Recommendations for gear

[sgtseano]

Hi all, After much deliberation, and a couple years watching YouTube videos, I’ve decided to take the plunge and will soon be starting this game. The thing is, I REALLY want the full experience it can offer, in that regard, WOULD YOU KINDLY recommend any good, affordable peripherals. I’m set to invest myself into this game and would like to have the best experience possible. I was thinking about the thrustmaster joystick and H.O.T.A.S set up, but I’m still undecided. Although I know that “Google” is my friend in regards to searching for products, I’d like to hear any personal views from people who’ve vetted the equipment. Anything would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

[whatdoesthisbuttondo?]

If you are after immersion primarily, then it's probably going to have to be HOTAS as that's what your commander is using.

Personally, after trying both I prefer twin joystick setup over HOTAS as that gives me better control where it matters.

Using two Thrustmaster T.16000M, wouldn't recommend any other stick for that kind of setup since those can be configured perfectly for left-hand usage, which most sticks can't.

You get them in a set of two pretty cheap even.

[Theutus]

I use a warthog HOTAS and TrackIR head tracking software... expensive, but totally worth it

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2266607700

[ScottyPippin]

I've played for years with just a controller and keyboard, but I did get to borrow a HOTAS for a few months, and it was pretty cool, though I'm not sure i'd wanna spend the money myself to buy one, as the controller support is pretty good, and relearning all the bindings wasn't something I wanted to do.

But for immersion sake, the HOTAS wins on all accounts, but the keyboard/controller setup is also not a bad second place in my opinion. I'd also recomend a ultrawide resolution monitor, or just the old triple monitor setup. This game really benefits from it

[FaTeR]

If you want immersion buy a VR headset for this game. VoiceAttack recommended after that.

[Napoleonic S]

For me hotas is not about immersion, but to allow more complicated 6 dof control to be executed more precisely and naturally.

Doing a corkscrew maneuver in combat while switching weapons, switching subtargets, employing chaffs, adjusting main throttle and firing 2 separate fire groups weapons all at the same time is far more naturally achievable with a hotas.

Kmb and gamepad are not designed to be used in such a way, just think how many buttons and axises that I need to control at around the same time in the case event I mentioned in the above. No kbm and gamepad oriented games have such demand on the control mechanism, these mainstream control hardware aren't in the same league with hotas for 6 dof spaceship combat.

[Agony_Aunt]

How is your budget?

If you are looking for a decent cheapish HOTAS you can't got wrong with the Thrustmaster HOTAS X

Also, don't overlook the possibility of getting a stick with a twistable stick for Yaw. (The HOTAS X has this).

If you really want to go all in, i can also highly recommend getting a steering wheel and pedals for when driving the SRV. It really transforms the driving and you can also then use the mouse for turret mode while still driving around.

[sgtseano]

What wonderful replies, thank you all.

[Bilguuuun]

Yes

[Agony_Aunt]

Oh, and one more thing about throttles. A throttle with a mid-point stopper is also nice for quickly throwing your ship into reverse and finding zero. If you don't have that you either need to set full range with a toggle (which doesn't feel as good) or half-range without a stopper, meaning finding zero can be a pain.

[whatdoesthisbuttondo?]

Originally posted by Napoleonic S:

For me hotas is not about immersion, but to allow more complicated 6 dof control to be executed more precisely and naturally.

Doing a corkscrew maneuver in combat while switching weapons, switching subtargets, employing chaffs, adjusting main throttle and firing 2 separate fire groups weapons all at the same time is far more naturally achievable with a hotas.

This is exactly why I went for the twin-joystick setup, having full manual thruster control on the left stick.

I've used HOTAS for a time, but went back to this setup just with better joysticks.

[Napoleonic S]

Originally posted by whatdoesthisbuttondo?:

Originally posted by Napoleonic S:

For me hotas is not about immersion, but to allow more complicated 6 dof control to be executed more precisely and naturally.

Doing a corkscrew maneuver in combat while switching weapons, switching subtargets, employing chaffs, adjusting main throttle and firing 2 separate fire groups weapons all at the same time is far more naturally achievable with a hotas.

This is exactly why I went for the twin-joystick setup, having full manual thruster control on the left stick.

I've used HOTAS for a time, but went back to this setup just with better joysticks.

How do people control the throttle axis with HOSAS setup? Modern HOTAS have analogue stick on it so you can use it for maneuvering thrusters axis control, analog stick is only a bit inferior than a full sized stick.

But I don't see any left hand stick having easily accessible throttle axis on it, so how does a HOSAS is superior to a HOTAS?

[Dee]

definitely get a hotas and i can't recommend the t-flight hotas-x enough. i had a number of way more expensive sets, the bang-for-buck you get with it is unbeatable. superbly built, and imho, the most comfortable stick out there by far.

if your budget allows, have a look around for a vr headset. elite vr is right up there with hl alyx in terms of pure experience. the rift s is pretty good and not bank-breaking.

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Originally posted by Agony_Aunt:

or half-range without a stopper, meaning finding zero can be a pain.

Adding a dead zone to that axis will put it at a "zero" point (at the middle). It will help to have a stable enough "zero", even if you didn't put the throttle precisely at the middle. It's useful for using a docking computer, too.

[Alrik]

Originally posted by sgtseano:

I was thinking about the thrustmaster joystick and H.O.T.A.S set up, but I’m still undecided. Although I know that “Google” is my friend in regards to searching for products, I’d like to hear any personal views from people who’ve vetted the equipment. Anything would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

I used the Thrustmaster X Flight HOTAS for around 3 years, and switched later to the Saitek / Logitech X52pro.

Thrustmaster X Flight HOTAS is entry level. It's less precise than the Saitek X52pro and the stick movement between 0-100% axis input is shorter.
Shorter stick movement is more direct, longer movement is more precise.
The T-Flight has a 2 way lever in the throttle you can use instead of the sticks twist axis.

The next better Trustmaster is the T1600 FCS (T1660 stick and throttle).
The stick is comparable to the X52pro stick in accuracy, but not build quality (some complain about broken twist axis in the T1600).
The T1600 throttle has more options than the X52pro throttle, for example an analog 2 way lever , but some complain about the sliding mechanism.
It's possible to plug in Thrustmaster pedals from racing sim steering wheels for extra input with the feet.

Thrustmasters top product is the Warthog. Built quality is generally considerd better than the X52pro, but also the price is higher.
Also the Warthog has no twist axis.

Some less expensive stuff for Elite:
Roccat Powergrid.
It's an app for Android and I-Phone to trigger keyboard inputs and macros on your PC via wlan with icons on your smart phone or tablet.
Trial version with 2 grids (each grind with 8 - 32 icons) is free, aditional grids are cheap.
It's still aviable on the app stores, but won't get any upgrades in futurel.

Head tracking is a great add on in Elite, there are some tracking apps for smart phones using the phones camera, and "free track no ir" or "facetrack" that only needs a web cam.

[EsM]

Hotas and Vr is amazing in my experience, pair it with voice attack for the icing on the cake.