I'm considering again to go from mouse to joysticks. I found 2 that seems to be ok. But i have NO experience with a joystick. ( last time i tried i died in to oruns )

So here are 2 links i found :
http://www-itgalaxy-ro.allshops.ro/produs/5188138/Joystick+Cyborg-MadCatz+V.1.html

http://www-itgalaxy-ro.allshops.ro/produs/5188142/Joystick+Cyborg-MadCatz+F.L.Y.+5.html

What do you recommend ?

When I first started playing VO, I managed to kill 2 joysticks in about a year.  Some of them just don't stand up to the continual use necessary to play the game.  I finally got some advise from a guildie who had been using the same one for a long time.  Since I bought that one, I am still using it very effectively.  It is a CH Products Pro Joystick.  But I warn anyone ahead of time it is expensive compared to most of the joysticks that are offered but by all means do not buy a cheap joystick unless you want to replace it every 6 months.  Joystick maneuvering is different than using a mouse in game.  Also what I finally settled on doing in game is to use the mouse with my right hand and joystick with my left hand in a combination.  That may not work for all people but is something that might be considered.

My biggest problem with mouse alone, was trying to make sharp turns without having to lift and relocate the mouse because sensitivity settings to make that work made it extremely hard to use the mouse accurately in the menus.  My joystick is extremely sensitive and my mouse is not at this point in time.  I do often use the joystick for quick turning and such and fine control it with the mouse.

Hope that makes sense!!

Makes a lot of sense to me. One thing i'm used to while in turbo i can turn the mouse to look around . It this possible to do with joystick ?
Also during combat if i have to lock on target i put the lock and press turbo and the cursor will be locked to that position ( i know ... don't use turbo in combat .... But i do it sometime to get better speed ) .

How i look behind ? In station wars i can't see what fires from behind ( turret fire ) . I die a lot due to this . i can strafe and avoid fire that comes right at me but the fire from up / down / behind ....

Don't strafe at all. Select target, direct ship toward (but not directly at) it, and hold turbo into you're out of the sector. I very seldom die due to turret fire.

-- tsreknor

i was talking when i'm in there fighting defenders and not the turrets :)

Just about all joysticks have some buttons and at least one hat switch.  The hat switch was designed to be used to look around while in the cockpit!!  Most players though, me included, bind it to things like strafe, roll, etc.  It can be left as a default setting and you can use it to look around quickly using only your thumb!!  Even defending the station I do not worry too much about what is behind me because I am concentrating on targetless to find out who is close enough to actually fire at me or who might soon be within range!!  If they fire homing missiles at me from outside normal range I hear the beeping and immediately start turboing to outrun any swarms or gems.  There are also other ways to break lock with homing missiles that you can practice using but in station defense I want to be moving and not doing a bunch of maneuvering to avoid the missiles because I found often that 2 players are working you.  One with homing missiles and one closer in who waits until you start to try avoid them by maneuvers to start attacking you while you are distracted.  Immediately turboing straight ahead leaves me free to keep monitoring the whole overall situation. Also note this, coming at you from below and behind cannot be seen in any situation anyways!!!!  Ship blocks your view!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So it is more important to be aware of what is going on around you by other than looking at  many things that usually gets people air sick!!!!!!!!!!  Natural tendency is to look too long in one place and by the time you turn your head you are dead!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, after using joysticks with many buttons I discarded that type of joystick because I found myself almost constantly only using a few buttons.  The CH Pro Joystick I use has only one regular strightforward press to fire trigger!!  Therefore I do not have to try to think hard or light press on the trigger.  In addition I have three thumb controlled buttons on top of the joystick.
One button secondary weapons, one tertiarary weapon, and one button Turbo.  Finally I have one hat switch set for up and down strafing with left and right being roll.  When fighting in a skirmish or station defense I want to constantly be aware of who is around and what is going on around me.  I do not have time to even think about using any other buttons.  When not skirmishing or defending I am not in that type of situation and can use my right hand on a mouse/keyboard combo instead of buttons on a joystick while flying with the left hand on joystick.  Oh by the way I am backward to most people because I am left handed!!!  Left hand for me is the one with more precision so it is joystick.  You might set up the opposite way from this if right handed.

Also a note to any other left handed people out there.  It is hard to find a joystick setup that can be easily used left handed.  All those buttons are always on the wrong side of the stick for me.  That too is why I use a simple stick.  The CH Pro Joystick is designed to be used by either hand.  You have no special guards or pieces to move to switch hands.  Just let go with one hand grab the stick with the other.   For older people this is also nice cause I can at any point switch out hands in less than a second.  My poor old hands can't take it constantly so I am switching out in the middle of skirmishes or attacks with ease.

Also note this for reference.  I was a US Air Force Instructor Pilot.  Hey, guess what they do not make left handed fighter jets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So I had to learn to fly with right hand joystick and left hand throttles and control panels.  So turned me ambidextrous when in flight and in real life.  BTW, most lefties have to adapt to a right handed world anyways so most are that way naturally!!!!

Hope that helps put some perspective on many buttons vs few buttons issues and leftie issues that you see below people debating!!!!!!!

fortunately or unfortunately i tend to use a lot my left hand . When i was a kid my parents forced me to be right handed but now i feel more naturally to use left hand. So i'm an ambidexter ( i think ) .
Will see how will be with the X1

You probably are able to use both hands then without even thinking about it.  Also, I cannot use a pair of scissors in my left hand but always use the right.  Tools are usually right-handed so you learn to use them that way.  If you parents had not forced it, it would have happened anyway because few implements/tools/cockpits are made to be both Left and Right Handed!!!  The real advantage is the ability to use stuff with either hand without having to think about it!!!!!  Unless you are faced with a situation where only right handed exists and is required like an airplane cockpit in which case it is fairly easy to adapt to it.

I like the Saitek X52 Pro for two reasons.

-- It has spring centering, so if you remove your hand it's in a stable centered position. The spring wears out, so eventually it acquires too much play and you have to replace the stick (or as Engineer Ecka does, replace the spring).

-- I use the dual trigger for flares. I squeeze lightly to fire energy, and a little harder to fire a flare. No other controls needed. It takes some discipline to acquire the light touch on the trigger, but I think a heavy hand is not good for combat anyway.

The action is a little stiff, so you need a firm arm and hand. Not tight, though.

It has lots of buttons for extra control. I use right thumb hat for strafe, and other buttons to turbo, toggle F/A, toggle A/A, select nearest enemy, etc. All done intuitively with right hand.

-- tsreknor

I'm using the Logitech Pro 3D Extreme (still the first one, although it's close to dying...).  Right hand for the stick, fire and the tophat. Left hand for strafing with the bottom buttons.

I also use the Pro 3D and like it. I have been using about a year. It is showing signs of needing replaced in future. I need to "play with enrolling" it when I log on due to it being in a hard right turn. Bothersome, but still usuable.

I also have a Razer Nostromo Gaming Keypad for left hand. It has 2 rows of 5 programable buttons with a 3rd row of 4. It also has 2 other buttons for thumb along with "hat" button for thumb. I have found it a lot easier to use that going to computer keyboard for the most used buttons. I rest with fingers on center row and can very quickly go to top or bottom row, giving me 14 buttons I can use without having to look at anything. My normal position gives me Turbo, accelerate, decelerate, and next target. A slight movement with a finger gives me the rotate cw or ccw, honk, chain fire, cargo target, and several more options. With thumb I have brakes, exit station, and strafe with the "hat".

I have a Logitech G13 Gamepad which I never learned to use and is now gathering dust...

I use a Thrustmaster T-16000M on my right, along with the laptop keyboard.  Most things I commonly use are programmed on the stick, such as fire 1 and 2, F/A on and off, turbo lock, AA on and off, VC toggle, and the speed via the slider throttle that works with F/A on only.

Seems like a really nice js, and Lisa recommended it so I picked one up on Amazon.

Gramps is right about the CH sticks.  They might cost more, but they will last much longer than anything else out there.

I have Saitek v.1...it's good feel in hands. On top of joystick is a small blue LED, if you play in dark room, it can be a bit annoying, but duck tape fit it ...and it go a bit harder into left then into other directions.

I was looking at saitek because CD mentioned it on 100 today. And i'm not so efficient with the mouse in pvp. In bot combat i can manage it.

CD and Ecka both use the X52 Pro.

-- tsreknor

I like the X52 Pro also, but that left throttle thing is useless to me... wish they would sell just the joystick...
Checkout HOTAS Warthog.  Pricey, but looks very good.  I'm still trying to find the Warthog for sale without the left throttle thing too.  It's shown on the web site as separate.

Aye, the x52 pro is good, but the throttle thing is useless for vo. I use a logitech thing for the LH, it looks like an x box control but it is usb.

The x52 is sharper if you replace the trigger and pinkie triggers with proper microswitches and upgrade the centreing spring, but it is not a trivial task. I did look at putting the bits in the throttle that convert its data to usb in the stick but there just wasn't room . The thing also needs serious desk space, full travel is 12 " square.

XBOX One PC Extender combo controller.

I had gotten the XBOX One controller combo kit with the PC Bluetooth extender and was having 2 issues with it. The right analog stick wouldn't do anything (the left analog stick worked fine for accel fwd & bkwd and strafe left & right) and the controller was in a constant roll right. Roll right would make it roll faster and roll left would make it not roll.

How did I solve this issue? Well I'm glad you asked. It was a really simple fix really. I took the XBOX One  PC Extender combo controller back to Best Buy and bought an XBOX 360 PC Extender combo controller for $50 less. That solved the roll issue. But what about the issue with the right analog stick? Well that is as simple as going into the controller configuration via the VO options menu. On the input tab select Keyboard/Joystick instead of Keyboard/Mouse. The mouse will still work so if you would like to use it as well then BONUS!!!

Thank you for checking out this controller tip brought to you by BUKKAH!!! productions and always remember... Don't feed the yaoguia.

Controller for iPad.

When I play VO on my iPad I use the SteelSeries Nimbus controller and it works for me. One thing I don't like about it is that the thumb sticks aren't buttons so when I go back and forth between it and my XBOX 360 controller on PC I have to think about which buttons turbo and toggle flight assist; but that is a minor inconvenience.

Thank you for checking out this controller tip brought to you by BUKKAH!!! productions and always remember... They just don't make abattoirs like they used to.

Was proud of my GameSir G3 / GearVR setup so I wrote it down.