Hovering With Helicopters (and Joystick)

[PFunk]

How do you hover completely hands off with a keyboard and mouse??? It's literally impossible.

Off the top of my head? Macro with a repeating key press at a speed which perfectly equals neutral hover on a particular Helo.

[SoulPhrozen]

Ummm...im somewhat new to Project Reality. Not as in the flying experience but to this general concept of "joystick". Is this some sort of movement device, somewhat like a keyboard + mouse sort of thing tht you buy or is it a INGAME item? Well anyways, i need some training on Advance Helo flying if any wanna train me >_>. Cause well, i find helping people tends to be more fun and from the looks of this community, its aim is for teamwork. =DDD So if you dont mind telling me WHERE this training server is >_<.

[Brummy]

How do you hover completely hands off with a keyboard and mouse??? It's literally impossible.

Try it in a havok first.. it's easy as hell..

Ummm...im somewhat new to Project Reality. Not as in the flying experience but to this general concept of "joystick". Is this some sort of movement device, somewhat like a keyboard + mouse sort of thing tht you buy or is it a INGAME item? Well anyways, i need some training on Advance Helo flying if any wanna train me >_>. Cause well, i find helping people tends to be more fun and from the looks of this community, its aim is for teamwork. =DDD So if you dont mind telling me WHERE this training server is >_<.

For the training servers, click on training instead of deployment.

this is a joystick:

[IAJTHOMAS]

Try it in a havok first.. it's easy as hell..

The apache is another one its possible to relatively easily with. No Macros involved, you just have have the heli level and its nose points upwards just the right amount and it will hover perfectly still at 0% throttle.

And i'm not a very good pilot, so if i can do it anyone can

[Tomato-Rifle]

I use the keyboard only when flying, just tap the keys until your in a straight hover, just like landing, tap the W key to hold the landing speed

[DeltaFart]

For landing I usually turn the throttle to below hover so that its coasting down pretty much but it still has some juice if I need to rapidly ascend. Then i just use the S button and mouse till I'm on the ground

[Biggaayal]

Gah you guys are thinking about this issue completely wrong. Idling an engine means cutting all thrust output from it. You guys seem to think that a heli engine at a hover setting is the same as idling. It ain't.

When you reduce your throttle to zero, THEN you are idling. This is what produces that "negative thrust" effect, which is actually you dropping out of the sky because your engine isn't putting out the power necessary to maintain altitude.

But why is it hard to control the helo when the throttle is at 0%? This is because your blades are moving much much slower, producing a minimal amount of lift. In a helo you need lift to maintain control.

And that's it in a nutshell. If further explanation is needed please ask!

Now wat actually happens it that BF2 cannot really handle the low throttle that has been put in PR in latest versions. So when you set the throttle to lowest, you don't 'lose control' because of low thrust. Rather BF2 INVERSEs your controls so left becomes right etc and your chopper becomes near uncontrollable.

Nice explanation but it is really an engine limitation. It was just implemented to give you some way of losing height more quickly without nose-diving.

[krekc]

I've made a video of why mouse and keyboard are best for helo flying imo. It's bf2 so i can use an external cam to show the helo turning 360 degrees, first clock wise, then anti-clockwise while mantaining a solid hover - this is a move i could not execute properly even with my X52 and deadzones, also using the mouse to control the helo (pitch and yaw) and the pilots head is a must to give better vision (i never liked using a hat switch to control mouselook) anyway here's the clip - I rest my case

YouTube - Movie

[kf_reaper]

Definetly. It's a billion times easier to stabilize youself and control power output. If you're overwatching a spawn with an attack helo, you can stabillize yourself to the point where you're literally hanging in air with no further effort. When I do this I literally take my hands away from all controls and let the gunner.do his work. You can't do stuff like that with a keyboard+mouse!

so true so true.

[Fluffywuffy]

Definetly. It's a billion times easier to stabilize youself and control power output. If you're overwatching a spawn with an attack helo, you can stabillize yourself to the point where you're literally hanging in air with no further effort. When I do this I literally take my hands away from all controls and let the gunner.do his work. You can't do stuff like that with a keyboard+mouse!

I actually was flying in a pub game. I told the guy I had to go to the bathroom. So I flew pretty high and set him up. Then came back to a full functioning chopper.

[iOxide]

I've made a video of why mouse and keyboard are best for helo flying imo. It's bf2 so i can use an external cam to show the helo turning 360 degrees, first clock wise, then anti-clockwise while mantaining a solid hover - this is a move i could not execute properly even with my X52 and deadzones, also using the mouse to control the helo (pitch and yaw) and the pilots head is a must to give better vision (i never liked using a hat switch to control mouselook) anyway here's the clip - I rest my case

YouTube - Movie

No one can say which is best for flying. It depends on the person. Some fly better wtih keyboard and mouse, some fly better with Joystick. It's just personal preference. I' have seen pilots who fly like pros with keyboard and mouse, and same with joystick.. but if they go to the other one they suck So it all depends.

keep the "blank is best for flying" comments to your self please as that is your personal opinion.

[mp5punk]

i cant fly for **** with a joystick with helicopters only planes.

[krekc]

No one can say which is best for flying. It depends on the person. Some fly better wtih keyboard and mouse, some fly better with Joystick. It's just personal preference. I' have seen pilots who fly like pros with keyboard and mouse, and same with joystick.. but if they go to the other one they suck So it all depends.

keep the "blank is best for flying" comments to your self please as that is your personal opinion.

execuse me? wind your neck in, that's what this is "an exchange of opinions" not only have I stated why one is better than the other but i've given specific reasons why this is the case.

A - the pilots head (unless you fly like a blinkered horse) is as important to control as the helo itself. It's much more intuitive with mouse than hat switch - have you ever tried using a thumb to control head movement? it's nasty!

B - turning the helo 360 degrees while mantaining a solid hover - not possible with a joystick in my experience even using deadzones.

Now.... If you want to disprove any of what i've said feel free, but please stop slabbering about me keeping my opinions to myself.

[iOxide]

The post wasn't for you mainly but anyone who thinks keyboard and mouse is far superior than a joystick. I find it is but thats my opinion my friend cant fly worth shit with keyboard and mouse but can do some amazing shit with a joystick.

Eh but still you can't say one is better then the other as its not true, both have its up and downs some like the joystick, some like keyboard and mouse.

execuse me? wind your neck in, that's what this is "an exchange of opinions" not only have I stated why one is better than the other but i've given specific reasons why this is the case.

A - the pilots head (unless you fly like a blinkered horse) is as important to control as the helo itself. It's much more intuitive with mouse than hat switch - have you ever tried using a thumb to control head movement? it's nasty!

B - turning the helo 360 degrees while mantaining a solid hover - not possible with a joystick in my experience even using deadzones.

Now.... If you want to disprove any of what i've said feel free, but please stop slabbering about me keeping my opinions to myself.

[12GuageShotty]

I've made a video of why mouse and keyboard are best for helo flying imo. It's bf2 so i can use an external cam to show the helo turning 360 degrees, first clock wise, then anti-clockwise while mantaining a solid hover - this is a move i could not execute properly even with my X52 and deadzones, also using the mouse to control the helo (pitch and yaw) and the pilots head is a must to give better vision (i never liked using a hat switch to control mouselook) anyway here's the clip - I rest my case

YouTube - Movie

LOL I am seriously in tears from watching that video. Is that supposed to be impressive? Its not hard to hover and press A and D to turn, U dont need a joystick OR a mouse to do that you just press A and D... You wernt even keeping perfect altitude while doing that, you are going downward slightly. I thought you were going to fly in circles with the heli tipped 90 degrees while maintaining a perfect altitude or something... but seriously what is the point of that video? I fail to see one.

Now on the subject of which is "better", I cannot imagine trying to fly a helicopter and constantly pressing W to keep an even altitude- especially in PR when keeping the heli stable is a must for your gunner to do his work. Joystick with throttle is awesome, as I can set the throttle to hover perfectly and then i just press W/S to go up and down. I can fly circles around buildings (facing them of course) maintaining a near perfect altitude the whole way around without even pressing W or S. If you like tapping W practically the entire time you are flying besides when you are moving forward, then keyboard/mouse is for you. If you are lazy and want to fly a heli like you would actually fly a heli, then get a joystick. There are no pilots that use a keyboard to control their throttle by tapping up every second, lol (obviously).

Both can perform though, there are amazing pilots that I know that whoop my *** every time that use a mouse. And there are pilots that can do the same that use a joystick. Its all about preference I suppose, and other than the throttle they are equal in my eyes (although I cannot fly with a mouse for the life of me). Personally I hate the mouse, if I didnt have a joystick I would be using straight keyboard.

*Edit* Yea I just remembered... you cant look left/right while using a joystick, and you cannot spot with a joystick unless you use a macro. If they would implement something where you can look left/right with the joystick that would be alright, but you hardly need to use it unless you are fighting another heli. In PR you dont need the mouse to look you just change views. And besides, you gunner should be doing most of the spotting anyways, you just need to look forward and make sure you dont crash or something.

[Alex6714]

execuse me? wind your neck in, that's what this is "an exchange of opinions" not only have I stated why one is better than the other but i've given specific reasons why this is the case.

A - the pilots head (unless you fly like a blinkered horse) is as important to control as the helo itself. It's much more intuitive with mouse than hat switch - have you ever tried using a thumb to control head movement? it's nasty!

B - turning the helo 360 degrees while mantaining a solid hover - not possible with a joystick in my experience even using deadzones.

Now.... If you want to disprove any of what i've said feel free, but please stop slabbering about me keeping my opinions to myself.

Entirely down to personal skill, I probably couldn´t do it with a mouse, but more likely with a joystick.

[krekc]

LOL I am seriously in tears from watching that video. Is that supposed to be impressive? Its not hard to hover and press A and D to turn, U dont need a joystick OR a mouse to do that you just press A and D....

no.. it's not supposed to be impressive. Dry your eyes. it's supposed to demonstrate the simple manoeuvre of turning the helo without pitching or yawing as happens when you use a joystick (in my experience because it's akin to balancing an elephant on a brush shaft - no matter the dead-spot tweaks used - why? because joysticks are too bloody twitchy for helos in BF2 no matter what you do about sensitivity. in fact I was demonstrating the simplicity of using A and D.. you know? using the keyboard? as we're discussing here rather than a joystick

There are no pilots that use a keyboard to control their throttle by tapping up every second, lol (obviously).

erm.. actually I think you will find that this is exactly what a lot of pilots who fly with M&K do, though I myself use the throttle of my joystick along with the K&M.

TBH I couldn't really care less what people prefer to use to fly the damn things, I appreciate it's a dark art and whatever works best for the pilot is all that matters. However, those who believe that using a joystick is Superior to using M&K are greatly mistaken because they do not fly with the same precision / ease of spotting / view of battlefield that the pilot using M&K has - imo

[Skodz]

Easiest way to control helicopters is the mouse and keyboard. Especially with hovering. Joystick are good for planes.

[Alex6714]

I don´t know how this argument still continues....

For jets joystick is better. But that doesn´t mean it automatically makes you better or a mouse worse.

For helis. Both are good depending on preference.

In my opinion, joystick offers more control possibilities, and I have flown with joystick, mouse + keyboard and keyboard. But ultimately theyre are just as good as the person who uses them.

[DeltaFart]

I didnt make this thread to make an argument guys so cut it out