Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
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Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
Are there any advantages of a joystick over a mouse or a trackpad? Because I'm perfectly okay with my trackpad, but what are the advantages of a joystick?
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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?


- Neocon
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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
That's why I still mostly use my keyboard. I almost bought a joystick several times, but finally decided the keyboard is good enough for my purposes. It was only when I got into air races that I started using my PS3 controller.Gunny wrote:We tend to get good with the controls we use.
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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
sorry mousepad, that's one thing you will always lack


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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
I can't stand a trackpad, it's awkward, has terrible response time, difficult to move to extremes and back. For civil, it works, but anything else it just sucks. I was pretty good with the mouse before I got a stick. The mouse will do you, and with a bit of tweaking to the keyboard controls you can get pretty efficient in combat. I'm without my HOTAS right now, and the biggest thing I miss is spring centering, actually. It also feels a whole lot nicer than a mouse.



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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
I've been using a keyboard and mouse all along (since I started playing YSFS back in '01

I used my laptop's trackpad once. Never attempted that tomfoolery again.
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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
Trackpad: very limited control of flight surfaces - hard to take-off and land, or perform any beyond basic maneuver
Mouse: Good control of all flight surfaces - requires lots of desk space though and a keen muscle memory. Hard to control precise and quick maneuvers - eg: aileron rolls in fighter jets or 8 point rolls.
Joystick: Best control of all flight surfaces - each axis tends to have a larger range of precision than is necessary for YSF. Easy to perform advanced maneuvers.
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In short, "paddock bashing" in a stock f-15 could be done via basic inputs, but advanced formation/Air-Air combat/instrument flying would ask for more advanced controls.
It's a cost vs benefit thing. As a casual player of flight sims, etc, do you really need to buy a Hotas Warthog? The answer is no. As a formation flight perfectionist? The answer is probably still no (But why not, right?)
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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?

- Turbofan
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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
For civi flying, mouse movements cover very little area. I rarely move the mouse more than an inch in either direction.OfficerFlake wrote:requires lots of desk space though...
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Avatar: Pratt and Whitney JT8D-219
-----------------------
My general rant: I will call them blended winglets, not Sharklets; There is no CEO, it's just simply put, an Airbus 319/320/321, or the 320NEO, 321NEO etc. I didn't land IN DAL, I landed AT DAL. On the other hand, I did land in Dallas.
-----------------------
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Hi! I make average, undesirable, boring grey maps for YS Flight!
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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
Turbofan wrote:For civi flying, mouse movements cover very little area. I rarely move the mouse more than an inch in either direction.OfficerFlake wrote:requires lots of desk space though...
Lol yea same here. Mouse movements in YS are sensitive. And at the most ill need 3-5in of worth of overall movement. Flying fighters with the mouse are a pain becuase like as everyone has pounted out getting back dead on center is difficult.
I personally like the mouse and keyboard setup though if i could ever get 2 mouses working that would be awesome!

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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
On the advantages of a joystick - the most useful features tend to be a hat switch for looking around, some sort of sliding or rotating throttle, and a twist rudder. It can be challenging to perform those three tasks simultaneously with a keyboard and mouse set up, and a fairly affordable stick, such as the Logitech Attack 3D pro, provides all three. I've tried both playstation and xbox controllers with YS, and the feature I generally find most off-putting is the lack of a throttle control that stays where you put it.
If you've got the money to spare, a cheap joystick can definitely enhance your experience and won't cost as much as a new Xbox 360 controller.
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Re: Question: Advantages of Joystick over Mouse/Trackpad?
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