HOTAS Noob Help

[Zefron]

Hello I've been following Star Citizen since the 5 million stretch goal, and have played the new updates from here to there but never really getting in to the game seriously because of school. However now I have more time I wanted to dive into the game and so I have acquired a x56 rhino for free (I know the community doesn't recommend them) but when it comes to setting up the HOTAS I dont know where to begin. So I was hopping someone with more experience can guide me through the process.

 

[CrudeSasquatch]

Yeah dude!
Welcome to TEST!
Welcome to Star Citizen!

I can't recommend much else than "Good luck, have fun!", seeing as how I use Mouse and Keyboard. I hope that HOTAS works for you... but when you realize you can't aim, and it's not because you're drunk.... we're here for you bro

 

[marcsand2]

First of all, forget about the default profile, clear it, think of which controls you want to have on your HOTAS, then start mapping them.
Yaw, roll pitch on the stick
firegroup 1 on your trigger
firegroup 2 on a easy accessible button
countermeasures on the pinky switch
targeting somewhere on a hat switch
missiles somewhere on a thumb switch
Throttle and strafe and boost on your throttle

start with that and if you advance further in game, you will miss some functionality. Add them to the remaining buttons. When you decide yourself where to put them depending on the priority you give them, it is much easier to memorize them.
If you just pick a profile from somebody, it will be harder to memorize where that person has put the controls depending on how important that person thinks that a control is.
Always remember, flying PU needs other controls then flying AC so the controls get other priorities.

 

[CrudeSasquatch]

LOL :P Ruined

 

[AeroGrizzly]

First of all, forget about the default profile, clear it, think of which controls you want to have on your HOTAS, then start mapping them.
Yaw, roll pitch on the stick
firegroup 1 on your trigger
firegroup 2 on a easy accessible button
countermeasures on the pinky switch
targeting somewhere on a hat switch
missiles somewhere on a thumb switch
Throttle and strafe and boost on your throttle

start with that and if you advance further in game, you will miss some functionality. Add them to the remaining buttons. When you decide yourself where to put them depending on the priority you give them, it is much easier to memorize them.
If you just pick a profile from somebody, it will be harder to memorize where that person has put the controls depending on how important that person thinks that a control is.
Always remember, flying PU needs other controls then flying AC so the controls get other priorities.

Agree with all of this, what I did, and do again every so often, is just go into the settings and control mapper and work my way down the list. It's also a good way to discover all the things your ship can do.

Have fun!

 

[Lienna]

I would encourage you to make the setup yourself too, but you need a couple more bits than that to start.

Targeting fits well on a hat, something like next/prev hostile on right/left and nearest hostile and next ally on up/down.

Firing weapons goes on the throttle! Seriously! Pulling the trigger actually slightly changes your joystick position which in turn makes you miss your shot. You'll actually be more accurate by putting weapons on a throttle button, save the trigger for missiles or after burners or something that isn't wholly reliant on your aim!

Thrusters go on the little stick on the x56 throttle supposedly, not sure how well that works but it's a good bonus to have analog strafe

Basically go through the control list and assign everything that seems useful in a combat situation. It won't hurt if you realise you don't have landing mode assigned and you have to go into the menu quickly. You won't get away with that on fire countermeasures!

 

[Beerjerker]

Hello I've been following Star Citizen since the 5 million stretch goal, and have played the new updates from here to there but never really getting in to the game seriously because of school. However now I have more time I wanted to dive into the game and so I have acquired a x56 rhino for free (I know the community doesn't recommend them) but when it comes to setting up the HOTAS I dont know where to begin. So I was hopping someone with more experience can guide me through the process.

In the same boat. I've always used mouse and keyboard, can't even figure out a controller. Just got myself 2 T16gabillions and I feel like I'm walking backwards underwater.
I figure I will get more used to it as time goes by, but following this thread for everyone's tips and tricks. :)

 

[marcsand2]

In the same boat. I've always used mouse and keyboard, can't even figure out a controller. Just got myself 2 T16gabillions and I feel like I'm walking backwards underwater.
I figure I will get more used to it as time goes by, but following this thread for everyone's tips and tricks. :)

Since you are use to flying with mouse I think it is advisable to learn to fly with 1 flightstick, get used to it, before advancing to 2 flightsticks. Personally I like the setting: left/right Yaw; back pitch up; front pitch down, but that is up to you.
Go into freeflight and dive into a dense asteroid field. In the beginning you will start oversteering, but once you get used to it, your movements will become more controlled.

 

[Beerjerker]

Interesting new video series from Noobifier announced:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VSExUJDk34

Might be interesting to this thread as videos get added.

 

[marcsand2]

Interesting new video series from Noobifier announced:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VSExUJDk34

Might be interesting to this thread as videos get added.

Yes, I want the left one, it isn't in production yet :(

 

[Bruttle]

Yes, I want the left one, it isn't in production yet :(

I am absolutely sold on one of these as well. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before they start making them. I am a bit concerned though as their website and blog haven't been updated since I found them. They need to stop playing around with my emotions and get to work.

On topic though, I think you will be much happier with a HOTAS than with mouse and keyboard. Then again, according to the video Beerjerker linked, one of the best pilots in the game so far uses a keyboard and mouse. I personally have tried quite a few different setups. I used an older X52 for quite a while before changing over to dual T16000 joysticks. The accuracy difference alone made the change worth every penny ($90ish on Amazon). When you are using a joystick for aiming, the accuracy of the joystick is everything.

There were a few pitfalls early on when I first hooked up the HOTAS.

• The first is locking the gimbals. I believe the current binding is Right alt + J. This keeps your turrets on your crosshairs. Otherwise, they will wander around the screen. It's terribly frustrating until you lock them.
  
• The second is, like others have suggested, unbind almost everything in your keybindings to start with. As you get used to using the HOTAS, keep it simple and basic. Then as you become accustomed to the controls, go back in and keybind more. You don't need everything bound to your HOTAS since the keyboard and mouse are still active and useable while you fly. So it is no big deal to, for instance, let go of your throttle for a second to hit "b" to bring up quantum and "f" to engage it.
• Keep your desktop moveable. Keep in mind that this game switches from flight to fps constantly. Keeping the controls moveable on my desk helps with that transition.
• Make sure your HOTAS only moves when you want them to. For me, that involved attaching heavy steel plates with high friction feet to the bottoms of my joystick and throttle. When you are pulling a long maneuver, it can be detrimental to stop and adjust the placement of your joystick on your desk. They usually do move and for me, the more I had to concentrate, the worse it got. This particularly applied to the rotation axis. My joystick would constantly turn on my desk as I flew until I took steps to weigh it down. I chose weight and high friction rubber to solve this instead of hard mounts due to the point above about keeping it mobile.

I am sure you will find your own issues and solutions as you spend time in this game. Keep in mind that control systems like this are extremely personalized and what works for us, won't necessarily work for you. The one universal piece of advice is that practice makes perfect. Some of the pilots that you will be flying against have been practicing daily since Arena Commander came out. Almost every combination of controls is represented in the leader boards. It is more about the practice than the controls.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Yes, I want the left one, it isn't in production yet :(

Here it is:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8YxA2tSLYE


Noob has several dual stick vids now. They look good. And not to be too repetitive, but just noting I am convinced we have not seen ships like the Vanguards made the best of, because the ship rotates too slowly to fire effectively from a fixed mount. To get the most out of gimbals and slaved turrets you need something like the dual stick solution. The Vanguard may turn slowly, but it turns fast enough to evade and with the main gun on swivel mount, you should be able to get on targets as quickly as you can spot them.

 

[marcsand2]

because the ship rotates too slowly to fire effectively from a fixed mount

@Beerjerker made a good point: use decoupled mode to turn faster, you still will be flying backwards, but boost should reverse your speed fast enough, as long as your nose and guns are pointing in the right direction to shoot at your target.

Noob has several dual stick vids now. They look good.

I saw them, he just likes to tease me with his fine lefty.

 

[Beerjerker]

@Beerjerker made a good point: use decoupled mode to turn faster, you still will be flying backwards, but boost should reverse your speed fast enough, as long as your nose and guns are pointing in the right direction to shoot at your target.

I saw them, he just likes to tease me with his fine lefty.

This is the only way to turn! I use the decouple to maneuver all the time with the Hornets and the Freelancer. Thread the needle at Olisar and Karaeh for practice. Be mindful of where your tail feathers are pointed in asteroid fields!

However, I tried it with a rented Sabre and it did not go well. I think the layout of the maneuvering thrusters make it a little less predictable when decoupled (yaws faster than pitches? or, at least, it yaws very differently than it pitches). Just seemed faster to turn coupled rather than decoupled. It might take more of a Sabre-isto than I am to do this well.

But if the Vanguard flies more like a Hornet than a Sabre, this should work great.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

What is "decoupled" exactly? It's like turning off the computer aids on a Wobbly Goblin or some such? You're flying a inherently unstable bird by hand?

 

[Beerjerker]

What is "decoupled" exactly? It's like turning off the computer aids on a Wobbly Goblin or some such? You're flying a inherently unstable bird by hand?

Can't say exactly how it is explained in video game mechanics, but Wobbly Goblin sounds about right. In SC, when you throttle down, you slow down, even in a space (I think this is solely for video game fun, but I am no scientist).

If your throttle is up and then you decouple, you continue momentum in the direction you were going before you decoupled. Then you can use your maneuvering thrusters to change which direction you are facing, while still traveling in the direction and speed you were. When you recouple, your main engines push you in your new alignment.

On slower moving ships, you can do this to turn drastically faster. While shooting, this turns your whole ship into a gimballed weapon platform.

All the ships seem to behave differently decoupled, I suspect due to the maneuvering thruster layouts. Default key is C. Try it out and see what you think.
By the way, this also will let you make very fast turns in cruise mode. It works well when jumping in and out of fights. But when you recouple in cruise, the blackout and redout danger is very real. Rolling can compensate to some extent.

 

[Beerjerker]

Can't say exactly how it is explained in video game mechanics, but Wobbly Goblin sounds about right. In SC, when you throttle down, you slow down, even in a space (I think this is solely for video game fun, but I am no scientist).

If your throttle is up and then you decouple, you continue momentum in the direction you were going before you decoupled. Then you can use your maneuvering thrusters to change which direction you are facing, while still traveling in the direction and speed you were. When you recouple, your main engines push you in your new alignment.

On slower moving ships, you can do this to turn drastically faster. While shooting, this turns your whole ship into a gimballed weapon platform.

All the ships seem to behave differently decoupled, I suspect due to the maneuvering thruster layouts. Default key is C. Try it out and see what you think.
By the way, this also will let you make very fast turns in cruise mode. It works well when jumping in and out of fights. But when you recouple in cruise, the blackout and redout danger is very real. Rolling can compensate to some extent.

Just thought I'd add that I've never done this using sticks, only mouse and keyboard. This might be a whole different ball game on sticks.

Also, sometimes you get a significant framerate drop when decoupling and recoupling, but restarting game seems to fix this for me.

 

[Havrek]

What is "decoupled" exactly? It's like turning off the computer aids on a Wobbly Goblin or some such? You're flying a inherently unstable bird by hand?

When you decouple your spaceship it continues to travel in the same direction. Use of your thrusters merely change the facing of your ship without impact the direction of travel. Because you aren't under the effect of gravity you can change the facing of the ship very quickly.

Hope that helps. Best thing to do is getting in game and once you are able to get the ship moving hit the "C" key and then move your mouse. You'll start spinning all over the place but you will still be heading in the same direction. Once you hit the "C" key again and become "coupled" will your ship begin moving in the direction it is facing.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Point being, the ship will rotate much faster when decoupled?

Just to be clear, "rotation" is the proper term that signifies how quickly a craft turns or rotates along one of its three axes. This is the proper measure of how quickly and easily a ship can be directed to target its fixed-mount weapons. If I understand what you're saying, it is not only that the ship when decoupled continues to move in the original direction, but it actually rotates more quickly in decoupled mode?

And what would be the reason to ever want to fly it coupled?

 

[Beerjerker]

Point being, the ship will rotate much faster when decoupled?

Just to be clear, "rotation" is the proper term that signifies how quickly a craft turns or rotates along one of its three axes. This is the proper measure of how quickly and easily a ship can be directed to target its fixed-mount weapons. If I understand what you're saying, it is not only that the ship when decoupled continues to move in the original direction, but it actually rotates more quickly in decoupled mode?

And what would be the reason to ever want to fly it coupled?

Some ships seem to rotate faster decoupled. The Hornets and the Freelancer do. With mouse, this is very much like turning you mouse sensitivity way up temporarily. However, the Sabre seems to rotate faster coupled instead, and it seems to rotate yaw faster than pitch (but a more experienced Sabre pilot would probably know more than I on this).

You would fly coupled to set your ship's direction with the throttle (not sure if this would work if you are using strafe forward instead of throttle). For a fight, or any fancy maneuver, you would decouple and re-couple back and forth as needed.