To: http://www.simhq.com/_technology3/technology_175a.html
3. Use the HOTAS Warthog in combination with rudder pedals connected through the Cougar
One of the key points SimHQ learned about Thrustmaster's T.A.R.G.E.T. (Thrustmaster Advanced pRogramming Graphical EdiTor) programming software is that it will support the HOTAS Warthog, the Cougar, the Cougar MFDs, the T.16000M, and possibly other Thrustmaster USB devices. This means that buttons and axes from all of these devices can be combined into virtual controller combinations. For example, if one owned a HOTAS Warthog, a Cougar, and Simped rudder pedals with toebrakes connected to a Cougar, one could map a virtual controller that used the HOTAS Warthog's two stick axes, the HOTAS Warthog's two throttle axes, the HOTAS Warthog's one throttle rotary, the Simped pedals' one rudder axis, and the Simped pedals' two toebrake axes. That's eight axes (the DirectX limit for a single controller) from three different physical devices connected to the computer through two different USB cables.
The obvious advantages of T.A.R.G.E.T.'s ability to integrate Cougar axes is that Thrustmaster has not made the Cougar or its third-party-designed peripherals obsolete, despite the fact that the Cougar is 10 years old. While one will certainly want to hang onto their Cougar if they own expensive Simped pedals, this rudder-integration-by-Cougar method will also work with simple CH and Thrustmaster pedals connected via gameport to the Cougar stick base.
The obvious disadvantages of this method are that one must keep the Cougar and keep it plugged in. Thus, one may not want to sell their Cougar to help offset the cost of a new HOTAS Warthog, since it might eradicate their rudder pedal solution. The Cougar stick base also must be connected to the computer to enumerate the rudder pedals. However, this will work with the throttle disconnected and even with the stick handle itself removed from the stick base, in effect resulting in a rather compact "project box" to hold the connector and circuitry required to enumerate the rudder pedal axis or axes to T.A.R.G.E.T.
So, in effect Thrustmaster has done everything they can to support users of any existing rudder pedal set except put a gameport connector onto the HOTAS Warthog, Cougar-style (and with it being 2010, who can blame them?). All they haven't done is engineered and marketed a new model of rudder pedals themselves (nor, we were told, do they currently have plans to do so).