Thrustmaster Warthog with KSP

[DespairingSquid]

So I'm almost certainly getting a thrustmaster warthog at this point and I just wondered what compatibility is like with KSP.

For example, are there mods that would let you set up the individual throttles to control individual engines, set the switches to action groups and use hat switches to look around etc.

 

[FullMetalMachinist]

Stock KSP's support for joysticks/game pads is notoriously iffy, at best. 

However, since you mentioned mods, I think you'll find Advanced Fly By Wire right up your alley. 

[DespairingSquid]

9 minutes ago, FullMetalMachinist said:

Stock KSP's support for joysticks/game pads is notoriously iffy, at best. 

However, since you mentioned mods, I think you'll find Advanced Fly By Wire right up your alley. 

Just had a look, and it seems perfect! Thanks so much

[RocketBlam]

The times I've used a joystick in KSP, I haven't had any problems. I think it's compatible with almost any joystick that is standards-compliant.

[Draco T stand-up guy]

3 minutes ago, RocketBlam said:

The times I've used a joystick in KSP, I haven't had any problems. I think it's compatible with almost any joystick that is standards-compliant.

It seems fine with standard joysticks but iffy with anything more advanced even though Windows recognises it and has all the bells and whistles working perfectly. This indicative that they haven't fully integrated with Windows.

I can't speak for Linux or Mac interfaces.

[p1t1o]

On 5/7/2016 at 9:24 PM, DespairingSquid said:

So I'm almost certainly getting a thrustmaster warthog at this point and I just wondered what compatibility is like with KSP.

For example, are there mods that would let you set up the individual throttles to control individual engines, set the switches to action groups and use hat switches to look around etc.

 

Have you used a thrustmaster stick before? The programming software it comes with is very powerful.

[DespairingSquid]

1 hour ago, p1t1o said:

Have you used a thrustmaster stick before? The programming software it comes with is very powerful.

But KSP doesn't have native support to map different axis to engine thrust, so even with the software you couldn't make say an A-10 replica with realistic engine control

[White Owl]

I'm not aware of any way to assign the two throttle levers to two separate engine controls. It would be nice, though.

I fly airplanes in KSP with a Warthog, Saitek rudder pedals, and TrackIR. It all works fairly straightforward without messing with the Thrustmaster software at all. There is one mod... that I can't find right now... to let you bind joystick buttons to the different trim commands. That one is very useful.

Be aware the Warthog has no twist grip on the stick, so you'll need some other way to control yaw.

KSP airplanes work with flight sim equipment a lot better than they did even a year ago, but there are still issues. In 1.1.2 you have to manually replace the TrackIR dll to get it to work. No separate throttle control for multiple engines. No differential left/right wheel brakes. Annoyingly, the yaw axis won't turn the nosewheel; you still need the keyboard to taxi. But once you decide to tolerate the issues, a quality joystick does make flying airplanes feel a whole lot better.

My various experiments with controlling rockets and spacecraft with the HOTAS, however, have led me to conclude the keyboard is still the best control for launch, orbit, and reentry. Mostly because moving an analog control for any one axis causes KSP to turn the SAS function completely off for all axes until the control is centered again.

[p1t1o]

57 minutes ago, DespairingSquid said:

But KSP doesn't have native support to map different axis to engine thrust, so even with the software you couldn't make say an A-10 replica with realistic engine control

Perhaps not, although you should note that the axes don't have to be used as axes, fore example you can program axes to produce a range of keypresses or any regime of macros you like. It doesn't help if you want to build an A-10, but you could say, have one half of the throttle controlling throttle and the other controlling zoom level or timewarp. Not the most useful of examples but you get the drift.

[Dafni]

On 7.5.2016 at 10:24 PM, DespairingSquid said:

So I'm almost certainly getting a thrustmaster warthog at this point and I just wondered what compatibility is like with KSP.

For example, are there mods that would let you set up the individual throttles to control individual engines, set the switches to action groups and use hat switches to look around etc.

 

Sorry if this is considered necroposting, but I would like to know if you got the Warthog stick now and how you like it for KSP. I am seriously considering one now. I found a guy who does a left hand conversion... imagine a dual stick Warthog setup!

[Deddly]

Don't worry, @Dafni, it's not really a problem to post in an older thread as long as it's still relevant

[Xavven]

8 hours ago, Dafni said:

Sorry if this is considered necroposting, but I would like to know if you got the Warthog stick now and how you like it for KSP. I am seriously considering one now. I found a guy who does a left hand conversion... imagine a dual stick Warthog setup!

Well, I'm not DespairingSquid, but I do have the TM Warthog, and I will say it is complete overkill for KSP. Because the TM Warthog is a very expensive input device, you should buy it for other reasons, like for example if you fly in DCS or X-Plane or something, and its side benefit is that it also works great for KSP. As others said, it does not have a twist stick for controlling yaw, so you will need rudder pedals. That whole setup with the TM Warthog + Pedals can easily set you back $500 - $600 US dollars or more.

If you are only playing KSP, I highly recommend the T.FLIGHT HOTAS by Thrustmaster for around $50 instead. IMHO, you aren't going to increase your enjoyment of KSP substantially on a Warthog setup over the T.FLIGHT.

Regarding button assignments, the TM Warthog has way more than you need for KSP. To be honest, I don't actually use the switches on the throttle base, as everything I need can be accessed on the stick and throttles themselves. Even all my action group buttons are mapped to the stick and I still have buttons to spare.

I will say that KSP doesn't seem to recognize my slew switch on the throttle, though.

[Dafni]

On 4.1.2017 at 11:59 PM, Xavven said:

Well, I'm not DespairingSquid, but I do have the TM Warthog, and I will say it is complete overkill for KSP. Because the TM Warthog is a very expensive input device, you should buy it for other reasons, like for example if you fly in DCS or X-Plane or something, and its side benefit is that it also works great for KSP. As others said, it does not have a twist stick for controlling yaw, so you will need rudder pedals. That whole setup with the TM Warthog + Pedals can easily set you back $500 - $600 US dollars or more.

If you are only playing KSP, I highly recommend the T.FLIGHT HOTAS by Thrustmaster for around $50 instead. IMHO, you aren't going to increase your enjoyment of KSP substantially on a Warthog setup over the T.FLIGHT.

Regarding button assignments, the TM Warthog has way more than you need for KSP. To be honest, I don't actually use the switches on the throttle base, as everything I need can be accessed on the stick and throttles themselves. Even all my action group buttons are mapped to the stick and I still have buttons to spare.

I will say that KSP doesn't seem to recognize my slew switch on the throttle, though.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and opinion, I appreciate it. I only ever felt that stick in a shop, never had the honor to actually use one at home.

Note that I am only interested in the stick itself at this point, not the throttle unit. At the moment I use a dual stick setup plus a little self-made control panel. The T-FLIGHT is no option for me. Additionally, even though it is a nice piece of kit for this price, the light plastic feeling puts me off it anyway. Tried so many plastic sticks now I could have bought at least two Warthogs.

I am aware of the missing z-axis. When I first saw that stick I was very disappointed by this, but now I understand it as a necessity to achieve this kind of precision and durability.

The feel of that flight stick is far superior to any other stick I have tried (many), and the alleged long-term precision is definitely tickling my interest. The missing axis is not a big issue for me at this point, there are several solutions for this. The main thing that is holding me back is the waiting list for the left hand conversion mod, but once my spot on the list comes up I think I will most likely upgrade my sticks with this.

I fly a lot of VTOLs, Dropships, landers etc, and I think my KSP experience would indeed benefit from a better quality joystick. I get annoyed by dead-zone inaccuracies etc. Once I am perfectly happy with my little cockpit setup I might start looking into other games. I'm looking at Lunar Flight now, and maybe even proper flight sims later down the road. For now the KSP addiction keeps me busy though.

Thanks again for your input.

[theend3r]

On 9. 5. 2016 at 4:34 PM, White Owl said:

I'm not aware of any way to assign the two throttle levers to two separate engine controls. It would be nice, though.

kOS.

[White Owl]

9 hours ago, Dafni said:

Note that I am only interested in the stick itself at this point, not the throttle unit.

For KSP, that's exactly how I use my Warthog. Experimented around with the throttle and determined that it's way more control than KSP actually needs. So I drilled holes in my desk and semi-permanently mounted the stick next to my mousepad. Now I use keyboard for most things, but grab the stick and rudder pedals for fine control of airplanes; still use the keyboard for throttle, action groups, etc. I only plug in the throttle for other flight sims.

[Xavven]

I personally find the throttle to be just as important, if not more important, than the flight stick when it comes to landing. I can get my vertical velocity on a Mun landing down to less than 1 m/s on touchdown with a throttle but not with the keyboard. Maybe I'm just not practiced enough with the keyboard. Keep in mind this is just personal preference though. You should buy whatever fits your setup and needs best.

As for the stick, yes it is very accurate compared to the others I've owned, but some users have reported a stiction issue which is solved by unscrewing the base and lubricating the gimbal. You can find videos on youtube on how to do this. I haven't had to do it, though -- it's been good enough for me.

[Dafni]

8 hours ago, Xavven said:

I personally find the throttle to be just as important, if not more important, than the flight stick when it comes to landing. I can get my vertical velocity on a Mun landing down to less than 1 m/s on touchdown with a throttle but not with the keyboard. Maybe I'm just not practiced enough with the keyboard. Keep in mind this is just personal preference though. You should buy whatever fits your setup and needs best.

As for the stick, yes it is very accurate compared to the others I've owned, but some users have reported a stiction issue which is solved by unscrewing the base and lubricating the gimbal. You can find videos on youtube on how to do this. I haven't had to do it, though -- it's been good enough for me.

Yes, I agree, a throttle is important, and I use one too. Just not the Warthog one. Its integrated in my control panel, and both dual sticks (up to now) had one too.

[Dafni]

@Xavven and @White Owl, what are the deadzone settings that you guys use for your Warthog sticks?

 

Thanks in advance

Daf

[p1t1o]

On 1/4/2017 at 2:15 PM, Dafni said:

...imagine a dual stick Warthog setup!

Haaaaa-aaaaahhh, hmmmmmmm, oooohhh thats....thats just oooooooooh!!

[Dafni]

2 hours ago, p1t1o said:

Haaaaa-aaaaahhh, hmmmmmmm, oooohhh thats....thats just oooooooooh!!

Exactly

Well, what can I say, I went ahead and got a donor stick and got my name on the list for a left hand conversion kit

Now for the waiting... was told should happen in 1Q 2017. Lets see.

[Xavven]

6 hours ago, Dafni said:

@Xavven and @White Owl, what are the deadzone settings that you guys use for your Warthog sticks?

 

Thanks in advance

Daf

I have the TARGET software installed but I leave the device at stock (so, 0/0/0 deadzone for all axes) and reconfigure deadzone/curvature in the game I'm playing. I don't think KSP lets you configure that but I haven't needed it. In DCS I only have added slight curvature, but no deadzone.

[Dafni]

14 minutes ago, Xavven said:

I have the TARGET software installed but I leave the device at stock (so, 0/0/0 deadzone for all axes) and reconfigure deadzone/curvature in the game I'm playing. I don't think KSP lets you configure that but I haven't needed it. In DCS I only have added slight curvature, but no deadzone.

I see, thank you. KSP does indeed have some sliders for deadzone and sensitivity (which is just the exponential value of the curve).

I dont know what DCS is, sorry for my ignorance.

[Xavven]

No worries. DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) is a flight simulator, and their flagship product is the A-10C. DCS has pretty much the most accurate simulation of a real A-10 that a PC gamer can reasonably afford, and the TM Warthog was built to replicate the flight stick and throttle used in the real A-10. The switches and buttons on the TM Warthog control the same functions in DCS as in the real A-10, so the experience is fairly authentic (with a couple of exceptions, but I digress).

[Dafni]

On 14.1.2017 at 5:22 AM, Xavven said:

No worries. DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) is a flight simulator, and their flagship product is the A-10C. DCS has pretty much the most accurate simulation of a real A-10 that a PC gamer can reasonably afford, and the TM Warthog was built to replicate the flight stick and throttle used in the real A-10. The switches and buttons on the TM Warthog control the same functions in DCS as in the real A-10, so the experience is fairly authentic (with a couple of exceptions, but I digress).

I see, thank you. Sounds very cool, and now that you mention it I remember reading about the AQ-10C simulation. I just never made the connection with DCS. Definitely something worth looking into later down the line, but for now the stick is only used for peaceful space exploration

BTW, I got the stick set up in KSP now, didn't even use the TARGET software. It works very well and feels great, I think I can never go back to cheaper sticks again, and cant wait for my spot on the waiting list of the left hand conversion to fully complete my cockpit setup here.

Thanks again

[Xavven]

Great! Glad it worked out and you are happy with it.