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You are here: MacNN Forums > Enthusiast Zone > Gaming > whats a good usb joystick

whats a good usb joystick
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jzaw
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Feb 11, 2001, 04:06 PM
 
puter = g4 400 yikes 640MB ram

ive just got descent3 for mac... and im looking forward to some great fly-bys

ive got usb overdrive and already use it for M$ optical 5 button mouse and logitec trackball to great effect

whats a good usb joystick? will usb overdrive work for all the functions of the stick?

there is a saitek (gold) tilt and twist one and the logitec with similar capabilities
any comments on either sticks?

or are there any other models i should be looking at

thanks in advance for any replies

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[This message has been edited by jzaw (edited 02-11-2001).]


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Tristan
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Feb 11, 2001, 05:42 PM
 
I own the Logitech (Wingman Digital Extreme 3D) stick to which you are referring.

The biggest problem I have with the Logitech stick is that, because the throttle lever is wrapped around the collar of the joystick, the joystick can sometimes interact with the throttle and change the speed setting.

That's a nasty thing to happen, say, in the middle of an aerial dogfight.

The Saitek Cyborg Gold 3D stick doesn't have the throttle configuration of the Logitech stick. It is for that reason alone that I would favor the Saitek stick over the Logitech stick.

Hope this helps.

Tristan

     
jzaw  (op)
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Feb 11, 2001, 08:10 PM
 
yeah i must say that the new saitek gold 3d stick looks the business cettainly more ergenomic with the thumb buttons (though there is one less in that cluster) and there are more buttons on the base of the stick and it looks well made

is the stick analog in its direction control?
what drivers do you use for the logitek ?
or will usb overdrive work with them both?

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Tristan
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Feb 12, 2001, 07:00 PM
 
Howdy--

About analog control -- you know what? That question stumped me. I really don't know whether the Saitek stick or the Logitech stick supports analog direction control or not.

About drivers for the Logitech stick -- use the USB drivers supplied by Apple. Just make certain you download and install Inputsprockets 1.7.5. Logitech does not supply downloadable drivers for the Mac. ( Nice. Really good marketing there, Logitech. )

Good driver download sites: http://www.versiontracker.com http://www.macupdate.com http://www.macgamefiles.com

About USBOverdrive -- I think USBOverdrive supports some devices better than others. I have never used USBOverdrive with my Logitech stick because I prefer InputSprockets to all other interfaces when it is available.

I do have a copy of USBOverdrive, but I only use it with a gamepad, and then only with my Nascar Racing game.

Sorry I couldn't be more thorough. Hope this helps a little.

Tristan
     
MM-o4
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Feb 13, 2001, 07:56 AM
 
I have an Gravis xterminator game pad which I have found to be sweet. Has digital and an analog joystikx and lots of buttons (13) and a werid little four way thing called a 'hatswitch'.
Go to http://www.gravis.com/products/pro_xte_d1026.html and have a look.

Peace

MM-o4
     
jzaw  (op)
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Feb 13, 2001, 08:03 AM
 
hey MMo4

i tried the gravis pad youre talking about but found that the hat switch would be recognised
in fact no pad ive tried has it s hat switch recognised that
i could be doing something wrong and of course usb overdrive could have been interfering but im not sure

though i think if it works on other ppl systems i could give it a go again


cheers

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the siren
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Feb 13, 2001, 12:28 PM
 
I have the Saitek cyborg gold 3d and it is an awsome joystick. It has the hatswitch and is recognized by input sprockets. It also has Rx motion. I use it and a mouse for Deus Ex and it works awsome. I only use the inputsprockets, not USB Overdrive.
     
jzaw  (op)
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Feb 14, 2001, 10:01 PM
 
cheers for the advice !!!

i got the saitek gold ... wow nice action and love the ergernomics

at the same time i got a firestorm thrustmaster dualpower gamepad (for dead cheap)

it looks very much like the psx game pad but it actually has two more buttons ie it has the four shoulder buttons and then there are two more that happen to fall right under the ring finger of each hand ie you end up with effectively 6 shoulder buttons gosh!

and its the first usb gamepad that has worked in all of my games !!!
its the first gamepad that has the hat switch recognised and the analog recognised too! including the analog push down switches too

the best is the silky skin like feel to the texture of the surface

i can only recommend it so far.... ill let you know how it performs

btw i believe that usb overdrive only takes control of the driver function if there are no suitable drivers available both the saitek and the firestorm seem to be picked up by sprockets





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woodix
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Feb 16, 2001, 01:43 PM
 
After reading a few of the initial posts here I did a bit of looking around. Back in the day, I was a big fan of the Thrustmaster series of sticks for the PC (before I was enlightened). They offered more realism in design and function but they never ported them to USB as far as I know. Having looked at some of the newer sticks that Thrustmaster is making, I must say I'm extremely disappointed and if I still used a PC I would be diggin out my ACM gamecard and checking Ebay for old TM hardware.

However, since I am above serial ports, I've started looking at some of the USB stick/throttle combos. I must say I'm underwhelmed by TM's offering and the Gravis equivalent looks like it was made by fisher price.
The only stick I've seen that looks even remotely worthwhile is the Saitek X36 USB. It's only 2/3 the price of the original bundle, USB enabled and has MacOS support.

My only contention with Saitek is that they don't include the best sprockets available for use. I emailed Saitek tech support yesterday in regards to Mac Support (I received a human reply in only 2 hours!) and was told by them that some macs running OS 9 will not work with the X36 unless you use sprockets provided by them. However, tech support offered to email them to me upon request. Pretty cool.

Conclusion: If you want something really stupid looking that you'll put in your closet when friends, neighbors or potential sexual partners are in your place, then go with Gravis or Thrustmaster; they're equipment will keep you celebate for years. Even though the Saitek combo is still a huge joystick sitting on your desk, it's more subdued so you might still get some play.

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jzaw  (op)
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Feb 16, 2001, 01:56 PM
 
thanks for your input woodix

as i posted above ive already made my purchaces

the both the saitek and the thrustmaster seem to be completely recognised by the game sprockets that are standard with Mac OS 9.1

so im a happy boy!

i do still use the usb overdrive cos i have both a logiteck cordless trackball (for working with) and a M$ optical intellimouse (5 button ... exclusively for gaming) and usb overdrive does wonders for them

if anyone is using either of the above trackball or mouse then i defo recommend usb overdrive and ditch those buggy oem drivers immediately!!!!

btw i takeit from your signature ("save me from swedish funiture") that IKEA has hit the united states



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