So I've never played any space sim before, but I heard this was a great one to try out. So I was just wondering, never owned a flight stick, what flight stick would you guys recommend? I heard the Extreme 3D Pro Joystick for Windows was pretty good?


Also I heard the mod XWAUpgrade improves the graphics, but does it work with the gog version and is there anything else I should get?

You don't exactly need a flightstick for this game. I played it with a gamepad and used the keyboard to input any other commands. Works alright.

The XWAUpgrade works fine with the GOG version, but I had to uninstall it to make it through the final mission in the game. Let's just say, the XWAUpgrade changes how certain ships in the game handle. Doesn't mean that you shouldn't try it, though. The updated ships look great.

I bought exactly that Thrustmaster Extreme 3D Pro ages ago and it worked quite good.

Space sims... What was the 90's game that i played that was a space sim... Ahh here it is, XF5700 Mantis Experimental Fighter.

I think it depends on the game. I tried pad and keyboard with Wing Commander and thought it was more irritating than fun. The X-Wing games might work better with a pad though, I haven't played them so I don't know.

In your experience which of the space sim games work the best with a pad ?

I've always played space sims with a pad, since I never owned a flight stick.

IMO, Freespace and the X-Wing games worked best with a pad. I made it through the Wing Commander games with a pad, too, although I will agree that the WC games didn't handle as well as FS or XW. Except for Prophecy.

If you're considering a joystick, consider the Thrustmaster T.16000M, a very good stick for less than $50.

Nice, thanks. Is there a particular remapping software for the pad that you can recommend ?
The one I tried with WC was rather messy to use, although I can't remember what it was called.

Never used any remapping software with flight sims, IIRC. I did use Joy2Key at some point, though. That was ok, but I can't remember what game I used it for, sorry.

My personal opinion is that flight-sims shouldn't be played with anything EXCEPT a flightstick. Otherwise, wtf are you playing a "simulation" without simulation for? The flightstick is crucial to it actually being a sim, by definition, imo.

I'm currently playing Freespace (GOG) vanilla, but damn, that looks tasty. I think I'll play vanilla this time, but maybe for a second playthrough with that...

aaaa

Yeah but look at the Freespace video, we aren't really talking about flight sims, but rather shoot em up in 3D.

Well, calling it a sim when it's about fictional vehicles is a stretch anyway, but if you like manual energy management, I'd always recommend Tie Fighter first. The tactical aspect of rerouting the energy between front shields, rear shields and weapon systems is quite cool and I like the mission design.