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Do joysticks and specialist hardware matter in Flight Sim? Can you recommend any? Discuss!

Posted by Rich in Video Games

Certain video game experiences are better with specialist hardware. Driving games have their wheels, fighting games have their arcade sticks, and flight sims have all sorts: joysticks, throttles, switch panels, yokes... you can even build a full flight deck, if you've got the means.

Our question is: what do these components really add to the experience when playing Microsoft Flight Simulator? How important are they? And if the answer is "very", do you have any recommendations?

Tell us all about the difference that special hardware makes to the sim experience (or doesn't) in writing or video. The ten best entries get $2 apiece!

already paid

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This reward closed to entries at 9:33am on June 7, 2024 but you can still reply, react, and join the conversation below! If you’d like to enter other rewards which are still open, click here.

Created at 9:51am, 31st May, 2024. Page last updated at 9:31am, 7th June, 2024.
Deadline at 11:00pm, 6th June, 2024.

TheGreatestBanana12 6/6/2024, 10:53:20 PM

Are they important no but if want that extra emersion then I would recommend it like any simulator from flying to driving it's about getting as close to the real thing as possible so adding the extra peripherals can help achieve this if it's what you want but it's not necessary.

Personally I have used the Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas Joystick & Throttle combo.

Limal 6/6/2024, 7:32:36 PM

Its 2024, we have RTX4090 packed with some crazy tech like lumens and dymanic lighting, yet people keep making abd players keep buying 8bit pixel games. I think thats a testament that immersion comes from a gameplay, not fancy graphics or controllers.

If the game is great, no matter how you play it, it will grab your attention!

Sturmer 6/6/2024, 2:22:51 PM

I can't speak for everyone, but the fact that the sim device market still exists indicates there is demand. Just look at the photo I took at the conference - it's like a gamer's boutique. Some of the gear there costs more than a solid gaming laptop, showcasing the investment enthusiasts are willing to make.

Personally, I've tested many joysticks, command pads, and VR devices. While they offer incredible experiences, they eventually ended up collecting dust in my case. However, for dedicated sim enthusiasts, these devices are indispensable tools that enhance their gaming experience significantly.

P.S. Sorry, I do not have flight gear photos right now at hand, but their prices are even higher :P

FirestormGamingTeam 6/6/2024, 9:10:24 AM

What is gaming in this kind of game? Is it immersion, is it enjoyment, is it living a dream you feel you cannot achieve? Or is it just pure 100% fun?

I would say the same question can be applied to such games as Forza etc, does the steering wheel and pedals add to the immersion of the game, so let's apply this to this game.

What is the 70% answer of most surveys when people ask humans broad questions such as "if you could add any power to your body, what would it be?" The answer for 70% of humans who answered the survey was " to be able to fly.

So let's look at the setup above, does this add to your immersion of the game and does it make it better? or does it overcomplicate a simple flying game that is meant to relax you, enjoy the world from above and or just slam your plane into a mountain for the fun of it.

I would say personally that extra controls such as this add fully to your immersion within the game itself, you personally feel you have control of the plane, if we switched the monitors above for say one straight curved monitor or three side-by-side, you can essentially lock yourself, into a "zone" of flying, turns your lights off, fully focus and you really do feel like a pilot.

Gaming is often set by "personal standards" of what is what, for me, I have never got on with this game, often finding it long and boring, but my best friend, spends hours on this game, and I don't see the appeal, but he has a fully functioning "extra bits" setup.

So to sum up:

If it's the full "Immersion" you are seeking, you 100% need joysticks and headsets and such things.

If it's full on just having a crack whilst whinging a plane around, you don't need it :)

Samuel 6/6/2024, 3:54:47 AM

Absolutely. One of the major things that helps me with my flying is how immersive the digital cockpit is, and how quality the controls are for me. I remember a long time back, I was playing on merely a Logitech X3D Pro joystick and trying to make do with it in MSFS: 2020.

Needless to say, it was an absolute nightmare and quite frankly dismissed my love for sim flying for quite a while until I could get my hands on a proper controller.

The controller is the very thing connecting you to the game, and if that's a subpar quality, you have a subpar experience, and then a subpar game.

In terms of recommendation, my local flying club has a full size flight simulator, with 3 projectors and an entire Cessna 152 dashboard remodelled with real time instruments inside, and crikey is that the real deal.

The Honeycomb Alpha Flight Controls Yoke & Switch Panel is an easy recommendation for me for a yoke. It works for beginners and intermediate fliers.

For diehard sim fans, I recommend the SHYK01 (force feedback yoke) This thing is something else altogether. Of course it depends on whether your game actually supports force feedback, but if it does, this thing is the real deal.

And lastly, if you're on a budget and want a full set up including rudder pedals, I recommend the Thrustmaster T16000M Flight Pack. It's an affordable and get the job done system

Laser-Bicep 6/5/2024, 7:19:57 AM

absolutely ! i cant imagine flight enthusiasts building out their replica boeing 747 cockpits with side by side tvs and controls to then forgo the joystick.

ITs the same principle that people who love driving games go to the next level and use the driving wheel and pedals. The difference is people can casually play driving games with keyboard or game controller because they extend way beyond driving simulators, games like rocket league or need for speed . Flight simulators basically require everything to be exact and thats what their customers love.

Toretto 70 6/5/2024, 5:46:39 AM

I think it very usefull on certain condition, because without them we cant reach perfect perfomance and better experience.

Dave 6/2/2024, 4:22:29 PM

I think they do matter a lot when it comes to hardcore sims and also these types of “games” when used in vr. Using a flight stick, wheel and pedals massively ups the simulation and realism aspect of them. MS flight sim even with a standard Xbox controller, mixed with keyboard, is a much better experience than using mouse and keyboard.

For a flight stick which isn’t too serious and expensive yet massively increases the experience I suggest a now very old Microsoft sidewinder force feedback 2 off ebay or other reseller like CEX if you spot them instock instore or online. There are next to no force feedback sticks about these days other than at very crazy high prices. I understand as they are so old they take quite a lot of setup but you can get them to work if you put the effort in.

Horror and Cats 6/1/2024, 4:43:41 AM

I used to play all the Novalogic military sims back in the late 90’s/early 00’s. My favorite was Comanche Gold, in which you take grasp of the cyclic pitch in the titular AH-66 Comanche scout/light attack helicopter.

SUCH a cool game I learned so much from (including the fact that the “stick” in a helicopter is called a cyclic pitch).

I got a joystick eventually and I was so excited. I thought it was going to be the most epic experience partnered with my fav game. It took some getting used to, but eventually I was rocking it as well as I did keyboard controls.

I still play Comanche Gold; I fought my way through all kinds of system incompatibilities to do so on a PC over 25 years newer than my OG Pentium 2. I don’t have a joystick and I honestly haven’t even thought about it until this Bounty.

Ultimately, if I love a game, control method doesn’t matter.

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