Saitek Farming Simulator Side Panel... Does this look perfect for KSP?

[richfiles]

http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/farmside.html

So... I am looking at this thing, and I am SO seeing a lot of potential for this. The Stick is 3 axis: forward/back, left/right, Twist CW/CCW. It's designed to toggle between two sets of control sets for 6DOF stick control (RCS/Attitude???). The thumbwheel is for cruise control (throttle). Those ten buttons up top are screaming Action Groups to me. The Switches are singing RCS, SAS, Gear, and Brakes. There are the 6 other yellow buttons, and the three buttons beside the stick... Maybe have the yellow buttons control lights, brakes, and gear, and use a pair of switches to lock abort and lock staging, and use the buttons near tyne stick for abort and staging... I can't tell if the large grey spot is a button or a logo plate. That'd make a great stage or abort button too, if it's a button!

So... Am I the only one seeing the potential with this particular stick???

Edited February 16, 2017 by richfiles

[Guest]

2 facts:

Saitek makes good joysticks.

Saitek makes awful drivers for them.

[Arsonik]

http://store.madcatz.com/netsuite-header_side_panel.png

http://store.madcatz.com/categories/farm-sim/Saitek-Farming-Simulator-Vehicle-Side-Panel-for-PC-and-Mac.html

So... I am looking at this thing, and I am SO seeing a lot of potential for this. The Stick is 3 axis: forward/back, left/right, Twist CW/CCW. It's designed to toggle between two sets of control sets for 6DOF stick control (RCS/Attitude???). The thumbwheel is for cruise control (throttle). Those ten buttons up top are screaming Action Groups to me. The Switches are singing RCS, SAS, Gear, and Brakes. There are the 6 other yellow buttons, and the three buttons beside the stick... Maybe have the yellow buttons control lights, brakes, and gear, and use a pair of switches to lock abort and lock staging, and use the buttons near tyne stick for abort and staging... I can't tell if the large grey spot is a button or a logo plate. That'd make a great stage or abort button too, if it's a button!

So... Am I the only one seeing the potential with this particular stick???

I need a new joy myself. The axis are all getting screwy so I only keep pitch bound these days and mainly fly by keyboard, only using my joy for throttle control. I would love to hear if this works for KSP if anyone trys it out.

[regex]

The fact that there's an entire suite of controllers dedicated to a farming simulator is ... disturbing to me, for some reason. OTOH that device looks awesome for KSP.

[r4pt0r]

The fact that there's an entire suite of controllers dedicated to a farming simulator is ... disturbing to me, for some reason. OTOH that device looks awesome for KSP.

I dont understand the appeal of these "sim games" that are popping up. Flight sims I get. Racing sims I get. I even get the humor for the surgery sim game, it is fun.

But farming sim, trucking sim, train sim(and its dlc, that you can purchase all of for only $2500, and thats the 50% off price today) I just dont understand.

[klesh]

But farming sim, trucking sim, train sim(and its dlc, that you can purchase all of for only $2500, and thats the 50% off price today) I just dont understand.

One man's space sim is another man's farming sim.

I had a Saitek x45. Really liked that stick.

[Netskimmer]

If I was going to invest that kind of money, I'd probably just get this:

http://store.madcatz.com/categories/pro-flight-category/Saitek-Pro-Flight-X-55-Rhino-H-O-T-A-S-and-Mad-Catz-F-R-E-Q-3-Wired-Headset-Bundle-Black.html

Though the one you posted might compliment my current HOTAS setup if you could set the stick for fine controls or RCS only.

[Shpaget]

If you haven't played Eurotruck Simulator 2, I can understand your confusion, however, it really is fun and can provide many hours of entertainment.

[r4pt0r]

One man's space sim is another man's farming sim.

I had a Saitek x45. Really liked that stick.

dont get me wrong, to each their own, but it will confound me to no end.

I still use my 12 year old Saitek ST290 Pro. I've looked to replace it but left handed flight sticks are hard to come by.

[richfiles]

I dont understand the appeal of these "sim games" that are popping up. Flight sims I get. Racing sims I get. I even get the humor for the surgery sim game, it is fun.

But farming sim, trucking sim, train sim(and its dlc, that you can purchase all of for only $2500, and thats the 50% off price today) I just dont understand.

But for someone that likes farming, they get it. Each of these games has a target audience. I have extensively played Farming Simulator 2013 on PS3, and I only havn't gone back to FS15 because I got hooked on Kerbal. The real appeal of Farming Sim games is the acquisition of bigger and better toys, and the ability to so more stuff. Ironically, Kerbal was the next logical step for me to follow... Trying to get better equipment, managing a budget, a workforce, and snagging those coveted new fields... Its very equatable to unlocking new R&D tiers, managing my budget, managing a crew of Kerbals, and snagging all that coveted science and destinations!

Farming Simulator even covers your desire for a flight sim... Its physics can get wonky sometimes... I once launched a tractor 2/3 of the way across the map! Add moar boosters... or cultivators...

Edited June 19, 2015 by richfiles

[Alshain]

I dont understand the appeal of these "sim games" that are popping up. Flight sims I get. Racing sims I get. I even get the humor for the surgery sim game, it is fun.

But farming sim, trucking sim, train sim(and its dlc, that you can purchase all of for only $2500, and thats the 50% off price today) I just dont understand.

Train simulators appeal to the same people that like model trains. (I am not one of them) To them buying the DLC is no different than going to the hobby store an buying a new car for their model train, but takes up less physical space.

Trucking simulators have the same appeal as a flight simulator but for a different target audience. Some people like to fly planes, other like to drive trucks. Personally I find both pretty boring.

I'm not sure about farming sims but I can probably think of a target audience.

Things I don't understand entirely are really stupid things like Goat Simulator and Grass Simulator.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Alshain

[Netskimmer]

I've put some time into Farming Simulator. Its actually very relaxing to jump into a combine, put on some tunes and just do your thing. Spent 5 minutes stuck in traffic in Euro truck sim, walked away and never looked back. All just a matter of taste I guess.

[serolrom]

Anything that has 'simulator' in the title has my attention.

The device shown by the OP looks promising, only as long as you can really make the use you imagine for it. Anyway, building the simulation hardware ends up being much too expensive.

[Shpaget]

Anyway, building the simulation hardware ends up being much too expensive.

Using an Arduino and existing code available, combined with a KSP mod that outputs game data, you can make yourself a custom controller with a display showing whatever data you may like.

Depending on the joystick you pick you can make your own control panel for roughly half the price of that Saitek controller.

Some programming and soldering required.

[Netskimmer]

Add the ever dropping costs of 3D printers and the options for custom builds becomes staggering.

[magnemoe]

If I was going to invest that kind of money, I'd probably just get this:

http://store.madcatz.com/categories/pro-flight-category/Saitek-Pro-Flight-X-55-Rhino-H-O-T-A-S-and-Mad-Catz-F-R-E-Q-3-Wired-Headset-Bundle-Black.html

Though the one you posted might compliment my current HOTAS setup if you could set the stick for fine controls or RCS only.

Loved the idea of an dual tootle, wonder if this would be able to work in KSP with left and right engine set.

And yes you could use the small targeting gamepad for rcs, perfect for landings close to the miner.

[Temeter]

This looks actually pretty cool. Ridiculous price for a large piece of plastic tho.

2 facts:

Saitek makes good joysticks.

Saitek makes awful drivers for them.

Well, they now belong to madcatz, so i'd be careful. Used to make some of the best low/mid priced adjustable joysticks i've ever seen, and now i'm already ....ed by being left-handed.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Temeter

[annallia]

Any time I hear people say they don't understand farm simulators I instantly think "You never tried to do a barrel roll in a harvester..."

Yeah it isn't the intent of the game but it can be done (and to me anyway is oddly amusing).

That being said I don't quite understand the appeal of joysticks for ksp either... The only part of it I enjoy is throttle control, outside of that the keyboard always seemed more appealing to me.

[Netskimmer]

This looks actually pretty cool. Ridiculous price for a large piece of plastic tho.

Well, they now belong to madcatz, so i'd be careful. Used to make some of the best low/mid priced adjustable joysticks i've ever seen, and now i'm already ....ed by being left-handed.

This concerns me as well. For the longest time, most "serious" sim games have been flight sims and these have dropped a lot in popularity. The result has been a polarization in the flight controls market. You either pay through the nose for I good high quality set, or you pay a lot less for a cheap POS. I wanted a HOTAS kit under $100 so I ended up with a Thrustmaster setup. I can't really complain, it's held up well, though I would like it to be a little more solid and come with a few more buttons/switches.

I'm hoping the recent resurgence of sims will cause the market for this kind of thing to become more competitive again. The fact that they are offering stuff for Farming Simulator is a good sign.

[Guest]

I own Saitek X-45, it's standing on the table before me right now - unplugged.

I had an email exchange with Saitek/Madcats tech support ... for years. They sent me a lot of useless advices, and links to some obscure or private or experimental drivers and SST software builds, nothing helped.

Under Win7x64, if you configured mini stick to be mouse, any attempt to touch it causes BSOD.

Also, in very unlikely event of someone of you buying new X-45 beware:

part, that centers the stick that holds joysticks handle eats into it, making any movements of the stick jerky and even seizing it completely. I had to remove centering spring. Flight sim enthusiasts recommend oiling centering part with plastic-on-plastic oils - before first use, or better, replacing centerer and the stick with metal copies.

[regex]

Using an Arduino and existing code available, combined with a KSP mod that outputs game data, you can make yourself a custom controller with a display showing whatever data you may like.

Depending on the joystick you pick you can make your own control panel for roughly half the price of that Saitek controller.

Some programming and soldering required.

Because of this thread I priced out initial components for a dual 3-axis joystick Arduino Uno-run box; I'm looking at some $80 for the hardware, no enclosure, and I haven't even started shopping around. Realistically, I think I can create a custom controller board for under $100 (USB, dual joystick, up to 14 switches), and I think others have done similar already. The best part is that I can get started for under $50 with one joystick plus the board and a few switches and go from there.

[Red Iron Crown]

3d mouse for life. A bit pricy (and Windows only on KSP, IIRC) but it gives you six axes in one hand, allowing attitude + translation or completely unlimited camera control (especially useful in the editor or map mode).

[SkyRender]

I dont understand the appeal of these "sim games" that are popping up. Flight sims I get. Racing sims I get. I even get the humor for the surgery sim game, it is fun.

But farming sim, trucking sim, train sim(and its dlc, that you can purchase all of for only $2500, and thats the 50% off price today) I just dont understand.

Well I can at least tell you why I used to enjoy the Harvest Moon series of farming simulators back in the day: for the potential to completely and utterly break their "difficulty". The things I did in the DS version were so over-the-top that it may well have inspired the developers to institute much stricter confines on the player for later HM games. Pretty sure they never meant the player to have end-game equipment on the second game day!

[Temeter]

This concerns me as well. For the longest time, most "serious" sim games have been flight sims and these have dropped a lot in popularity. The result has been a polarization in the flight controls market. You either pay through the nose for I good high quality set, or you pay a lot less for a cheap POS. I wanted a HOTAS kit under $100 so I ended up with a Thrustmaster setup. I can't really complain, it's held up well, though I would like it to be a little more solid and come with a few more buttons/switches.

I'm hoping the recent resurgence of sims will cause the market for this kind of thing to become more competitive again. The fact that they are offering stuff for Farming Simulator is a good sign.

I hope so. It's a bit ridiculous how most of the joysticks currently sold are the same i've found ~10 years ago in stores.

[Whirligig Girl]

I dont understand the appeal of these "sim games" that are popping up. Flight sims I get. Racing sims I get. I even get the humor for the surgery sim game, it is fun.

But farming sim, trucking sim, train sim(and its dlc, that you can purchase all of for only $2500, and thats the 50% off price today) I just dont understand.

I like trains. But I'm not going to buy a train simulator until it has game-like parts. Perhaps a trainbuilding sandbox where you have to build your engines and rolling stock in a KSP-style editor out of parts and connectors, and make sure things are linked up right and the boiler, firebox, etc work right, or else bad things.