#1

Just been looking into a joystick replacement, since my ol' trusty Cyborg Evo has a broken button

The three main contenders seem to be the ones shown below. If anyone else has experience with / knowledge of any of them (or any others not listed) then please let me know.

Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X
Price: £30-£50

Pros
- Separate throttle control.

Cons
- ?

Saitek X52 Pro
Price: £100-£200

Pros
- Separate throttle control.

Cons
- Pricey

Thrustmaster T-16000M
Price: £40-£60

Pros
- Very accurate, sensitive stick.

Cons
- Crappy buttons and hat switch.
- No proper throttle control.

#2

I have the HOTAS X and apart from the lack of force feedback i have no complaints. It takes up a fair bit of desk space but it has tonnes of buttons.

I have all the main flight and navigation controls mapped to buttons on it and it makes life so easy that i struggle with Freelancer controls by comparison.

#3

Ah cool - so is the stick itself sensitive enough? It did look like the one I would end up buying TBH. The fact you have one and like it is good, because that's most likely the one I will end up getting.

Any complaints with it?

#4

Only that I am used to force feedback sticks and I like the resistance they offer, this has an adjustment on the base to increase resistance but I would like it to be just a bit ‘stiffer’.

#5

You would

In all honesty though, that seems to be the complaint with most out these days. That they are not very sensitive, or not stiff enough. The other thrustmaster on that list is meant to be shit-hot sensitive, using some form of magnets (or whatever) to make it more responsive and "stiffer".

Only downside to that one is that I read several users complaining that while the stick itself is good, the buttons are "flimsy". Plus it does not have a separate throttle like the other two.

#6

I personally would not get another joystick without the throttle, it is so much better than having those little sliders on the base.

I have never really played a game where the tiniest movement need to be captured by the joystick, I think that the sensitivity bit may be a bit of a moot selling point.

#7

Sounds good to me. Only other thing I want to ask about it then - directional-wise, do you know how many directions the stick itself "does". I.e. 4, 8, 12 etc... I think, for instance, that the other Thrustmaster I was talking about does something like 256 (id I read correctly)!

This is important in my eyes, as the less it does, the less accurate it would be.

#8

That I don’t know, it certainly feels fully analogue.

#9

Ok, TCT for that Greg. I will probably end up getting that one anyway.

#10

What do you want a joystick for?

#11

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