Cockpit design?

[HogDaddy]

I already have a good gaming M&K, but just ordered a HOTAS, and I'm thinking of upgrading my monitor as well. This makes me realize that I will probably add even more goodies to my setup as I progress, and I'm trying to figure out where I should put everything. At the moment, I have a regular desk, so I'm thinking of upgrading to something else, but I don't quite know what or how.
Yeah, I've seen pics of huge gaming cockpits, but I'm not sure I'm ready to move to a larger place with an extra room devoted entirely to gaming, so maybe upgrading (and rearranging) my existing smallish setup will be enough.

Is there a forum here on Steam about this stuff?

[chiefputsilao✖️ping]

yes, you are already here in hardware and forum.

wait till your fellow high-end/enthusiast/luxury gamers say their piece.

[FireGryph]

All you need is up to you. As a bachelor in an apartment, I have a corner of my bedroom dedicated to my setup. A corner desk, under desk keyboard tray, hutch, etc. Suits my PC case on the floor below (on a flat piece of shelving wood, to keep it off carpet) along with laptop and two monitors on desk.
But that's what works for me. What works for you is entirely your choice, and what others that share the space agree on. You don't necessarily need a super expensive cockpit deal, those are mostly for show at various expos or trade shows. Its very common to have just a simple desk, too.

Do what makes you comfortable and fits your needs.

[Electric Cupcake]

An Imperatorrworks chair would be cool, but I've never done anything more than a Steel Battalion setup.

(Also, don't skip pedals to go with the hotas)

[HogDaddy]

FireGryph, do you have a HOTAS, and if so, do you keep it on your desk along with the K&M? Maybe this speaks to my lack of knowledge here. I imagine some people only bring out the controller stuff they need in order to play a particular game, whereas some people keep everything available all the time - which would imply a need for more room in the "cockpit". I also notice there are some FPS games (like GTA 5) which also include airplane flight, which suggests to me that these games would require access to all the controls, all the time.

Sorry, I'm pretty green to all this stuff, which is why I'm trying to understand (and plan for, if possible) the "cockpit" layout and equipment that I'll be using. The games I'm starting to play are Far Cry 3 (FPS), Elite Dangerous (space sim), GTA5, and probably COD: Modern Warfare. What I would like to avoid is struggling with a crappy, disorganized setup, so that I can focus on practicing (and enjoying) the games themselves.

[FireGryph]

Ahhh, I admit I misunderstood. I thought you meant cockpit in a more colloquial way, as referring simply to your general gaming setup. I did not connect this to the meaning of an actual cockpit style setup for flight, or at least the HOTAS and such, you use.

I do not have a HOTAS, I simply have a joystick I bring out for the games I need it in. Free space(2), descent, and the like. In games such as Battlefield I simply stick to M&K, not seeing a need to have the joystick out for the limited amounts of flying.
I have a few drawers to hold all my extra and old peripherals...

[Vince ✟]

You can easily build a frame of any form with something like PVC and black felt. Use some led lighting in key areas and you can create your own cockpit/starship in your bedroom. It will look corny outside, but inside it'll rock

[HogDaddy]

I'll try to put things in perspective here. I think I'm a bit unusual, in that I've been wanting to play video games since the '90's, but never really had time. I'm now at a point in my life where I have both time and money, so I recently decided to explore this interest that I already postponed for too long. So, after some recommendations from good friends with a lot of gaming experience, I decided on a PC platform (instead of a console), built my own gaming PC (specs below, if interested), and now I'm beginning to explore a variety of games. So far, I've really only played Portal 2, Bioshock, and Far Cry 3, but I'm interested in flight/space sims, which is why I ordered a HOTAS. So, now I'm faced with how to arrange my setup to accommodate not only my existing K&M, but also the HOTAS which is supposed to arrive today. I intentionally ordered a HOTAS with twist function on the joystick (for yaw), so that I don't have to worry about having rudder-control pedals under my desk. So, this is an example of my first "cockpit design" decision, but as I progress through the games that interest me, I might decide that I do want pedals for a car racing game or something, I'm not sure yet.

I'm assuming that most PC players want to play a variety of games - some requiring K&M only, some requiring HOTAS + K&M, for example - which suggests that they have a setup with all this stuff within arm's reach, whenever they crank up the game they happen to be in the mood for. But instead, maybe a lot of people only play one game for an extended period of time, which means that they only need the controls necessary for that particular game, and can keep any other controls stored somewhere else. So, I guess I was trying to figure out what to plan for (in terms of my setup or "cockpit", if that's the right terminology) as I dive deeper into this very enjoyable hobby that I've recently adopted. I guess it all boils down to whether I plan to switch often from playing one game to another, or just play one game for weeks at a time. At the moment, I find myself sometimes in the mood for a high-energy, tense FPS, and other times in the mood for something more relaxed, which suggests that I'll be hassling with adding and removing controls to my rig before starting each game. But maybe that wouldn't be such a big deal, and I'm overthinking this!

Does anybody know if there are any guides for this sort of stuff - blogs, websites, books?

Intel i7-8700 CPU
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi MoBo
Asus Cerberus GTX1070ti 8GB Advanced Edition GPU
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4-3000 RAM
Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 512GB SSD
Corsair HX 750 Platinum Power Supply
Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler
Fractal Design Define R5 Case
MS Windows 10 Pro 64
Corsair K70 Rapidfire Keyboard
Logitech G502 Hero Mouse

[Spec_Ops_Ape]

Like you I have similar gaming interests (fps and space sims mostly). My desk is a reasonable size that has a cupboard on the right side, this is where I store my X52 H.O.T.A.S when I'm not using it. I play fps games more often than the space sims (E.D, X:4, Star Citizen) but when I get into those it will be for days or weeks at a time so keyboard gets pushed aside. I also bought a bluetooth numpad that I use for keyboard navigation in the aforementioned games.
I also have my monitors on a dual arm monitor mount that is bolted to my desk, gives you a bit more space to play with as the monitors are off the desk.
One thing I wish I had done was buy the Thrustmaster X56 Warthog and pendular rudder, very solid and the rudder uses hydraulics. A local PC store here has the Warthog and pedals on display, very nice. Instead I got the much cheaper Logitech X52 HOTAS and pedals and while they work well they also feel a bit to plasticy, especially the rudder pedals.
Something I have been thinking of building is a "lap table" that I can mount the HOTAS to, something similar to the tables for steering wheels.
Another thing I have been thinking of getting is a second hand Oculus Rift for E.D but I don't want to spend $400 NZ just for the one game.

[Carlsberg]

Google "flight sim chair" click on images there are lots of pictures of diy and shop sold chairs to give ideas. I bought a car seat and built a wooden frame around it, made the armrests about 10" wide and flush mounted a TM Warthog controller set into them. Pedals are mounted into an angled board under the desk, works very well.