Hi all.

I have an MS Sidewinder Precision Pro USB by Microsoft, I've been using the same stick for 15+ years and I'm not going to give it up any time soon, not many buttons but the damn thing works just like I want it to.

Unfortunately I have no clue how to set it up with Falcon.

The other thing is, I have a bunch of Saitek simulation controllers including an autopilot panel with trim tab, flaps lever, autopilot LCD etc.. as well as a Saitek throttle quadrant.

I'd like to be able to use the buttons and switches on the Saitek panels, and most importantly I'd like to know how to set up curves, null zones and button configurations for the MS Sidewinder stick.

At the moment the game is unflyable because there is some center slop which makes level flight impossible.

Any help appreciated, treat me as if I am a very slow child as I've never really gotten into Falcon 4 very deeply - occasional instant actions and deep stall recovery training is about as far as I have been..!

Any other advice is also appreciated i.e. how to make the graphics look better, improve performance, campaign / terrain add ons etc.

I'm a long time Jane's sim and DCS user. Falcon 4 has been on my HD's since the original release but I've just never gotten used to it

Thanks in advance.

Hello Longbow!

I take it you are referring to Falcon 4 BMS 4.33.1? Unfortunately, I don't think I can help you with your controllers simply because I don't have it; have you tried asking in the appropriate forum on the BMS site? Again, due to the age of you controller, I don't think there are many that still fly with it compared to the more popular Saitek/CH/TM offerings.

In the meantime, I wonder if you've tried setting the controls up inside the Falcon UI? Most people start from that.

As for the Saitek controllers, I thought they don't work outside of FSX?

With regards to the graphics, well it depends on your current setup. Falcon is still CPU-intensive but a good GPU also helps. At the moment, there are other theatres available but there are no "terrain mods" per se. What I do know of is a "double-res" cockpit textures mod, making things a little more sharper inside the cockpit but that's it.

Any more questions, I'm happy to help with what I can.

Deadzone should be no problem. In the ADVANCED section of the controls setup there is a drop down menu for each axis with none, small, medium, large deadzones. There is no curve function available natively (well there is but no one on the planet knows how to generate the necessary file).

As long as the Saitek devices are recognized as standard DirectInput joysticks or make keyboard outputs then they can be used. The autopilot digital display may have some way of interfacing with perhaps the DED.

All digital (buttons, keystokes) are defined by the active key file ____.key which is text editable for full function or bound in-game for more limited function.

For prettiness, look through the Configuration utility in the Launcher.