Guys I'm not trying to pick a fight here... :-boom If you like joysticks then fine, I just can't do the XBOX controller thing. We all fly the way we want in FS. A twisty Sidewinder joystick doesn't work for me when you

O.K. well I stand down on this one. I had no idea RW pilots flew FS with joysticks and XBOX game pads. You learn something new everyday... :-eek I have an XBOX as well but I wouldn't think of bringing FS over to that plateform nor would I plug the gamepad into the computer for Flight Simulator. :-hmmm

I guess im not a serious simmer...i LOVE my xbox controller in FS.It has 4 axis and like 12 buttons in a 6" x 4" area. Very customizable and doesnt overwhelm my work area. I start and stop FS about 20-30 times a day, the last thing i need is to worry about 10 monitors, pedals, yokes.... blah.not that there's anything wrong with that...My simming time is spent testing and flying the planes i make. I rarely, maybe once a week, get to fly just to fly.not that there's anything wrong with that...I posted this at BFU awhile back...http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=28341&page=3I devote more time to this hobby than i care to count. Because i use an Xbox controller that makes me less serious??how's the view from the ivory tower? It bothers me to see people judged because they dont use FS EXACTLY the same as another person.That is what makes FS (and the world) great, diversity. Embrace it, I bet clay has a very impressive FS set up, and i bet he likes it very much. It wouldnt last 5 minutes on my desk, but i would NEVER come here and say he's lost his mind or he takes it TOOO seriously.who am i to judge?back to less serious activities... gmax!have fun guys. joe

Dillon,ROFL, what the heck do you think we use to fly FS with if not with a joystick.I'm a PPL also and use the Saitek X52 system. I also have the PFC yolk, pedals, and throttle (4 engine), but they're in the closet because I don't have the money to make a half way decent home built pit, 50 thousand dollar sim to put them in. I'd spend at least 3/4 of that to do the same for any single engine aircraft I'm typed in.As far as the XBox controller is concerned it has been publicly said MANY times by the FS team that this is an ADDITION, not a DELETION...hehe, to the new sim. That means you can still use whatever controller you like for the new sim.We all know that 99.9 percent of the people that post here would not use an Xbox controller for any sim. I wouldn't either, but I'd sure support it from a business standpoint if they made a version for the Xbox. You can only guess why. From a hobbiest standpoint I think it could also help to bring more people into the hard core area, with those people learning new things and making contributions at some point.Maybe we can make a twister interface while were at it....rofl. :-)Gang, we're getting to the point where we/they have the technology to make FS with all the game and emmersivness features we have in other games along with the hardcore features and advancements we have been longing for.Please don't confuse the new features as taking away from the sim. We're close to being able to have our cake and eat it to.The same goes for Vista. Most of you think that the new operating system will be slow and worthless. You (people in general) haven't even bothered to really read what the heck is going on with Vista and what it's goals are. You have been complaining about OS's that can't run games and be stable doing it. When MS decides to finally do something about it and give you your way, you complain.It never ceases to amaze me.*Edit: Sorry Dillon, I just went on a rant there. All after the first couple of paragraphs were aimed at people in general and not directed to you specificly.

I'd like to add what Joe just said.My 'guess' is that we will probably start to see more and more beginners in these forums when the new version comes out.That means all of us are going to have to ask first who we're talking to and not just assume. I'd sure hate to blow someone out of here because of a smart alek comment.Personaly if I had my way, I'd make some of you moderators, so you'd be forced into a mentoring role. Talking a bit sarcastically tonight of course.:-lol

My biggest concern with a console controller for a PC game is that I see way to many titles being focused on for the console market with less and less time for PC Game develpment, which concerns me as a PC enthusiast.I am a big Ghost Recon fan and remember being crushed when the 2nd version was slated as a console only release. Personally I don't care what controller a person uses, I just don't support consoles for the stated reason. (yes, I have 2 consoles I don't use). While I agree with jeff, that the more people that are brought into this community the better, not at the cost of the series on PC which could happen down the road depending on the sales of console games over PC ones. It's my understanding that MS is placing a focus on windows gaming with Vista, so that gives me some hope for the future of gaming.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

Michael,Although I too agree that it seems like many of the good games seem to be going console, somehow I don't see this totaly with the FS side of the house. I'm not even sure that those seen using the Xbox controller wasn't just a fluke entirely anyways. Although it may work, it doesn't really mean that they're even developing FS for the XBox.If they do, I wouldn't see it diminish the PC version though. At least it better not, because then we'd have real cause to get mad.If they do decide to make another version for the console then we'll have to make sure that it's done properly, so to speak.Anyways, I'm just talking in circles now so I'll stop...lol.

What about throttle? I have tried gamepads before and the problem is that the throttle is the left joystick that is centered, so the throttle registers at 1/2 when the joystick is centered.How is throttle handled on these controllers?Barry

>Like I said above L.Adamson a joystick is great for the>planes you mentioned. I can't afford to train in a P-51>Mustang and seeing we don't have decent Airbus A320>simulations in FS9, I'll have to stick with a yoke... FS can>be used in many different ways; my original point was directed>at XBOX gamepad use. I can't see how anyone would want>something like that but that's the beauty of Flight>Simulator... :-)Well, "rudder pedals" are a must, IMO, and I suppose a game pad wouldn't include them! :D L.Adamson

>O.K. well I stand down on this one. I had no idea RW pilots>flew FS with joysticks and XBOX game pads. You learn>something new everyday... :-eek >I've been in the Experimental Aircraft Association for about 15 years now. There are many active and retired airline pilots, who were once use to massive yokes, now flying kit built speed demons with"sticks". I doubt they would even consider a less responsive yoke in these type of airplanes.A friend of mine who recently passed away, flew for United for over 30 years, but went back to sticks, with his P-51 and Pitt's aerobatic aircraft.L.Adamson

Thanks for pointing me to that yoke. Now I know what to save up for. Looks awesome!

"What about throttle? I have tried gamepads before and the problem is that the throttle is the left joystick that is centered, so the throttle registers at 1/2 when the joystick is centered.How is throttle handled on these controllers?"-----------------On my wireless Saitek P3000 gamepad, the right stick I have set for throttle as foward and backward motion and rudder as left and right . In the controller software I set this stick to have 3 bands for each of these dunctions. Here is a pic of the bands for the throttle;http://www.the-airfield.com/aaaa_misc/sait...ottle_bands.gifSo I just have the keyboard button assigned for each of the bands in that setup. So when it's forward, it registers as pressing that key and not as a position of that stick. When it recentres, it's just not inputting any command at all.You can see the deadzone is 80% of the travel so I won't mess with the throttle when doing rudder.Anyway, not sure if this helps since you might have a different conroller.Although I'm liking using the gamepad a lot , I still use my setup for the X-45 I made sometimes;http://www.the-airfield.com/computer_setup/dk_desk_setup.gifThe X-45 stick centering spring could have been better designed (takes too much force to get it to start moving that it can ruin delicate input ... I hear the X-52 is much improved) and I had to "adjust" it with pliers LOL. The Saitek P3000 gamepad's sticks are exactingly smooth and precise.

>The X-45 stick centering spring could have been better>designed (takes too much force to get it to start moving that>it can ruin delicate input ... I hear the X-52 is much>improved) and I had to "adjust" it with pliers LOL. The Saitek>P3000 gamepad's sticks are exactingly smooth and precise.The day I purchased my Saitek X-45, a few years back, I cut several loops off the centering spring. Others have used wire ties, too.

Will this work with all gamepads?Barry

"I cut several loops off the centering spring."-------------Yeah I just recently unraveled some of that spring .. I should have done that a while back.---------------"Will this work with all gamepads?"--------------You would have to see your controller software . The saitek controllers I have (this gamepad and the X-45) allow these 'bands' to be created for axis