Everspace 2 is a fast-paced arcade space shooter. In it, players take on the role of a rogue pilot doing his best to escape a war-torn sector of space filled with bandits, warlords, and cultists. Everspace 2 challenges players to navigate through dangerous corridors, delve into derelict ships and combat ruthless enemies all from within the cockpit of their chosen ship.
Flying a ship in three dimensions requires precise controls and a variety of inputs, so many players tend to use a HOTAS (Hand on Throttle and Stick) setup. It’s an excellent choice for cerebral space simulators like Elite: Dangerous, but arcade shooters like Everspace 2 require fast throttle changes and jerky movements that can cause significant wear and tear on a HOTAS. Nonetheless, Everspace 2 does support HOTAS input. Here’s how to set it up and get the most out of it.
How to Enable HOTAS Input in Everspace 2
A HOTAS can be invaluable for precise flight control and pinpoint accuracy. The plethora of switches and buttons available ensures every flight control has a mappable key. That said, Everspace 2 isn’t as input-hungry as many other flight games. While there are a fair number of controls, there aren’t so many that a controller can’t handle it almost as well.
A HOTAS offers total control over pitch, roll, yaw, and maneuvering thrusters at all times, whereas a controller would need to remap some keys needed elsewhere. The controller options have a setting for Automatic Rolling that helps, but players might find that unsatisfying.
Here’s how to enable HOTAS controls in Everspace 2:
- Open the Settings Menu and move over to the “Input” tab.
- Select Customize Controls.
- Open the drop-down menu for the Select Preset field at the top of the page.
- Select the appropriate HOTAS device from the list. If the player’s HOTAS isn’t on the list, they should select Keyboard, Gamepad, or Empty. They’ll have to map all of their keys manually.
- Set the Input Method Override to Joystick to ensure the button prompts remain consistent.
- Go through the controls in the “Other” column to determine what’s mapped to each switch, axis, trigger, dial, etc., on the HOTAS. Map any controls that aren’t already mapped.
- Configure the dead zone, sensitivity, and inversion of all the axes.
- Select Apply and choose to save the changes.
After the controls are set, players should go back to the “Input” tab of the Settings Menu and select Joystick. There they’ll find a few more settings to help optimize their experience. Auto-Aim, Boost behavior, and Automatic Rolling can all be adjusted here. Automatic Rolling should be disabled for a HOTAS setup, but everything else is up to the player’s preference.
Tips for Using a HOTAS in Everspace 2
As previously stated, using a HOTAS in an arcade-style space flight game is risky business. A HOTAS is a notoriously fragile peripheral. Hard and fast controls can quickly damage it. That said, it can be effective and fun. Here are a few tips to help get the most out of using a HOTAS in Everspace 2:
- Set the sensitivity high and the deadzone low for Pitch and Yaw. This will ensure that it won’t be necessary to push the joystick to extremes to get good turns.
- Set the Roll axis to a medium sensitivity and deadzone to allow for smooth rolls.
- Lower the resistance on the throttle to minimum. The throttle needs to move freely between forward and reverse.
- Everspace 2 uses a 50/50 throttle, so there’s a place in the middle where the throttle is at zero. Players that have difficulty finding the middle should set the deadzone of the Thrust axis a little higher than normal.
Everspace 2 is out for PC, with an Xbox Series and PS5 version coming in the summer of 2023.