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Freespace seriesPlaying FreeSpace 2 on an x52 -without- profiles(7 posts)solved(7 posts)solved
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Posted July 14, 2011
Hi everyone. I recently got FreeSpace 2 working with FreeSpace Open and a variety of eye-candy type mods that make it look oh-so-good. The only problem I'm having is that, to be blunt, the controls are paralyzing me!

I have a Saitek x52 HOTAS, but I am unable to use the profiler software included with it. Trying to make and use a profile results in the MFD crashing, taking with it the profiler, and sometimes the operating system. I have disabled the profiler due to these stability issues.

Is it still realistic to play FS2 without the profiler software, or is the x52 pretty much useless without it? And if it is possible, does anyone have an recommendations on how to set up the button configurations that are available in the absence of the profiler software? I'm more than a little overwhelmed.

Any help would be appreciated. I'm really hoping to get into and enjoy this game, but I can't seem to get past the controls at the moment!
This question / problem has been solved by crazy_daveimage
Posted July 14, 2011
There is a control configuration setup in the game itself. For mapping everything in game, one goes to the "options room" inside the game and clicks on "control config". From there it should just be a matter of double clicking the action you want to map and then moving, pushing, or twisting the joystick axis/button to which you want to map it. That should allow you to map all the functionality you want onto your setup.
Post edited July 14, 2011 by crazy_dave
Posted July 14, 2011
Have you tried contacting Saitek with your problem? Like crazy_dave says, it's perfectly possible to map the controls in game, but things like using the pinkie switch as a modifier won't be possible I don't think.
Posted July 14, 2011
Thank you both for the replies! I'm glad to know the in-game mapping with be sufficient to apply bindings to the x52 even without the profiler...

My big concern, though, is that FreeSpace 2 has a positively mind-bogglingly HUGE number of keys to bind. As cyberneticbarry correctly points out, without the profiler functions on the x52 like the 'Mode' swapping and Pinkie modifier do not work, limiting the number of buttons on the x52. What I'm worried about is not being able to map essential functions onto the x52 because of this. Having to play the game with one hand on the throttle and one on the joystick means that having a free hand for the keyboard isn't possible. If I have to release the throttle to dive to the keyboard often, I fear I'll never get the hang of things.

And I have contacted Saitek about the profiler issue. Their suggestions were ineffectual - Just that I should uninstall and reinstall the software. I did that, and the problem persists. Saitek now claim its an issue with my system, despite the fact that it only ever is a problem with the x52 plugged in and the profiler running simultaneously.
Posted July 14, 2011
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Teflon.Djinn: Thank you both for the replies! I'm glad to know the in-game mapping with be sufficient to apply bindings to the x52 even without the profiler...

My big concern, though, is that FreeSpace 2 has a positively mind-bogglingly HUGE number of keys to bind. As cyberneticbarry correctly points out, without the profiler functions on the x52 like the 'Mode' swapping and Pinkie modifier do not work, limiting the number of buttons on the x52. What I'm worried about is not being able to map essential functions onto the x52 because of this. Having to play the game with one hand on the throttle and one on the joystick means that having a free hand for the keyboard isn't possible. If I have to release the throttle to dive to the keyboard often, I fear I'll never get the hang of things.

And I have contacted Saitek about the profiler issue. Their suggestions were ineffectual - Just that I should uninstall and reinstall the software. I did that, and the problem persists. Saitek now claim its an issue with my system, despite the fact that it only ever is a problem with the x52 plugged in and the profiler running simultaneously.
How many buttons does it have? In the heat of combat you don't need any where near all of possible game commands. There are several threads where a few of us give the commands we have ready mapped on our sticks. This one for instance:

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/freespace_series/great_game_but_seems_to_require_4_hands_to_play

I have a 12 button joystick and H2IWclassic has a 8 button joystick that he gives a config for. However, you should fight some battles, see what controls you reach for the most and start building your config based on that. Freespace 2 does have a huge number of options but you'll develop a style of play and by and large will rely only a few of those during combat itself.
Posted July 14, 2011
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crazy_dave: How many buttons does it have? In the heat of combat you don't need any where near all of possible game commands. There are several threads where a few of us give the commands we have ready mapped on our sticks. This one for instance:

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/freespace_series/great_game_but_seems_to_require_4_hands_to_play

I have a 12 button joystick and H2IWclassic has a 8 button joystick that he gives a config for. However, you should fight some battles, see what controls you reach for the most and start building your config based on that. Freespace 2 does have a huge number of options but you'll develop a style of play and by and large will rely only a few of those during combat itself.
There are 8 buttons on the x52 HOTAS that are easily accessed, and in addition to those, three 3-way hatswitches which can be interpreted as 'buttons'. I suppose, in a pinch, that totals about 20 buttons.

The configurations you linked too look solid, and if those are the primarily used functions (and the remainder are not often called for), it sounds like the x52 should perform admirably even without the profiler! Thank you very much for the assistance. Here's to hoping I can tear up the interstellar medium with ease now!
Posted December 04, 2012
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Teflon.Djinn: And I have contacted Saitek about the profiler issue. Their suggestions were ineffectual - Just that I should uninstall and reinstall the software. I did that, and the problem persists. Saitek now claim its an issue with my system, despite the fact that it only ever is a problem with the x52 plugged in and the profiler running simultaneously.
Sorry to necro this old thread but I want to provide a solution for anyone who googles this up.

The X52 seems to have a bug with the profile software sending data to the MFD, which causes crashes when the string sent to the MFD is greater than 15 characters long. If you edit all your profiles to change the names of the profiles and the names of all individual commands to be short strings of less than 15 characters, the problem goes away.
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Freespace seriesPlaying FreeSpace 2 on an x52 -without- profiles(7 posts)solved(7 posts)solved
(7 posts)solved