I shouldn't let it worry you. Starlancer has a somewhat simplistic flight model. When you push left on the stick your ship will turn left AND bank in a nicely co-ordinated way. Roll control is not used very often unless you need to roll to align your wing guns on a target - not very often. The flight model is very simple and I have no trouble swapping between Starlancer, European Air War and Strike fighters without retraining my hands.

Ban REVERSE THRUST! Fly something other than a phoenix for a change!

If I remember correctly, Sidewinder Precision Pro allowed you to swap the roll and yaw axes within each profile, so maybe you can do it that way. I use a Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro 2 now, so my memory's a little fuzzy.

Been a while between my checking this place (and playing any further in the game).

Yeah, my Precision Pro did come with profiler software that allowed me to set-up button mappings and so forth, though I don't remember if it allowed me to swap axes. But, it's designated as Windows 95 software, and I'm now using Windows XP and haven't installed it on this computer (XP has the Sidewinder device drivers in-built so there's no need to install anything; anyway, I didn't particularly want to add a layer of old software between the stick and my games).

I dunno, it might work if I tried it, but ideally I'd set that sort of thing up in the game itself. It's not a big deal though, so thanks for the input.

Edited by - Gangway on 12/2/2004 9:21:59 PM

I also just got into Starlancer (came in the mail today) but I don't have a joystick and just keyboard flying sucks, I'm going out Monday and gonna get me a stick and was wondering what brand/models are compatiable with SL but also work with almost everything else, my copy of Decent has dust on it and I'd love to play it too along with a pile of others both old and new.

Okay Draser, as a die-hard joystick user I've got some pointers for you.

First of all, Descent (cept for the new games) is dos-based. This means you're going to have issues on any modern system getting a USB joystick to work. But let's face it: you want something good, and frankly, serial joysticks are as outdated as serial-cable gameplay.

There's a handy program called DosBox which will put USB joysticks into a format Dos Games can understand, thusly allowing you to use a USB joystick with a game that would not normally recognize it.

Second, as for Starlancer. I've personally used three differant joysticks for this game and had no problems with any of them (Well, there was a minor issue with my hat-button not being able to be assigned keys in Starlancer, but that's a minor issue. Despite being old the game seems to support quite a bit that's new, so you shouldn't really have a problem compatablitiy wise.

Thirdly, what are you looking for in a joystick? Do you want to beat Starlancer and put it back on your shelf (God Forbid)? Do you want to play with a coupla friends a few times? Or do you want a joystick that is going to be seriously competitve? Most places offer some sort of joystick for between 3.99 and 10.99 that are decent and will hold up well for the duration of a game or to (As long as you're easy on them) that can provide good play for a few friends (since you don't want to make them play SL with a keyboard). This is a nice alternative if you don't want a serious stick for serious flying.

Fourthly, do you want a Joystick/Throttle combination? Personally I'm still not to fond of a throttle array, especially one that's built onto the stick. I much prefer to have pre-set throttle settings. However, this is my own personal opinion on the matter (Many many MANY Pilots don't agree with me). What kind of features are you looking for? Do you want a Hat? A twistable (3-Axis stick) stick? Or something simpler?

Plenty of options here.

That being said, I only know of three companies that make joysticks:

Saitek
Microsoft
Flightstick (Pro?)

I have personal experiance with a Microsoft stick. My first serious joystick was a Microsoft sidewinder. I still have it. It still works (Actually, it squeaks, noisily).

I also have Saitek. I've heard bad things about the Saitek, that they don't hold up well and have compatability issues. I really have no idea. I'm quite happy with my Saitek, it's holding up well, it's got a good array of buttons in natural positions. It's switchable for left and right handed players. It's got a built in throttle and a hat. It's turned out just fine.

LAstly, the Flightstick. I have been remiss in not playing with a Flightstick stick as I have heard good things about them. They hold up well, I'm told, they're decent and manuverable and have good grips.

So there you go, Akula's FAQ to buying a joystick. Lemme know if you have any more questions.

Hehe, good post.

Well as mentioned, I have an old SideWinder Precision Pro and I love it. It's sturdy and responsive and has a good number of buttons, three-axes and thumbwheel throttle. I use it with a whole bunch of 3D games... The only issue is the outdated serial connector means I've had to spec my new computers with a game port so I can use it. But I've no doubt it will keep working forever.

Sadly the news in 2003 was that Microsoft were discontinuing their entire SideWinder range
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/news/news_6031007.html

You might still find some in stores, but once the current stocks are gone that's it (though there's always eBay).

Steer clear of the cheapest joysticks if you intend to use the controller for longer than just a few games. I also have an old two-axis two-button Quickshot Skyhawk of about the same vintage (though on the website it seems they still manufacture 'em) that's been a lot of trouble - fine for a while, internally the button wires got caught in the moving parts of the yoke potentiometer which literally cut off my firing buttons! I pulled it apart and repaired that, but since then one of the button contacts has worn out (twice)... They probably no longer make 'em like that, but still, I'd be wary.

Guess no one saw the original post date. There is a rule on grave digging

Before ANYBODY asks....
I had my username BEFORE the game even existed. Thank you.