SimHub - Force Feedback - Joystick

[Sandman3838]

Afternoon,

Most of my flight sim time is in WW1 & WW2.
Especially WWW1.
Now I am using Thrust-master T-1600 and Quest 3.

 

I have a few questions - 

1 - Anyone here using services like SimHub?  
    Is this of any other services like it worth it?

 

2 - Back, Back, Back, in the day I had the MS Force Feedback joystick.  Enjoyed it.

    How well does IL2 handle addons like HF8 - Haptic Feedback Gaming Pad or ButtKicker chair addon?

 

3 - This is more of an ich than a need.  I mean with WW1 and WW2 aircraft that I am flying now they are simpler aircraft and not jets.  Is a fancy Joystick and throttle really needed?  Still If I were to update my T-1600 I was thinking "Thrustmaster TCA Officer Pack Airbus" or perhaps the "Logitech Pro Flight X56 Rhino HOTAS” but here again are all those extra buttons.  Are there any WW orientated joysticks out there someone can recommend I investigate?

 

Thank you everyone have a great day 

[Aapje]

For bass shakers you need extra software, either Simhaptic or SimShaker. There are already existing topics on the gaming pad and buttkicker, so I suggest you read through those.

 

Note that this is not the same as force feedback through the joystick. For that, there are a bunch of much more impressive products than the weak FFB sticks of old, and more on their way: 

 

 

Quote

Is a fancy Joystick and throttle really needed?

 

If you go up in the range, you get better build quality, more durability, less issues with stick drift/jitter/etc. You also get the option to use an extension at a certain point, which allows for more precision and more realism.

 

Now, both of the options you name are rather poor products. An issue with flight sim hardware is that we've had a big drought, where big companies stopped innovating, and often actually reduced build quality. So the big names actually mostly sell old products that lack modern tech. And you need to go to smaller companies that kept innovating for proper quality and good value.

 

The TWCS is generally rated as somewhat decent, so the first thing I would upgrade is the stick. The VKB Gladiator Evo and the Winwing Ursa Minor are relatively low budget options that actually have solid technology and build quality. The Gladiator is available in a WW 2 version or a Space version that is more versatile, but less realistic. The Ursa Minor just has a modern combat grip. It is cheaper, but also a bit worse in a bunch of ways.

 

Upgrading the TWCS to something like the VKB STECS gives you much higher quality gear with many more buttons (frankly, overkill for WW 2 planes). It also gives a very nice detent system, so you can put stops at the combat power and cruise power settings, which is a big quality of life feature.

 

And a more high-end setup will include rudder pedals, which for me is way nicer than a twist grip.

 

And the next really big upgrade for the joystick is to move to a modern FFB base, but that is a rather big spend.

Edited March 12 by Aapje