Joystick

I've been wanting to buy a joystick for a while now.

I REALLY miss the old space sims - and I wanted to play some Wing Commander for the sake of nostalgia. It's OK with mouse, actually - but I'm thinking about getting my hands on more sims - and I'd like a quality joystick that's not TOO expensive.

However, I haven't owned a joystick since my MS Sidewinder 2, which was pretty good - if a bit large. I used to LOVE my Flightstick Pro so many years ago, but I doubt I can find one today.

So, do you have any recommendations?

Is the Saitek X-52 any good?

Do there even exist new ones ? All I find are used ones.
I personally still own an Saitek Cyborg 3D - I think that's its name - and it is very, very good for my taste. I did XWA with it. However, since I bought it from a friend 10 years ago (it's so long ago already ???), it isn't fully "centered" anymore.
And that's a problem I often see with used ones.

Well, you can buy lots of new joysticks - so they do exist. However, most of them seem to directly target flight sim enthusiasts - and that's no me.

I'm kinda looking for a more "game-neutral" joystik - just like my old Flightstick Pro was.

Can't really seem to find one - which is why I was looking for input. But I guess you guys don't play these games - or you don't care about joysticks.

I have the X-52 - It's great, but be prepared to spend quite a bit of time setting it up for each game. I used it to play X2 & X3 and I thought it added a lot to the experience.

Originally Posted by CrazyIrish
I have the X-52 - It's great, but be prepared to spend quite a bit of time setting it up for each game. I used it to play X2 & X3 and I thought it added a lot to the experience.

Yeah, they do sound like they're great joysticks. I think I'm going for the X52 Pro because of the stronger center spring.

A bit overkill, perhaps, but I want something decent

I like the pro and would have purchased it had it been available at the time. I prefer the basic black look of it. My x52 has held up well and still works perfectly after 6 or 7 years of use (albeit light use). Plus, nothing says power dork like a HOTAS setup on your desktop

You could really go all out and get the x65f. Remember, buy once - cry once.

Hehe, for some reason - I think the X52 Pro looks cooler. Probably because of that little LCD

I'm too often tempted to spend beyond reason when I'm in consumer-mode… So please don't add fuel to the fire!

I received my X52 pro a few days ago - and finally unwrapped and tried it briefly yesterday.

It's really very cool - I must say. It has a nice sturdy feel - and almost more buttons and functions than I can count.

Now, I just need the perfect game to test it with. Any suggestions?

Does it have USB ? Or what kind of connection is there used nowadays ?

You could try "Yager", if you can get it, but I never played it so far.

It's USB based… I believe the original model is from 2007.

I don't believe I've heard of Yager.

I've tested a sea of space sims and flight sims - but they're all quite old and not really what I was hoping for.

Yesterday, I found Wing Commander Saga (I actually think I've tried it before - but forgot all about it) - which is an entirely free Wing Commander game using the open Freespace 2 engine.

It looks pretty good overall - and I think that shall be my first game properly played with a joystick. I don't know when I last played a game with a joystick - but it was a LONG time ago

Joystick games..

I have almost forgotten about it, I actually got my first PC with the intent on playing space sims.

Astronomy, Space technology, Flight and Exploration. Im a sucker for it.

Times are changing, once a joystick was a rather common accessory.

edit, had to look up those sticks mentioned. I want one, now.

C

here´s to hoping chris roberts game will be fantastic

Yes, the primary reason I got it was because of Star Citizen.

There's no way I'm going to be without a joystick when that game lands

Oh, and it really is a great joystick - if a bit of a luxury. That said, it's obscenely advanced for space sims - and I would probably have preferred a simple Flightstick Pro for those. But it's hard to find the right choice.

Any Mechwarrior game! A joystick works wonders for guiding a battlemech around.

I bought a Logitech Attack 3 (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-96329…/dp/B0000ALFC5) about 2 years ago at Best Buy to play the old WC and X-Wing games. Works great.

Originally Posted by blatantninja
I bought a Logitech Attack 3 (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-96329…/dp/B0000ALFC5) about 2 years ago at Best Buy to play the old WC and X-Wing games. Works great.

Looks a bit flimsy…. But I might get something simpler for dedicated space gaming down the line.

First I need to see if the genre still works, or if I've outgrown it

X3. X2 with its built in dual monitor support is also quite awesome.

Oh, and with the X games, its pretty easy to map every available control.