bones3010: I have a microsoft sidewinder I'm using that seems to work pretty well for this game but I don't like how the buttons are mapped. Does anyone know if it's possible to assign different buttons for this or any other flight stick? I have a hard enough time going to the keyboard for more basic commands so it'd be nice to put a few of them right on the stick.
In-game, there's a Joystick section. Just click a button and then it will give you about 6 pages worth of settings that the one button can be.
I would strongly recommend having at least:
a button that targets what's in front of you (this also can be used to adjust speed -- hold button + vertical, or roll your craft -- hold button + vertical).
a button to fire (of course)
a button to change weapon types
a button to match speed with your enemy
a button to select previous and next targets
Energy settings and shield rotations may be useful, too, but I use the keyboard for those.
P.S. I think you hit ESC while either in a mission or out of a mission to set the joystick controls. I can't test right now, but try in the docking area and if that doesn't work, try in a mission. You may have to cycle through menus (ESC to get to the menus, then right and left arrow keys)