MeowersPahl Meowers, Have you considered a game pad (Tartarus or Red Dragon) I dont play twin sticks, I use HOTAS, but I use a Razer Tartarus just to the left side of the throttle and have each key bound to a command, and with a shift function you end up with 32 programmable keys.
Yeah, I have a simpler keypad that I bought just for a test, before buying a more expensive, mechanical one... And I'm going to do that. Liked it much. However, my one looks more like a small keyboard without wrist pads or smth like that, just a square-shaped thing. And it's amazing for a HOSAS setup, as it could be used with any hand, depending on which functions I'm willing to sacrifice... for a split-second, lol (but still I have all 'hot', combat binds on the sticks). Left stick is for lateral-vertical thrusters, throttle, boost and other engine controls, except for the main trigger, it's used for heatsinks, I need to use them even during complex manoeuvres. And right stick is a classic 'direction, targeting, pip management' thing. Left-sided keypad is awesome for HOTAS, as throttle remains in the same position, but sticks are going to the zero point, breaking the manoeuvre.
That sounds great. HOSAS really sounds like the best way to go, I would think for ship control it would be more accurate/controllable than HOTAS, but returning to zero would screw me up for sure.
I like the Razer gamepad, but I would like one for the right side as well. I'm currently using a razer mouse with 12 additional buttons (different games) and for my hands it's a little difficult. If you don't mind me asking, what brand is the small square game pad you are using, I may look into it for my right side.