I rediscovered analog!

[Zimmerdylan]

I made a new discovery that may be helpful to some.

The other day I pulled my PS/2 cable that wrapped around my foot when I got up from my desk. It bent the round barrel out of shape so much that I could not plug it back into my X52 without possibly doing some kind of damage. Being that those jumpers aren't something that you can just get at the corner store (although they use to be), I had to order one from the internet. Well......3 or 4 days from now it will arrive. What do I do in the meantime? My X55 is at a friend's because he doesn't have a HOTAS and really loves to fly.

So.....I went to Goodwill and as luck would have it, they had this old analog Logitech Attack 3 stick. I use to play with the updated version of this stick when I first started into sims and so I thought “Hey....It's only for a few days”.

Well, not so for me. I am finding that an analog stick is so much better for the old aircraft in DCS than any of the digital hardware. The response when you move the stick is instantanious and seems to kill that delayed feedback feel to a very comfortable level. It works much better with my CH rudder pedals because the response time seems to be much more in sync. It's almost as though the movement is orchestrated with much more precision.

Please, don't get me wrong on this. I have been flying the WWII planes since they started coming out, and I do OK in them. But the reaction of my X52 and 55 have always left me a little frustrated. Until this week, I had no clue as to why.

For me, the digital controls react slower, and have that “overly delayed and overstated feedback” feel to them all of the time. When I bank left or right, I have to play off of the digital stick and let it roll itself out to where it's going and in lots of cases I have to compensate because I have underestimated where it will stop. All of this takes place in probably fractions of seconds, but I feel it in my flying. Not so with this cheapy analog stick. It goes where you put it and there isn't this delayed or sluggish feel to it at all. It is perfect for the WWII planes that I have. For me, they now feel as though you would expect a “fly by linkage and cable” plane would. I have a much better and easier time now. I do not stall the planes nearly as much with this stick, I can maneuver around with much more accuracy and with much less effort. My turn radius is much tighter now because I don't over shoot or over compensate. It's great!:joystick:

I find the Huey a lot easier to fly accurately with it also. Again, the movement of the stick VS the rudder pedals is so much more in sync.

I have not tried it (nor am I likely to) with the A10, F5, or any of the post Korean war AC, mostly because of control mapping. The Logitech only has 10 buttons total, 6 of which are on the base pedestal and not on the stick, and that just doesn't work with a plane or heli that requires a lot of HOTAS controls.

But in my opinion, if this stick came with the mapping versatility of either of my digital sticks, I'd probably just switch over to it altogether. And....I believe that the X52 and 55 were designed with the modern AC in mind (especially the A10) so it's all good.

But from here on in, I'm using this Cheap ole Logitech Attack 3 that I got for $10 at Goodwill for all of my prop planes and both of my Korean war planes. I don't need the buttons on the other controllers so much and it responds much more to my liking.

So for those of you who find a little frustration in the WWII planes. This could be a solution. And it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I know that I'm going to get a couple of these Attack 3's. They're only around $10 - $15 and they have made me very happy.

For those of you rolling your eyes because you don't understand what I mean when I say “delayed feedback” or you don't think that your stick is sluggish. I get where you are coming from. I didn't either. But just go get the older analog stick, plug it in, and you'll instantly feel the difference. And for some, I'm sure it won't be comfortable at all. But I'll bet this is the answer for others who don't like to fly the WWII planes because of the lack of control. And I know you are out there because I hear it every day on TS in the servers. “Oh man, I hate the WWII planes because they're too hard to control.” I hear it all the time. :doh:

I wish I could post a track or two to show the difference, but man -o- man, I can never get them to play back the same track twice. :smilewink: