Krml

First draft. Suggestions open.  Submitted.

Star Citizen Alpha 2.4.1
 
As with patch 2.4.0, Patch Notes will also be available from my google drive to view and can be found here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxZxS0z_NYtPTjlqeURIRVlrdnM&usp=sharing
 
Important Notes
We will be wiping the persistence database with this patch from 2.4.0 to 2.4.1. If you do not see your ships on first log in, please close the client and log back in. You’re ships should appear on the second login.  
Updates and Fixes
Star Systems:
You can no longer obtain large amounts of aUEC by shooting parts of Security Station Kareah under specific circumstances. Ships:
Fixed an issue where the Mustang Delta shields were not visualizing correctly when physically damaged. Fixed an issue where the Aurora would rotate up to 180 degrees when spawned on the landing pad. Technical:
Fixed a server crash. Fixed several persistence service related crashes. Fixed several persistence issues that related to items being incorrectly deleted, items not showing up in game correctly and items being duplicated. Fixed several client crashes. Fixed an issue that was causing infinite load screens when attempting to load into ArcCorp or Crusader.

Be warned for a massive list of patch notes this time
 
PTU 2.4.1a
 
Technical:
Made additional changes to improve persistence services.

I just read this entire post, having never played Star Citizen before, and now I am going to buy it.

If the entire op gets scrapped .. I won't be disappointed because .. Hey ! It atleast convinced a ltt fellow to buy the game !! 

Are you on Discord? We're much more active there than here on the forum, which will make things much easier
 
Instant invite link for the server: https://discord.gg/0ZFgG6Y9m9xdFg17

Ok, so 10/10 for effort, The reason why Eden exists is to attempt everything you have come up with in the babyPU so we don't have to. I don't know what to say apart to add that the 4 departments will be held under Military until a suitable council member is elected, the reason for this is the Military has the most power however it is the power that has to serve to protect the other departments.
 
therefore we need to determine what role the military has in each of these areas take mining, do we need to protect the miners or the convoy? is that part of mining security or part of the military? or even UOLTT PMCs?
 
I've got plans but I can't put them into place unless I can test them, I can't test them without playing it.
 
All of this could be scrapped if the high council says no.
 
I've taken on the role and created Eden so we have a concept of where we stand but this is all subject to @ixi_your_face agreeing with it, if he decided this gets scrapped I have to agree with him.

2.4.0 is now live!
 
Full 2.4.0 patch notes can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12JlZgvu09jepN9PP5Nfk5U30bvYwShyQXdXIdoRuBv4/edit?usp=sharing
 
First Patch since NDA for 2.4.0 has lifted
 
Updates and Fixes
Star Systems:
Updated the airlock door decals in Port Olisar. Removed the extra shop NPC in Garrity Defense. Made changes to shop NPC AI in Port Olisar and ArcCorp. Added idle animations to shop NPCs Made changes to the glow of the Vitamin D screen. Updated lighting in the lounge area of Port Olisar. Made additional tweaks to Port Olisars exterior lighting. Tweaked the animations of all shopkeepers in game. Changed the look of some decals in Kareah Station. Fixed an issue where ship collision audio was playing continuously during the tutorial. Re-positioned several quantum travel markers to better align with hidden Asteroid fields related to ICCProbe missions. Hangar
Removed extra Hangar port mod nodes that were currently not being used. Fixed an issue where the Freelancer and Vanguard Warden would have collision issues when both were spawned into the same Hangar. Fixed several texture loading issues in Selfland. Fixed several texture loading issues in Aeroview as well as some collision issues that would allow players to fall through the Hangar. Rotated calendar flair item so that it better aligns with Hangar wall when placed. Fixed Port Modification app placement mods for flair items in the Selfland, Aeroview and Industrial Hangars. Game Systems: Fixed an issue where players would see their characters spawn in dead or flying through space before respawning correctly. The Port Modification App will no longer be visible in Arena Commander. Ships:
Fixed an issue where chaff countermeasures were causing performance issues when used. Fixed an issue where ship ports would remain on the landing pad after ship had taken off. Fixed an issue where a ships thrusters could be heard from inside Port Olisar after spawning. Made minor changes to the Sabre cockpit. Fixed an issue where the Gladius was missing its damage states. Fixed an issue where some decals in the Starfarer were upside down. Made some additional visual tweaks to the cargo bay area of the Starfarer. Fixed an issue where the pilot could fall out of the Starfarer when exiting the cockpit. Fixed an issue where the P52 Merlin would automatically do a barrel roll when taking off from the landing pad. First Person:
Tweaked how clothing fits on a character to help minimize clipping issues. Made updates to jackets to help reduce shirts clipping through them. Added new default jetpack to all flight suits. Made visual updates to the first person helmet piece when wearing a flight suit. User Interface:
Fixed an issue that was causing non-localized text strings to appear in the control customization window. Added a display message to Item Ports to warn players when the item cannot spawn until the player moves far enough away, which manifests as “Item Pending”. Added “No Port Selected” message to Port App when it is accessed through mobiGlas. Removed non-localized text from the purchase UI window. Technical:
Fixed a client crash. Fixed a number of server crashes. Fixed the issue with the server soft capping the server at 12-16 instead of 24. Fixed a client crash when attempting to start a Spectrum match in Arena Commander. Fixed an issue where player could get looping black screen during spectating mode in Vanduul Swarm Drone Sim.

If you're at 1080p resolution, I'd go with the 970 because the performance difference isn't very noticeable.
 
If you're gaming at higher than 1080p, go with the 390 for it's increased VRAM

So as discussed on the meetup.
 
Post your ideas about the subjects or what you want to say in the podcast, currently the 4 things i want to talk about are current state of the game, what needs to be fixed now, what we would like to see implemented soon (can include things that are going to be implemented next patch) and what we hope is in the final release of the game.
I was thinking about calling it "for the devs" as that's who i'd hope listen to it and i can't think of a better name plus it would be nice to give them something back, @rucdoc I'd like if we can use your discords videos or if you could do a new discord for it, personally i think they are great.
 
On a side note, we discussed possible not playing star citizen when recording it, maybe something like a free to play like Brawlhall or a cheap game like Guns of Icuras or tabletop simulator so suggestions on that would be good, I also think this would help with us not feeling burnt out on Star Citizen. @ixi_your_face would you mind us doing this on the YouTube UOLTT channel, it may have some non SC content in it.
 
Personally I'd like to keep the podcast SC related for now but maybe we will have a segment about other space sims and games.
 

Only slightly more crash-y than last time we tried the wargame we did last week, again. This time with switched roles.
And some more pictures were taken and of course there had to be some trolling 
 
Unfortunately while streaming my sound driver decided to go south and after 20 minutes I was missing the audio from discord. I'm already rendering the local recording and will upload it but for the time being you can listen to my soothing voice, without much distractions Now with more audio than before:
 
 
 
 
And since we had some people recording I'll try to collect them and have a cut version of the wargame following later next week.
 
Update: I totally forgot to upload the pictures 
 

@Slick when are you joining us for some fun?

Alpha Patch 2.3.0b
Updates and Fixes
Star Systems:
Made some additional tweaks to the Revel & York Hangar lighting. Fixed an issue where the Starfarer Tanker was not showing up in a players hangar if they had a Starfarer Gemini on their account. We are still looking into issues with the Starfarer Gemini owners not seeing a loaner Starfarer Tanker in their hangar
Fixed an issue where damaged ship weapons could not be repaired. Fixed an issue where certain metal crates in Covalex had “replace me” textures. Fixed an issue where the pirates were spawning en-masse in Yela. Ships:
Fixed an issue where the boost gauge for the Khartu-al was not replenishing after use. Fixed an issue where the Khartu-al radar globe not showing up correctly. Fixed an issue where the countermeasures of the Xian Scout were not working. Fixed an issue where some of the interior walls of the Starfarer were missing collision. Fixed an issue where some of the railing of the Starfarer was clipping into the wall. Fixed an issue where a decal on the Starfarer was positioned incorrectly. First Person:
Tweaked the recoil of the Devastator shotgun and Arrowhead sniper rifle.
 
Im sorry @Krml if I ruined your formatting technique

Alpha Patch 2.3.0c
 
Star Systems:
The Covalex PI mission now rewards the Devestator-12 Shotgun. The assault rifle previously available at the end of the PI mission is now available on Kareah, alongside the P4-AR. The Arrowhead sniper rifle is now available as the reward for killing a Level 5 Wanted Criminal. Made some additional tweaks to the lighting in the Aeroview and Revel & York hangars. Ships:
Fixed an issue where moving into the escape pod of the Starfarer would result in the player camera shifting outside of the hangar. Fixed an issue in the Cutlass Black where you could not see a list of weapons when sitting in the co-pilot seat. We made some additional balance tweaks to missiles. Made some additional tweaks to how the Khartu-al handles in flight. First Person:
Fixed an issue where users could not pick up a weapon if your character already had one of the same type equipped. User Interface:
Fixed an issue where adjusting a keybinding would result in the keybinding options UI remaining stuck on screen, and the menu could not be re-opened until the game was restarted. Technical:
Fixed a crash that would occur when sitting in the 350r pilot seat.

Star Citizen Patch v2.3.0
Alpha Patch 2.3.0 has been released to the PTU, and is now available for players to test! This patch provides access to our new flyable Khartu-al, the hangar-ready Starfarer (and a corresponding hangar bay it can fit in), as well as two new FPS weapons, new components, updates to FPS animations and EVA, as well as numerous fixes across the game. During this initial testing phase, PTU access will be restricted to a small group of players that we will expand on over time as required.
Your launcher should should show “2.3.0 – 334301” as the client version. It is strongly recommended that players delete their USER folder for the Test client after patching, particularly if you start encountering any odd character graphical issues or crash on loading. The USER folder can be found (in default installations) at C:\Program Files\Cloud Imperium Games\StarCitizen\Test.
Please review our current list of Patch 2.3.0 Known Issues, and take full advantage of our Issue Council area of the Community site to report any bugs you encounter, as well as contribute to other players submissions.
Important Callouts:
Arena Commander will be disabled for this first testing phase, as we want very much to test Crusader performance. PTU players in this initial test will have access to the Khartu-al in AC and Crusader, and the Starfarer (if you have the Revel & York hangar on your account). The Cry-Astro Repair Station landing pads will break if a pilot takes off during the repair sequence. Certain AI in Crusader are experiencing some difficulty flying. There is a known issue where users with the Starfarer Gemini will not see the Starfarer Tanker in the Revel and York hangar. We should have this fixed soon! The ambient audio from Dumpers Depot broadcasts through all of ArcCorp. New Features
Star Systems:
The Revel & York Hangar has a new extra-large hangar bay attached to its left outer hangar bay. The hangar bay does not appear on the Hangar Management on the website. Instead, if you have a Starfarer on your account and the Revel & York hangar configured as your active hangar, it will auto-load the extra-large hangar and add the Starfarer. We have added additional Security AI around Port Olisar, that will attack any players that have a wanted level. Ships:
The Starfarer Base is now Hangar-ready! This ship can be viewed only in the Revel & York Hangar, via its new extra-large hangar bay. If you have a Starfarer on your account, you will only need to activate the Revel & York hangar on the website and then load into it in-game. The Khartu-al is now flight-ready! Component Update We have continued our large update to our existing Ship component system. This is largely at a back-end level – implementing a new component class system, naming conventions and other needed functionality, as well as retrofitting all existing ships to be compatible. These changes will allow us to implement a greater range of modular internal ship components. Additionally, this allows components to interact with one another in a more direct and less “handwavium” simulation of a ships internal systems, setting the foundation for greater player interaction and future game play mechanics.
We have a new component class – Power Plants – have been added to the Holotable. Power Plants (as you expect) power the systems of the ship. All ships have been retrofitted with generic power plants to provide the same level of “power” they possessed before. We have added 2 Power Plants, the AEGIS Regulus and Amon & Reese OverDrive These can be mounted on all variants of the following ships: Avenge, Aurora, Mustang, 300 Series, Hornet, Gladiator, Gladius, M50, P-52 Merlin First Person:
We have added two new FPS weapons to Crusader! One is the Arrowhead Sniper Rifle. The other is the Devastator-12 Shotgun. Both can be found in groups of three, as random finds in the Yela Asteroid field. Animations We have made a number of changes and improvements to character animations!* These include improvements to starts, stops and steps transitions. Added animations for cover “high right” blind fire. Update both “high right” peek from cover, and “high right” step out animations. Adjusted animations for sprinting while holding a stocked gun. Adjusted the animations for leaning out of cover, as characters were sticking out much too far. Adjusted the sprint animation for both unarmed and carrying a pistol. Added lean in and out of cover for blindfire animations. Adjusted the aim-down-sights animations while in EVA, so it is no longer slower than when aiming-down-sights on foot. Fixed issue where the audio of players footsteps and other movement sound FX is very very quiet to other clients. Fixed an issue where looking up while running forward would cause the character neck to contort unnaturally. Fixed an issue where weapons could be “lowered” while prone, causing odd animation errors.   Updates and Fixes
Star Systems:
ArcCorp A lighting update around Area 18 has begun! Fixed an issue where some of the weapons in Cubby Blast were missing textures. Fixed an issue where a creepy shadow lurked around the incinerator in ArcCorp. Fixed an issue where the small monitors in Jobwell, Area 18 were missing detail levels. Fixed an issue where the damaged Hornets wing in Dumpers Depot was missing a prop item. Fixed some texture conflicts in around Dumpers Depot. Fixed an issue where some of the ashtray and canister props throughout ArcCorp were missing detail levels. Fixed an issue where some of the table and chairs in G~Loc were out of position. Crusader Fixed an issue where the player could become physically desynced, causing one user to be stuck on the floor of the other users screen. Fixed an issue where the Pirates for several of the research missions would destroy the objective before the player could reach it. Fixed an issue where some of the Pirates from the third research mission would not attack the player until fired upon. Fixed an issue where the landing pad lights in Kareah contained some glitches. Fixed an issue where the Covalex shipping hub textures and objects would stream in slowly. Fixed an issue where the audio trigger for entering a “monitored zone” was playing when a character spawned at Port Olisar. Fixed an issue where the ceiling in EZ Hab, Port Olisar, could be clipped through. Hangar Finished the relight pass of the VFG Industrial and Aeroview Hangar. Fixed a small collision issue with the VFG Industrial crates. Fixed an issue with the “Parking Zone” decals in the Aeroview hangar disappearing at certain angles. Million Mile High Club Fixed an issue where the MMHC Wall Decal was inside of the nearby fishtank. Game Systems:
Arena Commander Fixed an issue where the tutorial hangar doors made no noise when they opened or closed. Fixed an issue in the Tutorial, where Gilly’s dialog subtitles would cut off or display debug text. Fixed an issue where the Drone Sim, Vanduul Swarm timer will continue ticking even if paused. Fixed an issue where large props like the terraformer in Arena Commander would become detached or divide into pieces after having been bumped. EVA Fixed an issue where positional movement of the character model can become highly erratic or uncontrollable when transitioning from Gravity to Zero-G. Fixed an issue where the user camera would become delayed or lagged when boosting in EVA. Fixed an issue where characters could sometimes lose collision after trying to EVA into a ship with interior physics grid. Fixed an issue EVA thruster audio was not affected by the audio sliders in the options menu. Fixed some issues where EVAing on to Port Olisar would cause weird character behavior. Fixed an issue where entering a ship via a use prompt (Aurora, 300, Mustang) would cause EVA to behave very erratically. Fixed an issue where entering the back of a ship via EVA will sometimes leave the character sprawled on the floor. Fixed an issue where clients could get into a desynced state after EVAing. IFCS Added a audio cue for selecting different IFCS modes. Fixed an issue where Comstab and Cruise mode could not be enabled at the same time. Quantum Travel Fixed an issue where the pilot of a ship could eject from their ship while in Quantum Travel. Fixed an issue where the Quantum Travel markers will flicker, if the distance will use 20 or more fuel. Social Systems Fixed an issue where left-clicking while the mobiGlas was enabled would break the character and draw out the user camera. Fixed a bug that caused AR mode to show the name labels of dead characters. Fixed an issue where multiple player handles would appear on Crusader instances, instead of the UI listing “Multiple Contacts”. Added audio cues to the chat interface, including for chat messages sent and received. Fixed an issue where users could not access Contracts or Party system on the main game menu. Ships: Made some additional changes and improvements to Turret deadzone and speed movement. Fixed an issue where pilots of a Gladius and Hornet who are killed while entering the cockpit would result in them respawning inside the cockpit. Fixed an issue where depth of field and field of view effects would persist if the user ejected from their ship while zoomed in. Fixed an issue where missiles were acting erratically in their pathing after having been fired. 300 (All) Fixed an issue where the 300 series of ships were missing parts of the ship where the wings met the body. 315p Fixed an issue where the engine housing of the 315p was missing geometry, allowing players to see through the ship. 350r Fixed an issue where the exit audio on the 350r wasn’t relative to the actual position of the listener. Fixed an issue with the 350r where it was missing panels between the back landing legs. Aurora (All) Fixed an issue where the Aurora had a seem running down the middle of the bed. Fixed an issue where the pilot legs would clip through the seat of the Aurora. Fixed an issue where the Aurora had mirrored textures inside of the cockpit. Constellation (All) Fixed an issue where the arm chair controls panels in the Constellations had odd white texture panels instead of screens. Constellation Andromeda Fixed an issue where the ejection covers on the Constellation Andromeda were missing detail levels. Moved the radar sphere on the Constellation Andromeda to be less obtrusive in the overall ship HUD. Constellation Phoenix Fixed a texture issue with the dorsal turret windshield tint on the Constellation Phoenix. Constellation Taurus Fixed an issue where the Constellation Taurus had some very dark objects around the turret and and bridge area. Fixed an issue where the floor underneath the turret seats of the Constellation Taurus had visible seams. Fixed an issue with texture conflicts around the cockpit of the Constellation Taurus. Fixed an issue where the Constellation Taurus had some very dark objects around the turret and and bridge area. Cutlass Black Fixed an issue where the Cutlass Black mechanical-engine audio was extremely loud and at close proximity to the player. Fixed an issue where exiting the pilot chair of a Cutlass Black would cause the characters head to twist around. Fixed an issue where the Cutlass Black had texture conflicts on and around its hazard markings. Cutlass Red Fixed an issue where the Cutlass Red was a missing button on the wing of the ship. Freelancer Fixed an issue where the missiles of the Freelancer were missing detail levels. Fixed an issue where the Freelancer could not be selected on the ship Holotable. Gladius Fixed some missing textures on the maneuvering thrusters for the Gladius. Fixed an issue where the Gladius was missing portions of its flight HUD. Hornet (all) Fixed an issue where pilots who left the cockpit of their Hornet while in Zero-G could find their ship zipping off into space. M50 Interceptor Fixed an issue where the M50 interceptor had a backfire-like noise when using the boost. Fixed an issue where the M50 Interceptor landing gear and cockpit ladder would disappear at certain distances and angles. Mustang (all) Fixed an issue where there was a mirrored decal on the ring wing of the Mustang (all) causing text to display backwards. Mustang Alpha Fixed some texture conflicts in the Mustang Alpha cargo hold. Mustang Beta Fixed some overly reflective textures present on the sink, toilet and door of the Mustang Beta. Mustang Gamma Fixed some texture conflicts on the starboard side of the Mustang Gamma. Retaliator Fixed an issue where the engineering station of the Retaliator was not displaying power readouts. Sabre Fixed an issue where the Sabre flight HUD and the Quantum Travel HUD were not centered. Fixed an issue where the Sabre was missing geometry on its starboard landing bay. Fixed an issue where the Sabre was missing some detail levels. Vanduul (All) Fixed an issue where the large wing guns were missing firing animations on the Vanduul Glaive and Scythe. Vanguard Warden Fixed an issue where characters could exit the Vanguard Warden by running into the cockpit of the ship and jumping up. First Person:
Fixed an issue where the LH-86 pistol would float in mid-air if a character is killed while holding it. User Interface:
The Contacts Menu UI has received a readability pass. Added a ship HUD item to display “Time to Cruise Max speed”. Fixed an issue where the space brake keybind would not prevent the ship from strafing. Technical:
Made several backend improvements to how bass audio is managed. Fixed a number of client crashes. Fixed a number of server crashes.

Yah, I think its been, what... Over 3 months? Since my last meet up?. I dunno. Soon though

Many people keep asking me lately what sticks I use for Star Citizen and what they should buy. Conversations on the subject start here, as well as on the UOLTT Discord server and the RSI forum and eventually get drowned in the flood. So I decided to compact all I can think of regarding the sticks I know into a more comprehensive format for anyone interested to browse through.
 
 
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Have in mind that by no means am I claiming to be any kind of authority on the matter, nor do I count my opinions to be the end-all of any discussion. I am just someone who has had the chance to muck about with many of the sticks and HOTAS systems that are currently on the market and have kept my ear to the ground over the years, because I am interested in new developments and about how things work in general. Below, I may express strong opinions regarding certain brands and certain technologies so please have in mind that these are still my own opinions - be sure to take them with a grain of salt. What I like or dislike may turn out to be the complete opposite of your own tastes.
 
 
 
Now with all that out of the way, let me start with the basics. And a lot of basics they are going to be... sorry.
 
When you go buy a gaming joystick, you will see them being sold either as standalone sticks or as part of a HOTAS package. HOTAS is originally a military acronym, that describes a flight control system, used primarily in applications that expect intense combat and maximum concentration, therefore arranged in such a way that the pilot needs to spend as little time as possible with their hands off their craft's main controls or thinking about them at all. Hence the acronym - Hands On Throttle-And-Stick. Since this article will deal mainly with flight sim controls in the context of Star Citizen, I will not spend much time talking about throttles. Not because they are not important, but because, unlike in a atmospheric military jet, they are less important in SC's particular control scheme. And I will try to explain why.
 
In atmospheric flight, as experienced by flying modern day airplanes, there are three primary axes of movement that a pilot has to concern themselves with, namely - pitch yaw and roll.

 
Due to the limitations imposed by aerodynamics, in a classic airplane control scheme, maneuvering is mainly achieved by propelling yourself forward and then using devices, called ailerons to change the aerodynamic shape of the craft and changing its orientation around its  main axes. Pitch and roll are the two axes that a pilot would use most in order to control the plane's heading, with yaw being used more sparingly. Pilots would pitch up and down in order to move vertically - gain or decrease altitude: 
 

 
...and they would roll to one side and pitch up in order to execute turns:
 

 
 
Being the easiest way to control a plane in an atmosphere, pitch and roll are controlled with the plane's main controller, be that a yoke for larger craft or a stick for lighter and more nimble ones. While the third axis - yaw, is usually relegated to foot pedals and used more sparingly for small corrections in heading.
 
Airplanes obviously use one additional axis, called the surge axis, to change direction forward, by using their main engines. They use only half of the surge axis, as they are unable to go backwards for obvious reasons, as their main means of propulsion only work in one direction and even if they wanted to go backwards without changing their attitude, they would have to come to a stop first, at which point they would just fall like a rock.  Anyway, a plane's speed of movement along the surge axis is controlled by the throttle lever. 
 
In contrast - helicopters, although much slower, can move along all six available axis - surge (forward/back), heave (up/down), sway (left/right), as well as pitch, yaw and roll. The limitation of helicopters in this regard is that with their propellers placed on top, providing downward thrust, most of them can not make a full revolution around their pitch and roll axes, and those that can, can do it for only seconds at a time, as staying with their propeller pointing at the ground any longer would not be the brightest idea at the best of times.  
 
 
When we go into space, however, things get a bit more complicated. There is no air and therefore no aerodynamics. Our ailerons would be useless, as would be rotary propellers -  there will be no atmosphere for them to get traction on. In order to change our heading and orientation without an atmosphere, we have literally push our craft away from itself  in different directions, on its own power. We can achieve that by expelling some sort of mass, be it rocket exhaust, plasma, or even cold gas at high enough speeds so that it can push us away from the point of thrust. As in airplanes, we would have big main thrusters that would propel us on our main heading, but unlike planes, we would need to stud our craft with smaller thrusters to control the craft's attitude and make it maneuver.
 
The upside to all this is that, without an atmosphere getting in the way or a gravity constantly pulling us in one direction, depending on the placement and strength of its maneuvering thrusters, a spacecraft can potentially utilize all six available axes with equal ease. Most space sim games play pretty loosely with this concept and don't bother themselves with pesky physics realism, where your main thruster will still be thousands of times more powerful than your maneuvering thrusters so changes in heading will be a really ponderouos affair indeed. SC is certainly not among the guiltiest of the guilty in this regard but it is still up there.  Still, if you have played any of the few really "realistic" space flight simulators out there, you will agree that they are not for the short-tempered and not really the regular flight junkie's cup of tea.
 
I would place SC in the "close enough" category and leave it there. And if you happen to disagree, remember - my personal opinion, not a statement of fact!
 
Anyway, again in my own personal opinion, the greater freedom of movement along all six axes (6DoF), provided by the "close enough" space sims necessitates a control scheme different than those used in atmospheric flight. I personally have found that I feel most comfortable controlling ships in SC with two joysticks, instead of a stick and throttle. That is not to say that other people have not found many other methods comfortable as well - such as plain old mouse and keyboard, stick and keyboard, stick and mouse (HOMAS/HOJAM), and even two mice, lol! HOTAS is still usable, especially with the more expensive sets that have enough thumb hats on the throttle to use for strafing.
 
For the purposes of this article, however, I will be sticking (ha! get it? im so funny!) to what I know best - and that is sticks (no pun intended this time, you pervert!).
 
When you are shopping for a stick, there is a number of things that you better be aware of before you make your choice. I will do my best to outline them here, but whether you ultimately like how a stick handles or not is entirely up to personal preference. If you have a chance to try it before you buy it, I strongly suggest you do so. If you have a friend who has it, ask them to loan it to you for a week. If you find a retailer with a really good returns policy, be shameless and order a few of them to compare, pick the one you like most and return the rest!
 
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I would like to go into some of the features that differ vastly between sticks and greatly affect performance and feel. 
 
Sensors:
The sensors of a stick are the means by which it senses movement along its axes. Several unpopular types have been tried along the years, such as light sensors, working on the same principle as optical mice, but today, two main types of stick sensors have emerged as dominant and pretty much unchallenged, used in virtually all sticks currently on the market - these are potentiometers and magnetic (hall effect) sensors.
 
 - Potentiometers are the most common type of movement sensor and have been around since the dawn of electronics. For detailed information on how they work you can refer to the quite comprehensive Wikipedia article here. They can be seen in joysticks throughout the history of gaming as well, from the old Atari days until today. They do the job well and if they are of really good quality, they can last for years. The problem with potentiometers, however is that all of them, even the best ones, eventually degrade. Think of the volume rocker on your grandma's old radio and how it fluctuates while you turn it. That is a potentiometer that has degraded from use... now imagine that this same pot in this same state was what you are using to sense the movement of your joystick, instead of the volume of your grandma's radio. Yeah... not fun.  That said, there are sticks out there, such as the CH stick lineup, that use extremely robust, industrial-grade potentiometers that can last decades of heavy use. If, however, you are faced with a cheap potentiometer stick, have in mind that it will probably degrade within 2-3 years on the outside, with some of the cheaper Saitek ones or the Chinese brands lasting mere months!
 
 - Hall sensors, unlike potentiometers, use magnetism, instead of friction, to sense changes in their orientation. More information on the way they work can be found here. Suffice it to say that frictionless sensors last longer and have much greater accuracy at all times. I am no electrical engineer, but I can't imagine a way they can actually degrade from use. They would probably stop working when their materials start crumbling. Fewer sticks use Hall Sensors and most of them are expensive. The higher-end Saitek HOTAS systems, such as X-55/65, the Russian VKB lineup, as well as Thrustmaster's t.16000m and their flagship product the Warthog.
 
 
Springs and centering:
Even if you have the best sensors, however, your stick can still be inaccurate and hard to aim in a pinch. Every brand has their own spring and centering solutions and a lot of their R&D money are poured into this deceptively simple branch of development. Potentiometers and Hall sensors you buy from third party manufacturers, but centering solutions you have to develop by yourself.
 
Again there are two main types of spring centering, variations of which are used by pretty much everyone. Single compression spring centering and dual tension spring centering.
 
 - The idea behind single spring centering is for a spring to be compressed by moving the controller, providing uniform feel of circular movement. To be honest, I can not find any major faults with single spring centering, as implemented by Thrustmaster, so I have no idea why everyone isn't copying them shamelessly. I'm guessing patent issues.  In their most popular products Thrustmaster use a plate at the bottom of the stick that compresses a large spring under it. And this really seems to be the best way to do it, to achieve the smoothest movement experience.
 
Thrustmaster Warthog spring: 

Thrustmaster Warthog spring
 
 - The Saitek approach to single spring centering is a bit different. They use a compression spring on top of a cone that goes into a depression on the base of the stick. I have tried many Saitek sticks that use this method, even their most expensive ones, and I can't say I am really impressed. In every case, no matter what lubrication you try to use, the contact of the cone with the base is never completely uniform. There are always lurches and nudges, preventing perfect accuracy. That is not to say that their high end sticks are not accurate, just that they are less accurate than even something as cheap as Thrustmaster's budget hall sensor/center spring offering - the t.16000m.
 

Saitek spring-in-cone
 
 
 - The other common centering solution is the dual tension springs. Where a separate spring is used for each of the stick's main axes. This method has an innate problem with four small "bumps" at the four corner positions where one of the springs is fully extended, while the other is fully compressed. The resulting deadzones can vary in severity, depending on the stick's build quality. For example CH sticks use dual springs, yet the bumps are just barely noticeable, while theyare a bit more pronounced in the VKB Kobra M5. 
 

CH Fighterstick with dual springs
 
 
2018 Update:   A lot has happened on the flight peripherals market since this guide was first written. And especially good things in the area of stick centering. Two companies - the Russian VKB and the Belorussian VirPil took the above idea of dual spring centering and pumped it full of delicious, industrial steel steroids! The basic idea behind this gimbal centering method is not putting the springs directly on the gimbal, like in the above method, but introducing two very smooth, very strong and very accurately shaped steel plates, called cams that move on rollers and are being centered by the tension springs, giving the movement of the stick a buttery smooth and uniform feel with a gradually increasing tension from the center to the edges. Both companies sell their new lines of modular products for ungodly amounts of money, but I would say it's wortth it, if you're looking for a piece of kit that would last for decades and provide the same smooth accuracy all throughout its life. Both companies offer separate modular stick bases and grips, bundled with different sets of cams and springs so you can adjust the tension and center hardness to your liking.
 
Here is a video of the basic idea behind this type of centering, shown with the VKB Gladiator Pro:
 
 
 
Switches: 
 
There is not much to say about joystick button switches, really. Everything you know about mouse and keyboard switches applies here too. There are good ones, that are expensive and crap ones that are cheap. The good ones provide a satisfactory clickety-click and will last for ages, while the crap ones will start occasionally missing to make contact when you press them and eventually stop working altogether. The good news is that they are easily replaced in most sticks so any local tinker shop can change them for you, even if your stick's warranty has expired. Even my personal favorite t.16000m has crap switches. I have had to replaced a trigger switch on my first one and then they just gave me an entire new unit when the top hat switch died as well.
 
Handle ergonomics and button placement: 
 
The handle is a matter of preference, perhaps more than anything else. Some sticks, such as the Saitek F.L.Y lineup are very adjustable, you can change the length and tilt of the handle, the position of the head and so forth... unfortunately that, and some pretty decent button placement are these horrible sticks' only redeeming qualities.  Another example of a stick with adjustable ergonomics is the t.16000m (yes, I can't shut up about it, yes I know...) - it is ambidextrous, and has a thumb rest that can be put on either side for both left and right hand use. The button placement on it is hardly ideal, but I will go into detail about the virtues and failings of many individual models in part 2 of this wall of text.  
 
 
 
And thus endeth part 1. In part two I will compare the sticks that I have tried and try to be as objective as possible in examining their pros and cons. With apologies for the incoherent novelette so far - To be continued...
 
 
================NOTABLE BRANDS================
 
Thrustmaster
Contrary to what your mom would probably imagine when hearing about a company that develops big black phallic objects, branded THRUSTMASTER, they are actually one of the primary developers of quality niche gaming peripherals, for racing and general gaming, as well as flight simulation equipment, such as rudder pedals, yokes, throttles, joysticks and HOTAS systems. Established in 1990, they have grown considerably and have had their ups and downs in terms of quality.
 
Their first collaboration with the US Air-Force, geared towards consumers - to develop a full replica of the F-16 Fighter controller system, resulted in the HOTAS Cougar. While pretty expensive, this device failed to capture wide market attention due to a slew of problems, primarily with wobbly centering and really low quality potentiometers.  With the latest additions to their flight peripherals lineup, however, - the budget T.16000m and HOTAS X, as well as the enthusiast HOTAS Warthog, have managed to win back the market's confidence and are currently regarded as some of the best pieces of equipment available in their respective price brackets.
 
Saitek
Established in the distant 1979, Saitek has gone through many transformations and developed many odd things, but they are probably best known for their Flight and racing peripherals, and more recently - their mice and keyboards of the Cyborg lineup. Associated with reasonable quality at reasonable prices, Saitek was a big driving force for innovation in the industry throughout the late nineties and early 2000s. However, after their acquisition by the company MadCatz in 2007, they have received heavy criticism for lowering their quality standards (even for new batches of old products), as well as poor customer support.
 
Saitek was also chosen to be the designer and developer of the upcoming StarCitizen HOTAS controller, which, judging by the initial concept designs, is to be based on their X-65 HOTAS design.
 
2018 Update:  And in the world of business things have progressed as well. A little after this guide was written later in 2016, for better or worse, Logitech publicly announced that they have purchased the Saitek Brand, along with all patents and product lines from their previous owner MadCatz. In the following two years, not much has happened. Logitech continue to sell Saitek's old products under the Logitech brand name, but nothing new has been shown so far. here's hoping. On the bright side, users are reporting that the customer service has improved greatly since the acquisition.
 
CH Products
CH products is the Gaming peripherals arm of the APEM Group - a leading developer and manufacturer of switching, motion sensing and controller equipment for industrial applications. Their CH Products subsidiary develops exclusively flight simulation controller equipment. Although firmly sticking to conservative technologies and known for their lack of product diversity and severe lack of attention to visual design (;)), CH are also renowned for their uncompromising build quality and constant aim towards functional perfection. Most people who own CH equipment will pretty much tell you the same thing - "It may look like crap but it works so well I never even bother looking at it."
 
Microsoft
Well you know Microsoft. They've made everything at one point or another, including Gaming peripherals, under the Microsoft Sidewinder brand.
 
In terms of Joysticks they have had good and bad. The good, stemming from their implementation of an innovative light sensing system with the Sidewinder Precission Pro, which is pretty accurate, although it never got much traction. On the other hand, their unrelenting obsession with trying to push Force Feedback technology on every later model, even though the market clearly didn't really love the idea after the first few failed attempts, has given Microsoft sticks as a whole a bad reputation, which is a bit unfair, because they still do have a few of the classic quality devices in this niche.
 
Logitech
 
A large manufacturer of consumer and gaming peripherals, logitech have been on the flight controller market for quite some time as well. Their more recent developments have received mixed reviews, with their G95 HOTAS system being criticized for poor build quality and lack of accuracy. However, they have also developed one of the staple budget sticks currently on the market - With its low price, good ergonomics and above average sustainable accuracy, the Logitech 3D Pro has won its acclaim as one of the most widely spread joysticks among entry level users.
 
VKB
VKB is a Russian company, developer of a relatively narrow range of flight simulation peripherals. They make rudder pedals, throttles and several joystick models. Their sticks are faithful visual replicas of the Sukhoi SU-34 jet fighter controller and vary greatly in price, functionality and build quality.  Their most popular is their budget offering - the Cobra M5, with its relatively low price, fully magnetic sensors and good quality switches, it has become the favorite of a small but growing fan base. 
 
The problem with VKB equipment is that it is very hard to obtain outside of Russia. They sell worldwide only from their European online store and that has most of their products "out of stock" most of the time. But they do restock it every once or twice a year, so the trick is to catch them when they do.
 
2018 Update: Since this guide was originally put together, VKB have stepped up their game immensely and having used their new product for about a year now as my main right-hand stick, I have to say that they now develop the best, most accurate and most durable flight simulation equipment on the market, with their only real competitor in these areas being the Belorussian company VirPil. The prices of both are not for the faint of heart, but they are all now much easier to actually obtain from their online stores that now thoroughly cover Europe and North+South America. Both manufacturers are still niche, expensive and stock availability is a bit spotty at times, but in terms of quality, all other brands are pretty much left in the dust, hands down.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yes, they are perfect for WOW, I agree. 

So, you guys liking your new Sabre? How's it fly? And the Xi'an scout is hangar ready, does it look nice? From what I have seen in concept art it looks a bit strange, but then again, it is an alien ship.
 
A little side note, I can probably make it to this weeks meet up. bout time, right?

Another Saturday, another meetup.
 
This time we actually tried one of the suggested war games and had a blast until the server decided to boot us of. After that we tried to get another group shot which failed horribly due to other players. Setting up the missile testing was equally interesting and revealing. Some stupidity and crashes later most of us have left and we did some more testing with the available ships (read Sabre) in Vanduul Swarm.
 
As Always the whole thing was streamed to our YouTube Channel (this time without a piece of window hanging in the frame)
 
 
Time table thanks to @colt92
 

For me, the best part about yesterday was the fact that we got twelve people (if I remember correctly) in the same instance without many issues, when the parties are limited to eight people. I feared that we wouldn't be able to try moderately complicated scenarios until futher down the development path due to the party limit, but I'm glad to know (and very excited!) that we'll be able to play out almost any scenario we can think of
 
--------------------------------
I made some rough timestamps and highlights, mostly about the wargame scenario. Use and modify them as you wish. Or don't
 
0:00:30 Yes, Napper, we are live.
0:02:02 In the Universe!
0:03:12 Corwin explains the wargame scenario and additional rules are set.
0:12:20 Deploying Corwin on the asteroid/rescue point.
0:19:35 What kind of meetup would this be without a few accidents?
0:24:20 Teams are split.
0:24:45 Napper's Team (attackers) leaves Port Olisar.
0:25:52 Missing quantum jumps is quite dangerous.
0:26:50 Napper decides to ambush Dusk's Team on Cry-Astro 262.
0:27:47 This game's space battles are beautiful, I tell you.
0:29:20 Rentaspoon (defenders) is downed.
0:30:10 The Yela Conflict.
0:32:10 Napper sets his team's strategy guidelines for the rest of the scenario.
0:34:55 The defenders are doing some weird stuff. And where the hell did Dusk go?
0:36:30 We borked the game D:
0:37:00 Scenario debriefing and some additional thoughts. Planning on what to do next.
1:04:40 Preparing for the missile clusterfuck.
1:05:35 If you have the same binding for missiles and press-to-talk, you're gonna have a bad time.
1:05:40 Ah, f**k it. Open fire!
1:06:00 Damn, this Connies sure are sturdy. Light him up!
1:16:00 Just dicking around some more.
1:19:45 Spoons happy pills are starting to take a toll on him.
1:20:30 On brake with some music from Napper's slave.
1:24:05 With most people gone, light conversation settles in.
1:25:35 Napper likes to relax by looking at his plant and talking shop.
1:33:00 A tour around Napper's ships.
2:01:47 Vanduul Swarm with Sabres.

Star Citizen Alpha Patch 2.2.1 has been released onto the PTU for select testers, the patch notes are as follows:
 
Important Issues:
Using the Holotable in the Revel & York hangar will cause the game client to become unresponsive.
EVA’ing back into a ship with interior physics still has rare issues such as permanent ragdoll and death.
 
- Continued to make changes to EVA animations to smooth out some of the transitions.
 
Ships:
 
- Fixed an issue where some hardpoints for the 300 series ships in the Holotable were inaccessible.
- Fixed an issue with the Holotable where swapping coolers on any of the 300 series ships was extremely difficult.
- Fixed a lighting issue where the doors on the 300 series would show up greyish in color.
- Fixed an issue with central HUD element not displaying correctly in the 300 series.
 
Technical:
 
- Fixed multiple client crashes.
- Fixed multiple server crashes.
 
 
 
Edit: @Krml Haha, I beat you to it this time  

Star Citizen Name: Dulphin
Star Citizen Handle: Dulphin
LinusTechTips Name: Ivarh
Preferred Squadron:  Odin’s Wrath 
Ships: Aegis Retaliator
Intended Role in the Navy
Scout [x]
Escort [x]
Bomber [x]
Dogfighter [x]
Electronic Warfare [x]
Gunner [x]
Co-Pilot [x]
Crew Member [x]
Marine [x]
Special Operations [x]
 

thank You @Napper198
Very nice of You to fund this.