Getting a joystick - USB or Parallel Port?

[MichaelD]

I've finally decided that it's too damn hard to play UT using a keyboard and mouse. It will take some getting used to, as the last time I gamed with a joystick was with the Atari 2600! Yes, I'm old.

So, do I get a USB or a PP joystick that plugs into the port on the soundcard? What do you guys use and why do you like it? What do I look for when purchasing a joystick?

Everytime I think I finally know "enough" about computers, something new pops up and a feel like a neophyte again. Oh well. Thanks for your speedy responses; I'm gonna go pull the BestBuy circular out of the Sunday paper and see what they have for sale!

 

[j@cko]

I personally prefer USB devices..

 

[Killbat]

If you don't have many USB devices now or you don't mind getting a hub, I'd say go USB. It's especially handy if you have several controllers.

 

[bacillus]

go usb!
had tons of problems with SB live gameport saying joystick not connected so went usb with not a single problem.

 

[mylam]

usb is much better

 

[sandorski]

USB. For UT though?

 

[corkyg]

Atari 2600? Hmmm! I think my Atari 800 was older! <G>

Go USB! The sooner you are able to close your parallel port completely, the better. It wastes an IRQ!

 

[madthumbs]

The refresh rate on the midi or gameport is way too slow for anolog controllers. Go USB. You can also eliminate soundcard conflicts.

 

[Mday]

parallel port?

--

USB dood.

and the midi\game port of your soundcard as a second choice..

 

[Supradude]

Another vote for USB, hot-pluggable is sweet, so you can plug it in only when you need to and &quot;poof&quot; ready to go... that's what i do with my gravis pad = )

 

[JellyBaby]

There ain't no parallel or serial port joysticks.

Unless you have an old MX-300 sound card with an accelerated game port why not go USB? It's the wave of the future my man.

 

[thegreatjeff]

USB. Much simpler, easier, and also more hi-tech. =)

 

[ViRGE]

USB


Keyboard and mouse.

 

[Mixxen]

USB...

dam you sblive!

 

[cavingjan]

USB. If you are having problems with the keyboard part, consider a Saitek GM2.

And yes there are serial joysticks. Or at least a serial gamepad. I think its called the Stingray designed for laptops.

 

[Kowan]

Here's a controller to consider,
Panther XL Joysick

I just saw on their forum where the Panther XL is no longer being made. So it might not be a good idea to get one after all.

 

[Quickfingerz]

you are MUCH MUCH more better off if you use a mouse and keyboard playing UT

 

[JellyBaby]

<< And yes there are serial joysticks. Or at least a serial gamepad >>

There are no serial port joysticks.

 

[MichaelD]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the advice and recommendations. First off, I am now slightly more educated. Why? Because I completely forgot that the parallel port uses an IRQ! Im not using the parallel port, so I guess I'll figure out how to disable it. Im sure the BIOS would be a good place to start. I'm getting the idea (hint-hint) that I mistakenly called the joystick port on the soundcard &quot;a parallel port&quot;. Duh on me. Honestly, I didn't know what else to call it. It looked like a parallet port (female, 9-pins or so), so I figured it was parallel. Sorry about that. I know the performance diff between parallel and USB when it comes to things like printers, scanners, etc, but I'm know nada about joysticks. (Oh yeah, I had the Atari 800 too! )

While considering a joystick, I was wondering how I'd pick the weapons while playing UT. With mouse/keyboard setup, you can either used the scroll wheel to cycle thru them or hit the number keys directly (but you knew that already). The reason I'm considering a joystick is because, being that UT is MUCH more fast-paced than any of the 24,000 Half Life variants, it's gotten difficult to strafe w/the mouse/keyboard. I guess I just suck!

Anyway, I really appreciate all the responses. You guys rock! Have a fine and dandy week. I don't want to go to work tomorrow. Ungrateful bosses have been getting on my nerves lately. Cheers.

 

[Fingers]

another vote for USB.

 

[R2D2]

If you go with a USB device (whether it be joystick, gamepad, mouse or keyboard), if your controls get a bit sluggish when playing 3D games, dial your &quot;Render Frames Ahead #&quot; down to about 1 (if you have these Direct3D adjustments for your video card).

This will speed up your cursor considerably.
Ooops, let out my secret!

 

[chuckieland]

USB device
where is the poll?

 

[RawHotSauce]

USB, however keep practicing with the keyboard/mouse.

 

[nippyjun]

USB all the way. Hot swapping is great; usb is faster, more accurate.

 

[Maniac9127]

<< It wastes an IRQ! >>

Big deal. I don't have any serial or parallel devices and I haven't bothered to disable them. I don't have anything sharing an IRQ, so why bother?

Michael, are you saying replacing the keyboard with a joystick, or replacing everything with the joystick? Joystick&amp;mouse sounds interesting, but just joystick would suck. You can't look around fast enough using a joystick. And unless you get one with an extreme ammount of buttons you're not going to have enough to do everything.