I'm a big Star Wars fan, however, I didn't grow up on older games. I began playing video games around the time of the xbox.
I think Tie fighter and x-wing look cool, and I do own a joystick(a logitech extreme 3d pro).
Would you guys recommend it to someone who is unsure of whether or not he could justify it for $10?

It's well worth the 10 bucks, especially since you already have a joystick. it works well with that particular joystick also. The learning curve is pretty steep with a lot of keys to remember, but GOG provides the quick reference pages from the original manual that gives you a full list of all the key functions. Most of them are listed in the in-game esc menu as well.

I played the absolute shit out of this game back around '96 when I was 14, and as soon as I picked up this re-release the controls all came flooding back into my memory.

Press and hold the thumb button (button 2) move the joystick left or right to roll

Any idea what keystroke that button is actually mapped to? The configuration screen says ALT-3 but even when I press the key combination I can't get any roll action going on.

thats pretty weird, have you tried to reassign the button? in the controls-menu where you see the button assignments, press and hold the joystick-button you want to reassign and click (with your mouse) on the desired function.

btw pressing alt and 3 together doesnt work here, either

I've tried to re-assign the button with no luck.

stupid question, kind of, but does this very special button work in other games?

have you tried to assign a different button??

I'm using the Saitek programming software to assign keys to buttons on my flights; and I've tried assigning it to different buttons. But with no luck.

For some reason it's unlisted in the controls, but holding the left or right arrow keys down should roll. I've assigned it to the twist on my X55 and it works well enough. The only trouble is the pause between it basically pressing the key once, then repeating after a moment. It's like when you're typing and you hold down a key and it has that delay for a second or so before it keeps entering the letter.

Edit: I'm playing the 1994 version, so I'm not sure if it's the same control in the 1998 version.

thats some pretty important information, please keep it for yourself a bit longer the next time, its still big fun for me to practice my second sight skills ...

looks like you're basically trying to "route" a non-working key-combination (alt-3) to a joystick-button

try to assign the key WITHOUT the saitek software, like INGAME in the options menu, like i told you to!

I wasn't trying to mislead you by the way. I originally was trying to figure out the keystroke that initiates the roll, since every action has a keystroke of some kind.

This kind of response is one of the reasons why I don't use German forums for seeking help anymore. :P

I don't know if you realize this, but the "roll" is a modifier. You need to hold down the modifier (alt-3 or btn 2) *and* pull the stick to the side to roll in that direction

20 years later, TIE Fighter is still one of the finest space combat games ever made.