to be thrown around in arcade games while others are designed to give smooth movements for simulations. (usually simulation sticks have higher prescision sensors and smoother movement slides)

getting a stick designed for flight simulators and then throwing them around to track that last m5 in the X series WILL ruin them. Analog sensors are prefered for their high precision in simulators, but they are mechanical and wear out over time. while hall effect sensors are the prefered sensor of choice for arcade uses. They might not be very acurate (I've even seen some deliver an anoying "bouncing" type effect.) but because they don't have any mechanical contacts they can take several rapid movements from one extreme to the next second to none.

As an avid fan of both the the X-series and the Falcon series, I can tell you that the right stick for the job makes all the difference in your performance.

I will say that if your one of those people who don't care and just want a stick then get one with hall effect sensors. they will last you a lot longer and are cheaper to boot. just don't get upset when you can't, or find it excessively hard to do in-flight refueling or landings on a windy day in a flight simulator because the stick doesn't have the precision you need...

xeon_1 · Post by **xeon_1** » Wed, 29. Aug 07, 01:01

I just took the plunge and ordered the x52 pro dam cheap too 158€ with delivery normally it around the 200€ mark here without delivery
Hell the one store i ever seen one in stock it was 210€

Now i will finally have a stick that centres itself again since my sidewinder used the force feedback motors for that but they don't work in X3 only when you hit something
And in FSX the force feedback is crap anyway (not strong enough) so it won't be missed
Now if only some more flight sims would come out

But i am going to keep the old stick connected for when i play some old games with decent FF in them

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

Which Joystick Do You Use For X³?