Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate This Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
#4432666 - 08/03/18 12:08 AM The best simming aid you ever bought  
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,588
462cid Offline
Senior Member
462cid  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,588
USA
Title says it all.

Mine: a second, cheap PC with a monitor next to my simming machine's monitor. I can sim on my good machine and look up reference, watch tutorials, read online manuals etc while I'm in-game, no fuss no muss. I network between the two as well and it's great flexibility. Wish I'd done this 15 years ago.


What kind of car is that? What does it matter? When I drive it, I'm Steve McQueen
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4432668 - 08/03/18 12:17 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
rwatson Offline
Hotshot
rwatson  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
New Concord, Ohio
For me it's a Belkin key pad.a M8 sent me.Makes programming all the commands in and making a map for it programs just like an x-52 I could never mast hitting tow or three keys and pay attention to the sim


Russ
Semper Fi
#4432669 - 08/03/18 12:29 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 6,840
Clydewinder Offline
Mach 2 Infrared Orangutan
Clydewinder  Offline
Mach 2 Infrared Orangutan
Hotshot

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 6,840
New Berlin, WI United States
TrackIR


Robots are stealing my luggage.
#4432670 - 08/03/18 12:39 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,215
NH2112 Offline
Veteran
NH2112  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,215
Jackman, ME
I think the best simming aid I ever bought was the Falcon 3.0 “Art Of The Kill” edition. AOTK explained more to me than all the tutorials did, after watching and absorbing Pete Bonanni’s instructions I found myself at the elbow almost all the time and even managed to dodge missiles more often than not. Except those deadly SA7s, there was no avoiding those! Not until the 3.05 patch, anyway.

A very close second were my various Thrustmaster setups. I got out of simming long before TrackIR was a thing.


Phil

“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
#4432671 - 08/03/18 12:50 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: Clydewinder]  
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 2,042
cichlidfan Offline
Member
cichlidfan  Offline
Member

Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 2,042
Woodbridge, VA, USA
Originally Posted by Clydewinder
TrackIR


This.


ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1
#4432685 - 08/03/18 04:04 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,242
Coot Offline
Pilgrim
Coot  Offline
Pilgrim
Veteran

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,242
These United States of America
I think at the start for me was a joystick of all things. I didn't have one and had to borrow my cousin's back when I bought U.S. Navy Fighters Gold and having one obviously made all the difference. The next major aid I'd have to say the Track IR. I remember seeing videos of it being used in FS2004 and being blown away seeing players lean outside of the cockpit. Sorry I listed two but those are the two fundamental devices that made things significantly better.


John 10:1-30
Romans 10:1-13

#4432686 - 08/03/18 04:23 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 5,420
LB4LB Offline
Still lurking about
LB4LB  Offline
Still lurking about
Hotshot

Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 5,420
Detroit Burbs
I did the second cheap PC (laptop) too. I was able to access and reference information much faster this way. It was used heavily for Falcon and LOMAC.

#4432688 - 08/03/18 04:52 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,506
Brit44 'Aldo' Offline
Every Human is Unique
Brit44 'Aldo'  Offline
Every Human is Unique
Member

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,506
I would have to find the box with the floppy, and it is slightly off subject.
Falcon 3.0 bundle with the Thrustmaster TMS was the first computer game I purchased. Played it non stop and kept upgrading my 386 to get better graphics.
Eventually, you could purchase a mod and a set of mod tools from the modder. smile I had to have it and it started me looking under the hood.
Best software I ever purchased for my hobby time.


TPA who TWI
"The 10th Amendment simply says that any powers that aren’t mentioned in the Constitution as belonging to the government belong to the states themselves."
#4432698 - 08/03/18 08:12 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 25,138
RSColonel_131st Offline
Lifer
RSColonel_131st  Offline
Lifer

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 25,138
Vienna, 2nd rock left.
#3 TrackIR

#4432702 - 08/03/18 09:21 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 12,105
Chucky Offline
Veteran
Chucky  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 12,105
UK
TrackIR for me too.


EV's are the Devils matchbox.
#4432705 - 08/03/18 09:50 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,503
DM Offline
Senior Member
DM  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,503
Prague
For me I'd have to split it evenly with TrackIR, and my old Thrustmaster F-16 FLCS HOTAS. That thing really did change everything. I still own it somewhere but it's now replaced by my Cougar.


"They might look the same, but they don't taste the same."
#4432706 - 08/03/18 10:03 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,833
DaveP63 Offline
Member
DaveP63  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,833
Indiana, USA
TIR for me was a game changer.


i5-4460@3.2ghz, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte GTX1050Ti 4GB, 2TB HDD, 500GB SDD
#4432707 - 08/03/18 10:36 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,384
PanzerMeyer Offline
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer  Offline
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,384
Miami, FL USA
Hands down TrackIR. Nothing else comes close.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4432715 - 08/03/18 11:46 AM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 3,633
James McKenzie-Smith Offline
Senior Member
James McKenzie-Smith  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 3,633
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Oculus Rift. I no longer use TrackIR.

#4432718 - 08/03/18 12:00 PM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
rwatson Offline
Hotshot
rwatson  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
New Concord, Ohio
OK guys you got me looking at the next obvious step to a Track IR..Only question is how does it affect frame rates??? I'm just on the border line with CLOD, BOS and IL-2 BAT


Russ
Semper Fi
#4432723 - 08/03/18 12:24 PM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 6,332
Spidey Offline
Hotshot
Spidey  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 6,332
Jersey Yo
Wouldn't a good set of HOTAS and Pedals be the best aid...I know I wouldn't be able to fly without it. I can make do without all others such as trackIR.


"No power in the 'verse can stop me!!!"
#4432725 - 08/03/18 12:41 PM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Track IR.

I see Spidey's point, and I'd rather have a Cougar and no track IR than the other way around. But I think we would view the HOTAS as essential, not an 'aid', but that's open for interpretation.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4432731 - 08/03/18 01:03 PM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: rwatson]  
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,503
DM Offline
Senior Member
DM  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,503
Prague
Originally Posted by rwatson
OK guys you got me looking at the next obvious step to a Track IR..Only question is how does it affect frame rates??? I'm just on the border line with CLOD, BOS and IL-2 BAT


It doesn't affect framerates at all, or at least measurably. The bulk of the directional processing is done in the unit itself.


"They might look the same, but they don't taste the same."
#4432732 - 08/03/18 01:08 PM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: 462cid]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,384
PanzerMeyer Offline
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer  Offline
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,384
Miami, FL USA
I'm left handed so no HOTAS and pedals for me. My Thrustmaster joystick and twist rudder/throttle combo though has served me well for several years now. smile


Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 08/03/18 01:09 PM.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4432733 - 08/03/18 01:20 PM Re: The best simming aid you ever bought [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 13,736
F4UDash4 Online cool
Veteran
F4UDash4  Online Cool
Veteran

Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 13,736
SC
Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
I'm left handed so no HOTAS and pedals for me. My Thrustmaster joystick and twist rudder/throttle combo though has served me well for several years now. smile




My best friend is left handed and he's always flown left handed, using a CH Pro stick. I always bug him about it, at one time he was working toward flying fighters IRL so he would have had to learn to fly right handed there, especially the F-16, so why not get a real HOTAS and fly sims that way. But he refuses to try.

Anyway, once I built a sim cockpit with HOTAS and Oculus Rift I had him try it out. He flew around just fine and afterwards I say "You realize you were flying right handed don't you?" No response, he still insists on left handed flying with a CH Pro / rudders / keyboard.


"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  RacerGT 

Quick Search
Recent Articles
Support SimHQ

If you shop on Amazon use this Amazon link to support SimHQ
.
Social


Recent Topics
Carnival Cruise Ship Fire....... Again
by F4UDash4. 03/26/24 05:58 PM
Baltimore Bridge Collapse
by F4UDash4. 03/26/24 05:51 PM
The Oldest WWII Veterans
by F4UDash4. 03/24/24 09:21 PM
They got fired after this.
by Wigean. 03/20/24 08:19 PM
Grown ups joke time
by NoFlyBoy. 03/18/24 10:34 PM
Anyone Heard from Nimits?
by F4UDash4. 03/18/24 10:01 PM
RIP Gemini/Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford
by semmern. 03/18/24 02:14 PM
10 years after 3/8/2014
by NoFlyBoy. 03/17/24 10:25 AM
Copyright 1997-2016, SimHQ Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.6.0