Joystick for Falcon 4 Allied Force (and other Mac flight sims)

[robegian]

I have to buy a new joystick (see why) and I'd like some suggestions.

I'll use it with Falcon 4 and hopefully some more flight sims, mostly within Mac OS (but sometimes in Windows too — thanks to Bootcamp.

Actually I'm narrowing down the choice to these three:

Thrustmaster T-16000 M

Saitek Cyborg FLY 5

Logitech Extreme 3D Pro

Any thoughts and/or further suggestions?


P.S. I found an old thread about joysticks, but I think it doesn't deliver all the information I need: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/566039/

 

[robegian]

In the meantime, I dropped the Logitech joystick from the list because most users complained that it ran into calibration issues.

So this has become mostly a Thrustmaster T-16000 M vs. Saitek Cyborg FLY 5 thread. Unless some come with new suggestions

 

[Huntn]

I've used both brands in the past and was happy with both, so I'd give these a chance. Do more research on compatibility on the Mac (in forums like these) and then it boils down to price vs features.

 

[robegian]

Giving credit to many reviews and comments read in the net, I discharged the Saitek too. This joystick looks great and crammed with interesting features, but too many users complain about its durability — cheap buttons which fall off easily, Z axis movement soon unreliable, multiple failures after just months of use.

The Thrustmaster looks plain vanilla aesthetically but it's universally praised for precision and durability — even if its buttons feel cheap. So I've just ordered one (from Amazon). I'll write off some impressions when it reaches my home.

 

[Macman45]

Is that 100% OSX compatible? The one thing that's stopping me from buying a decent Mac flight sim is the lack of controller options. I will be interested to see your impressions.

----------

Seems to be PC only...I guess you are running Bootcamp. The search goes on!

 

[robegian]

Looks like all three joysticks listed above are 100% compatible with a recent version of OS X — or better, with modern games in OS X. I'll tell you how the Thrustmaster behaves anyway.

By the way, one of the most interesting joysticks (and surely the most frequently suggested by "experts") is the Saitek X52, but it's outside the price range I was considering, even if it has a "biggest bang for the buck" aura (for Italians: at amazon.it it's currently sold for 96€). Beside the price, the main issue here is that in order to exploit the whole potential of this device, you have to operate in a Windows environment.

 

[Macman45]

Looks like all three joysticks listed above are 100% compatible with a recent version of OS X — or better, with modern games in OS X. I'll tell you how the Thrustmaster behaves anyway.

By the way, one of the most interesting joysticks (and surely the most frequently suggested by "experts") is the Saitek X52, but it's outside the price range I was considering, even if it has a "biggest bang for the buck" aura (for Italians: at amazon.it it's currently sold for 96€).

Mine too! Especially with the ipad3's upcoming release..On Amazon they list the thrust master as a PC joystick. I tried a Force feedback TM on my iMac, but whilst it appeared okay, it wasn't recognised by the demo of the sim I tried...It could have been that the paid for version would have worked, but it's a chance to take.

 

[Macman45]

I did a little digging...Apparently these are the only officially supported input devices...:

http://macflightgear.sourceforge.net/home/documents/faq/#content_1_3

 

[robegian]

I dug deeper than that and I heard detailed reports about the regular functioning in pivotal Mac OS flight sims of the Thrustmaster and the Saitek linked above (about the Logitech, I found only some hints but no direct report). There are several Mac OS users amongst the flight sims enthusiasts who use them without problems in several sims.

I'll tell you about my personal experience with the Thrustmaster, anyway

 

[Macman45]

Please do, I will buy one if the reports are good...Just don't want to pay for something that either won't work, or is a pile of junk!...

I dug deeper than that and I heard detailed reports about the regular functioning in pivotal Mac OS flight sims of the Thrustmaster and the Saitek linked above (about the Logitech, I found only some hints but no direct report). There are several Mac OS users amongst the flight sim enthusiasts who use them without problems in several sims.

I'll tell you about my personal experience with the Thrustmaster, anyway

 

[robegian]

I've just tried the Thrustmaster T.16000M within Falcon 4.0 Allied Force (in OS X) and it works beautifully. It's regularly recognised, easily calibrated, and its buttons are straightforwardly programmable. Besides, it's a terrific piece of hardware: very smooth and precise.

P.S. Tried also with X-Plane 10 (demo version): it operates flawlessly.

 

[mt2424]

Thrustmaster T-16000M

I've just tried the Thrustmaster T.16000M within Falcon 4.0 Allied Force (in OS X) and it works beautifully. It's regularly recognised, easily calibrated, and its buttons are straightforwardly programmable. Besides, it's a terrific piece of hardware: very smooth and precise.

P.S. Tried also with X-Plane 10 (demo version): it operates flawlessly.

I'm considering purchasing this unit, as well. I spoke to Thrustmaster's tech support and they say this device is intended for PC platforms only. TM does not support for Mac OS in any way.

Just wondering if your unit is still working and if you needed to make any modifications. I'm considering using this for Falcon 4.0 and Warbirds. Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[QuantumLo0p]

CH Products

Have you looked at CH Products? Although not as good looking as some other controllers I have found them to work excellent, at least for X-Plane, and haven't failed me yet. Currently I have a stick, yoke, pedals and I'm considering dedicated throttle controller such as their Pro or perhaps their Quad if I get more into big planes.

 

[robegian]

I'm considering purchasing this unit, as well. I spoke to Thrustmaster's tech support and they say this device is intended for PC platforms only. TM does not support for Mac OS in any way.

Instead, it works flawlessly and beautifully with my Macs :->

I've used it extensively for Falcon 4 Allied Force: just perfect.