Gameplay peripherals

So, what are you guys getting to get the most immersive experience with this game?

I talked briefly to JayC re: joysticks. I initially made my mind up to get an
X52 [url]http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/x52.html[/url] or
X52 Pro [url]http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/x52pro.html[/url] or
X55 [url]http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/x55.html[/url]
All have a lot of buttons and knobs and dials and twist action.

Price range here in Sweden is between 100-200 USD

Unfortunately, JayC also praised his (now discontinued) force sensing joystick the Saitek X65F, and being the tech enthusiast I am, I found some on Ebay @ 300 USD roughly. But theres no twist, so I would have to get pedals.

It gets even more complicated, as there is a company called VKB, that are making supposedly kickass gear, and they are developing a force sensing joystick as well. Rumour has it that it is going to have twist… What more is that you can fit virtually any grip you want on it, some are running with the Thrustmaster Warthog stick. Have a look at:
[url]http://flightsimcontrols.com/store/joysticks/vkb-fat-black-mamba-joystick-for-eu-customers/[/url]
This is the current one, which is not force sensing. They also have a throttle in the pipeline.
They are also developing their own metallic grip.
AND, they have another, more basic joystick, that still looks quite appealing: [url]http://flightsimcontrols.com/store/joysticks/cobra-m5/[/url]

There are also rumours about an RSI cooperation with some manufacturer.

At any rate, I think I’ll probably stick to my original plan and buy a cheaper SAITEK, and then wait until theres some reviews on the VKB stuff, and also if the RSI coop stick will bear fruit.

(I havent mentioned the HOTAS Warthog, or the FFSB R3 Warthog force sensing addon, as they are REALLY pricey)

I think I have decided against the oculus rift for now, Im just worried I have to tear it off my face mid-combat because I forgot some control of some sort. Instead I’m going to go for:

Track IR from natural point. I was really sceptical at first, but after having seen some vids of it in action, it seems really nice.

I’m currently running a single 1440p 27" screen and I’m considering getting two more, or downgrading to 1080p and getting three of them. I have a feeling large screens play nice with track IR, but if any of you have experience with it, I’m all ears.
At the end of the day, release is in the far future. If someone starts producing a 40" 4k monitor that is curved, I expect that to really rock with sims.

Theres a lot of other stuff that adds to immersion, e.g., the buttkicker! [url]http://www.buttkickergear.com/ButtKicker_Simulation_Kit_p/bk-sk.htm[/url] I imagine I’d have to get a nice chair for that though :slight_smile:

Why not go full futuristic and use: [url]Comm-Link - Roberts Space Industries | Follow the development of Star Citizen and Squadron 42 I imagine its quite sweet, at least for non critical functions. And I always wanted to talk with my computer.

Last but not least, if you are like me, love music, but not the sound quality in headsets, I hear that:[url]http://www.modmic.com/[/url] are outstanding, and you can add them to your favourite HIFI headphone!

So, what are your thoughts on all of this?

/Flea

Saitek X65F does have twist… Only production HOTAS that doesn’t have twister is the warthog… but most folks who are going to spend $400 USD on the stick get pedals as well… again the X52 or X52 Pro is a great stick to start out with. The VKB stuff is very small production runs = which they’ve completely sold out of… virtually no support/rma is there is a problem… for you guys in Europe this wouldn’t be an issue but the shipping is outrageous to the states. RSI stick will most likely be a re-branded inexpensive stick. Around the same quality as an X52 or lower.

Triple monitors are going to be a problem at any resolution… If you’re set on going the triple monitor route, plan on needing 2 or 3 R9 290’s or GTX 970’s to power them. DFM is not optimized to say the least…

I’m not a big fan of the OR either, I don’t want to have to rip my monitor off my head everytime I need a bio break… but you can’t go wrong with TrackIR… a much more important addition to my setup than the X65f was.

As for headsets… my suggestion, find one that has dual inputs (game and voice) which will allow you to control the volume separate for both.

My strong recommendation… if you can run DFM even on low settings, hold off buying any PC upgrades until closer to launch, monitors and more importantly video cards will come down in price… and we just don’t know where the bottlenecks will be in this game, would hate to see somebody drop $1k on video cards today to find out $500 on a video card, and $200 on a faster proc would do a lot better 18 months from now.

HOTAS followed by TrackIR are probably the two best investments you can make right now, since it’s unlikely options will change a lot between now and PU launch. (Unless you are in the market for OR which then find a used trackir, or wait on for the OR).

Where voice attack shines are the more complex features that would become cumbersome to bind onto your Joystick. Like shifting power to (weapons,shields,engines) and buffing a shield grid point. The commands usually take multiple key presses, menu manipulation, and then holding a particular button, a joystick will not be faster than voice command. Particularly those budget sticks without all the shiny buttons.

If you look at the xml commands, most of these can be done with a with button press. Only things that seem to require multiple button presses are changing weapon groupings etc… and I agree a touchscreen or voice attack might be best for those types of functions.

I hear rumours that they are going to release some sort of API for SC, and that we could see tablets interacting with the game. Kind of cool to have a mobiglass for real then :wink:

In other news, I’ve been trying to track down the X65F, and its quite hard to say the least. There are three left in stock @ amazon.co.uk, but they are rather pricey. Second hand market seems dead though.

Takes time, just keep your eyes open.

After still not really finding an x65f in a moderate price range I just ordered a warthog with pedals for 150 usd, virtually unused. It’s a start :slight_smile:

You must have typoed or did you really meant to say Warthog with pedals for 150USD?

That is a great price on a warthog and pedals, as long as the pedals aren’t ch products you got a deal :wink:

I was a skeptic of trackIR for a long time but after playing around with my brothers a few weeks ago, I just can’t imagine playing without one. Love it.

Logitech 3d Pro joystick. Woo! I’ll probably be doing more FPS so mouse and keyboard is fine but a joystick still feels better flying around in space.

Heh, its quite the bargain isn’t it? theres a lot of second hand units for sale in Sweden right now, so, you know, buyer’s market and all that.
I almost bought a warthog without pedals but with track-ir 5 for 350 usd, he bailed last minute though :\ this find is decent enough for me to get the track-IR new, on the same budget though.

Still looking for the x65f though… :neutral_face:

The pedals are “Saitek pro flight pedals” but from the pictures they don’t look pro at all. I see them as a bonus, that price for the warthog has got to be worth it anyways.

I used those pedals for years… never had a single problem with them.

Yeah, was hugely skeptic, but JayC got me on track, and after a few vids on youtube I’m pretty excited :slight_smile: Just need to get my hands on one.
With regards to joystick, I just never get the feel for flying without them. By the time I started to play normal FPS like unreal etc, I even had invert mouse Y-axis… At any rate, its all about immersion for me :wink:

m.ebay.com/itm/161472622021
Here’s a NA X65f at a decent price if you guys are interested. Apart from having just spent some on a warthog and now prioritizing track IR, shipping, duties and massive swedish VAT would push it well into the pricey zone :slight_smile:

Goddamnit, the warthog joystick is huge, not a fit for my hand i reckon. If i rest my hand on the “shelf” at the bottom of the joystick, my thumb cant really reach the top two buttons… anyone knows if the x65f is smaller?

Just going to throw this out there - if anyone has gear that they’re looking to sell (specifically TrackIR and a good HOTAS), please shoot me a message. Thanks all!

ebay.co.uk/itm/251717279801

US-seller, who will not ship to europe (emailed him and asked). With a bit of luck some of you guys across the pond can snipe an X65F.
snif