Today my joy died.

[Arsonik]

Well, I've been using this Logitech Extreme 3D Pro for longer then I can remember. It may have been as far back as the Win 98 days. She is showing her age although there is a big resemblance to the newer ones on the Logitech website bearing the same name. Talking about a JOYstick here btw.

So, its really killing my KSP experience not having a throttle bar more then anything else. I'm setting aside some cash for a nice hardcore sim setup. In the meantime, I'd entertain cheap alternatives. Is there anything in the $40-$60 USD range that anyone can recommend? Should I go with the 3D Pro or is there something significantly better in that price range now? This will be my second joy purchase so I'm a bit of a virgin on what kind of technical stuff I should be looking for. I'd also love any suggestions for a really nice stick with pedals etc. type setup to replace & upgrade the 3D Pro. Up to $250-$300, but really I would be much more comfortable in the $200 range. I have DCS Blackshark and a few other sim's I just haven't been able to put any real time into yet. I feel like the 3D Pro doesn't cut it for those types of sims.

Maybe I'll post a picture or two of the old 3D Pro if anyone is interested. Nothing to see really unless you are interested in how it has changed.

[B-STRK]

Well, I've been using this Logitech Extreme 3D Pro for longer then I can remember. It may have been as far back as the Win 98 days. She is showing her age although there is a big resemblance to the newer ones on the Logitech website bearing the same name. Talking about a JOYstick here btw.

So, its really killing my KSP experience not having a throttle bar more then anything else. I'm setting aside some cash for a nice hardcore sim setup. In the meantime, I'd entertain cheap alternatives. Is there anything in the $40-$60 USD range that anyone can recommend? Should I go with the 3D Pro or is there something significantly better in that price range now? This will be my second joy purchase so I'm a bit of a virgin on what kind of technical stuff I should be looking for. I'd also love any suggestions for a really nice stick with pedals etc. type setup to replace & upgrade the 3D Pro. Up to $250-$300, but really I would be much more comfortable in the $200 range. I have DCS Blackshark and a few other sim's I just haven't been able to put any real time into yet. I feel like the 3D Pro doesn't cut it for those types of sims.

Maybe I'll post a picture or two of the old 3D Pro if anyone is interested. Nothing to see really unless you are interested in how it has changed.

Ah, the 3D Pro, brings back memories. Cut my teeth on Flight Sim with them, had a blast with them in Enemy Engaged: Comanche v. Hokum. Yeah, they do wear out after extended use, especially when one person in household is an avid aviation and space nut, and the other is a trainee pilot. I wonder where that joystick went, it's been years since I've seen it...

On your high end, and going by other message boards, many people on flight sims usually swear by the Saitek X52. She's general-purpose enough for a wide range of joystick-based games, and it seems the price is well within your budget (without shipping being taken into account though, just to add). If you investigate the product page further, you'll find a pro version that's a little better built (but at $200 compared to the $150 of the base version). No pedals, but I think you could get those separately and just map them separately in the game--presuming the Unity engine is capable of detecting two different control peripherals at the same time. But the stick twist might be enough.

The number of buttons on them may seem a bit much, especially compared to the 3D Pro, but you can effectively bind nearly every (if not every) key-controllable function in KSP to the Saitek, making your game nearly keyboard-free. Maybe even mouse, if you can bind the view controls to one of the hat switches. (Although I think the mouse will still be necessary for tweakables, and the keyboard for mod controls).

Not sure about low-end options. If you're not averse to transitioning from a joystick to a gamepad, I'm using a Logitech Xinput gamepad (Xbox 360-type controls) for the game. KSP will detect and work with it, and IMO it's sufficient for KSP needs (I still go to keyboard for gravity turns, since a button is certainly more precise means of input than a 2-asix thumbstick, but for atmo flight, docking with simultaneous access to translation and rotation, and--as I found recently--rover control with simultaneous rotation and translation control, it's just about perfect.)

ADDENDUM: Ah, this is also available from MadCatz, and is in your low end, too: http://store.madcatz.com/categories/pro-flight-category/Mad-Catz-FLY-5-Stick-for-PC.html Otherwise, the 3D Pro is still a solid controller.

Edited June 19, 2015 by B-STRK

[Nuke]

i had my ch fighterstick started to show some mechanical problems after 8+ years of dedicated service. it will be missed.