Need a couple of tips about setup

[Zephyreos]

First of all hello guys, how are you doing?

 

I bought recently IL-2 as i always loved air simulation games, and i almost fully jumped in by also buying a T16000m to "partialy" enjoy it, partialy because i cant afford right now the throttler/pedals (Probably will buy them anyways at the end of month xP).

 

The doubt i have is.. can you play comfortable with just that by now? I played some warthunder and mapped the joystick enterily to try it, but i think this game will be more of a realistic hardcore so, wanna ask if you know about any setups to use Joystick + Keyboard or Joystick + Mouse (I have a 12 buttons mmorpg mouse).

 

Im gonna drop below the setup i made for warthunder.

 

Also wanted to ask, should i buy the throttler / pedals also from thrustmaster, or should i mix them with another brand?

 

Thanks for your time and sorry about my english!

Edited October 12, 2022 by Zephyreos

[DD_Crash]

Best to get a head tracking set up, either trackIR or freetrack

[cardboard_killer]

6 hours ago, Zephyreos said:

Also wanted to ask, should i buy the throttler / pedals also from thrustmaster, or should i mix them with another brand?

 

The thing I see lacking in your description is rudder controls. I would not play a flightsim without them, although I did when I started. You can mix brands. There are many choices for rudder pedals, just do a search in this forum.

 

Other than that, each person has their own preference for mapping controls. In the beginning, you will probably change things over and over to find what works for you.

[Zephyreos]

1 hour ago, DD_Crash said:

Best to get a head tracking set up, either trackIR or freetrack

Yeah, i've also gave a look to it, used OpenTrack with my webcam but i was having headaches x)

 

30 minutes ago, cardboard_killer said:

 

The thing I see lacking in your description is rudder controls. I would not play a flightsim without them, although I did when I started. You can mix brands. There are many choices for rudder pedals, just do a search in this forum.

 

Other than that, each person has their own preference for mapping controls. In the beginning, you will probably change things over and over to find what works for you.

The stick itself works for the rudder by rotating itself, im having problems binding the slider to Engine Throttle Control, cant get it to work, dont know why it binds the key but it does nothing

[Soarfeat]

Hey Zephyreos,

Those are great questions and for sure subjective.

In my experience with flight sim controls ,  my advice would be to ( as you can afford it ), don't get the cheaper stuff but go with a little more expensive well engineered stuff such as VKB offers. The only reason I am saying VKB is they have more affordable but well engineered stuff without going into the ( well forget this, "price range" ).  I know money matters are subjective as well, what is cheap to some are expensive to others. You can get by with what you have for sure and just save up and as time goes by, upgrade to the better stuff. You can spend as much as you want on this stuff, 

In starting to get serious with flight sims, and looking into good things to invest in to help try to capture the true experience, this would be my list to start out with in trying to save some bucks in having to keep upgrading your flight gear.

(1) Trackir 5

(2) VKB rudder pedals ( note, these don't have toe brakes, however, they have software to program brakes with pedals, ), also most of these planes did not use toe brakes/heal brakes, you can program brakes to button on the joystick or wherever you want    

(3) VKB NXT EVO They have really upgraded this stick to where you have adjustable tension on the stick to give you better feel and control to your liking

(4) VKB WW II throttle

There are other high end companies such as Virpil-Controls and as for rudder pedals this is what I have ( MFG -SIm ), they are a bit more expensive but well worth it to me and plus I have no inclination to ever upgrade which will save money also.

Again, this is very subjective and is just my pennies worth of advice, I am also not trying to sell one company over the other, it is just my experience trying to get the best bang for the buck so to speak.

Best of luck with all this !!!!

[cardboard_killer]

2 hours ago, Zephyreos said:

im having problems binding the slider to Engine Throttle Control

 

In order to troubleshoot we will need to know your realism setting, the plane you are flying, and the specific throttle control being used. Screenshots are nice. And, of course, I assume that the slider works for your other sims.

 

As an aside, I use a CH throttle box for my throttle/RPM/Radiators. It is much cheaper used than other high end solutions suggested above.

 

[1Sascha]

Having started in flight-sims longer ago than I care to admit, here's how I would prioritize my HOTAS components:

 

1. Stick - obviously. Go for a twisty stick if you don't plan on buying pedals anytime soon. Get the absolute best stick you can afford, since this is the most important device you'll ever need for flying and you don't want to have to mess around with pots spiking, buttons breaking, etc. As I've stated a million times: The VKB Gladiator Evo is the best you can get in the low to medium price-range. Wouldn't waste my money on anything cheaper that won't perform nearly as well as the Gladiator, isn't as customizable as the Gladiator and might need to be replaced after a year or two. If money is super tight, the TM 16K is probably the best option. At least it has a good amount of buttons and contactless sensors.

 

 

2. Head-tracking: Yes, it's more important IMO than a throttle or even rudder pedals. One of the biggest game-changers out there IMO. You might have to stick with it for a few weeks before things "click" for you (I know I had to), but once it does, you won't want to go back to a hat and/or keys. I'm using the Delanclip set (modded PS3Eye camera, steel IR-clip plus free Opentrack SW) and while it's not cheap, it was much more affordable than TIR5 with their "Pro" Clip. Think I paid a little over €100 for it including import-cost from the UK, whereas the TIR-set would've been €200 or more over here.

 

3. A set of decent pedals. Twisty will work for rudder in a pinch, but it's just so much nicer and "cleaner" to be using your feet to control the rudder. In the old days I would've recommended CH's pedals for an entry-level setup, but I'm not sure they're even making them anymore. VKB's offering is pretty damn good for the money... if you can live with the lack of toe-brakes. Bottom-rung/entry-level is probably TM's T16k set, but I never tried those. They'll probably work.. I would stay well clear of the Saitek/Logitech ones. I have used those in the past and unless they really changed the engineering on them, they're borderline unpleasant to use. Clunky feeling action and not very precise in operation.

 

4. Throttle. Unless you're flying VR, this is the least "must have" component of your HOTAS, IMO. Entry level is, again, TM with their TWCS. Which offers a good deal of functions but whose throttle action is sticky on small corrections. Still a good deal for the price and better than no throttle at all, but it doesn't exactly feel like a premium product. And, as stated, the sticky throttle action can get pretty annoying. I'm not sure about VKB's WW2 throttle. It doesn't offer a lot of buttons on its grip and, in Europe at least, it's about as much as a Thrustmaster Warthog throttle. Actually, I paid less for my WHT than what VKB want for their WW2 throttle combo (€200 vs €219).

 

Lastly: For no money at all or very little of it, you should probably see if you can work on your seating position and the positions of your devices - most importantly the stick. There's nothing like a mounted HOTAS set, but mounts cost money. But you can still improve things in this department IMO by simply using some velcro to attach your stick and/or throttle to your desk. That way your devices will always be in the same location (which is more important than you might think) and they won't move around unexpectedly during operation. I'd also look for a way to lock your chair in place while flying. To me, all this is very comparable to when my seating position is off while I'm driving a car. It just feels wrong and I don't feel as connected to the car or the road when I'm not in my "perfect" position. And I know from others that this isn't just me being weird, so ... ?

 

 

 

 

 

S.

Edited October 14, 2022 by 1Sascha

[BOO]

If I’m not wrong, the tws throttle has paddles you can use for the rudder. That’s a better solution to a twist grip stick if you can only afford to go with the throttle element next. 
 

There is nothing wrong with the T1600m as a stick with so don’t be swayed to splash out on a vkb just yet. Make sure the allure of simming sticks. I can grow old quickly for some. 
 

Headtracking is probably the most needed item. Track IR is pricey but solid but companies like Delan do good gear at a fraction of the cost. 
 

Any flight sim will benefit from hotas. I wouldn’t be rushing to replace my T50 and Warthog throttle for a WW2 stick and throttle with a quarter  of the buttons. Remember there are other sims too.   I disagree that a throttle isn’t an essential for this reason. I have half my most used actions bound to my throttle buttons. And I don’t play VR. 

[Raptorattacker]

2 hours ago, BOO said:

If I’m not wrong, the tws throttle has paddles you can use for the rudder. That’s a better solution to a twist grip stick if you can only afford to go with the throttle element next. 
 

There is nothing wrong with the T1600m as a stick with so don’t be swayed to splash out on a vkb just yet. Make sure the allure of simming sticks. I can grow old quickly for some. 
 

Headtracking is probably the most needed item. Track IR is pricey but solid but companies like Delan do good gear at a fraction of the cost. 
 

Any flight sim will benefit from hotas. I wouldn’t be rushing to replace my T50 and Warthog throttle for a WW2 stick and throttle with a quarter  of the buttons. Remember there are other sims too.   I disagree that a throttle isn’t an essential for this reason. I have half my most used actions bound to my throttle buttons. And I don’t play VR. 

The tws throttle paddles can also be used for left and rigght braking as well, which is what I use them for.

Also, TrackHat is another good alternative to Track IR...