Game Controllers

[harleyman]

Hi..Am thinking this looks pretty cool and was wondering what controllers you all use , and if you wanted a better one what would you get?

Thanks

[Lionheart]

Hey HM,

Myself, I use my FS equipment. I am using the regular Saitek X52. Works brilliant.

The only thing you need to get used to is the craft rotate sideways (thrusters) instead of banking like a plane. And if you have a twist joystick, that will spin your craft on its Z axis, like the space shuttle. I keep trying to bank and use rudder with joystick twist axis and the ship does the opposite.. I 'must' remember that it doesnt work that way in X3..

You can also do alot of flying on the keyboard if you are not dogfighting the enemy. You use the arrow keys or keyboard keys for control, and you can use Autopilot for almost anything. So you can actually make jumps, autopilot treks, etc, without even using the joystick for long periods of time.

Great for addicts that are away on business and have it on laptop and didnt bring a joystick...



Bill

[harleyman]

Thanks...

Looks cool from what I've seen..

I'm tiring of flight sims per say, and have not even flown one in months really.. Been busy too...

BUT Quietttttttttttttttttttttttt ! Don't tell...LOL

[Chacha]

Thanks...

Looks cool from what I've seen..

I'm tiring of flight sims per say, and have not even flown one in months really.. Been busy too...

BUT Quietttttttttttttttttttttttt ! Don't tell...LOL

Uhhh, Harley,

This game is extremely addictive... :isadizzy: extremely addictive..... extremely addictive .... ive... ive .... ive .. (that's the echo effect!) :bump:

[harleyman]

No screenshots here yet, but what I've seen it looks GREAT...

My demo is 1/2 way done...(Downloading)

Then I need to go to the shop early as a stop at lowes for a special tool is needed to complete my first X Box repair....


I will DL it once there too and run it on my big rig and kill it....Maybe..I hope ..

Thanks

[Craig Taylor]

I'm using my FS joystick as well, a CH Fighterstick Pro, but it's not a perfect equivalent and I use the keyboard and mouse a bit. When I get (make) the time, I plan on using the CH Control Manager to set up a new profile for X3 to map some of the keys to the joystick buttons.

[Chacha]

Hi..Am thinking this looks pretty cool and was wondering what controllers you all use , and if you wanted a better one what would you get?

Thanks

I am using a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, and switches back to my key board once in a while.... It would be good it the TrackIR will work on this game....

So whatever you have there for your FS you still can use on X3.... :applause:

[GT182]

It would be good it the TrackIR will work on this game....


They won't do support for the Tracker IRs. I asked and got laughed at. They don't know a good thing....... even when told about it.

Has anyone tried a game controler like used for PS3 or XBox? I went to GameStop yesterday looking for one for PC. Of course they didn't carry any, as I should have known. They must think PCs are no longer used.... the maroons.

[Lionheart]

They won't do support for the Tracker IRs. I asked and got laughed at. They don't know a good thing....... even when told about it.

Has anyone tried a game controler like used for PS3 or XBox? I went to GameStop yesterday looking for one for PC. Of course they didn't carry any, as I should have known. They must think PCs are no longer used.... the maroons.


Hey Gary,

There are a few out there. Try Fry's Electronics. They have every controller made. Walmart used to carry one. Sort of like an adapter for a kid that goes into transition to adulthood and goes from an X-Box to a PC. :d


(like in Men in Black, lol.. couldnt fly the car without his X-Box controller).


Bill

[harleyman]

NewEgg has the too...I have one but never used it for FSX..I tried once and it would not set up correctly..


Man...The game demo is lame...No user interaction at all..just get to watch it go on its own...AGHHHHHH



Looks like I have to wait..


I have the Logitec 3D Pro too and it should do just fine for this..Thanks ChaCha...

[Lionheart]

Man...The game demo is lame...No user interaction at all..just get to watch it go on its own...AGHHHHHH






Hey HM,

I havent tried the Demo before. I was curious and almost downloaded it just to check it out, lol.. Guess I was wise in not doing that.

HM, make sure you are doing it right. You might have your joystick off. Use the arrow keys and see if you can change the ships direction. Also, you need SETA drive (a special engine) to go fast in sectors or it takes you several min's to get to a gate or station. Go to the Free Trade Station nearest you and get the SETA drive, (if you can gain control of the ship) and use J key to turn on SETA to warp to area's of a Sector.



Bill

[harleyman]

NOPE...Its just a demo and what they call some sort of test??? I forget what its called..But its to test your system to see how it will run it I think..


I will try later, but this morning I hit all the keys and gave the joystick a workout too...LOL Nothing...



Meant to say above that I have a Consol style controller for PCs and its not good for FSX...

[GT182]

No Fry's here Bill. WallyMart here has crap for PCs, just like GameSpot. I guess these stores are more concerned about the console games. I miss CompUSA stores. Looks like I'll have to run over to WorstBuy tomorrow and see what crap they have. :frown:

[Lionheart]

Well, I just found out that my Saitek X52 doesnt talk with Mac OSX well, and there are no OSX drivers.

arrgh..



Bill

[harleyman]

Hmmmmmm...

That is a Mac problem for sure...I wonder what others using the game are using on their Macs for joysticks then ?

[Chacha]

I use Logitech 3D Pro ....

This is a Mac and PC Friendly.... :applause:

[Lionheart]

I use Logitech 3D Pro ....

This is a Mac and PC Friendly.... :applause:

Thanks for the heads up ChaCha.


There is 'something' on this controller that is causing a up/mouse selection on the various command selection windows in Reunion. I cant figure out what it is nor how to over-ride it as its controlling the control panels for editing the game. Unplugging it causes the system to relax..

argh..

Catcha-22...




Bill

[harleyman]

If you look at the Demo Bill its called a Rolling Demo.....

I think that means its just a video and has information about it that you have to see..No actions to do nothing...BooHoo...

[Lionheart]

HM,

I was in the first part of Reunion the other night, and doing the 'fast start' or hot start, what ever they call it, and it goes through a long movie intro, setting you up for whats in the game, 'then' it starts.

It 'might' have some ability to fly around in the sector. Just takes several min's of movie until you are at that point. That might be what you are seeing? Give it a long wait and then check again and see if the ship is just sitting there. If so, hit the ~ key for full throttle, and mess with the arrow keys and see if the ship moves around a bit.. If it does, you are in flight mode.. .



Bill

[Mobayrasta]

I use my old Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 or my X-52. I have also just plugged in my kids XBOX 360 controller and it worked fine except for throttle being a little wierd to use with the shoulder buttons.

[GT182]

I almost bought an XBOX360 controller at GameStop the other day. I know there are PC controllers out there and I'm looking for one. I've got to get over to the only place I figure that will have em, WorstBuy.... I mean BestBuy. And I don't like that place. But hey, ya gots to do what ya gots to do.

[gigabyte]

I mostly use my X52, but I have also set-up my AV8R and both work very well, I also set up a ZBoard keyboard with all the key commands mapped so I have everything at my finger tips not Shift + A or B etc, that is a huge help. I did have my Logitech G13 running for ahwile but there are more keys to use on the ZBoard so I am sticking with that for now.

[harleyman]

Man...Those Z Boards are NICE !

[gigabyte]

Man...Those Z Boards are NICE !

I have to agree Harleyman, I have the full keyboard with several keysets, and I bought a Fang, all in all I can get close to 300 mapped functions which more than covers anything I can throw on my system. The thing I like best is I can have the 2 Zboards operating and still use my normal keyboard so I have everything at my fingertips.

[Chacha]

I have to agree Harleyman, I have the full keyboard with several keysets, and I bought a Fang, all in all I can get close to 300 mapped functions which more than covers anything I can throw on my system. The thing I like best is I can have the 2 Zboards operating and still use my normal keyboard so I have everything at my fingertips.

Wow! Let the fingers do the walking! :applause: ...do the talking....


That's a cool one ..... :pop4:

[gigabyte]

No kidding Chacha, if you have never checked them out, they are way cool. On some of the keysets you can get up to 6 shift states so you can program most keys with 5 functions besides the normal function, I have never gone beyond the second shift state but it looks like it would work fine, the main problem I see would be remembering the functions or printing out the mapping would give you a huge printout to scan. Attached is a shot of my basic key layout for X3 Terran Conflict, these are mainly the functions I do not have on the X52 HOTAS, I also have a few more on the smaller Fang but they are mostly duplicated on this one.

[Chacha]

No kidding Chacha, if you have never checked them out, they are way cool. On some of the keysets you can get up to 6 shift states so you can program most keys with 5 functions besides the normal function, I have never gone beyond the second shift state but it looks like it would work fine, the main problem I see would be remembering the functions or printing out the mapping would give you a huge printout to scan. Attached is a shot of my basic key layout for X3 Terran Conflict, these are mainly the functions I do not have on the X52 HOTAS, I also have a few more on the smaller Fang but they are mostly duplicated on this one.


I like it... it is so cool.....

I have to find it before Christmas, and put it under the tree... 21 days till Christmas

***Whew.... it is a long wait, Harleyman! I agree with you now...

It is a long longggggggggg wait! :isadizzy:

[GT182]

Well, I got the Logitech Dual Action PC game controller. It's not bad but a PITA to program a profile. Still trying to figure it out to get the controls changed. Some you can change but then it messes up other things. It's not as easy to do for X3 as it is for other sims.

[Marlin]

The one HUGE selling point for me was the use of the mouse instead of a controller. For some reason ALL my USB ports are not functioning/communicating.

To go from using the mouse to interact with X3 to flying using the mouse, it is only a spacebar click away.:applause:

[GT182]

I've been using my mouse and the game controler just sits collecting dust. I've been trying to make a profile but the changes to the controls don't want to work. I'll keep the thing and use it for some other game. So far my MX Laser wireless mouse has been working great in X3.

[Lionheart]

I've been using my mouse and the game controler just sits collecting dust. I've been trying to make a profile but the changes to the controls don't want to work. I'll keep the thing and use it for some other game. So far my MX Laser wireless mouse has been working great in X3.

Im really impressed with the mouse control as well GT. I didnt think it would be that addictive and easy. For space and extreme combat, it almost works better then the joystick! lol.. Its quicker..



Bill

[RickN]

Well I just unwrapped X3 and am going to install in a minute, after I read the beginner thread here of course. Going to see if my old Sidewinder Precision 2 will work for me.

[gigabyte]

Well I just unwrapped X3 and am going to install in a minute, after I read the beginner thread here of course. Going to see if my old Sidewinder Precision 2 will work for me.

Rick you are in luck, th esidwinder is the stick they use in the manual and as long as it works on your system (i.e it's not analog, meanign it's digital and connects with a USB) you should be fine, the manual pictures the Sidewinder and has all of the buttons preassigned so you should be good to go.

See Ya round the Stars...

[RickN]

Rick you are in luck, th esidwinder is the stick they use in the manual and as long as it works on your system (i.e it's not analog, meanign it's digital and connects with a USB) you should be fine, the manual pictures the Sidewinder and has all of the buttons preassigned so you should be good to go.

See Ya round the Stars...

That is I can get the freaking game to start. Trying to use Windows 7 and X3 seemed to install just fine, but when I go to start the game it says I need to be logged on as admin. I am logged on as admin!!! I have tried 6 times and tried tweaking the Windows settings with no luck.

Taking a short break before introducing my PC to another Christmas gift, a 357!!!

[gigabyte]

That is I can get the freaking game to start. Trying to use Windows 7 and X3 seemed to install just fine, but when I go to start the game it says I need to be logged on as admin. I am logged on as admin!!! I have tried 6 times and tried tweaking the Windows settings with no luck.

Taking a short break before introducing my PC to another Christmas gift, a 357!!!

Step away from the puter, and take a deep breath... put yourself in a happy place...

OK now lets try this again (BTW I use Win 7 and I have no problems so this is just some minor annoyance which we will fix up post haste....) OK, there are a couple of things you can try, the first and probably easiest is to right click on the Icon, and select "Open File Location", you will see the X3 Folder and the X3TC.exe or X3Reunion.exe file will be highlighted, now Right Click on that and from the new context menu select "Properties". When the Properties page opens up select the second tab - "Compatibility", now look to the bottom - the section titled "Privilege Level" and add a check mark to the box beside "Run this program as an Administrator", click OK and ry again.

I have found that even if you are logged in with an account that has Admin privileges UAC will still block many programs that are in the Program Files Folder, so the above is recommended, and it has worked for me.

The other option which is a little more of a PITA, is to remove the game and reinstall but this time install it in any folder outside the C:\Program Files folder, I have used a second hard drive for some of my programs so what it looks like is this - E:\Program Files\Ergosoft\X3 Terran Conflict . Either method should work but the second will bypass UCA and is probably the better method overall.

If the above does not work let me know by posting back here or sending me a PM I am sure I can help you figure out some way to make it work. besides we need the help out there in the XUniverse there are allot of nasties out there...

[aeronca1]

No kidding Chacha, if you have never checked them out, they are way cool. On some of the keysets you can get up to 6 shift states so you can program most keys with 5 functions besides the normal function, I have never gone beyond the second shift state but it looks like it would work fine, the main problem I see would be remembering the functions or printing out the mapping would give you a huge printout to scan. Attached is a shot of my basic key layout for X3 Terran Conflict, these are mainly the functions I do not have on the X52 HOTAS, I also have a few more on the smaller Fang but they are mostly duplicated on this one.

I have one of these in the basement, lol. I used it years ago to play EverQuest and have that keyset. I'll have to jump to their site and check out what they have available now.

[RickN]

Step away from the puter, and take a deep breath... put yourself in a happy place...

OK now lets try this again (BTW I use Win 7 and I have no problems so this is just some minor annoyance which we will fix up post haste....) OK, there are a couple of things you can try, the first and probably easiest is to right click on the Icon, and select "Open File Location", you will see the X3 Folder and the X3TC.exe or X3Reunion.exe file will be highlighted, now Right Click on that and from the new context menu select "Properties". When the Properties page opens up select the second tab - "Compatibility", now look to the bottom - the section titled "Privilege Level" and add a check mark to the box beside "Run this program as an Administrator", click OK and ry again.

I have found that even if you are logged in with an account that has Admin privileges UAC will still block many programs that are in the Program Files Folder, so the above is recommended, and it has worked for me.

The other option which is a little more of a PITA, is to remove the game and reinstall but this time install it in any folder outside the C:\Program Files folder, I have used a second hard drive for some of my programs so what it looks like is this - E:\Program Files\Ergosoft\X3 Terran Conflict . Either method should work but the second will bypass UCA and is probably the better method overall.

If the above does not work let me know by posting back here or sending me a PM I am sure I can help you figure out some way to make it work. besides we need the help out there in the XUniverse there are allot of nasties out there...

My happy place is starting to be forgetting my 357s and going straight for the 44 mag. :D

I tried what you suggested first and it keeps telling me it needs to install TAGES drivers but has to be admin, which I am.

I guess the next thing to try is uninstalling and trying again.

[Lionheart]

Im sorry Rick that you are having troubles getting it running.

I wonder, can you start Win7 in safety mode and install them? Does that allow clearence to install things?


After a few months of vista, I walked away from windows. I was hoping Win7 was a vast improvement.

I hope you get it working right.



Bill

[Marlin]

All right Rick is jumping on board (hopefully). Lets hope that he didn't get any ammo with that new pistolly. Never mind, I'm sure there is plenty of .44 to do the job. The more ammo the better is the way I think. :icon_lol:

I'm glad you guys are helping him out, I'm tipping my hat your way. Good job gents.:applause:

[RickN]

OK I got it!!! I googled TAGES Drivers and found an installer that cleared up the whole problem. Downloaded the update and getting ready to install it now.

Marlin I am a shooter, reloader, and member of a large gun club. I have the ammo.

[Marlin]

Mmmmm, drool .:tgun2: ......................:mixedsmi:

Super good news Rick, I'm happy to hear you got it running.:applause:

[gigabyte]

OK I got it!!! I googled TAGES Drivers and found an installer that cleared up the whole problem. Downloaded the update and getting ready to install it now.

Marlin I am a shooter, reloader, and member of a large gun club. I have the ammo.


***Note to self - Never... Never... NEVER...!!! Pl$$ OFF Rick, smile and say Yes sir Mr Rick Sir, - you want me to jump, certianly and when should I land...

[GT182]

I just checked and saw that BestBuy supposedly carries the ZBoards...... order online only. 2 weekdelivery sucks too. Looks like a great investment tho... thanks Mike for the headsup on it.

[gigabyte]

I just checked and saw that BestBuy supposedly carries the ZBoards...... order online only. 2 weekdelivery sucks too. Looks like a great investment tho... thanks Mike for the headsup on it.

GT if you have an EB Games close by check them, they did carry the ZBoard products - thats where I got mine. If you order one I recommend the Gaming board it comes with a Gaming Keyset and a regular Keyset so you can swap out very quickly.

Oh and if you do get one here is another tip, the ZBoard and your regular KB can be used at the same time, so you can reprogram every key on the Zboard and still have access to all the normal key strokes on your regular board, as long as you have the desk space...

I did a FSX layout for them on the regular keyset and on the WOW layout, there was significant interest at the time by a couple of the engineers but they got moved to another project and that never went anywhere.

[GT182]

Mike, all the EB stores around here have been closed since GameStop bought them out. I'm surprised there are any EB stores anywhere, but I do have the online EB Store link.

I used to ride by the EB headquarters up in West Chester, PA but that's even gone since the sale.

[RickN]

***Note to self - Never... Never... NEVER...!!! Pl$$ OFF Rick, smile and say Yes sir Mr Rick Sir, - you want me to jump, certianly and when should I land...

Not to worry, I would never shoot someone just for ticking me off.

Inanimate objects on the other hand, well lets just some things blowed up real good when hit by the right bullet. :tgun2:

Kind of glad I did not post a pic of my gun safe.

[gigabyte]

Mike, all the EB stores around here have been closed since GameStop bought them out. I'm surprised there are any EB stores anywhere, but I do have the online EB Store link.

I used to ride by the EB headquarters up in West Chester, PA but that's even gone since the sale.

I see on the SteelSeries Site Gamestop sell the line, it is also avaliable online through New Egg and Amazon.com. I know before Radio Shack sold the Cdn divsioion to "The Source" they carried it here but I do not see it listed on teh vendor site so you would have to check them.

Good luck and if you get one let me know I can send you the Xr Profile I use of you want, it works fine for both Reunion and TC no change necessary.

[GT182]

Good luck and if you get one let me know I can send you the Xr Profile I use of you want, it works fine for both Reunion and TC no change necessary.

Yep, I'm going to look around stores here or get one from online. That is a cool piece of hardware Mike, I like it over the Logitech G series keyboads with the game pads built in. When I find one I will let ya know.