Joystick setup tips

[Tempest123]

Just a note for people who may be new to Il2 or struggled like I did with overly sensitive controls, particularly elevators. The default joystick profile settings that range from 1 to 100 cause a very large ramp-up in control power, causing erratic flight. They should be linear, i.e 40 to 50 % power across the board only increasing to near 100 at the end, this make the control very even and much more like an actual aircraft, its made a whole bunch of difference to my ability to fly and shoot. I think there is a post over at the Ubi forum about this.
With these settings I find its much more predictable, for instance the P-51 feels like a whole new plane, i can push it near the edge of a stall in a tight turn and hold it, or pull aggressively and snap roll or stall, rudder pedals help a lot here too. Not like the old stall and shudder when it would just snap out from under you. Anyways thats my 2 cents, I see some players online who struggle with sensitivity control issues, esp. in big aircraft like the p-51, corsair and others, as they stall or spin in all turns.

[K_Freddie]

With Roll and Yaw, everything on 100%

With Pitch this is all you need ;)
http://www.vanjast.com/IL2Pics/pitch.jpg

Don't forget - No Deadband.. No filtering
:grin::grin::shock:

[julian265]

Freddie, you've limited your maximum force on the elevator to 81% of almost everyone else's, which is a disadvantage at high speed when the stick forces are high.

[BadAim]

Don't forget that different sticks handle this differently, guys. It's not a one size fits all thing. For instance I use about 75%-100% (I use IL2joycontrol) with my x52, that would be unflyable with an x45, which needs more like 10%-100%. I'm sure other sticks are different also. (not to mention individual tastes)

[K_Freddie]

Give it a go...
These settings 'teach you how to fly'
:-P

[K_Freddie]

Freddie, you've limited your maximum force on the elevator to 81% of almost everyone else's, which is a disadvantage at high speed when the stick forces are high.
I place more importance on aircraft 'reaction time' ;) IOW when I move the stick I want to feel the a/c 'following me'..
Something like Sakai said when he was in his Zero... 'an extension of himself'... or something to that effect. :)

[swiss]

which stick do you use?

[K_Freddie]

Me ? worked the same on X45 and X52.. :cool:

[swiss]

ok, thx, I may try it my x52.

I'm unsure however, whether to mod(relocation of magnets) my stick or not...

[julian265]

I place more importance on aircraft 'reaction time' ;) IOW when I move the stick I want to feel the a/c 'following me'..
Something like Sakai said when he was in his Zero... 'an extension of himself'... or something to that effect. :)

Alright, but reaction time will only be affected by dead-zone and damping, which you've already eliminated.

By ending the sliders at 81%, all you're doing is preventing full force from being applied to the pitch axis, which you can do with 100% sliders by simply not pulling fully back on the stick when you don't need to. You'd still have the extra 19% for when you need it... which will make a noticeable difference in 109s and 38's at least.

I guess trim could make up for this limitation, but there are still no advantages.

[Ernst]

Adjust joystick settings is "cheating" once you use it to counter some bad behaviour of your aircraft in a unrealistic way. I use 100% joystick settings in all inputs, this is nice and the better way to fly in the SIM.You must deal with your aircraft advantages and disadvantages. :o:-P:grin::cool:

[Thunderbolt56]

I use default joystick settings and have since day one almost 10 years ago.

Use whatever works for you, but like the same way you can't "buy" a good golf game through new clubs or "buy" good shooting ability through a new or expensively tweaked gun, my recommendation is to spend more time in the cockpit.

There's no shortcut or substitute for practice.

[Tempest123]

Thats apples to oranges, nothing new is being purchased, its more akin to changing your swing in golf. All makes of stick have different throws and different dead zones/ sensitivities etc. Real aircraft have significant resistance on the stick (non-FBW) when control surfaces are loaded under g, since most computer joysticks have little pulling resistance, and coupled with the default settings there are few indications to show how close you are to a stall/spin. In a real aircraft for ex. a spitfire, you may have to pull close to 60lbs under g to get a stall and snap roll, however in Il2 (w. default settings) you can just pull back a little bit and without warning there is a stall spin.
Changing the stick settings is not cheating, its placed in the sim precisely because there are so many different types of sticks and 1c cannot make a setting that works for all of them. It doesn't change the performance of the aircraft at all, it only changes how you feel the control inputs.

[swiss]

a good excuse to buy the logitech.

[K_Freddie]

Thats apples to oranges, nothing new is being purchased, its more akin to changing your swing in golf. All makes of stick have different throws and different dead zones/ sensitivities etc. Real aircraft have significant resistance on the stick (non-FBW) when control surfaces are loaded under g, since most computer joysticks have little pulling resistance, and coupled with the default settings there are few indications to show how close you are to a stall/spin. In a real aircraft for ex. a spitfire, you may have to pull close to 60lbs under g to get a stall and snap roll, however in Il2 (w. default settings) you can just pull back a little bit and without warning there is a stall spin.


Not only that.. stick/control surface movements are all adjustable (mechanical or electrical)on real aircraft. Not cheating but just making use of what is available.
;)

[SEE]

A non FF joystick requires the same low level of effort to operate the control surfaces irrespective of the intensity of the maneouvre with no force feedback from the control surfaces as there would be in real flight. . To say that reducing the sensitivity is cheating is an opinion but, lets face it, unless you are flying in full realism you are taking advantage of the software and anyone who uses external views, padlocks, no cockpit view, and all the other features is, by that definition, also cheating - which of course they are not! Enjoy the game and use whatever settings you are happy with..........there are flyers on line who you could drop from 20000ft in a rowing boat and they would still rack up a bagful of kills....:grin:

[JG27CaptStubing]

Given we are lacking quite a bit of REAL feed back that a real airplane provides in real life... The notion that people who change their joystick settings is a cheat is completely absurd. Everyone else has the same option so its a level playing field.

[Ernst]

Ok. It is avaible and you can use joystick adjusting settings. This way i ll agree it is not a cheating at all but in my opinion is unrealistic cause you could prevent or reduce aircraft unpleasant characteristics by adjusting joystick settings. You are adjusting aircraft behaviour to your own way of flight and how hard you use the stick.

In reality the pilot must adapt to the aircraft, not the aircraft (controls) do the pilot. Ok. Its a game.

[Tempest123]

There is no setting that works for all joysticks, thats why the adjustments are in the sim in the first place. Adjusting my joystick settings is not going to let me shoot down 109K's in my i-16, aircraft performance is unaffected. I'm not sure how to emphasize this more, your Plane A will still snap roll at the same AoA, same speed and same conditions as always. You will just be 2 inches through your joystick throw instead of 1 inch when you reach stall. I'm perfectly aware that a pilot must adapt to his aircraft, however in real aircraft the control stick is attached to the aircraft your using! If adjusting your joystick settings is cheating then why do you not use the default settings instead of 100%?

[JG27CaptStubing]

Ok. It is avaible and you can use joystick adjusting settings. This way i ll agree it is not a cheating at all but in my opinion is unrealistic cause you could prevent or reduce aircraft unpleasant characteristics by adjusting joystick settings. You are adjusting aircraft behaviour to your own way of flight and how hard you use the stick.

In reality the pilot must adapt to the aircraft, not the aircraft (controls) do the pilot. Ok. Its a game.

Having flown real airplanes I can assure you we are missing all kinds of clues as to the status of flight and when a plane might depart as you approach the edge of the envelope. Sure some planes depart quite rapidly however, you should know it’s coming. You’re most likely being ham fisted and uncoordinated with the plane. This plays into your training as a pilot.

More importantly even though you can soften some of these tendencies via your joystick setup it doesn’t mean it’s a cheat. You would adjust to the situation as a pilot anyways. Also there isn’t any modeling of a person’s strength and their feel which is all part of controlling the plane towards its limits. We can’t model that with a game nor would I want it modeled. I bet if you actually performed some of the things we do in game you might have to change your underwear. How many times have you misjudged something and had a Midair or ran into the ground? We are doing things in the game that NORMAL people wouldn’t unless pressed in a life or death situation.

This purist idea of getting the game to be more like reality is a myth and not the design of a GAME. I can totally understand wanting realism but at some point this is nothing more than a game and ENTERTAINMENT software.

[ytareh]

Had Freddie got his settings BACKWARDS or have I ?!Surely they should rise from left to right???!!!

[julian265]

Had Freddie got his settings BACKWARDS or have I ?!Surely they should rise from left to right???!!!

I agree, either all 100% or what you said. It's better to decide to apply only 80% of strength on the pitch axis than to be limited to 80%.

[K_Freddie]

I agree, either all 100% or what you said. It's better to decide to apply only 80% of strength on the pitch axis than to be limited to 80%.

The proof is in the pudding... and this 'pud' is very tasty ;)
Essentially:
On the lower scales.. when you apply 10% pitch, do you want 10% or 1% a/c reaction?
Setting it the 'default' way give you 1%, placing 100% in the JStick setup gives you 10% ===== faster a/c reaction time for little stick input.
Reducing it to ~80% on the higher scale prevents you from 'overdoing' it ===== more a/c control at all speeds, making a very predictable and stable a/c.

That extra 20% up top is not that usefull - this I'll leave for you to find out.
:)

[julian265]

The fact is that in most planes and at most speeds, limiting your strength to 80% results in a larger radius turn, slower pull-out etc.

BTW all my sliders are at 100%, with no damping.

[tagTaken2]

My only joystick setup tip is not to ask anyone else about it.

As long as you're shooting accurately and can manoeuvre as you'd like without spinning out, then that's what you're after. Adapt the game settings and the stick to YOU, anyone who says different is wasting your time.

[Erkki]

I use all 100% in all axises myself too, ie. straight lines, no curving at all. No filtering, no dead band. Some planes are tricky at first but you'll get used to them.

Sry about the you-passive. :D

[WTE_Galway]

All 100% is good for long throw sticks and some shorter sticks which respond well to fine movements.

The advantage of all 100 is you get the same response regardless of where the stick is positioned. With a "softened center" such as the default settings you only get that if you are in trim at all times.

[wayno77]

Thanks for the er... input.:grin: