joystick glitch

***** Joystick issue has been resolved. See post 10 for possible mouse issue. *****


I bought a new joystick (Logitech Extreme 3D Pro) for flying in BF3. I had one before for use in BF2 and really liked it. Trouble is, back when I was playing BF2, everything worked flawlessly in that game but when I got Medal of Honor, my character would just sit there and spin in circles without any mouse input. I did some research and people said it was the joystick. I unplugged it then everything worked fine in MoH. Now with BF3, I am having the same issue. With the joystick plugged in, every time I get in a ground vehicle, they start driving in reverse without any input. I unplugged the joystick and everything is normal again. Why do joysticks do this and, more importantly, how do I fix it? I don't want sit here and plug/unplug the stick every time I get in and out of aircraft.

Khaos Kid said:

I bought a new joystick (Logitech Extreme 3D Pro) for flying in BF3. I had one before for use in BF2 and really liked it. Trouble is, back when I was playing BF2, everything worked flawlessly in that game but when I got Medal of Honor, my character would just sit there and spin in circles without any mouse input. I did some research and people said it was the joystick. I unplugged it then everything worked fine in MoH. Now with BF3, I am having the same issue. With the joystick plugged in, every time I get in a ground vehicle, they start driving in reverse without any input. I unplugged the joystick and everything is normal again. Why do joysticks do this and, more importantly, how do I fix it? I don't want sit here and plug/unplug the stick every time I get in and out of aircraft.

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It's a problem with the game, not the joystick. The devs have gotten lazy about this since Xbox 360 came out. I have found that almost everytime, it is caused by the slide throttle. The throttle just happens to correspond to the 4th axis that would map to the right stick on an xbox gamepad used for aiming and changing your view (if the game has gamepad support).

Think of it like this: the up/down axis and left/right axis on the stick correspond to the left stick on a gamepad. The joystick always centers, so it isn't inputing anything just like a centered thumbstick on a gamepad. The twist rudder and throttle correspond to the other thumb stick on the gamepad. The twist rudder on they joystick always centers so isn't inputting anything. The slide throttle does not auto center, so it is almost always inputting something unless you do center it. Games with proper joystick support (e.g. flight sims) and not some sort of hybrid gamepad/joystick setup are not affected by this. The problem is most common on games that have gamepad support enabled by default which is usually games that are console and PC and support the Xbox gamepad.

This is a fix that works on many games. I too have a logitech Extreme 3D pro. This method has worked flawlessly for BF3 and Planetside 2 for me, as well as a few other games that exhibit the exact same behavior you have mentioned. You need to find the center of the throttle somehow.

Step 1:
A. Go to the windows control panel for the joystick and try the calibration. Look for the sliders, see if you can find 50% throttle. Battlefield and many other games register anything below 50% throttle as reverse.
-or-
B. Go into any game, move the throttle to near center (50%) until the vehicle stops moving. Going into a flight sim or a game where it gives a HUD to show either 50% throttle or 0% throttle when the throttle slider is at the midpoint. This method is a little more precise.

Step 2: Mark the plastic on the logitech joystick at the 50% mark. I used a tiny sliver of electrical tape so I could move it if I had to. If you can increase the deadzone setting at all on the throttle control only, try increasing it to 5-10% to allow some wiggle room finding the center.

Step 3: Use the throttle for only flying vehicles. Stick to KB/M for tanks and jeeps in game. Leave the throttle at 50% all the time unless flying.

-edit- You can take this a step further and only utilize the keyboard for throttle and misc controls and leave the throttle to 50% all the time (or simply don't bind it in the in-game settings). Bind all targeting controls and other often used controls to the stick (not buttons on the base) so your right hand never leaves the stick. This method allows you to be able to switch back to KB/M quickly in case you have to bail from the vehicle.

Thanks for all the info CNN! After reading all that, I looked over at my stick and sure enough the throttle lever is currently sitting in full reverse. That would explain things. I'll try to find the middle of it.

Please let me know how this works for you. I plan on setting up my joystick tonight for BF4 since I haven't flown any vehicles yet.

It worked perfectly. I got in-game, jumped in a tank and moved the throttle until the tank stopped. Then I took a Sharpie and put small mark where the middle is. Everything seems to fine now.

Khaos Kid said:

It worked perfectly. I got in-game, jumped in a tank and moved the throttle until the tank stopped. Then I took a Sharpie and put small mark where the middle is. Everything seems to fine now.

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Good. I am trying to get my joystick setup now also. I have run into a few problems. I had to re-calibrate my joystick because it was always inputting something so keys couldn't be re-bound. To re-calibrate, go into windows control panel and select Game devices, or simply search "setup USB game controllers" in windows.

I also ran across this good video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcKu42-ASEk
This forum post:
http://answers.ea.com/t5/Battlefield-4/Helicopter-controls-glitch/m-p/1735373#M21420

As well as the BF4 settings editor. I had the previous version for BF3 and it worked wonders.
http://battlefield.realmware.co.uk/bf4-settings-editor/downloads

Be careful with that joystick the Z-Rotation is known to become sketchy at best after a short amount of use.. I haven't used mine in over a year because even so much as slightly touching the joystick would send the Z-Rotation off as if I did a half twist or something.. I just ended up buying A CH Products Yoke (Flight Simulator) instead w/ some rudder pedals.

The slide throttle is what was causing issues for me too. BF4 feels like a console port. Its fun to play but you can tell BF3 was focused for PC.

I finally setup my Logitech Extreme 3D Pro last night for BF4. It was glorious.

Download the BF4 settings editor linked above and make sure and re-calibrate your stick in windows control panel as mentioned above.

In the BF4 settings editor program previously linked, go through the key bindings, hit the button that clears all bindings for the joystick under each section e.g. "on foot", "in vehicle", "in jet", "in chopper". etc. etc. It is especially imperative that you clear them out for the "on foot" settings, or else you might get some weird things happening such as your gun constantly firing, spinning in circles, unable to sprint or slow movement, etc. which are all caused by the joystick's inability to be perfectly precise and zero out, and the game's lack of "deadzone" setting. Once cleared out, begin re-binding the joystick for everything but "on foot".

As far as controls are concerned, I highly recommend throttle controls tied to the keyboard, and basic flight controls on the joystick. It helps you get quickly on the KB/M in case you have to bail out.

BF4 now has a "test range". Once your joystick is setup, go there and test out the flying.

Ok, now my mouse (maybe) is acting up. I was playing BF3 for a couple hours last night with zero issues. I shutoff my comp, go to bed, go work this morning, haven't touched my computer until just now - about 24 since I last touched it. I haven't changed any key setting or done anything to my mouse or keyboard. Now when I join a server (and I tried several) my gun keeps shooting like I am hold down the fire button even though I am not touching any controls. WTF is going on now?

Yes JOystiCK glITCHe's can be really irritating.

That helps...

I should mention it's a Logitech Mx512 that is about 3 years old. But again, I'm not sure if it's actually the mouse or the game or something else.