Time for a New Joystick

terroshak

Spaceman
Well, my Logitech Wingman Force3D has finally given up the ghost. Or rather it's fighting too strongly! The force feedback motors have managed to bugger themselves up and the joystick now locks in the top left corner and refuses to calibrate.

All the Logitech tools and tips have done no good, so I think it is time to buy new.

Any comments? What do people use? What is the favorite WC joystick (Chris, you've got the Logitech Wingman Freedom haven't you? Any good?).

My last joystick before the Wingman was a Thrustmaster FCS, which was fantastic and lasted a VERY long time. What are Thrustmaster like today?

What do people think about wireless vs wired joysticks?

As many opinions as possible please. I'd like to know what's out there and what people think are good. Resources are limited, but I'd rather spend over budget and get something good if there's something really worth it.
 
I have a usb (because my new computer doesn't have a game port) Logitec non-force feedback. Lots of buttons, wasn't too pricey. Can't remember the model and I'm not at home to look
 
if you are diehard you can get the thrustmaster HOTAS cougar. very expensive.. and for some reason thrustmaster doesnt make the rudder pedals anymore but you can maybe buy one off of ebay.. but the saitek hotas isnt nearly as expensive and does practically the same thing
 
I just recently got the Saitek x52 and although it doesn't have force feedback...its got just about everything else! :) fantastic stick, as good as I've ever used. Pretty reasonably priced too at $109 from Compusa (probably cheaper on line).
 
The Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar is out as it's too much. The Saitek HOTAS is just about affordable, but costs nearer $140 over here in the UK. I can probably get one of e-bay a bit cheaper though.

I'm not that bothered about force-feedback. Having had it, I'm not impressed. Just something else to go wrong. And it has. :)

What about the cheaper stuff? The Logitech Freedom, or the Thrustmaster Afterburner II?
 
If you care about anything resembling a flight sim, the cheaper ones won't really cut it... The Logitech ones are far too imprecise for controlling combat jets and Prop fighters...
 
I highly recommend the Saitek brand...they are emerging as a strong leader in joystick technology. I've heard nothing but positive reviews on the Saitek Cyborg joystick and it's only about $35ish. Prior to my x52 I had a Saitek for about 5 years and never once had to recalibrate or anything like that. I just wanted a HOTAS, that's the only reason I switched.
 
Yeah, the Cougar is pretty pricey. But if you compare what you can do with it versus the Saitek stick you'll know where your money went. Not that the x52 is bad. If it had a bigger handle I'd probably have gotten one myself. But for some reason my hand cannot accomodate to the handle design of any Saitek HOTAS. This cramped form nah. Give me a F16 design any day over that one.
 
Hi Striker. It's times like this I get so angry about the price difference in IT equipment. The X52 over here is about £80 delivered. That's near $150!!
Even the basic Cyborg EVO is £35 so nearer $65!.
It's unbelieveable that in these days of the so called Global Village IT kit in America is usually a third cheaper than here in the UK.
And as for the full Cougar it's around £180 which is at least $300!

I'm going to check my sums. If I can justify it to myself it'll be the X52. It does look exceedingly cool!
 
terroshak said:
Hi Striker. It's times like this I get so angry about the price difference in IT equipment. The X52 over here is about £80 delivered. That's near $150!!
Even the basic Cyborg EVO is £35 so nearer $65!.
It's unbelieveable that in these days of the so called Global Village IT kit in America is usually a third cheaper than here in the UK.
And as for the full Cougar it's around £180 which is at least $300!

I'm going to check my sums. If I can justify it to myself it'll be the X52. It does look exceedingly cool!

Bummer, that's some bad pricing breaks. Yeah the X52 is fantastic. I've have bad experiences with Thrustmaster joysticks which is why I stayed away from the cougar. Seemed like I had to constantly reprogram the center zones and recalibrate the joystick, (had a similar problem but to a lesser degree with a Logitech Wingman joystick). Saitek is always dead on center when you release the joystick, that's pretty incredible...never once had to recalibrate my joystick. :)
 
The pricing does suck. I looked at buing from the US and having it shipped but it cost the difference to ship. (Big heavy joystick I suppose!)

Have you used it to play Armada and Academy in DosBox? Calibration in older games seems to be much more finickity and it'd almost be worth it if it was spot on there too.

I think I'm gonna start saving and see if I can afford one at the end of the month. :D
 
I have not tried it on those older dos games (Privateer, Armada etc). I'm fairly certain that all the buttons that the X52 has will not be usuable in those older games however. It will probably only recognize the standard four or five buttons. I can't say for sure though. I have used my old Saitek joystick for those games however and never had a calibration problem. :)
 
I'm definitely being swayed towards the X52. For the moment I've brought my old and battered Thrustmaster FCS Mark II out of retirement. I'd given up on it years ago when it started to act up, but the rest seems to have done it good. Working fine for now, so I can breath a sigh of relief for the moment.
Come the end of the month I'll see if there's a store which has an X52 on display so I can give it a try. Roll on PayDay!
 
Hey, has anyone used the older X45?
I'm getting the impression that these metal Saitek jobs are pretty indestructible and I can get an X45 very cheaply off ebay.
Would save me a lot of cash over the X52.

BTW anyone tried using the X52 with Privateer2? I'm serious here, this could seriously influence my decision?
 
My understanding is that the X45 is a fantastic stick as well, the X52 has the advantage of light up buttons etc but mostly all cosmetic differences.
 
BOOM. Logitech Freedom.

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You've got me swayed onto that topic, now I'm thinking about getting a new one too. But allow me a question: What do you do with the separate rudder unit - just place it on the desk before you and play like a squirrel? Or is there enough cable to set it up on a small table beside you as in a real plane?
 
criticalmass said:
You've got me swayed onto that topic, now I'm thinking about getting a new one too. But allow me a question: What do you do with the separate rudder unit - just place it on the desk before you and play like a squirrel? Or is there enough cable to set it up on a small table beside you as in a real plane?

Arent you supposed to control rudder *peddals* with your feet?
 
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