I've played freespace for a couple of hours with mouse as I didnt have a joystick but got one as soon as I found out how good the game was. But I cant seem to hit the enemy! I have a sensitive mouse but had to move it like a madman to pinpoint my enemies which could get frustrating bu at least it was a breez to ttarget them. With my joystick - set to lowest sensitivity - I cant seem to hit enemies at all! Its just way too sensitive! is there a way to change the sensitivity of joystick out of game or are their any options? perhaps my joystick is just very sensitive? Or I jsut suck with it?:)

Does your joystick have its own software? Did you calibrate it in Windows?

In addition to H2IWclassic's questions, what joystick are you using? :)

It doesnt seem to have its own software (lended it from a friend actually). its the microsoft sidewinder series

I also have an MS Sidewinder, and didn't encounter any problems with the default settings. Did you calibrate it in control panel?

no i didnt! how do i do that?

If you're using XP, it's Start->Settings->Control Panel->Game controllers.

In Vista and 7, control panel is usually accessible directly from the start panel.

found it, doesnt seem liek im able to calibrate anything

Your joystick should show up under "game controllers"...

someone wrote up this how-to and how to calibrate a joystick (they were using it for Battlefield 2 and Logitech Extreme 3D pro so you can ignore all of the stuff specific to that game/joystick):

http://forums.bf2s.com/viewtopic.php?id=81419

I can't seem to find that option (control panel > game controllers on my vista. is therea another window I shall press?

I think you have to go to classic view.

http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps_extras/17420/Support/EA%20Help/Whitepages/Controller_Calibration.htm

eh sorry i dont have vista, i eman 7, thats the thiong: i've always been able to press classi view on previous computers but that option isnt available on windows 7. this thread is starting to get a lot longer than I foirst thought:P

Ah for Windows 7, you can find the joystick under "Devices and Printers".