Please accept my apologies if I have posted this in the wrong part of the forums.
I have recently bought an Xbox Series X to play Flight Simulator on. I am enjoying it immensely but finding it difficult to control the aircraft with the Xbox controller.
I would like to buy either a yoke or joystick. Unfortunately I have to play in the living room and we have too dogs so wired peripherals will be difficult. I wondered if there were any wireless yokes/ joysticks available or being developed for the Xbox? If there arenât I will just have to try and figure out a dog proof setup!
Unfortunately no. The only wireless peripherals on Xbox Series X are Keyboard and Mouse combos that use a wireless dongle. All of the HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) and yokes must be plugged in via USB cable. You could get extension usb cables and run them under a rug or cable snake, but may still be cumbersome for the dogs and living space. And anything over 15â may not power the peripheral. Also when you get into HOTAS and yokes they need a firm mount. Youâd need a table for a yoke or a sturdy lap board for a HOTAS.
Hereâs a photo of how I first started on Xbox in my living room. Missing is the Logitech MK360 mouse and keyboard combo. I soon realized how badly I needed a keyboard for quality of life. A small 4â foldable table did wonders for years, now I have a more permanent setup in our office / spare bedroom. Unfortunately flight sim is one of those hobbies that just grows out of necessity. Currently Iâm unhappy with what MS/Asobo have done with our graphics and quality on Series X and Iâm moving to PC as soon as I can.
Thank you for the reply. While it wasnât exactly what I wanted to hear thatâs all really useful information and advice.
Thank you for the picture of your Xbox set up, it definitely gives me inspiration and an idea of what might be possible in my current situation.
I am already beginning to realise what you say about flight simulator growing is true and Iâve only managed one full circuit so far!
Would you have any recommendations for the best joysticks/ yokes for the Xbox please? My partner is going to buy me a Yoke for my birthday in November but I was thinking of getting a joystick in the meantime.
Iâm also curious about what you said about the graphics on the Xbox. Have they recently downgraded the Xbox graphics and do you think it will be rectified in FS2024? The last time I tried a flight simulator was FS2004 so I am completely blown away with the current graphics!
Currently there arenât many options for peripherals on Xbox. The Xbox ecosystem doesnât allow for a lot of manufacturers to license their product for âXbox compatibilityâ.
HoneyComb Aeronautics makes their Alpha yoke and Bravo Throttle quadrant. Itâs a great piece of kit but the company has had some troubles of late. You can search the forums to read that thread.
The only other options Iâm aware of as a yoke on Xbox is the Turtle Beach Velocity One and the Thrustmaster Boeing Yoke. I personally love my TB V1 yoke and rudders. The rudders are much better quality than the yoke, but they are fantastic for GA, Light jets and airliners. The yoke just has a plasticy flimsy feel to it compared to the HoneyComb. There are some mods people have mentioned in the Velocity One thread that do help. I do love my rudders however, they are very smooth and have nice brake functionality. I also like the vernier throttles/controls (push/pull) on the TBV1 as the honeycomb doesnât have those.
Same goes for HOTASâ they are limited. There is one from Turtle Beach and two different options from thrustmaster. The Airbus side stick and the HOTAS one x. I have gone through many of the HOTAS One Xâs. They get drift and start to flicker movements overtime. Unfortunately there arenât any quality/high end sticks currently available for Xbox. Iâm a helisimmer and Iâd love Turtle Beach to make a collective. Hence another reason to move to PC for me. Better peripherals (like Virpil / Gladiater VKB / Higher end Thrusmaster Warthog.) and more options for tinkering.
Here are some links to get you looking in the right direction. You can Have a read below and to the thread linked for the description of Graphics and quality on Xbox after SU15. Iâd hate to taint your otherwise positive thread.
Wow. Thank you for the super detailed reply @ElasticSack182. All the links and your opinion on the various peripherals will be really useful and help me to make a more informed decision. You have helped me to understand what is and isnât possible and the tips for a living room set up are really helpful.
I was aware that Xbox did have limitations compared to a PC but it was the easiest way for me to get in to Flight Simulation and I already wanted the Xbox Series X. I am aware I may need to move onto PC one day but wanted to make sure I enjoyed virtual flight enough before making a bigger financial commitment.
Thank you also for the link on the Xbox graphics problems. I will check that out too.
Hi⊠sorry for doing it this way. I wanted to post a topic, but I really do not figure out how. However, after seeing your picture of Hotas one, I thought to reply to your post. I have got a problem with the joystick control. When calibrating, as soon as I move the joystick (even with the smallest movement), the dot starts moving. However, when in the game, when moving slightly the joystick, the yoke does not move at all (nor for banking, nor for pitching up/down). I really need to move it quite a lot to the left/right/up/down before it starts doing so. This causes when flying loss of control of the airplane. What is wrong? The joystick is not broken, given immediate movement of the dot when calibrating.Thanks for your help!
Hi! Welcome to the forums! You probably cannot create a topic as your trust level is still new member.
Iâm a little unsure of what youâre describing. Is the HOTAS joystick still controlling the aircraft, just not moving the yoke in the sim aircraft? Some peripherals donât have a 1:1 ratio with the sims control appearance. Even using my yoke it doesnât exactly match the yoke on the screen, especially when turning / aileron roll, the yoke on the screen will not quite match my physical yoke, but I am still able to control the aircraft. If you have sensitivities set then that will effect how the joystick âpairsâ with the sim aircraft yoke or stick. Making the HOTAS less sensitive adding negative values will âslowâ the in sim aircraft controls and it will seem like they are not âsyncedâ but should still fly just fine.
I would make sure your control settings are correct.(i.e. Elevator axis, Aileron Axis, Rudder Axis and so forth.) If youâre on Xbox make sure the button on the back of the joystick is set on Xbox and not PC. (This should already be set as you can see control movement in the sensitivities setup page. Just give a double check.) And make sure you donât have any extreme dead zones set, as they will effect when your stick will start to react to movement.
Iâm about to purchase FS2024, an Xbox, yoke/pedals. I think I need a folding table as pictured. Something sturdy enough for using a yoke, yet foldable for quick storage.
I would greatly appreciate if you could point me in the direction of what brand of table you used for this setup?
I built my own out of PVC for around $30-40. If you need it to fold up for storage, you could leave the legs unglued and pull it apart.
Youâll notice I incorporated and old laptop desk, thinking it would be nice to have itâs ability to tilt. But I never do so. It would have been much simpler to use a flat piece of MDF instead and just bolt it directly to the PVC.
From your pics I see that this âtableâ is anchored in your chair and I donât have this situation. I guess I can stick PVC pipes together but I donât know that I have the design talents to accomplish a free standing frame that would be solidly anchored on not jiggle from using the yoke.
You never know til you give it a try. The beauty of PVC is that itâs cheap and you can wait to glue it together until you decide you have it just how you want it. I left this âlooseâ and made a number of adjustments until I had it how I wanted it. Kind of like Legos for grownups.
