hotas or track ir?

[Mongriph]

So right now im using a logitech 3d pro joystick. i am about to buy a peripheral for dcs. which is more important a hotas or track ir? i currently have my eyes set on x55 rhino or track ir 5

[Hadji]

TrackIR in my opinion. It's a game changer!

[S1lentJo]

I have both. The X55 and trackIR 5. If you can, get both. Since you already have a joystick go with trackIR. There are people who use a coolihat for looking around but since i got trackIR there is no going back for me. And it depends on what you want to fly. A10 is not that demanding when it comes to head movement. But in a dogfight, you'll be swinging your "head" around to get that situational awareness you need. Doing that with a coolihat while handling your speed and stick, no thank you.

[kazereal]

Proper stick first in my opinion.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I began flying with keyboard and mouse. Within a few hours I ordered a cheap hotas, with decent amount of buttons and a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ hat. I used the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ hat for "head" movement. A few days (or was it weeks?) later, after seeing a few youtube videos with peple flying with headtracking I ordered trackIR. Now, I am looking to buy rudder pedals, as the stick rotation axis is getting on my nerves. After that, I will upgrade to a better hotas joystick.

To seriously enjoy this simulation one needs to invest both time and money.
The very least you need a stick. Since you have that, your next move should be headtracking. The difference between TrackIR and a collie hat can be measured in light years.
Once you have that, you can start thinking of getting a better stick.

[Bryan]

I have an x-55 and a trackIR5 myself too. And I urge you to consider the quality of your current stick. A good stick is in my opinion, the most important tool for this game. my old stick had some deviations, especially the amount that actually got pulled to the left and right, wich was horrible ( it was some €25 stick I once bought for BF2 many years ago ). Now with the super finesse of the X55 I can deliver rockets and gunfire in CCIP mode without a single hassle! game changer for me. Also the X55 throttle has tons of buttons and switches. Most of the functions of those switches can change depending on how you set it up using the MODE switch on the bottom left of the throttle.

Before I had a trackIR I used the padlock system a lot, I look around with the mouse and if I see something I used a mouse button to lock the view to a unit and if that didn't work ( didn't always lock on ) I locked on to the terrain so I could maneuvre the craft while keeping eyes on target. I'll admit that trackir improved that expierence, measured in lightyears as mentioned before. But to me a proper HOTAS is still the Most Valuable Tool.

[Sunde]

If your a combat fighter pilot, having success without trackir is almost impossible, while the logitech might be a cheap stick, you'd find its one of the most accurate ones out there. I'd go for headtracking first.

[Mongriph]

thank you so much for all the help guys

[georg.naujoks]

get both ... and if you want to save some money search for trackhat clip or delan clip ... both are much cheaper than trackir and work as well

[LeftCrusade™]

Trackir first since you already have a joystick.
Consider buying another joystick btw, I own the x55 and I regret it.
I'd recommend the ch fighterstick and throttle. Or go a more expensive way and buy the CH throttle with vkb black mamba <3

[Stone_313]

Originally posted by LeftCrusade™:

Trackir first since you already have a joystick.
Consider buying another joystick btw, I own the x55 and I regret it.
I'd recommend the ch fighterstick and throttle. Or go a more expensive way and buy the CH throttle with vkb black mamba <3

Logitech 3D Pro isn't exactly a "real" joystick.. I used to have the same one.

IMO you should get proper hotas first. It makes things so much easier..

Also you can DIY a trackir for yourself to get you over the worst hump..

[LeftCrusade™]

Even if someone had a speedlink blackwidow or that kinda crap. I'd still recommend trackir over a decent hotas.

[Hadji]

Have to agree. I bought my TM HOTAS Warthog before my TrackIR but I wish I had done the opposite. The TrackIR made a greater impact on gameplay than the stick eventhough I love the Warthog.

[Piro]

I'd grab a TrackIR and keep the cheap joystick if your funds are limited. However you don't need TrackIR and you don't need an expensive HOTAS. The general consensus is that TrackIR will improve your situational awareness and a HOTAS will improve your reaction time by not needing to seek out keys on the keyboard.

TrackIR does not improve your situational awareness. It just makes the process significantly more intuitive and is a much more natural approach. With enough practice on a hat switch (and with properly set up snap views) you can absolutely have the same situational awareness as you'd get with TrackIR. It will just take far more practice.

As far as a HOTAS goes, they can absolutely improve your reaction time. However the question that needs to be asked is how much of a reduction in reaction time does it actually give you? Not much.

The other argument for a HOTAS is that they generally have more precise axis inputs on the joystick and throttle(s). This...is actually a really good argument. I'd argue it's less important if you fly fixed wing than helicopters, but only marginally so. If you find that you're not getting enough precision out of your stick (and it's actually the hardware, not simply a lack of experience/practice on your part) absolutely it's time to consider one of the more expensive HOTAS's.

However, I'd mention, the X55 Rhino you're looking at is marginally better than your Logitech 3D in terms of precision. The big thing about the Rhino is that it has buttons and dials galore. To put it in perspective, the Thrustmaster T-16000M has better precision than the X55 and it's a $50 USD stick. Upgrade up, not down. If you're looking for better precision, look into CH's Joystick/Throttle combo or the Thrustmaster Warthog.

Of the two, grab TrackIR. I know I've just spent most of the post arguing that you don't need it, but it is valuable. There's a lot to be said for more natural situational awareness. And honestly, in a sim like this, you've got enough to keep your attention without having to fight a hat switch for viewing around the aircraft when you're first starting out. You can do it, and eventually get just as good with the hat switch and snap views as you get with TrackIR but it'll take a lot of time. You'll get in an hour with TrackIR what will take you weeks or months with a hat switch. And it's more immersive besides.

TL;DR: Get TrackIR and upgrade to a HOTAS later.

[LeftCrusade™]

I don't think you can get the same out of a hat switch as out of trackir. Trackir is way more precise, way more natural, you don't have to use your finger (hand moves with it).
I tried to play with only hat switch, and its awful. Its slow, checking left and right corner took ages.

[Piro]

Originally posted by LeftCrusade™:

I don't think you can get the same out of a hat switch as out of trackir. Trackir is way more precise, way more natural, you don't have to use your finger (hand moves with it).
I tried to play with only hat switch, and its awful. Its slow, checking left and right corner took ages.

You'll note I mentioned "snap views" specifically. Snap Views are preset specific positions for the camera to snap too when the key/hat switch is pressed. It doesn't "pan" the camera. Additionally I used a modifier key to allow yourself to pan the camera around for when I needed more finess. Take it from someone who used a hat switch for about a year before grabbing TrackIR. Other than TrackIR being more natural, there's no real difference in my situational awareness. But again, you have to put the practice in.