Thrustmaster T16000M Good for DCS?

[Yuki Nagato]

So I'm fairly confident that I'm going to enjoy playing DCS and so decided to look for a flight stick (right now I play dcs and other flight sims with keyboard and mouse) and I'm curious if anyone can tell me if the Thrustmaster T16000(which you can buy with the throttle and pedals to control... I forgot what it's called... the tail... thing? I'll edit this part out when I remember) is a good stick for DCS? It seems to have enough buttons for most functions during flight. I can't think of another company I would buy a stick from so I assume this is a good stick. Your input?

[Gurke]

My friend has it. He likes it pretty much

[CommandDork]

I have it and use it strictly for DCS. Tis a good set up (I got the kit with the pedals).

[Vilab]

it is the best stick at this price range

excellent sensors for roll and pitch inputs, very sensitive and very durable

the buttons are actually a drawback ( stick alone ) compared to most higher priced HOTAS stick
but with the TWCS, there are more than enough of them for all the FC-3 inputs, and all the "true" HOTAS command of most DCS modules ( only the A-10-c will be lacking commands without a lot of macros )

the TWCS has very good ergonomy, better than many higher priced HOTAS, unless you have ( very ) large hands

if you don't plan to buy propeller driven aircrafts, choppers, older tech aircraft or the F14. you don't "need" the pedals to control the rudder ( the word you looks for )

[✠BrikkTop✠]

Yeah sure. My first HOTAS was from Thrustmaster , the cheapest one. T-Flight Hotas X or so.
The Rudder Pedals are ok/good , gets the job done. Still using them, but i upgraded my HOTAS to the thrustmaster warthog.
But anyway if you enjoy DCS go for the T16000M FCS Flight Pack or whatever the HOTAS and rudder pedal combo is called. Going from keyboard and mouse to a HOTAS and pedals will be a game changer ;)

[Gekkibi]

I use T.16000M and I give it my seal of approval. The twist axis is good enough so that rudder pedals aren't absolutely needed when flying either Su-25T or Ka-50. The joystick doesn't have that many buttons, but that only means that you have to get creative with bindings (either use modifier keys, or dedicate your keyboard's numpad for something important).

I'd say that the second most important hardware investment after T.16000M would be TrackIR, and only after that decent pedals.

[Vilab]

stick only > some kind of head Track > TWCS >> rudder ( except chopper... )

the TWCS also have a rudder axis, better than the stick twist ( if you use pedals, you can use it as an additionnal zoom axis... or let it as rudder and use it for lazy taxying )

the free head tracking OpenTrack software is very interesting, it only require a webcam / a modern cellular, many options, some are 0$, the "True" very sensitive 3 point track method can also be at 0$ with a little creativity

[Heidong]

I use it but, somehow, on DCS the pedals sucks and I just use throttle and joystick.

[Emme]

I'm using the full FCS HOTAS and pedal setup and I fell in love with it. The stick is super accurate and the overall feedback is very nice for that price range. Nothing that feels poor or clunky on the setup. And the pedals are doing what they are supposed to do. As with everything you'll get used to it by using it...

[BrenIn]

I've bought only the joystick but I feel that the x56 Rhino will be a better solution. Since the x56 has many more buttons and hats + switches. Also, you can't individually throttle left or right engine using the T.16000M. Witch is a very important feature. you can snatch it for around the same price aswell [ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CKDS4ZT/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A27UZHF4R1YWN7 ]

[Vilab]

the X-56 requires very large hands, and even if you have them, the ergonomy is very poor

on the stick : you need large hand to reach half the controls at the top of the grip, and even if you reach them, hitting one of them will often hit a few other.
the ministick is too tall, while the trigger is too small...

on the throttle : one of your left hand dots is not even used, while your thumb is over used with 2x4 way buttons, 1 ( too tall ) mini stick, a few buttons, 2 other axis....
again, hitting the 4 ways buttons with the tall mini stick on the way...

very many batch of throttle ( usually the ones you find at -30% compared to the others ) are EXTREMELY unreliable and requires soldiering after a few months of use

despite the fact you can change the spring of the stick. the "stronger" one is still very weak, resulting in the need for deadzone.


( "old" green 2013 T16000M stick here, still at 0% deadzone )

[Freakshow]

I have the T16000M (stick, throttle and pedals... I still haven't used the pedals lol).

I like it overall. I use one modifier button and, so far, I've not ran out of easy to use buttons to bind for everything. Be it the Ka-50 or A-10C, everything is set up on mine to be "right there". I use the awkward buttons on the throttle for things I don't "need" instantly or in tough situations like gear, flaps and then lights and other things.

When I first got it, wow. I was impressed. The stick had no play. It sat right there at dead center, didn't wobble around at all and the very slightest, tiniest input you could possibly make was detected. That's awesome.

Well... 2200 (or is it 2300?) hours have passed for me, this stick and using it for DCS only. The stick doesn't hold dead center on its own anymore. That wasn't such a problem in the beginning. A deadzone setting of 3 wasn't really noticeable. See, when you get slack in the center, those inputs are detected and you'll be rolling left or right or unable to fly straight with or without your hand on the stick. Then it was a deadzone of 5...8... 12... now I'm at a deadzone of 14 on the X and Y axis to keep it neutral with my hand on it. I can probably smooth this out by adding to the curvature.

Ok ok.. so all of that is tolerable. Now, however, after picking up and setting down my joystick every day, the wire that goes into has become loose. There's a loose connection and I have to wiggle it around and pray for the best. It's gonna be dead within a couple of weeks, I can tell by the rate it has worsened. I have to debate on fixing it myself and voiding the warranty or dealing with being without a joystick for weeks while waiting on a return IF the warranty will even cover this. It's one of those add on 4 year warranties.

Yes, though, I'll replace it with another. I just wanted to add some truth. The guy above me has one from 2013 and says it's still at 0% deadzone. I dunno... I mean... I just dunno. Sure, I can set mine to 0% deadzone, too, but... I explained what that will do.

Dunno if I got a bad one or if people don't like to talk about wear and tear honestly or if the "green" models were made with completely different and higher quality parts/bearings.

Keep in mind this is the only joystick I have ever owned OR used.

Oh yeah, I'd like to add that I can flawlessly fly helicopters with the rudder pedals on the throttle. I like those so much that I never hooked my pedals up lol.