It's limited in the number of functions it can do, due to the number of buttons/hats. It has a rudder button on the back of the throttle, just a rocker switch to control yaw or roll for those of us w/o pedals. The ergonomics are decent (if you split the throttle and stick), and when split it has enough room between for a MS Ergonomic 4000 KB, which is perfect. Technically, it's not super accurate, but acceptable. In my opinion, the current prototype implementation for that appears somewhat gimmicky, and hardly seems ideal for any conceivable situation. Worse, it would also require you to remove your eyes from the main screen in order to operate it, or lift up the VR equipment to be able to see what you are doing etc. The screen as (currently) positioned on the last prototype we saw also seems to require you remove your hand from the stick in order to operate it, potentially violating the very principle of Hands-On-Throttle-And-Stick - where all controls should ideally be in range of either hand without too much distraction. By the time this appears, there may well be apps (official or community-made) that can be used on existing touchscreen devices like smartphones or tablets that may achieve the same effect. :-)Īs for the OLED screen: I think that could be very controversial. I'm sure someone who is more into the HOTAS market can be of more help in that regard. I personally quite like the Saitek X52 Pro, but only because that's the one I happen to own at the moment. Then again, the controls and flight mode are all subject to change and will likely undergo heavy iteration between now and release, and things will probably be more finalised by the time the SC branded controllers arrive.Īs for what type to get, that's naturally quite subjective (or not, depending on who you ask). The Star Citizen hardware is probably at least a year away, other HOTAS systems are available right now. I think that depends on when you would want one. But you can use two of them for SC, without problems whats nice. Ive done the magnet mod, and im thinking of reverting it because i dont have a deadzone any more, whats a hassle for longer Flight Sessions in SC), theyre a very old design and i dont like the look of them very much.
The Software isnt the best under the Sun, but the CH Software wasnt much better (i used a CH Fighterstick Pro probably 10years ago for IL2) in my opinion.Īnd for the T16000M, while theyre proven and reliable and probably a bit more accurate (while the X52 get more accurate through the magnet mod, in my opinion thats not really needed. And all three were great, and in the end i stayed with the X52. I for myself had no need for an HOTAS before SC, but felt it would be good to use one. I knew a few guys who still use their 8 or 10 year old Saitek X52 and X52 Pro, and are still happy with it. While the general QA lacked since Madcatz take Saitek over, its the older X52 Pro that will mostly be out of a batch were the QA was better than on the new ones.