Battlefield 2 pilots, what joystick do you use?

[KillyKillall]

My friends are telling me to get this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826102508

What do you use and what do you think of it? Is this a good joystick?

 

[Concillian]

I used this one for BFV and 1942
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826102204

Haven't bought BF2 yet, I'm waiting for some of the major issues to be patched out.

When I bought it, I went to Fry's and fiddled with all the sticks they had out. In my price range the Logitech felt the best. Logitech also has a nice configuration tool that lets you set the stick up different in various games so you can set the 'dead zone' button assignments and sensitivites different for different games if you wish. Most important to me was the 'dead zone' setup. If the joystick starts wearing out and drifting left or right, you can inch up the dead zone a bit to postpone buying a new one.

To me the Saiteks felt very 'toy-ish' compared to the logitechs. The centering mechanism felt like it had very little damping, that there was just a spring that if you released the stick it would kind of just kind of 'boingggg!' back to center, where the Logitech felt like it would return in a more controlled manner.

However I do have a problem with hitting too many buttons at once. If I try to use 3 buttons at once, the third button won't work. I wish concurrent presses were one of the things keyboard and joystick manufacturers put on the specs, because keyboard concurrency is also an issue for me at times.

Anyway, I'd go to a CompUSA or Fry's if you have one nearby. They usually have a bunch of display models, so you can get a good feel of all the different sticks.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Logitech Extreme 3D pro

 

[etalns]

Is the flying experience much better with a joystick, as opposed to the keyboard?

 

[KillyKillall]

Originally posted by: Qosis
Is the flying experience much better with a joystick, as opposed to the keyboard?

I didn't think it was..until I talked to all of them and then watched how much better they are at piloting planes and helis....more plane than heli.

BTW, your server is down.

 

[luigi1]

Ya. To second the above poster. I could fly in bf42 and bfv. not that i would astound anyone but i could. I can and have flown in flight sims again not to any great affect but I could get from point A to B. I can barely keep a chopper up in bf2 and have nearly no idea where it might go. I can get a jet up and run into the no combat zone and thats about it. Will a good joystick improve my flying? Im not asking if I will be able to be a god, just will I be able to mabee bomb a tank once? How much better would you guess? I'm really temped to buy a good stick and mabee even pedals because I enjoyed flight sims and would like to get back into them. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: Qosis
Is the flying experience much better with a joystick, as opposed to the keyboard?

There are some excellent heli pilots with keyboard + mouse. Many say this is the best combination for helis, though most agree that joystick is best for planes.

It's a little easier to learn on a joystick, but there are good players who use both. I think practice is far more important than which method you choose (as long as you don't choose PURE keyboard, because that just doesn't work, you need some of the sensitivity that either a mouse or joystick provides at some point in heli flying.)

 

[Bona Fide]

Logitech Cordless Freedom 2.4 - I had it for awhile, noticed that my flying got hella better with it.

I've seen some great kb/mouse jet pilots, but for a heli, it's a lot nicer to have a joystick. I prefer it...flying is so fun!

 

[Oakenfold]

Logitech wingman extreme.
It's all about executing rolls and throttle use.

 

[Farmer]

Thrustmaster Top Gun Fox 2 Pro. I find it a bit more comfy than the 3D pro. About the same price. The Thrustmaster configuration program isnt necessary at all, but it is extremely good.

I actually find it much, much easier to fly choppers with mouse and keyboard. I guess there are no issues with fly jets w/ mouse, except you have to pick up your mouse so many times when banking or pitching.

The helicopter flying is a bit easier in BF2 than in BFV, especially when it comes to landing.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Keyboard & mouse

 

[EULA]

All-time best HOTAS

Awesome combination... I used these years ago and I don't think I could ever use a different joystick/throttle ever again...

 

[Farmer]

EULA:

That HOTAS setup looks sweet! I never really like Saitek sticks, but that throttle looks great.

 

[EULA]

I still have an old-skool X36 set and It is simply awesome...

What still surprises me is that there isn't a force-feedback version yet. I think that would make it even better. There are so many different keys between the throttle and stick that you could probably replace your keyboard...

The price has really come down too, I bought my original X35 set for about $100. The only other HOTAS that I've seen are the Thrustmaster set, which seems ridiculously expensive, but I've never used them to really have an opinion on them / their build.

 

[linjy2]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall
My friends are telling me to get this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826102508

What do you use and what do you think of it? Is this a good joystick?

i have the same one in wireless version. cyborg evo wireless

works good and i actually stay alive the whole round flying a jet without crashing or dieing, i'm unstoppable. hahah. on the other hand i still need to improve my helo flying.

the joystick makes it so much easier to pull insane manuveurs. also makes it easier to fire bullets and shoot missles at the same time with greater precision. No more, pressing the space bar or 0 and controlling throttle and direction while chasing down an enemy on the keyboard.

you can also configure the deadzone and what not, but i have no clue on that.

overall the joystick is great and the button layout is perfect, no accidental pushing down on anybuttons and fully adjustable.

likes said, all the top pilots all use joysticks in bf2.

 

[Stuxnet]

I recently bought the Cyborg Evo, but honestly, I'm really not using it. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm just not a jet pilot. Helis on the other hand, I am a complete master; can land on a dime and navigate through the tightest spaces... but I'm using my mouse and keyboard for it. I don't think the helis lend themselves well to a joystick. JMHO

 

[lozina]

Wait how can you even fly helos with keyboard/mouse? Keyboard/mouse has nothing for throttle so how can you even fly? IF you hold down the 'W' key you rev up right to full throttle. If you let go, it goes right back to 0! There's no way to stay somewhere in-between,right?

 

[otispunkmeyer]

i use a cheap ass Saitek USB game pad, which is basically a PS2 pad knock off with more buttons, but the dual analogue sticks are mighty useful for flying choppers

i have the left stick set for thrust (up n down) and rudder (left rigth) and the right stick controls the pitch and yaw, (same for planes, though i find my self moving both sticks at the same time and it all goes wonky)

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: Concillian

Originally posted by: Qosis
Is the flying experience much better with a joystick, as opposed to the keyboard?

There are some excellent heli pilots with keyboard + mouse. Many say this is the best combination for helis, though most agree that joystick is best for planes.

It's a little easier to learn on a joystick, but there are good players who use both. I think practice is far more important than which method you choose (as long as you don't choose PURE keyboard, because that just doesn't work, you need some of the sensitivity that either a mouse or joystick provides at some point in heli flying.)

Nothing beats a Joystick for flying for both helicopters and planes. Go get a pair of Cobras in BF2, put a guy profficient in mouse in one and a guy proficient in joysticks on the other and let them dogfight. It will be no contest. Rapidly insert/extract troops in a blackhawk? Same thing.

The mouse/joystick difference isn't nearly as bad with a heli as it is with a plane but there is still no contest.

Would you use a gamepad or joystick for a 3D shooter over a mouse? Don't use a gamepad or mouse over a joystick for flying.

 

[thegimp03]

Too bad I got rid of my old sidewinder pro a year or two ago. I get along fine with mouse and kb for flying but don't think I can match people with joysticks. I guess for the amount of flying I do I can stick with what I've got...I'm more of a tank person anyways.

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: Smilin
Nothing beats a Joystick for flying for both helicopters and planes. Go get a pair of Cobras in BF2, put a guy profficient in mouse in one and a guy proficient in joysticks on the other and let them dogfight. It will be no contest. Rapidly insert/extract troops in a blackhawk? Same thing.

The mouse/joystick difference isn't nearly as bad with a heli as it is with a plane but there is still no contest.

Would you use a gamepad or joystick for a 3D shooter over a mouse? Don't use a gamepad or mouse over a joystick for flying.

I have seen people VERY proficient with both. there is nothing that requires precision on the keyboard, and a mouse is very precise for controlling the pitch and roll. I use a joystick because it is familiar, and I'm not a great pilot anyway because I don't practice much. The best pilot I ever copiloted with used keyboard + mouse. He was incredible, and generally flew inches off the ground over hills and such. if you think pilots can't be good on the keyboard you are very mistaken.

It is NOTHING like controlling a 3D shooter with a gamepad. A 3D shooter with a gamepad doesn't work becuase you don't have the sensitivity to turn fast AND the precision to aim. Helicopter control with a mouse has precision and quickness, as does a joystick. Totally invalid comparison.

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: lozina
Wait how can you even fly helos with keyboard/mouse? Keyboard/mouse has nothing for throttle so how can you even fly? IF you hold down the 'W' key you rev up right to full throttle. If you let go, it goes right back to 0! There's no way to stay somewhere in-between,right?

IN BFV and BF2 if you release the key you go into 'auto-hover'. Desert Combat helos releasing the key would go to zero.

It's more like having an imaginary slider, tapping up increases the throttle slider, releasing sticks it there, and tapping down moves the slider down.

 

[Kaspian]

for flying the jets i use the saitek 290st and love it....for flying helis i have to go with the keyboard and mouse, cant fly them with anything else.

 

[Xyclone]

I tried using an MS Sidewinder Pro (my old joystick), but the whole plane shifts to the right until i crash. I did some research on it, and it seems like everyone who has this joystick has this problem.

I'm thinking about getting the Saitek one, but I don't really think it's worth it.

Any opinions to change my mind?

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Originally posted by: lozina
Wait how can you even fly helos with keyboard/mouse? Keyboard/mouse has nothing for throttle so how can you even fly? IF you hold down the 'W' key you rev up right to full throttle. If you let go, it goes right back to 0! There's no way to stay somewhere in-between,right?

W = Faster/ascend
no key = hover.
S = descend

Easy