Saitek F.L.Y. 5: Really wanted to like it !

I was looking for a compact flight stick to replace my old Saitek Cyborg 3D Force and the F.L.Y.5 (also called Cyborg X) caught my eyes...

My force feedback joystick started to give strange results since Windows 7, vibrating when not expected, and remaining still when it should have been triggered. The spring force was also not applied all the time.
As my flight sim sessions became more occasional, I found more appropriate to base my research on the following criteria:

- no force feedback and power adapter needed
- compact and plug-and-play
- twist handle for rudder control
- throttle
- enough buttons
- price limit: 80€


So no, X52 (although I've been really tempted) or Hotas Warthog for me.

The F.L.Y.5 is a nice object, with all the above conditions met, plus a double throttle for twin engine aircrafts, a small wheel for the elevator trim, and adjustable handle parts. I didn't play with this and left the allen key in place. I still have in mind the previous joysticks and racing wheel I had from Saitek and how fragile they all were (with the only exception of Cyborg 3D so far).

Simple to operate, keys conveniently placed, firm enough, especially the twin throttles. It could be a bit more precise but worked well enough with FSX, HAWX and IL2 (1946!, can't speak for COD yet...)

During the first weeks of use, I really thought that I'd ever need another joystick !
...I was wrong!

"What you buy cheap, you pay twice"


...and the proverb is unfortunately true, and in the middle of a dogfight,  one of the buttons around the hat switch popped out! A plastic part keeping the whole thing in place suddenly cracked, ejecting the spring-loaded button, which crashed on my desk...(as did my Spitfire shortly after).

My first though was, "ok, Saitek's legendary fragility is still true...I should have known better"




Almost ready to pay it twice...
No replacement available at the shop, only a credit note so I'm now back, in the interim, with my old Cyborg 3D. I'm very tempted to buy another "Cyborg X", trying to convince myself that it was just one bad Monday-built unit, but I know I'm  fooling myself, it is the usual Saitek quality problem!

In conclusion, this is probably one of the nicest and best-thought compact joystick out there BUT...it's unfortunately made by Saitek! Come on Thrustmaster, for once, make a clone!


Type "Saitek defect" on youtube or see this video review from another (IL2) gamer for a stronger warning.

Update: I finally changed for the less pretty but sturdy and precise Thrustmaster T.16000M.

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IL 2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover - Talk to your doctor first !

The lovers of close gunfights rightly consider IL2 series as the Holy Grail of WWII combat simulators.
The game evolved torough the years with an impressive choice of over 300 airplanes to fly with. Furthermore, non-official add-ons like UltraPack and Online gaming systems such as HyperLobby contribute to keep this true gem alive, even after 10 years of existence.

Now, the long awaited successor IL 2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover,is there...

My copy arrived today from amazon.fr (could not buy on amazon.co.uk strangely and download-only version on UbiShop was for the price of the boxed product)

I went for the Collector Edition which contains a replica of the official "Pilot's Notes of the Spitfire 1 Aeroplane, Merlin II or III engine" (a small booklet really but still more detailed than the owner's manual of my Renault ), a nice Pilot Instructions booklet (the game manual) as well as a map of the Battle of Britain theatre printed on fabric. Nice, but not sure it was worth the extra 12€.

The release date should have been the 1st of April instead, really !

The fun begins when you install the game, which can take over an hour before you eventually get to the actual game splash screen (and you're not yet done with the troubles!)

Once you openned the required firewall ports, and get your Steam registration going, some long download will take place before the actual game installation starts from the DVD.

IL2 COD does not need any help to be slow, but Ubisoft found funny to add an Epilepsy filter which drops the FPS even further (option to turn it off is available with the first patch).

Note that only a handful of graphic cards are supported currently, and even then, you're not safe.Mine is a modest oem Radeon HD 6450 (not listed), in a decently average PC (4 Cores Athlon 3 Ghz and 4GB of RAM). Not an AlienWare of course, but  
I can run ArmA 2 and FSX with decent performance and it's not good enough for IL2 COD with lowest settings! (note that the "whooping" 13 FPS average in the screenshot above is obtained over the sea and after having tweaked the conf.ini!)

Talk to your doctor first !

Beside their epilepsy warning splashed at you when starting the game, Ubisoft should add a blood pressure warning:  the first contact with this game will have an adverse effect on your hypertension!

If this happens to you, try the following:
- Google for "IL-2 Sturmovik Cliffs of Dover unplayable low FPS" so you won't feel alone.
- Start a session of the old IL2 1946, which proves to be a good stress releaver.
- Post a ticket to Ubi (Don't let them in peace even though they won't reply!)
(- Write a post to evacuate your anger...)

Should you avoid or get a refund ?

If you already bought the game, remember the beginnings of IL2 Sturmovick. IL2 COD will improve, with better features and more aircrafts. Oleg Maddox team deserves that credit.
Just wait and play IL2 1946 in the meantime.

If you didn't buy the game yet, don't rush, the price may drop soon!

---

Pros:
I'll update this section if the upcoming patch improves anything!


Cons: 
- Very long installation phase
- Invasive Steam platform required
- Many players can't exceed 5-10 FPS even with recent hardware (even with the above filter turned off)
- Anti-epilepsy filter will drive you mad (but not epileptic hopefully)
- On-screen throttle indicators
- Message box open by default (this one you can close)
- Still the old mission editor, I was expecting some rework on it.
- Some sounds are from the old IL2 and not on par with those from mods like UltraPack.

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Indispensable Network Applications for Android phones

After flashing and re-installing my phone so many times, I found that a few Android applications were worth reinstalling each time. You probably know some of them:

ES File Explorer: not just an explorer, it can contact your PC through Wifi using SMB or FTP. FTP also helps with some car hand free kits that cause pairing troubles.

Penetrate: scans for nearby Access Points and reports the weakly protected routers (WEP, factory password, …). Comes handy on travel when a free Internet access is needed. Note that it requires the huge (200Mb) Thomson dictionnary for cracking some passwords, but this goes on your µSD

Overlook Fing: scans the lan you're connected to and shows a detailed network map. Absolutely brilliant!

APNDroid: a life saver for any user with a pre-pay SIM, allows you to disable the Internet Data traffic. To keep those hungry automatic Internet updates under control. Appears as a Red/green widget push button on your home screen.

Traffic Monitor from RadioOpt GmbH. Beside the included speed test is not yet as good as the Speedtest.net app, its main purpose is to keeps track of exactly what quantity of data is used by each application/service.

Shark: a wireshark compatible wlan sniffer! 
 

TextDroid: while connected to Wifi, will send free text message through the Mobile operator web text engine, the nice thing about it is that it integrates with your phone book.

KeepassDroid: Allows using the Keepass database on your phone (all your logins and passwords strongly encrypted in your pocket)

Android System Info: System, Task and App manager, even system log (for rooted phones)

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