Joystick Set Up Guide

[WoIfman 1,379]

UPDATED 1/30/16

 

CHECK HIGHLIGHTED AREAS FOR UPDATES.

 

PLEASE READ THIS ALL THE WAY THROUGH BEFORE STARTING JOYSTICK SET UP. 

 

 

*****I RECOMMEND YOU INSTALL THE DRIVERS AND SOFTWARE FOR YOUR JOYSTICK. DO NOT LET WINDOWS BUILD DRIVERS FOR YOUR STICK. CERTAIN FUNCTIONS MAY NOT WORK!*****

 

 

 

Basic Joystick Setup Guide:

 

This is a generic joystick setup guide. I will not be dealing with individual settings for joysticks. I feel this is something that is unique to each joystick and player. I will be addressing some TRICKS I have found that help the joystick user. I will also try to explain some of the various adjustments and what they do in game.

 

 

Chapter 1: CONTROL SETUP WIZARD IS YOUR FRIEND.

 

I have tried most of the preset configs currently in game. I cannot come to grips with these setups. They seem random and the layouts are strange.  Most joystick users have a certain layout for their individual sticks. Get used to using this wizard. You WILL use it a lot.

 

This brings me to my first TIP. Now this might just be me, I would actually like feedback from the joystick community about this problem.  I have noticed that after almost every update, my joystick feels… unstable… even more than usual. There is a function in the controls to IMPORT saved setups.  Even if I import the current setup it still does not feel the same as before the patch. If I run the CONTROL SETUP WIZARD and setup my controls EXACTLY the same, it feels better. Because of this you get really good using the WIZARD. I can blast through the setup process now in under 5 min.  Now this might be just me so please check this out and let me know. 

 

UPDATE: Because of the addition of ground forces, if you CLEAR your config it will wipe out your tank controls as well. I have also found rebinding does seem to still make a difference. I am now just running the wizard for AIR CONTROLS and only running the wizard through the axis binds. I then exit the setup and leave the rest of the controls as is... SAVE CHANGES. If you seem to be lost with joystick setup, sometimes it is best to start over. In that case I still recommend a complete CLEAR of your current config. 

 

I HIGHLY suggest you CLEAR your current config completely before starting the WIZARD. In your controls, in the lower left corner you will see CONTROL SETUP WIZARD. Next to that are three white icons. Hover your mouse over these to see what their function is in game. One is to CLEAR your current setting. One is to EXPORT your current setting and save it to a .blk file. You may want to do this before starting a new setup. The last one is to IMPORT a saved .blk file.  Once you are done with the WIZARD you will have to finish manually binding some items. IE: flaps, reload (arcade), zoom controls (see next chapter).. etc.

 

***NOTE*** : When running the wizard one of the first questions the wizard asks is about mouse control. Joystick users should pick NEITHER. If you choose one of the other options, your view might be off to one side when spawning. You then have to re-center the view.  If you choose, NEITHER, you will always spawn looking out the front of the plane.

 

 

Chapter 2: VIEW CONTROLS

 

There are several things you can do with your VIEW CONTROLS that actually do more for your joystick than anything else. Most joystick users, admittedly, use some kind of HEADTRACKING program. For those users most of this will not apply.

 

 

EXCEPT FOR MY NEXT TIP.

 

ZOOM AXIS:

 

Second TIP: This is the most important step for joystick users. In most planes you spawn in what is a MID-SEAT position. Most joystick users, that I have helped, are using a single key to ZOOM in game. This is the ZOOM CAMERA bind. DO NOT SET A KEY TO THIS BIND. Remove any bind you have for the ZOOM CAMERA.  If you scroll down on the VIEW CONTROLS PAGE you will see a bind for ZOOM AXIS. Double click on the bind. First set RELETIVE CONTROL to YES.  Next, the top two binds…INCREASE VALUE and DECREASE VALUE bind separate keys for these controls.

 

What this does is gives you FULL control over your zoom. Instead of hitting one button and the camera zooming all the way in, then pressing  the same button to sit back. You have two keys that perform this function. You will notice you now have full control over your zoom. You can stop it anywhere you want, instead of a full zoom viewpoint.  For joysticks with a slider or a rotating control. You can bind your zoom to this AXIS. Check the AUTO DETECT AXIS at top of the adjustment screen and move the desired axis. 

 

Remember earlier, I mentioned the MID SEAT POSITION when spawning. If you hit your key for DECREASE VALUE you will actually sit back in your seat. This opens your field of view just a little. The main thing this does is MAKE YOUR JOYSTICK 100 TIMES MORE STABLE. You can check this by setting the binds, go to a test flight, do not hit any buttons. Just take off and fly around for a few minutes. While in flight hit that DECREASE VALUE key and sit back in the seat. Your stick just became so much better. This is absolutely the BEST TIP I can give you.

 

For headtrackers, I found if you sit forward in your seat just a bit as you spawn into your plane you can sit back in your chair when in plane and achieve the same result. If your using FACETRAKNOIR, when running the wizard you must pick YES when asked "Do you have TRACKIR?". Facetracknoir does not seem to track a zoom. You must go to your VIEW CONTROLS, and turn the USE ZOOM FOR HEAD TRACKING to NO. Then the setup above will work.

 

THIS WILL DO MORE FOR YOUR JOYSTICK CONTROL THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE THING YOU CAN DO IN GAME.

 

 

 

HAT CONTROL:

 

Almost every joystick has a HAT SWITCH that is commonly used to look around. This, of course, will not apply to HEADTRACKERS.  During the WIZARD process, after you set the axis for your hat switch, it will ask a question. Do you want to auto re-center view?  You must pick NO and set a key for your RE-CENTER VIEW. If you let it auto re-center, the hat view will not be controllable. You will move the hat switch to the right and your view will go right until you release the hat switch. It will then snap back to center. If you set up a RE-CENTER key your view will stop when you let go of the hat switch. You then press the re-center key to bring the view back to front. This also is VERY IMPORTANT.

 

If you want to manually set a CENTER KEY. Go to VIEW CONTROLS. Double click on the VIEW(X-AXIS) bind. Set RELATIVE CONTROL to YES. Bind a key to RESET VALUE. Do the same thing for the VIEW(Y-AXIS).

 

NOTE: To increase the speed of the camera set the MULTIPLIER to a higher value. Go to CONTROLS/ VIEW CONTROLS. Double click on the VIEW(X-AXIS) bind. Set multiplier to a higher value. I set mine to 1.5.  Do the same for VIEW(Y-AXIS) as well.

 

 

*****If your hat switch is not working, go to the VIEW CONTROLS.  There is a setting about half way down the list named ENABLE VIEW AXES. Make sure this is set to ENABLED!!!*****

 

 

These two areas can greatly improve your joystick experience. Next I will be explaining some of the axis settings and what they do in game. I will not give you any specific settings. This is something each individual must set up for his own joystick.

 

 

 

Chapter 3: CONTROL AXIS ADJUSTMENTS

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: WHEN ADJUSTING JOYSTICK CONTROLS ONLY MAKE ONE CHANGE AT A TIME WHILE TESTING!

If you make multiple adjustments at one time, you will never know which adjustment worked best for your setup. If you make multiple adjustments, these could actually be countering each other.

 

 

SENSITIVITY: 

 

There are several adjustments available to joystick users for each axis. First, under every axis bind, there is a SENSITIVITY bar. Consider this a FINE TUNER. Once you have your stick set up close, this is where you fine tune that adjustment.

 

I have found that most of the control issues, for me, involve the YAW and PITCH axis more than the ROLL axis. For that reason I set those sensitivities to a lower percent. Roll seems to react well with a higher sensitivity setting.

 

 

 

If you double click on the axis bind another box pops up with multiple adjustments available.  The main adjustments here are the MULTIPLYER and NON LINIARITY. 

 

NON LINIARITY:

 

This effectively slows the movement of the joystick. It makes the first part of the joystick movement slower while still giving you full range of that control surface.  The higher the number the more it affects the joysticks speed at the beginning of the movement. You can see this by CHECKING the AUTO DETECT AXIS box. Then move that axis and watch the green and red balls in the test gauge. You will see the higher the non-liniarity value the slower the response.  Consider this a MID RANGE adjustment. For me, this is the most important adjustment for the joystick. 

 

MULTIPLYER:

 

I DO NOT SUGGEST YOU MOVE THIS VALUE. It should be set to 1 on all axis (throttle axis is 1.1 by default works fine at that setting). If you set this to .9 it restricts the movement of that axis. You lose about 10% of the total axis movement. While this really steadies the joystick, it also limits your mobility. This would be a HUGE/BIG adjustment. If you cannot seem to get the feel, try turning this down. Again, you sacrifice mobility for stability. Settings above one seem to make the control surface respond faster. This can make you very unstable.  I leave these at 1 always.

 

UPDATE: Recent changes now allow you to move this in 1% increments instead of 10% in the past. Moving this setting just under 1 can really help with stability. It will still affect your mobility, but the not as much as previously. For example....set Multiplier to .96...that only removes .04 of this control surfaces movement. 

 

CORRECTION:

 

This will correct for a worn out joystick. If your stick is always pulling one way or the other you can adjust this with the correction setting. This will adjust the axis for the worn stick. This should be at 0%, if you need to move the correction setting its time for a new joystick.

 

 

 

Chapter 4: INSTRUCTOR

 

I play joystick only, mainly arcade in SIMPLIFIED mode. In SIMPLIFIED ONLY you will see a tab for INTRUCTOR. Turn the top 3 to NO. You can play with the SIMPLIFIED JOYSTICK to your own liking. I leave mine set to YES. In REALISTIC OR SIMULATOR mode the controls can be very abrupt for arcade. 

 

UPDATE: Control scheme seems to work fairly well in REALISTIC MODE even for arcade. This is due to recent game updates.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5: CREW SKILLS

 

Crew skills will make a difference with your control. Do not ignore PILOT skills. Hover over each skill for a description of its function in game. Some of these will help your joystick control as well. 

 

UPDATE: Some recent changes in the game have really increased the affect of your crew skills. DO NOT IGNORE THEM. 

 

 

The last thing I am going to leave you with is this, when flying your joystick in the test flight mode. I have found if the stick is a little SLUGGISH in test flight it will be fairly good in game. The two areas do not seem to handle the same way. This might, also, just be me! Please give me feedback about this as well.

 

 

If anyone needs further help with their joystick setup, please feel free to message me on these forums. We will set up a time to meet in teamspeak. Sometimes this is easier if I walk you through the process.

I hope this helps some with joystick setup. Any and all constructive feedback is welcome. Please feel free to add your own TIPS to this thread.

 

Joysticks can be used fairly well in this game in all modes. Set up is sometimes intense, but well worth it for a joystick fanatic.

[Guest iSnuffles]

Thanks m8. I just got a nice joystick for $2 at a military surplus sale and was hoping a thread like this would pop up.

[Donster8448 6,866]

Being dumb as brick for joysticks i read last night Wolfman document he send me.(he is planing to do this for days) i set up my joystick as suggested above and now i have massive improvement for controls.

 

Finally my plane is going where i want and i don't have to fight with my joystick. I suggest everyone to sit and read first post carefully without touching joystick when you do then plug in joystick and clean all set up and star from scratch. If dumb brick like me can figure it out i believe more advanced users will learn some tips and tricks they did not know.

 

Thank you Wolf for this manual.

 

And as promised here is profile for my Cyborg V.1 USB flight stick:

[attachment=96519:boris.blk]

[TheShaolinMonk 4,705]

Wolfman is incredible when it comes to joysticks. He literally spent 2 hours helping me pesonally tweak my x-52 pro to it's full potential. It is so good to see he has created a thread like this. Now, the forum at large can benefit from his incredible knowledge on the subject. Thank you Wolfman o7

[Hadur4 2,108]

Thank you for the great help!

 

I will check my settings according to your guide.

 

I still have problems with aiming, sensitivity, but it gets better when I have more and different informations.

:salute:

Edited September 4, 2014 by Feher_Keresztes

[HughAnt 2]

Excellent advice. However even with Lin set to 3+ on all axes, it still wobbles like crazy.

[TenaciousPhoenix 0]

Thanks sooo much for this guide.  I was reading other post about people complaining that WT was only mouse aim.  Now, I got my cyborg up and going.  Look out all you mousers'.  This game is equally tuned for joy sticks, and a whole lot more!  

[Nebelfeuer 1,424]

A good guide in many points but with all due respect somewhat  problematic especially for players making their first steps in others:

 

AB matches and "simplified" controls do not mix well - you basically allow the instructor to steal about 50% of your much needed maneuverability without gaining anything in return(stall/spin safeguards are not needed in AB  and the lower sensitivity comes at a high price) "realistic" controls are much better suited for Arcade

 

Same is true for low pitch sensitivity settings - yes, you can aim a little more stable and easiely at straight flying target, but you will completely overcombensate every time you try to hit an evasive one. I would not recomment pitch sensitivity lower then 75% for AB (100% is even better for most aircraft)

Mind: in RB and SB you can get away with much lower values if you prefere.

 

Please feel free to make a direct comparison of these two changes  if you do not belive me here. I am not saying that you can not be successful with the settings mentioned by Wolfman but you will need a very high level of discipline and that is normaly not something to be expected from players trying to master a new control device.

 

Max zoomed out level smothing controls is probably also more an optical illusion - it should also be noted here that while it´s fine for better overview it at least in SB comes at the price of worse distance spotting - especially of groundtargets -since they more noticable detail models are rendered later (this distance may vary with your screen resolution).

 

Otherwise a fine guide to help players get a better expirience with the Stick

[WoIfman 1,379]

A good guide in many points but with all due respect somewhat  problematic especially for players making their first steps in others:

 

AB matches and "simplified" controls do not mix well - you basically allow the instructor to steal about 50% of your much needed maneuverability without gaining anything in return(stall/spin safeguards are not needed in AB  and the lower sensitivity comes at a high price) "realistic" controls are much better suited for Arcade

 

Same is true for low pitch sensitivity settings - yes, you can aim a little more stable and easiely at straight flying target, but you will completely overcombensate every time you try to hit an evasive one. I would not recomment pitch sensitivity lower then 75% for AB (100% is even better for most aircraft)

Mind: in RB and SB you can get away with much lower values if you prefere.

 

Please feel free to make a direct comparison of these two changes  if you do not belive me here. I am not saying that you can not be successful with the settings mentioned by Wolfman but you will need a very high level of discipline and that is normaly not something to be expected from players trying to master a new control device.

 

Max zoomed out level smothing controls is probably also more an optical illusion - it should also be noted here that while it´s fine for better overview it at least in SB comes at the price of worse distance spotting - especially of groundtargets -since they more noticable detail models are rendered later (this distance may vary with your screen resolution).

 

Otherwise a fine guide to help players get a better expirience with the Stick :good:

 

 

 

"This is a generic joystick setup guide. I will not be dealing with individual settings for joysticks. I feel this is something that is unique to each joystick and player. I will be addressing some TRICKS I have found that help the joystick user. I will also try to explain some of the various adjustments and what they do in game."

 

 

I gave some examples of what I do, I did not recommend any SPECIFIC SETTINGS.

 

"I have found that most of the control issues, for me, involve the YAW and PITCH axis more than the ROLL axis. For that reason I set those sensitivities very low. Roll seems to react well with a higher sensitivity setting."

 

 

I gave these so new users can have some place to start. Adjustments must be done for the individual to his liking and his joystick. I thought I made that clear at the very beginning. 

 

You obviously have never tried the zoomed out if you think its an illusion. Thanks for not trying any of this yet finding fault with a generic guide. 

[Nebelfeuer 1,424]

No need to be offended mate just trying to help out here.

I can assure you I do know from previous expirience aswell as from rechecking(they could have changed after all) directly before writing my post how the mechanics you mentioned work.

 

And although it is true that each joystick and each player prefere different settings in detail there are certain mechanics that do not change. And like I said it is otherwise a fine guide and and much appreciated because it helps players to understand their controller better.

[TenaciousPhoenix 0]

Hey guys, take it easy.  Both explanations are very useful.  A lot of the setup depends on the style of game you play too.  It is nice (and very useful) to get a good explanation of the very different settings for joysticks.  I found both Nebelfeuer and Wolfman's comments helpful to say the least.

 

Please keep'em coming!

 

 

Greetings,  I came across this joystick setup guide on YouTube.  It really helped me fine tune my setup so that now, I can actually hit stuff.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMUfLzNAtBY&index=1&list=PLiItPu55G3RYnm93HzCD8Hv3psRz88wbK

 

Enjoy!

Edited December 29, 2014 by McJawBone