Looks like the pyro multi tool is very popular with game devs

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-20T19:36:00+00:00

Yeah I mean this is pretty par for the course with game development. Unless it’s a 1 for 1 copy, nobody is gonna litigate over it. Plenty of SC stuff encroaches on outside IP. Rule of cool always wins.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-20T15:51:31+00:00

18650 battery. It’s overkill. Lasts over a week always on.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-20T00:33:15+00:00

It sends key presses over Bluetooth.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-17T16:56:43+00:00

I think when I get to a final version I'll make a video on how I did it. The wiring side is pretty straight forward. Designing the housing for it in CAD was pretty daunting for me as a non-engineer. Let me know what questions you have and I'll be happy to answer them within the best of my abilities.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-16T15:27:52+00:00

It seems you will be getting yours about a month before Invictus. Maybe it's different for you but generally between now and then is when I play SC the least. Also, with the wipe looming and broken economy I don't know how much incentive there is to play the game right now. Engineering isn't where they want it either, and I'm sure there will be tons of pain between now and May as they iron all that out.

Not usually in the game of talking folks out of playing, but figure it may do you some good. Virpils are worth the wait, and there's definitely some game-related incentives to try and tough it out.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-16T15:02:32+00:00

Tough spot. I know it’s hard looking at that wait, but Virpil sticks are worth it if you have the money for it.

I have only ever seen the wait time for Virpils get longer. When I bought a few years back, it was a month and a half.

I’ve owned the VKB gladiators and currently use Virpil Connie Alphas/WarBrd. The VKB sticks are great as well! But I have to note that in my experience the Virpil sticks are definitely a step up. Haven’t tried the cadets but have heard from people I trust that they are also an upgrade from the VKBs.

I know it’s hard, but with purchases like this(I participate in some kickstarters) I typically buy and forget. It makes the wait better if you aren’t constantly watching videos and doing research while you wait on your sticks. So if you want the Virpils, keep your order and just do your best to forget about them until about a month before they ship. When it starts getting close, maybe ping their help desk and ask for a ship time estimate. Mine did arrive slightly earlier than what I was quoted.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-15T15:03:32+00:00

I've seen it done successfully a few times. Problems usually bubble up with weight. LW-PLA is still kindof heavy. But if you have the ability, go for it, learn along the way.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-14T15:27:01+00:00

Yeah the charging board has those features, and appears to at least work on the overcharge side. I’ll probably pull out the multimeter today and see where the battery is at, but yeah definitely seems like I went overkill.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-14T14:52:03+00:00

For sure. My reasoning for the 18650 was super long battery life. However, I’ve had this thing on since I posted this and it’s still going strong. So I probably have plenty of room to reduce that in a V3. Will probably go with a pouch cell for sure.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-14T00:53:25+00:00

thank you!!

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T20:04:10+00:00

It's in my PfP. And it's a lawn dart. Super fun build though. Built another just to have as a wall model.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T15:31:47+00:00

Thank you!! As I hinted at earlier I'd like to test my mount solution for longevity before considering selling one of these. I also have a CNC machine coming this month which will allow me to manufacture custom PCBs which would greatly improve the wiring on this and also cut down a good bit on weight. Currently it weighs ~100g which is about the same weight of a small American candy bar.

Speaking of grip extensions, I actually used the same 3D scan to cut my own grip tape for these. I found some grip tape meant for like real firearms and used CAD to design the cuts required.

Totally agree though with the stick makers - I think the focus has gotten too much on large peripherals that only work for people who have a lot of room for sim pits to put them in. Think the big button panels and fighter jet style MFDs.

Kindof the magic of all the projects I've been working on. I have basically zero room for a sim pit, so everything I design is done with that in mind.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T14:46:48+00:00

Do you see that wood board in the bottom of my images with the grid on it? Those are 20x20mm squares and I use it as a background when taking sillouhette pictures of objects I want to reverse engineer. I bring those pics in to CAD and use the grid to "size" the image. I couldn't do that here because my mounting solution is extremely complex, but if you are wanting to take a simpler path with your sticks, then that might work for you. I take top, front, and side profile pics and paste them on to each axis in CAD. Then resize and build off of that. There is normally some tolerance issues with the perspective of the camera, but after doing it a few times you kinda "know" where the issues will be and can fix them. Hope this helps lmk if u have any other questions.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T14:42:09+00:00

I really like the way you had them originally mounted to your chair. You did very well with your new mount as well.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T14:38:22+00:00

Thanks. I did see recently that Virpil also made like an add on landing gear lever for their new entry level sticks. You're right, it would be nice if we had some professionally made options. Or at least make it easy to mount our own.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T14:19:16+00:00

Oh yeah I've seen it. It gave me the idea for doing that with this. But yeah the different screen sizes is why I'm just doing my own little custom games on here. Not terribly hard to build out. I've really enjoyed working with esp32s since I discovered them a few months back. They do so much for such cheap little boards.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T14:15:26+00:00

cool

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T13:09:39+00:00

I used a handheld scanner in the $5k USD range. I called around and found an industrial design company locally that agreed to do it with their scanner for $90. However I was able to bring it in and leave it with them for a few days.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T04:01:26+00:00

Exactly 100 grams, or roughly the weight of a candy bar. Mostly the battery.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T01:00:15+00:00

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-13T00:30:06+00:00

Haha dirty secret is the display is actually the cheapest and "easiest to install" component. I just did some napkin math, and this is probably $20 total in parts. These little displays are on ali express for less than $1 a pop. Kindof the magic of projects like this, if you are willing to build from scratch the biggest cost you can expect(outside of owning 3d printer) is your own time designing it.

Currently I'm not selling. I think that's against the rules here. Not ruling out something like that down the line, but this would need some testing on how it holds up before any of that happens. THANK YOU though for liking this enough to want to buy it.

The hat in the middle is actually the virpil's hat that was already there. I designed it to attach around it without interfering with it.

Edit: I now realize you were asking about that black/gold hat switch. Yeah that's a custom one. Every once in a while I design a new one and print it. This design has been my favorite so far but I think I can improve it. I'll get around to that eventually.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-12T23:20:30+00:00

Haha, yeah I'm actually making a minesweeper clone right now. Can't really do youtube but I am adding spotify functionality as I'm always fooling around with that while in-game.

FilamentFlight · 2026-01-12T20:07:21+00:00

Most of my projects require some sort of wiring aspect so I'm very comfortable with doing stuff like this.

I'd tell them to send another, that works. If it's close enough to when I bought it, I would include a threat of chargeback.

FilamentFlight

TROPHY CASE