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Best joystick?

I am surprised no one has mentioned Force Feed Back, i could not use a joystick without this,i think you lose something without FFB. just my humble opinion.
 
wsmwsm said:
What is Force Feedback and how does it relate to using a joystick?
Click to expand...

Hi wsm. Not to hot at explaining things but, FFB. In a joystick the joystick sort of fights back, example when you fire guns the stick shakes or when taxing across the runway you can feel every bump and pothole. it may not sound like much the way i have explained it, but it really helps with the immersion factor. using a joystick without FFB. feels sort of dead. imho.
maybe some one will jump in here and explain better than me,
 
Yes, a force feedback does somewhat simulate a "real" joystick. However, if you use FFB with a joystick that is the twisting type for the rudder, FFB is not so nice and can cause sometimes a litte problem when your rudder goes the wrong way. Personally, I find FFB distracting and prefer to fly without FFB. It is how far you want to take the whole flightsim experience as far as realism is concerned.
 
My humble opinion is that FFB could be better used to create feedback you cannot have in front of your computer (G forces for instance). I do not like stick shaken when I fire, as I know I'm firing and am not sure real world aircraft are thrown off their aim when firing :) but what I like is the stick becoming hard as speed increases, and what I would like would be stick shaken or vibrating when taking too much Gs, or when hit by bullets, for instance. It may be a unaccurate effect in regard of realism, but would be great in terms of feedback. I would also like sound to be used the same way. Some games have pilot's breath becoming heavy when taking too much Gs. This sounds great to me !
 
Old Tiger said:
:wavey:I use it.:isadizzy:Hard to calibrate on xp pro.
Click to expand...

jaycee: MS FFB2 = Microsoft Force Feedback 2

Tiger: I don't know which FFB stick you're using but the Game Device Calibration panel (Control Panel -> Game Controllers -> Properties -> Settings Tab -> Calibrate) has a tick box on the Axis Calibration page to "Display raw data".
I find it very handy to have this ticked when calibrating my FFB2: zeroes for X-axis, Y-axis and Z-rotation indicate the stick is centered. It also helps to keep my fingers off the detectors on the grip that trigger the feedback while moving the stick to its limits for calibration.

hth
 
noelberrier said:
Some games have pilot's breath becoming heavy when taking too much Gs. This sounds great to me !
Click to expand...

It's horrible. Thirdwire sims (Wings Over, Strike Fighters) have it, and it sounds, well, rather reminiscent of those unpleasant telephone calls you hear about. The airframe creaking noises are far better, at least for WW2. But the idea of getting a bit of resistance in the controls sounds good.
 
IIRC correctly it was BoB. Sounds more like painful "ouch" wispered by the pilot as the border of the screen became slighty darker ... quite nice IMO.
The point is you are warned you are exceeding the limit. This would help me not to break my 109 each time I fly it !
 
I've come to like my recently aquired Saitek AV8R. Microsoft Sidewinders have always been my choice for a reasonably priced stick, but they're no longer made and I've grown tired of buying used and/or repairing.

The AV8R is a good accurate stick that has improved my flying. The drawbacks as far as I see are that the guarded switch is quite a reach for my short thumb ( and without hitting my machine gun button on the aft top of the stick )
 
I have had a HOTAS Cougar for the past several years and despite the occasional sensor failure and total disassembly recently cannot rate them too highly... the buttons, the programming is seriously pra...and they're made of pot metal which feels sooo good when that Zero is creepin up on your six...:kilroy:
 
I'm thinking about the jump to a Force Feedback Joystick. I see in the aircraft config file some entries at the bottom like:

[forcefeedback]
gear_bump_nose_magnitude=6000 ; 0 - 10000
gear_bump_nose_direction=18000 ; 0 - 35999 degrees
gear_bump_nose_duration=250000 ; in microseconds
gear_bump_left_magnitude=6000 ; 0 - 10000
gear_bump_left_direction=35500 ; 0 - 35999 degrees
gear_bump_left_duration=250000 ; in microseconds
gear_bump_right_magnitude=6000 ; 0 - 10000
gear_bump_right_direction=00500 ; 0 - 35999 degrees
gear_bump_right_duration=250000 ; in microseconds
ground_bumps_magnitude1=3250 ; 0 - 10000
ground_bumps_angle1=8900 ; 0 - 35999 degrees
ground_bumps_intercept1=5.0
ground_bumps_slope1=0.48
ground_bumps_magnitude2=750 ; 0 - 10000
ground_bumps_angle2=9100 ; 0 - 35999 degrees
ground_bumps_intercept2=0.075
ground_bumps_slope2=1.0
crash_magnitude1=10000 ; 0 - 10000
crash_direction1=01000 ; 0 - 35999 degrees
crash_magnitude2=10000 ; 0 - 10000
crash_direction2=9000 ; 0 - 35999 degrees
crash_period2=75000 ; in microseconds
crash_duration2=2500000 ; in microseconds

My question is are these three effects the only ones that are active in CFS3, or do you get other feedback from the stick? (i.e. stick shaker for stall, guns firing, heavy controls at high speed, etc.)
 
I use a Maxfighter F-16 joystick, its okay, but seems very effective for CFS3.

Don't really know of the force feedback.:mixedsmi:
 
I use the Logitech Force 3D Pro.
Force feedback adds another dimension I think. Although I have never flown in an aircraft that was firing guns I think that the stick shaking is probably realistic considering the size of the aircraft involved and the number and caliber of the weapons.
 
Hals und Bein Bruch said:
I have had a HOTAS Cougar for the past several years and ... cannot rate them too highly... the buttons, the programming is seriously pra...and they're made of pot metal which feels sooo good when that Zero is creepin up on your six...:kilroy:
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more!
But other then the price and the mentioned problems, you can also add "develops serious play on the joystick center postion. It's seems to be a design flaw and the aftermarket solutions seem very, very interesting but are sometimes more expensive than the entire joystick/throttle combo itself! Apparently the play hasn't bothered me enough yet to spend another bucketload of money on my Cougar...;)

And running the risk of bringing up my pet peeve again and hyjacking this thread; has anybody succeeded in assigning toebrake AXIS function to his/her pedals? I can only have one toebrake, the other one simply won't accept. I still haven't found out whether it is me or a CFS3 bug.
Due to the programming capabilities of the Cougar however, I have now assigned the normal brake command to my toe brakes but of course this rids me of gradual braking capabilites. It's either full brake or no brake...:frown:
 
I use a Saitek X52 and the following works for me :

<Device Type="Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals">
<GameMode Name="Player">
<Axis ID="X" Action="AXIS_LEFT_BRAKE_SET" Scale="65472" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="Y" Action="AXIS_RIGHT_BRAKE_SET" Scale="65472" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="Rudder" Action="Set_Yaw" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
</GameMode>
<GameMode Name="M3DViewer">
<Pov ID="1" Action="HeadPov"/>
</GameMode>
<GameMode Name="Gunner">
<Axis ID="X" Action="TraverseGun" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="Y" Action="ElevateGun" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
</GameMode>
</Device>


BTW the use of pedals for gunner is a complete failure : I'm not able to track anything, and IIRC this is not the way TRUE turrets were trained.
 
Get the CH products The manager can control the joystck ( I have the combat stick) Pro trottle and pedals. All can be calibrate in the control manager. Never had a problem. Had them for at least 5 years. But by the time you read this, you will have probably bought another brand of joystick.
 
swpierce said:
Although I have never flown in an aircraft that was firing guns I think that the stick shaking is probably realistic considering the size of the aircraft involved and the number and caliber of the weapons.
Click to expand...

WW2 pilots report the astonishing racket and vibration as even 8 weedy .303 Brownings were fired by them for the first time. Others compare the amount the aircraft shook about as they did so with other aircraft - the Hurricane was reckoned a better gun platform than the Spitfire for example because it stayed steadier when firing. The Me262, with four 30mm cannon in the nose (ouch!) was reckoned a superb gun platform.
 
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