After One YEAR - Review of VKB Gladiator NXT EVO and Omni-Throttle 

I've been using Virpil (stick and throttle) plus the old Logitech Flight Panels. I have to say, I am quite pleased!

Oh wow. But hey, great that you're liking your setup! 👍

Glad to read! 👍

Do the Virpil use springs too or something else?

@@CaptainCollins Yes. If you look up the WarBRD-D base on their site you can see the construction. It comes with I think 3 sets of springs with different strengths. The Cams allow for changing the movement profile when going from center to the outer edges. Finally, you can adjust the tension of the clutches which is just the amount of resistance. I've used this for the left stick so it stays in place on the Y-axis for use as throttle.

So nice to read! Awesome :)

The only thing i did in the software was turning the deadzone for the X and Y axes to 0

yeah right, you really don't need them :)

Great, both videos together should tell you enough to make your decision easier. You con also join the stream anytime and ask away :)

Oh, can't tell you anything about Linux compatibility, but I know that a lot of Linux X4 players are on my Discord server if you want to ask there 👍

@@CaptainCollins Good to know! Thanks!

You're so damn welcome 💪 great you got the info you needed out of this. Let me know how you like yours, once they're there 👍

Very simple and cheap Logitech Z200. My second pair after the first died. They are just perfect for a "flat" use :)

I just ordered 2 with 1 adapter!

Symetery matters less once you start using them. I 3d printed an enlarged rapid trigger and extended pinky button for my left side, if the mcg was available for the nxt my scg would be swapped out for a few more combat oriented controls.

I like the idea of the symmetry, but I'd justify the omni for both for the wrist comfort. Function over form, but when the form is also pretty, game on.

Basic wrist exercises can help negate these things aswell if it start getting more of an issue.

Did you end up getting them? I had the same idea in mind, the difference in price between the premium stick and premium stick with that Omni attachment is only 10 bucks. The biggest problem I have is justifying the $$$ for a controller setup that I’d only use for one game. I keep trying to convince myself that I’ll play more flight games if I get them but Everspace 2 is the only one I’ve stuck with long enough to look into hotas 😅

I have the exact same problem on both of my T.16000m sticks. Z-axis is absolute garbage on those. I lost track of how many times I've taken them apart to spray out debris in the pots to get it to stop doing that. It's a design flaw that would be fixed if they'd just use a hall effect sensor. They're literally not fixing the problem because they know better options are 4x the cost and people would rather just buy another cheap one than save up for a decent joystick.

Here's a short, that will help with the sticky TWCS: ru-vid.comGrZoh166eLQ , super quick and easy solution ;)

@@CaptainCollins Tried that but after awhile, even that didn't help. Ball bearing kit solved it.

So as an avid DCS fan. You really don't. There isn't anything control wise that you can manipulate individually at the same time on the throttle that wouldn't be awkward. Unfortunately I would strongly suggest getting a dual throttle if you can save for one if you must have split throttle function. Personally I just go without now.

Never placed DCS, but VKB has a lot of throttle kits that add-on to the side of the Gladiator stick, including some that have multiple throttles. Might be worth looking into.

@@PocketsandOutlaw thanks

Never mentioned those sticks, since I have not used them. But to be honest: the Logitech sticks look like toys, while the VKB got a "real" feeling. 🤷‍♂️

In my experience with the X56 HOTAS the throttle is awesome. The flightstick is a hot mess. The gimbal breaks easily. I recently ordered a VKB Gladiator right handed grip and the best thing about it is that it will work very easily alongside the x56 throttle without any problems. VKB sticks, while pricey, come with a two year warranty, are modular, and can be fixed with replacement parts. They have tutorials videos on RU-vid for setting up and repair and a discord channel for getting help with any issues.

I've been using x56 for several years in SC now.. and it did a good job for the bucks.. but lastly one of the throttles broke when i did a fast movement without warming up the oil before.. its still usable when treated with care but i'm about to order the VKB HOSAS once its purchaseable in EU again... Oh . and If u need more precision in twist you could try editing the curves in SC config.. nice video🎉

Okay, never mind, when you got to the hats, you have it right. The base stick has a single push-button at the mid-grip, the Premium has the 4-way+click hat, and you just got tangled in the first part. Thanks!

The controller setting is part of the 7.00 update, so get tze beta or just wait a few days :)

Just released a video about that! :) Take a look at the channel

In space you have 6 DOF. Hosas allows you to take advantage of all those axis in flight. Right stick with twist gives you Elevation, Roll and rudder. While left stick with twist gives you control of Forward and Reverse strafe, Left/Right strafe and Up/Down strafe. Forward/Reverse strafe is like a 2 direction throttle. In true "Space" the amount of throttle applied correlates to the speed of acceleration. Light throttle over a longer duration gains speed slowly, Full blast speeds up quick. Return to center does not matter because once you achieve the desired speed you stay at that speed...because you are in space. You can even pulse thrust to gain speed or slow down or to make more precise adjustments. In Star Citizen the default is more like "Compensated Space." If you let the throttle return to center you slow down thanks to retro and vectoring thrusters on the ship acting to reproduce your control input against the 0g void of space. You can use the Cruise control button once you hit the desired speed and you will hold that speed when the stick is centered. Or you can go into "Decoupled Mode" which more or less turns off the imitated secondary thrust and returns you to "Real Space" flight. With a slider throttle, you could use the reverse thrust button. This would give Forward/Reverse with full throw precision, but you lose the left/right. and up/down axis and on/off buttons or hats to compensate for it are the opposite of precise. Nothing is a perfect setup as you always have to trade off for something. What I would LOOOVE to try or see how it would feel would be this: A true sliding throttle with a T-grip that rolls forward and back (like a motorcycle throttle) for up/down. Add to this either some kind of twist or lean, which might be awkward, or two analog triggers along the forward edge of the T for left/right strafe. If this exists in anyway...Please someone let me know!!!

Thank you for that insight. Useful for people to make better decisions.

twist axis on the nxt uses hall effect sensors instead of potentiometers, so you will not have the same issue of dead zone/ghost inputs that pots on the t16000 tend to get. the nxt does come with springs of differing strengths so you can make adjustments to the x/y axis to be lighter or heaver if needed. I find that the cross-through (i.e. going from + to - on either axis) is much smoother than other less expensive sticks. You won't regret the NXTs if you get them.

The twist thing is a common issue with the t16000 and easily fixable. They all get it within a few months, all you need to do is open it up and spray some lubricant in there and it's fine. Lots of people use wd40, I used silicon lubricant because it's kinder to plastics. I knew about the issue and how to fix it before I got them but they are the best sticks for the price point. Not saying they don't have other issues but yeah the twist thing isn't really an issue because it's so easily fixable.

ACTUALLY 😬☝️ it's better for your wrists and feels more natural to hold your hands like that. Try it out: reach naturally to something in front of you: there you go, onmi fits ;)

@@CaptainCollins This is exactly the answer I was expecting, ty sir !

I thought about it, but somehow my mind can't fathom the idea of having two angled sticks...

Hang on I thought EVO was the premium base whereas the Omnithrottle was the angled stick?

@@FuriousImp Correct, EVO is the refined version of the original NXT stick/base combo. I don't think the original one is made anymore as doing so would be pointless. The Omnithrottle is the adapter that allows you to angle the stick (the piece that fits between the stick and base). I'm pretty sure the adapter can be easily removed if you want to switch back and forth between the normal straight stick config and angled.

Or, even better, get a pedal set and disable the left twist. You'll keep you're controls as similiar to flight sims as possible leading to not having that "damn muscle memory" issue if you switch between them. I currently run VKB omni+sem on the left VKB premium+sem right and t-rudders since I don't want to deal with brakes.

My mind goes places sometimes :D (didn't knew what I said there at the time since non-native-speaker)

That's a question for a different topic 😅

no :D

oh no, just because you don't have mounts? VKB has got some fitting ones. Other custom manufacturers make them too.

Saw your comment on the other video :D they do not feel cheap though, that's more important ;)

@@CaptainCollins I can agree with that, hence looking at reviews ;) I just hate that seem line on them.