HOTAS question?

[Darth_Lopez]

The more I play the more I'm noticing subtle imperfections of the joystick or the throttle that are requiring tinkering? Have I just bought a bad thrustmaster? Or is this a common degredation of hotas setups? It's too far beyond the return period for me to take it back, but i'm not beyond looking for an upgrade eventually if it gets rid of the issues I'm having.

Issues:
Throttle:
Sticky Throttle
Index Joystick has drift down and to the left

Joystick:
Drift on the X and Y access to varying degrees, though mostly on the Left X axis.

Model: Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS Hotas. Which I had seen recommended for this game on Reddit previously and fell inside the affordable range for me at the time.

What do other players use for a Hotas set up? I'm New to this

[MichaelFrazzy]

Do you have the full T16000m FCS bundle with the throttle and rudders? I used that until recently upgrading to a Thrustmaster Warthog since after about a thousand hours I was getting constant downward and to the left drift even with my hand off the stick (still using the throttle and rudders though currently), but you shouldn't be having any problems like that already. There is a chance you got a defective unit though... do you have another game besides Elite to double check to make sure it is indeed the hardware?

[Princess Pilfer]

It is common.
The thrustmaster throttle is known to be sticky, you'll have to lube it. It's not broken.

The joystick drift is potentially fixable by recalibrating. (find/install/use the Thrustmaster control software, which should give you the option.) If that doesn't do it, I've got nothing.

If you're looking to upgrade, your throttel is actually a really good budget option asside from that fixable sticking issue. The 'defualt' recommendation for a high quality, low cost stick is the VKB Gladiator NXT.

Personally, I'm on a CH products Figherstick and CH products Throttle Pro with VKB T-Rudder MK4s for pedals.

(PS, the Warthog is very overpriced for it's quality, it should be avoided. It's not bad per-say but you can get better gear for less money)

[JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi]

I use the same stick, and after few months it started drifting very, very slightly when "idle".
I fixed this by moving the Dead Zone slider in the in-game control settings just a little bit (X and Y axis, pitch/roll), and is working fine so far.

Hopefully that fixes it, if not, you should still be within warranty (1 year I think?)

I just recently got the combo with the throttle but haven't even plugged it in yet, hopefully this weekend

[Princess Pilfer]

TBH if you have to set deadzones, it's time to get a new stick. A good stick doesn't need and shouldn't have deadzones, and if you do any fighting the deadzones will mess with your ability to make minor aim adjustments pretty seriously.

[Darth_Lopez]

Originally posted by JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi:

I use the same stick, and after few months it started drifting very, very slightly when "idle".
I fixed this by moving the Dead Zone slider in the in-game control settings just a little bit (X and Y axis, pitch/roll), and is working fine so far.

Hopefully that fixes it, if not, you should still be within warranty (1 year I think?)

I just recently got the combo with the throttle but haven't even plugged it in yet, hopefully this weekend

That's what I've done so far. Which is a fine solution, the deadzones have worked out for the most part. So I'm not in a rush to replace. I've considered the warranty but we'll see if it gets worse.

I'll try the recalibration as the other fellow said later but it's not "beyond workable with settings" yet but I was questioning my decision but it was a "cheap" set compared to others.

Originally posted by MichaelFrazzy:

Do you have the full T16000m FCS bundle with the throttle and rudders? I used that until recently upgrading to a Thrustmaster Warthog since after about a thousand hours I was getting constant downward and to the left drift even with my hand off the stick (still using the throttle and rudders though currently), but you shouldn't be having any problems like that already. There is a chance you got a defective unit though... do you have another game besides Elite to double check to make sure it is indeed the hardware?

Sans Rudders? If by rudders you are referring to the pedals? I got it as a set wth just the throttle and the joystick. It's definitely the hardware on the throttle side (joystick drift there) The drift shows up in the calibrations and is replicable. I'm not entirely sure about the joystick I just noticed that today. But I do have other games I could try it in, though I haven't cause I really just like Elite lately.

Originally posted by Princess Pilfer:

It is common.
The thrustmaster throttle is known to be sticky, you'll have to lube it. It's not broken.

The joystick drift is potentially fixable by recalibrating. (find/install/use the Thrustmaster control software, which should give you the option.) If that doesn't do it, I've got nothing.

If you're looking to upgrade, your throttel is actually a really good budget option asside from that fixable sticking issue. The 'defualt' recommendation for a high quality, low cost stick is the VKB Gladiator NXT.

Personally, I'm on a CH products Figherstick and CH products Throttle Pro with VKB T-Rudder MK4s for pedals.

(PS, the Warthog is very overpriced for it's quality, it should be avoided. It's not bad per-say but you can get better gear for less money)

Have you used the Logitech HOTAS sets? I Generally prefer logitech peripherals but I'm always leary when it comes to something like ahotas (especially since previous attempts to use logitech joysticks were often very bad, and regularly had drift issues but they were also crazy cheap by comparrison to anything else.

[Darth_Lopez]

Originally posted by Princess Pilfer:

TBH if you have to set deadzones, it's time to get a new stick. A good stick doesn't need and shouldn't have deadzones, and if you do any fighting the deadzones will mess with your ability to make minor aim adjustments pretty seriously.

This was my sentiment I might attempt to redeem the warranty then cause it's only a max of 2 months old (granted I have put about 120 hours onto it in that time.)

[JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi]

Originally posted by Princess Pilfer:

TBH if you have to set deadzones, it's time to get a new stick. A good stick doesn't need and shouldn't have deadzones, and if you do any fighting the deadzones will mess with your ability to make minor aim adjustments pretty seriously.

hmm not sure it would be as drastic as that, the deadzone only accounts for when centered, i.e. the zero position, is not messing with the whole sensitivity of the rest of the motion of the stick.
I haven't noticed any degradation on the fine movement at all, but then again, is not like I'm performing surgery but have no issues with fixed weapons except my own capability (or lack of)

Again, the deadzone adjustment I did was very tiny, is not like I moved the slider half way, if it keeps increasing definitively will look into replacing it under warranty first, but these things are programmed to fail at the 1year mark + 1 day lol

[Princess Pilfer]

Originally posted by Darth_Lopez:

Originally posted by Princess Pilfer:

It is common.
The thrustmaster throttle is known to be sticky, you'll have to lube it. It's not broken.

The joystick drift is potentially fixable by recalibrating. (find/install/use the Thrustmaster control software, which should give you the option.) If that doesn't do it, I've got nothing.

If you're looking to upgrade, your throttel is actually a really good budget option asside from that fixable sticking issue. The 'defualt' recommendation for a high quality, low cost stick is the VKB Gladiator NXT.

Personally, I'm on a CH products Figherstick and CH products Throttle Pro with VKB T-Rudder MK4s for pedals.

(PS, the Warthog is very overpriced for it's quality, it should be avoided. It's not bad per-say but you can get better gear for less money)

Have you used the Logitech HOTAS sets? I Generally prefer logitech peripherals but I'm always leary when it comes to something like ahotas (especially since previous attempts to use logitech joysticks were often very bad, and regularly had drift issues but they were also crazy cheap by comparrison to anything else.

HOTAS are niche enough that the 'big' brands like Thrustmaster and Logitech tend to be quite bad and/or extremely overpriced TBH. The thrustmaster throttle you have is a weird exception. You probably want a specialist brand.

I have not personally used the Logitech HOTAS, no, but they have *tons* of common complaints about drift and button ghosting and outright failure.

Without going into a whole thing:
VKB has good low end and high end stuff and is available in the US and EU.
Vripil has good high end stuff (though arguably not *quite* as good as VKB but it's likely to come to preference for button layouts and stuff) and is avaible in the US and EU
CH products does good mid range but its essentially only available in the US.
Avoid Thrustmater and Logitech, they're overpriced and/or bad.

[Darth_Lopez]

Originally posted by JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi:

Originally posted by Princess Pilfer:

TBH if you have to set deadzones, it's time to get a new stick. A good stick doesn't need and shouldn't have deadzones, and if you do any fighting the deadzones will mess with your ability to make minor aim adjustments pretty seriously.

hmm not sure it would be as drastic as that, the deadzone only accounts for when centered, i.e. the zero position, is not messing with the whole sensitivity of the rest of the motion of the stick.
I haven't noticed any degradation on the fine movement at all, but then again, is not like I'm performing surgery but have no issues with fixed weapons except my own capability (or lack of)

Again, the deadzone adjustment I did was very tiny, is not like I moved the slider half way, if it keeps increasing definitively will look into replacing it under warranty first, but these things are programmed to fail at the 1year mark + 1 day lol

The deadzone does hamper sensitivity and responsiveness since it deadens the reception of a the input beyond a certain threshold. It's not that it only applies when centered, so much as it creates the illusion of being centered by denying inputs under a specific threshold. In this case the deadzone is actually quite sizeable, and It has interferred with my comfort and gameplay a couple of times already. But i mean its a livable solution until a replacement can be achieved. I have however also just now filed a warranty ticket because if it was a few months i could understand the degredation but it's been a month and 2 days just enough that its outside my receipt range for microcenter -.- v.v

If my adjustment was less than 1/8th the bar I probably wouldn't mind as much but its' rpetty close to 1/8th the bar on all counts.

[Princess Pilfer]

Originally posted by JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi:

Originally posted by Princess Pilfer:

TBH if you have to set deadzones, it's time to get a new stick. A good stick doesn't need and shouldn't have deadzones, and if you do any fighting the deadzones will mess with your ability to make minor aim adjustments pretty seriously.

hmm not sure it would be as drastic as that, the deadzone only accounts for when centered, i.e. the zero position, is not messing with the whole sensitivity of the rest of the motion of the stick.
I haven't noticed any degradation on the fine movement at all, but then again, is not like I'm performing surgery but have no issues with fixed weapons except my own capability (or lack of)

Again, the deadzone adjustment I did was very tiny, is not like I moved the slider half way, if it keeps increasing definitively will look into replacing it under warranty first, but these things are programmed to fail at the 1year mark + 1 day lol

Deadzones by definition mess with the sensativity of the rest of the range of motion. The expand the '0' input range. If 0 is centered and 100 is full tilt, having a deadzone of 10 to prevent drift means inputs 1-9 are gone, you go directly from 0 to 10. It's definitely a problem. (it's a much bigger problem with FA off, but FA off is pretty important to a lot of combat. Also in atmo-flight games.)

[funkynutz]

Joystick drift on X+Y... Get some plastic safe damping grease (Nyogel 965 is a popular one, but any thick plastic safe grease will do). And watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GLFxN77CVk

Helps to reduce the wobble at center position, which reduces the drift. If you still get some drift, make sure the sensors are secure, failing that: you'll need to set deadzones.

[Princess Pilfer]

FWIW I really like my CH products stuff. I have minor complaints (like the lack of a 'center' point on the throttle, so it can be hard to tell how much or little I'm applying without looking at it every so often, considering trying to manually implement something to make it easier) but it's reasonably priced, has a fktun of buttons, and uses the same parts the company uses to make industrial machinery and military equipment, so it lasts forever.
It's not the most precise out there but in 15 years I'll still be using it.

[Darth_Lopez]

Originally posted by FunkynutZ:

Joystick drift on X+Y... Get some plastic safe damping grease (Nyogel 965 is a popular one, but any thick plastic safe grease will do). And watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GLFxN77CVk

I will save this pending the warranty thing I just put in. In the mean time I'll enjoy my game I guess, that is a bit too much work for me when they might replace it. but I will keep it in mind.

[JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi]

ok, in my case I'm just looking at the UI, and is like 5% , and is just on the pitch axis. If this goes over 15% I'll be worried :-D

[Princess Pilfer]

A thing to keep in mind is that a better stick (ie one with more buttons) will be way more convinient for low-stress stuff like mining, and a *huge* improvement for stuff like fighting.

The T1600m has what, 1 hat and 4 buttons? So you can control the targeting, the guns, maybe the power distributor and that's basically it.
On mine, I have the power, the guns, the firing mode, the targeting, chaff/ecm/heatsynch, the boost button, and I still have like 3 buttons left over I haven't decided what to do with yet. Most decent sticks could have similar setups.
So in a fight, I have access to everything I might want to press without having to give up control of either the throttel or the pitch/roll.

(it matters a lot less if you're mostly doing like exploration or mining, there's a lot fewer things you have to have access to *right now,* but it'd still be more convinient)