Replacing WASD keys with a Joystick.

Solution
if you bound the keys to be the same then most likely you could get it to work, though i'm not sure how well it will work for you.

joysticks are like analog sticks in that they assign a different % value depending on how far you push them in a direction. wasd uses a simple on or off approach.

movement in games for pc also assigns an on/off approach. the only way you would benefit fully from a joystick is if the game supports controllers (mainly if it supports analog sticks) and you are using the joystick as a controller. you would then likely be able to get omnidirectional movement as well as moving at different intervals of speed.

that is the biggest issue i forsee. while the joystick might move smooth you will still have on/off...
if you bound the keys to be the same then most likely you could get it to work, though i'm not sure how well it will work for you.

joysticks are like analog sticks in that they assign a different % value depending on how far you push them in a direction. wasd uses a simple on or off approach.

movement in games for pc also assigns an on/off approach. the only way you would benefit fully from a joystick is if the game supports controllers (mainly if it supports analog sticks) and you are using the joystick as a controller. you would then likely be able to get omnidirectional movement as well as moving at different intervals of speed.

that is the biggest issue i forsee. while the joystick might move smooth you will still have on/off type movement unless you can get it working like an analog stick in games which support controllers. if it still has on/off movement then its going to be very touchy and not an improvement at all

another thing to think about are the gamepads like the razer nostromos, the new one they just came out with and the one by logitech. you could use the 4way (razer) or 8way (logitech) hat switch for movement if you find it comfortable to move with your thumb.
 
Solution