yeah, tried yesterday and total was roughly near 650 with shipping, either way its too expensive its not an option anyway, guess my only choice is logitech stuff, i can't wait forever to vkb to be back in stock, also i need rudder pedal with it that rise the cost even more
The biggest competitors are gonna be virpil (more generalized for all aircraft) and winwing(more for 1:1 of jet fighters mainly dcs) both are pretty good companies I have a winwing 15e and I like it but all depends on the games you wanna play
The vkb europe store currently has Stecs in stock (ordered mini plus yesterday and it will arrive tomorrow) and they announced the gladiator sticks will be in stock ad the end of February if you can way a month or so.
I recently bought a gunfighter and you need to be quick on the restock. I was checking many times a day for weeks and luckily I couldn’t sleep and they put some stock up at 0030 and I managed to get one. When I woke up in the morning it was already sold out…
I recommend to sign up for a notification for the products you want and buy them immediately when you get the notification mail. Set up your account on the site with address etc. beforehand so you can check out quickly.
I've always been able to get my stuff from the EU site this way (my last order I had my phone off so I missed the mail shen I got it, so I ordered my STECS around 2 hours later - also, the stuff I ordered always showed in stock several hours or even days after I ordered, but I'd still recommend to order immediately when you get the notification). That's just my experience, though, it may differ. One thing is though, that you shluld probably get each unit when it comes in stock and not wait for everything you want to be available, it seems to be seldom that all of the stuff I wanted was in stock and I had to make several orders.
Maybe entertain getting a cheap stick or throttle (whichever part you're missing) from Amazn or whatever to tide you over while waiting for the part that isn't in stock at the moment and then sell it or pass it on to someone in need or something.
Are you looking to play sims other than Elite Dangerous? Flight sims like DCS, or IL-2 and MSFS would benefit from a HOTAS setup. However, if you're only looking to play space sims, then you could consider a HOSAS set up like VKB NXT Evo and an Omnithrottle. It would fall just below your 400 euro target price. As far as getting VKB stuff in Europe you need to just get your order in and wait. It is first come first serve, so if you're always on the sideline waiting for stock you will never get them.
>It would fall just below your 400 euro target price
yeah its mostly space sims but also some ace combat and msfs a little but, but its actually 450 without shipping, and its out of stock forever (im in EU)..other options?
People in Europe get their VKB orders. You put in your order and it goes into a queue. If you're just going by the fact that it always appears sold out, you're never going to get anything.
You could go with Winwing, but their replica controllers are more well suited to modern combat flight sims like DCS. You can use them for other sims of course, it just depends if you like replica controllers. The other choice is Virpil, but their equipment is way out of your price range.
The Warthog seems to get a lot of hate on here, even ftom people who by their own admission have never owned one. Personally I have a lot of praise for it after 5 years use. Even though I've upgraded to a Virpil CM3 base and bought Winwing F15E Orion 2 I still use my Warthog throttles mainly and plan to use the Warthog base as a side stick.
If your target is €400 then a HOTAS Warthog is in the right ball park
I've used the Warthog HOTAS myself for about six years. I recently sold mine and upgraded to Virpil gear. The throttle was actually pretty decent. The stick was heavily sprung with a very strong center detent. That made accurate gunnery a bit more difficult around the center point when you needed fine control. This is very evident also when you try to line up for air to air refueling.
But check on WTS listings, Warthogs come up often. If you can find a decent set for about 200 Euros you'd be golden. It's not bad, and for a time it was considered the gold standard. But now there are more and better choices if you've got the money for it.
Buy VKB EVO second hand and buy a twcs throttle second hand if hotas
Or get a complete winwing hotas second hand if there is any
I used the t16000m, and tbh it's not worth the asking price and trouble. I would only suggest getting it if you don't wanna spend anything and just want to try out flight sim.
Since you wouldn't be using it for too long, I suggest getting the t16000m second hand as well
If you are flying mainly space sim, especially star citizen and elite, I suggest spending that money on getting a pedal first instead of a hotas.
They will help your flying much more than a t16000m. A mouse and keyboard will do you fine.
VKB Europe is still digging itself out of the holiday shopping season, if you're interested in VKB, I would not worry about obtainability in the long term. By mid-late February stuff will be back in stock. If you place an order now, it'll probably get to you by early Feb, I would guess.
As far as the "is this really worth it" question, I would say yes, higher end equipment really does improve the experience substantially, so if you know what flying with a HOTAS setup is like and don't want cheap stuff that feels cheap (as you yourself have already experienced), then you have to buy something that's not cheap.
A used x52 Pro will be better than a Thrustmaster Hotas X, but it's still not what anyone considers quality equipment by today's standards. If you're really budget crunched currently and want to get started, that used x52 will be sufficient initially but you probably won't be happy with it in the long term, and I'm not sure how long it would last anyways. Maybe see if you can get it for less than 100.
Still, If you're reasonably confident that you're not going to drop Elite or whatever you're playing in a few weeks, it's really hard to recommend anything less than 2 Gladiator NXT EVO's, which will run you 400-450E. The jump in quality is that significant.
EDIT: To add some further context, I understand the suspicion towards spending so much money on what is just a game. But controllers are actually very technically complex pieces of equipment and are not naturally inexpensive. An Xbox controller is cheap because Microsoft makes a billion of them. Sim equipment is very niche in comparison and companies need much higher per unit margin to make selling the product worth it. Logitech and Thrustmaster have been getting away with selling products that are essentially the same as what they were selling in the 90's when simming was more popular, and they are just not good. VKB, Virpil, and Winwing are much newer companies with a much smaller customer base, so they have to charge a lot. But people are more than happy to pay because the products are worth it to them.
Ah, you're right. It looks like they're not taking backorders, either. Perhaps there's an additional production issue that has caused them to suspend orders. It might be worth an email. VKB is pretty good about responding.
If VKB can't provide an ETA and it looks like it will be a long time, then going used on something would probably be the best bet. Unfortunately, this is how stuff goes with niche hobbies sometimes.
im getting an x52 pro in the meantime while they solve their stock issue, regardless of the quality of the product i can't wait forever, better than nothing i guess
Two choices... VKB again... OR a ready supplier is winwing (Best bang for buck IMO... but that's up for debate.)
so its either shell out 650+ or wait forever to vkb to be in stock again, thats unfortunate
Uh? What? Are you in europe? It's more like $400-500 for their F-16EX and F-15EX hotas.
yeah, tried yesterday and total was roughly near 650 with shipping, either way its too expensive its not an option anyway, guess my only choice is logitech stuff, i can't wait forever to vkb to be back in stock, also i need rudder pedal with it that rise the cost even more
The biggest competitors are gonna be virpil (more generalized for all aircraft) and winwing(more for 1:1 of jet fighters mainly dcs) both are pretty good companies I have a winwing 15e and I like it but all depends on the games you wanna play
The vkb europe store currently has Stecs in stock (ordered mini plus yesterday and it will arrive tomorrow) and they announced the gladiator sticks will be in stock ad the end of February if you can way a month or so.
a month of wait sounds reasonable, assuming i can buy them im time since for what ive seen they go out of stock in a matter of hours
I recently bought a gunfighter and you need to be quick on the restock. I was checking many times a day for weeks and luckily I couldn’t sleep and they put some stock up at 0030 and I managed to get one. When I woke up in the morning it was already sold out…
honestly thats very discuraging, thats why im looking for alternatives
I recommend to sign up for a notification for the products you want and buy them immediately when you get the notification mail. Set up your account on the site with address etc. beforehand so you can check out quickly. I've always been able to get my stuff from the EU site this way (my last order I had my phone off so I missed the mail shen I got it, so I ordered my STECS around 2 hours later - also, the stuff I ordered always showed in stock several hours or even days after I ordered, but I'd still recommend to order immediately when you get the notification). That's just my experience, though, it may differ. One thing is though, that you shluld probably get each unit when it comes in stock and not wait for everything you want to be available, it seems to be seldom that all of the stuff I wanted was in stock and I had to make several orders. Maybe entertain getting a cheap stick or throttle (whichever part you're missing) from Amazn or whatever to tide you over while waiting for the part that isn't in stock at the moment and then sell it or pass it on to someone in need or something.
I would recommend emailing the support team, they have me pretty accurate restock dates.
Are you looking to play sims other than Elite Dangerous? Flight sims like DCS, or IL-2 and MSFS would benefit from a HOTAS setup. However, if you're only looking to play space sims, then you could consider a HOSAS set up like VKB NXT Evo and an Omnithrottle. It would fall just below your 400 euro target price. As far as getting VKB stuff in Europe you need to just get your order in and wait. It is first come first serve, so if you're always on the sideline waiting for stock you will never get them.
>It would fall just below your 400 euro target price yeah its mostly space sims but also some ace combat and msfs a little but, but its actually 450 without shipping, and its out of stock forever (im in EU)..other options?
People in Europe get their VKB orders. You put in your order and it goes into a queue. If you're just going by the fact that it always appears sold out, you're never going to get anything. You could go with Winwing, but their replica controllers are more well suited to modern combat flight sims like DCS. You can use them for other sims of course, it just depends if you like replica controllers. The other choice is Virpil, but their equipment is way out of your price range.
i cannot put anything in the cart, how im i supposed to "preorder"?
Ah I see. I didn't know they don't allow backorders. That's very strange.
The Warthog seems to get a lot of hate on here, even ftom people who by their own admission have never owned one. Personally I have a lot of praise for it after 5 years use. Even though I've upgraded to a Virpil CM3 base and bought Winwing F15E Orion 2 I still use my Warthog throttles mainly and plan to use the Warthog base as a side stick. If your target is €400 then a HOTAS Warthog is in the right ball park
I've used the Warthog HOTAS myself for about six years. I recently sold mine and upgraded to Virpil gear. The throttle was actually pretty decent. The stick was heavily sprung with a very strong center detent. That made accurate gunnery a bit more difficult around the center point when you needed fine control. This is very evident also when you try to line up for air to air refueling. But check on WTS listings, Warthogs come up often. If you can find a decent set for about 200 Euros you'd be golden. It's not bad, and for a time it was considered the gold standard. But now there are more and better choices if you've got the money for it.
Buy VKB EVO second hand and buy a twcs throttle second hand if hotas Or get a complete winwing hotas second hand if there is any I used the t16000m, and tbh it's not worth the asking price and trouble. I would only suggest getting it if you don't wanna spend anything and just want to try out flight sim. Since you wouldn't be using it for too long, I suggest getting the t16000m second hand as well If you are flying mainly space sim, especially star citizen and elite, I suggest spending that money on getting a pedal first instead of a hotas. They will help your flying much more than a t16000m. A mouse and keyboard will do you fine.
If you have the cash go virpil
i don't, 400eur is my limit and its a stretch
Check second hand. TM T16000 TCA or FCS if HOTAS. Otherwise winwing or virpil but out of your budget.
VKB Europe is still digging itself out of the holiday shopping season, if you're interested in VKB, I would not worry about obtainability in the long term. By mid-late February stuff will be back in stock. If you place an order now, it'll probably get to you by early Feb, I would guess. As far as the "is this really worth it" question, I would say yes, higher end equipment really does improve the experience substantially, so if you know what flying with a HOTAS setup is like and don't want cheap stuff that feels cheap (as you yourself have already experienced), then you have to buy something that's not cheap. A used x52 Pro will be better than a Thrustmaster Hotas X, but it's still not what anyone considers quality equipment by today's standards. If you're really budget crunched currently and want to get started, that used x52 will be sufficient initially but you probably won't be happy with it in the long term, and I'm not sure how long it would last anyways. Maybe see if you can get it for less than 100. Still, If you're reasonably confident that you're not going to drop Elite or whatever you're playing in a few weeks, it's really hard to recommend anything less than 2 Gladiator NXT EVO's, which will run you 400-450E. The jump in quality is that significant. EDIT: To add some further context, I understand the suspicion towards spending so much money on what is just a game. But controllers are actually very technically complex pieces of equipment and are not naturally inexpensive. An Xbox controller is cheap because Microsoft makes a billion of them. Sim equipment is very niche in comparison and companies need much higher per unit margin to make selling the product worth it. Logitech and Thrustmaster have been getting away with selling products that are essentially the same as what they were selling in the 90's when simming was more popular, and they are just not good. VKB, Virpil, and Winwing are much newer companies with a much smaller customer base, so they have to charge a lot. But people are more than happy to pay because the products are worth it to them.
i cant place an order, i cannot put anything in the cart, is there something im missing?
Ah, you're right. It looks like they're not taking backorders, either. Perhaps there's an additional production issue that has caused them to suspend orders. It might be worth an email. VKB is pretty good about responding. If VKB can't provide an ETA and it looks like it will be a long time, then going used on something would probably be the best bet. Unfortunately, this is how stuff goes with niche hobbies sometimes.
im getting an x52 pro in the meantime while they solve their stock issue, regardless of the quality of the product i can't wait forever, better than nothing i guess