James Hallows

Good to see you around Ronht ;) Glad you're enjoying this new beast. Rather a different kettle of fish to what we've had to date! ;) Cheers James

If you're in the lucky position to be able to afford or own more than one HOTAS, in my opinion there are benefits in doing so. There's a definite place for force modded Cougars, and ES/NXT modded Cougars, and they complement the Warthog in its genre nicely. Nutty

Yes, and let me clarify. Regarding functionality, one of my jobs was to propose the capabilities in detail of the underlying software that will be used across several projects. The software that Teej has access to is essentially a reasonably low level scripting software to test these capabilities. It underpins any software layer that chooses to sit on top of it (eg. TARGET). I have stated that it is time to retire Foxy and my aim has always been to retire it by having a hand in something far more capable. Whilst I've also had the opportunity to detail some ideas for the GUI, and have done so through various docs and meetings, I've purposefully declined the offer to get involved further as I cannot give to this project the time that I was able to give to the Cougar and Foxy, due to life and work commitments. Guillaume is looking after TARGET and I'm hopeful many more people will find programming their controllers much easier than Foxy allowed. Of course, the hardcore can get scripting and really go to town. So with whatever software that TM releases, credit goes to their developers and teams, not me. ;) Cheers Nutty

@Teej - one of the most disappointing decisions I've had to make. TM asked me to go out to E3 at their expense, but the timing wasn't good with work commitments that I just couldn't reschedule. Very very frustrating for me I can tell you. :( @Burner - from Day One I've suggested selling the throttle separately because I see the possibility that more will be sold then to guys who want to stay with their current sticks (brand irrelevant), but just want a split throttle or better throttle option. I saw this as particularly relevant to Cougar owners. That was all before the first prototype landed here. Now, having used the new stick, seriously ... you will want to own one of these. Like I said I love my modded Cougars, but the new stick base and grip is to die for. It is very .. very .. very good indeed. One day I'll tell the story of how and why this came about ... from Cougar gimbal issues, to the T16000M to the Warthog. It's really fascinating. I'd better wait for my contract and NDA to run out first though! ;) Cheers James

What a thread! ;) I've been involved with the Warthog from the first meeting when we discussed what to develop for flight simmers, through each production prototype and addressing each issue in turn. I won't add my opinion on it because it'll no doubt attract criticism similar to some of the posts in here. I will however say that comparisons with the Cougar are, whilst understandable, without basis. This is something just completely different. I bet if it didn't have a TM name on it the soothsayers in here would be all awash with excitement. I will just pick up on the comments directed at Wags. I can state categorically that units were sent out to the ED guys without any obligations whatsoever. It was very much a: "We'd like to show you what we're doing. Let us know what you think and whether you'd be interested to support these natively in DCS A-10. And if you have any feedback or ideas, we'd love to hear them." If Wags or others are happy to promote the Hog and give it good feedback, then it's received with gratitude. And that's it. Im still a big fan of a force sensor modded Cougar and hall sensor modded Cougar throttle being predominantly a Viper driver. But I do use the Warthog's grip on my FSSB modded Cougar. And the Hog's throttle is great for all its backlit switches and for when I want to fly a two engined jet in Falcon. I'm very much looking forward to flying this thing in DCS A-10. It does look awesome from the vids I've seen! Anyway, whichever HOTAS you fly with, remember we're all simmers. Being such a small niche market, let's be grateful to all those hardware and software developers who facilitate out enjoyment of this hobby. Cheers Nutty

They are differential toe brakes (they're pressure sensitive). These are the nicest / most reliable rudders I've used. They don't feel as sturdy as the TM Elites or RCS and initially I didn't like them because of that. However the precision and ease of moving away and around the centre position changed my perspective on that, and they're the only rudders I now use. James

I can't comment too much, but I can say that I am not developing a version of Foxy for the HOTAS Warthog. The style of programming we developed for the Cougar arose from previous syntax TM users were familiar and comfortable with. That has produced a very capable and very powerful system for the HOTAS Cougar. But now there's a need for something that can program a multitude of TM controllers such as the Warthog, Cougar and MFDs together, and furthermore, vastly increase the programming capability beyond what you've experienced to date. I probably can't say as yet what my role is in regards to that, and nor can I comment on the software TM are developing. It is my hope that Foxy can be retired by something far more capable, and as such, I'm playing my part to try and ensure that one day, that becomes a reality for you. (Actually I'm still going to use Foxy for my Cougar, because that works well on Win 7 and below, and I'm comfortable with it. The clever thing is is that I can still use that with the Cougar, as well as use the new stuff on top of that for the Cougar and the other controllers. Best of both Worlds as it were.) That's all I can say at this stage I'm afraid. Cheers James ps. Glad some of you are as excited about the Hog's switches on its base as I am. But those aren't the only new features TM are introducing with this setup. Watch out for further information regarding the throttle and the stick.

The first time I did this I used hot water and Fairy liquid bud ;) Worked a treat! Cheers James

Hmmm .. tricky. Of course it might be that users would be happy to sacrifice a Cougar to use with your grip. In which case it might be possible to explore using the wiring from the throttle's microstick for your analogue hat switch (and incorporate possibly that T1 switch position) and the electronics from the F-16 grip. In some countries the cost of the Cougar is pretty cheap particularly in relation to some mods, so that may be a solution. It's then fairly easy to modify Foxy to support the new grip. Cheers James