Topic: Ship Sim Control Unit? (Read 84284 times)

deltaecho · « **on:** July 13, 2010, 06:17:16 »

Has anyone bought it? Is it worth it? looks pretty good

Captain Spencer · « **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2010, 13:35:57 »

It's also very expensive - I have not bought one because of the price. I could probably make one cheaper anyway

larsdehaan · « **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2010, 16:54:59 »

yeah too expensive for me also i want to go to a theme park with my kids if i buy the thing i cant go with them

deltaecho · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2010, 18:26:51 »

ya, i've been looking around and i still couldnt find one on ebay or amazon or anywhere for a cheaper price. i have a flight simulator throttle that is seperate from the joy stick. Do you think that would work

jim.smith · « **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2010, 19:03:10 »

HI.I operate a Saitek Pro Flight Yolk System with a Quadrant,works fine on SS.

deltaecho · « **Reply #5 on:** July 13, 2010, 19:40:36 »

ok. thanks, i will use mine then

dodweb · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2010, 19:43:25 »

I find the ship control unit prohibitively expensive as well, sadly. I'm also using a Saitek Pro Flight Yoke throttle quadrant and a Logitech G-25 wheel. Combined, they cost less than the ship control unit and also lets me fly and drive. At 200 euros I would still find it expensive, but would consider it. At 400, no way.

McGherkin · « **Reply #7 on:** July 13, 2010, 20:26:39 »

Must get the throttle quadrant...

--tractorman-- · « **Reply #8 on:** July 13, 2010, 20:32:34 »

I need another joystick and thats my ship sim control unit done, I'm err, ready for them Incats..

deltaecho · « **Reply #9 on:** July 13, 2010, 22:02:43 »

Quote from: dodweb on July 13, 2010, 19:43:25

I find the ship control unit prohibitively expensive as well, sadly. I'm also using a Saitek Pro Flight Yoke throttle quadrant and a Logitech G-25 wheel. Combined, they cost less than the ship control unit and also lets me fly and drive. At 200 euros I would still find it expensive, but would consider it. At 400, no way.

so the wheel lets you steer the ships too? where did you get your yoke throttle quadrant from?

dodweb · « **Reply #10 on:** July 13, 2010, 22:58:22 »

Yeah the wheel is just another axis to the computer and game like any joystick. I like the G-25 as it can turn 1,5 (I think, dont have it in front of me) times in each direction whereas most other wheels can only go 90 or 100 degrees each way. Force feedback can be set to keep the wheel steady, so when you let go, it stays at that angle. Perfect for a ships wheel. It is also a very expensive piece of kit and unless one is really into car racing it's probably not interesting.

My throttle quadrant comes from the "SAITEK Pro Flight Yoke System" set, together with the push/pull yoke, and I picked it up on german ebay from Computersource.de (was living there at the time). One negative point is that the throttle quadrant has to be attached to the rather large yoke-module which again plugs into the PC, so youll need somewhere to store the yoke out of the way but not too far (for the wire). Yoke is not practical for steering a ship, it will only turn a "few" degrees like the yoke in a Cessna.

You can also get the "Saitek Pro Flight Throttle Quadrant", which is only the TQ, at around 50 euros or lower. That one is USB and plugs directly into your PC. For shipsim that one should be "perfect" for throttle. Also some buttons on it for various functions. One downer is that there is no "middle mark" to let you know when youre at "idle". It might take some time to get used to where the 50% mark is on the yoke. I used a tape strip with a bright color to mark it off so it was easier to see at a glance. It would still be nicer if there was a physical notch the stick would fall into if it was to be used primarily for boats.

deltaecho · « **Reply #11 on:** July 13, 2010, 23:04:51 »

which one of those levers is actually the throttle you use or are they all used for it?

dodweb · « **Reply #12 on:** July 14, 2010, 00:40:07 »

I use left and middle as port and starboard throttle (if two engines), or just the left one when on a single engine vessel. Right lever just stays fully down or at 50%/idle/stop to make it easier to find the right position for the throttle levers. If youre just going to use the TQ for ShipSim I'd consider just removing one of them (perhaps the middle?). They are probably not intentionally removeable, but I'm sure a screwdriver and/or excessive use of force will solve that issue. For the more technically inclined, it is probably not THAT hard to remove the entire assembly of one of the levers with potmeter and all, extend the wires and put it at a 90 degree angle - voila, bowthruster control.

Ok, a small edit: First of all, there is a thread on the Ship Control Unit over at the SS08 boards, link (http://80.95.161.114/shipsim/forum/index.php/topic,16476.0.html).

Secondly, I noticed that someone mentioned that SS08 only supports one joystick. I must have used some sort of tweak or thirdparty software to get it to accept both my G-25 and TQ. I cannot remember any of that as I've had it running since a very long time. I recently moved (again) and where I live now I do not have the space for a hardware setup like that just yet (the ship control unit on the other hand might just fit!) so I cant offer to figure out what exactly I did either. Just wanted to give anyone wanting to run two joysticks a little heads up.

deltaecho · « **Reply #13 on:** July 14, 2010, 00:55:26 »

so you just change the buttons in the options menu of the game and it recognizes it? and theres definitely no way to just buy the TQ detached from the yoke?

dodweb · « **Reply #14 on:** July 14, 2010, 01:06:35 »

Quote from: deltaecho on July 14, 2010, 00:55:26

so you just change the buttons in the options menu of the game and it recognizes it? and theres definitely no way to just buy the TQ detached from the yoke?

Quote from: dodweb on July 13, 2010, 22:58:22

You can also get the "Saitek Pro Flight Throttle Quadrant", which is only the TQ, at around 50 euros or lower. That one is USB and plugs directly into your PC.

As for the joystick, as far as I can remember, you just go to controls, click "Throttle engine 1" or whatever it is called, move the lever you want for that function and it is detected. I dont have access to the hardware right now or I would have tried it to make sure.

deltaecho · « **Reply #15 on:** July 14, 2010, 01:55:49 »

i found one on amazon for $35 and it says it compatible with xp and vista. i have windows 7. will it work?

dodweb · « **Reply #16 on:** July 14, 2010, 02:24:50 »

I dont have the standalone TQ, but the yoke/TQ/pedal combo works fine on 7 for me at least, cant imagine theres anything special with the TQ-only.

Saitek says it will work aswell: http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/quad.htm

deltaecho · « **Reply #17 on:** July 14, 2010, 04:04:41 »

ok. thanks for the help

i ordered it.

McGherkin · « **Reply #18 on:** July 14, 2010, 09:55:16 »

Quote from: dodweb on July 13, 2010, 22:58:22

Yeah the wheel is just another axis to the computer and game like any joystick. I like the G-25 as it can turn 1,5 (I think, dont have it in front of me) times in each direction whereas most other wheels can only go 90 or 100 degrees each way. Force feedback can be set to keep the wheel steady, so when you let go, it stays at that angle. Perfect for a ships wheel. It is also a very expensive piece of kit and unless one is really into car racing it's probably not interesting.

You could just unplug it from the mains

And are you sure it's 1 and a half? or 1 and a quarter? My Logi's 1 and a quarter.

And mine cost Â£40... $:-\$

dodweb · « **Reply #19 on:** July 14, 2010, 22:30:50 »

Â£40 for a G25? Thats a steal ^^

Yes I could just unplug it from the mains and disable the force feedback that way. Then the wheel would spin freely. When I have it set up for constant (weak) resistance and without "return to center" it feels more like a ships wheel as it takes a mild effort to turn and will stay in place until moved again (where as a freespinning wheel will easily be spun around by even the slightest force). Wouldnt want the ships dog to alter course while getting a cup o'coffee..

And yes you are right, it has a 900 degree freedom of rotation, which works out to 1.25 turns in each direction.

--tractorman-- · « **Reply #20 on:** July 14, 2010, 22:32:22 »

All together the G25 should turn 900 degrees

saltydog · « **Reply #21 on:** July 14, 2010, 22:59:44 »

You can use two joysticks..There are two columns in the controls area..
I use a steering wheel and a Saitek X-52 joystick/throttle control.. Works fine..

McGherkin · « **Reply #22 on:** July 14, 2010, 23:09:16 »

Quote from: dodweb on July 14, 2010, 22:30:50

Â£40 for a G25? Thats a steal ^^

Nah, Â£40 for a Driving Force Pro. Essentially very similar, just looks different and (am I correct in saying the G25 has a proper gearstick) a sequential stick.

dodweb · « **Reply #23 on:** July 15, 2010, 01:27:04 »

Yeah the G25 has a 6-step (+ push-down, left-back reverse). Your Driving Force Pro looks nice. I only got the G25 as I was working up some serious overtime during a christmas rush in a computer store and I got paid in hardware, would probably not have spent that much money on it (Â£350 or so as it was back then)

Was awesome for games like Live for Speed though... now Im almost only racing on Forza III and G25 (logitech in general) doesent support the xbox 360.

deltaecho · « **Reply #24 on:** July 15, 2010, 05:25:44 »

thanks for the info on the TQ dodweb

i bought it off of amazon. do you have XBL? also i was thinking about sawing off the middle throttle lever with a dremel drill

Author Topic: Ship Sim Control Unit? (Read 84284 times)

larsdehaan

jim.smith