Supmua

Hopefully very soon The hardware is pretty much final, the software needs a bit of tweak but it's mostly ready (IMO).

I nabbed an Asus Strix z690 F mobo on Amazon. Still debating 12700K vs 12900K cost/performance, DDR5 RAM speed and brand, CPU cooler, etc. These components are getting more and more expensive every year, on top of the worldwide shortages. The problem is they might all be OOS soon for the next couple of months.

The throttle will be out soon but with the F-35 throttle grip. You may have to wait a bit longer for the F-16 replica, as the next release will likely be the F-35 joystick grip.

I don’t have a buttkicker but have been using a jetseat device without any issue. My FSSB is at least 3-4 years old now. It’s designed to take some beating but not superstrong at the connection point, constant vibration is fine but long term use of excessive force is probably not a good idea. My advice is not to set the resistance force in setting beyond max limit (lower if you can) if you want a long lasting device. The CEO is an older guy who reminds me of a typical college/med school professor rather than a savvy businessman. He is very very knowledgeable when it comes to jets and engineering and that’s why we click so much. If he doesn’t answer a mail it is probably because he is in his labs brainstorming stuff.

I haven't had a chance to play with physical detents so cannot comment, but I'm planning to have a brief AV chat with Manuel later today and that is one of my planned questions/comments. I think you can do this without opening up the case and they're located on the bottom side of the throttle, but I'm not 100% sure (as of yet). The default settings have 5 different positions (Idle, Hover start, Hover end, AFB, Emergency), but for most aircrafts you would probably need just the Idle and AFB. I think the Emergency position is mainly for the Eurofighter. It also seems that these detent positions can be set to activate DX inputs as well. Edit: I've confirmed that the physical detent is a stainless steel screw-in device that can be inserted into the bottom holes. You can just flip the throttle over and screw them in. These detents can also activate DX inputs via setting. Variable throttle response curves (sensitivities if you will) can also be applied to these different zones

Yes it does. All the knobs have a center detent as well as center press function, not to mention zero jittery. These are high quality switches also, they have distinctive sounds when clicked on that you can hear and feel right away. This throttle will definitely cover most if not all of your needs since it has more buttons and switches than anything else out there (plus 8 memory slots), unless you are very anal about having a true dual throttle.

I think it is more compatible with BT 4 than 5, especially in the setting of multiple wifi devices or interferences in the household. Using a BT 4 dongle is the way to go. The key is to disable your motherboard's bluetooth via device manager first, which is typically listed as Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth(R), otherwise it will override your external BT.

First Impressions: Realsimulator's RS-F35 throttle The RS-F35 throttle is a replica of the F-35 throttle from Realsimulator, and I'm quite lucky and honored to be able to check out the pre-release version recently. So I want to give some early impressions after having used it for the past few days, for people who might be interested. The throttle is not a true 1:1 replica but slightly modified to accommodate home users, especially VR users who may want to bind extra buttons that are difficult to reach in VR, so it actually has much more functionality than the real thing. The throttle base is meant to be the counterpart of the FSSB R3L joystick base, which means that it will accept multiple different grips in the future. So this is a long-lasting device by design that will be able to pair with future grips from the company. There is not much to say about the build-quality from a Realsimulator device, it is premium. The throttle base is metal (Aluminum) and it is thick, solid and heavy (unlike flimsy thin aluminum seen in other devices), probably heavier than the Warthog throttle, which means it won't move when you plop it down on the surface. The grip itself is made of high-density resin, and no visible seams can be seen on the device. The switches are not milspecs, but are just fine for home use. The F-35 throttle grip has very organic appearance and is quite comfortable to hold and operate. The original already has crazy amount of buttons and switches, but RS goes a step further to provide more to accommodate VR users. Most of the switches are 5-way (even the speed brake), except for the range knob and the antenna elevation control. One gripe I used to have about my current F/A-18 throttle is that it doesn't have enough grip buttons for the A-10C operation unless I use a modifier switch, but I'm happy to report that there is no issue with this throttle as it provides much more functionality than I need. The base itself is as long as the Winwing's Super Taurus throttle, has 5 different positions for mechanical detent (stainless steel screws) that can be configured based on your needs. It has 9-inches of linear travel unaffected by gravity, unlike angular-based devices which require tension setting, which makes throttle operation very smooth and precise. The base itself has a dial switch with center detent as well as center press, an On-Off switch, and an On-Off-On switch. It has micro-USB ports in the front and back, allowing flexibility in terms of front/back connection. The throttle itself may have a simplified appearance but don't let this fool you. Through some crazy software engineering, this throttle which has 49 buttons is quite a little monster and is on another level when compared to other throttles that I have used in the past. For example, it's got split throttle control even though it is a single throttle device. In this mode, when you rotate the range knob clockwise with the index finger (antenna dial switch can also be used for this) the throttle control splits, right throttle input increases and the left throttle power drops, and the degree of the split depends on how much the range knob is rotated. Rotate it counterclockwise and the opposite split occurs, all this happens while you are moving the throttle up/down to increase or decrease the power and both inputs stay separate. There are also other modes where you can choose to affect the left or right throttle input and leave the other one at default, all this is done via a flick of a switch. The throttle has 8 physical axis inputs, but through clever programming it becomes a 16-axis device. This is listed as HID 1 and HID 2 in the setting, one of which is virtual. You can really do something crazy with this. I can control up to 8 dial switches at once using a single dial knob via software setting. For example, in the F/A-18C, all of my internal and external light switches are controlled by a single knob from the throttle base. This allows more freedom of having all kinds of settings and bindings based on your imaginations. The true power of the device, however, is unleashed when paired with the FSSB R3L base or any Realsimulator grip, which allows access to 8 memory slots. Whatever you can do with the throttle by itself, multiply that by 8 plus extra functionality that comes with those other devices such as macro, voice/text overlay, etc. So far, I've used this with DCS World (had to brush up my AAR skill which has gotten quite rusty), MSFS 2000, Mechwarrior 5, Star Wars: Squadron. The throttle's operation is very smooth and very precise with long throw, and the overall functionality is out of this world due to great software engineering. The throttle split control is quite a real surprise and pleasure to use even though I probably won't be using it much in my actual gameplay. While its capability is already beyond my need from a few days of usage, I'm pretty sure that I've only scratched the surface of this device. For those who are interested, the big question would be whether you really need this throttle. The answer is probably not as any typical throttle can probably fit most of your needs since any device will still take you from point A to point B. But for people who are looking for something extra and something premium in a modern and high-tech throttle with superior software and hardware engineering, with flexibility of interchangeable grips, the RS-F35 throttle is at the top of my list and I'm pretty sure that it will be my go to throttle (once I get my own) since it's such a pleasure to use and so incredibly powerful. Keep in mind that this is a test unit so I won't be able to go too deep in terms of operations or other details, and things can still change until the final release. You can also watch LowBlow's video stream here for more info. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1151652728 Cool F-35 video here. EDIT: The throttle split control is almost like a cheat mode for AAR for dual-throttle aircrafts, it allows you to bank left or right very smoothly, slightly, and accurately without affecting the pitch. Shaky hands during AAR? No problem. Bind throttle control to the Antenna dial in memory slot 2. Switch to mem slot 2 during AAR and you can dial in throttle inputs by 1 pixel at a time. EDIT: Just realized that the hardware detents are preinstalled, all you have to do is screw each all the way in (Allen #10) as needed. Quite clever.

I like doing these types of comparison myself but have no real desire to switch camp, especially now that I’m getting Varjo Aero which doesn’t support AMD GPU.

I’m using the exact same combination, you need to use Bluetooth mode for the RS grip in order for it to function properly. The way Virpil assigns their DX numbers on their bases is different from TM and RS, that is why DX inputs don’t match in terms of button presses (a lot of button presses will either not register or correspond to the wrong inputs); and the only base that can unleash all the functions of RS grips is the FSSB R3L. TM Warthog base works with corresponding button mappings but only supports 19 DX inputs (RS grips have 8 memory slots, each supports up to 64 DX inputs). So, you would be significantly gimping the true capability of your RS grip unless you use it in BT mode or with FSSB R3L base. Now I think that compatibility can happen via firmware update by either company to support correct button mappings, but why would they make an extra effort to support products from other companies when they don’t really have to. If these products sell in millions I can see that happening but in reality these are niche products catering to enthusiast segment only.

Very nice. The only thing I don’t like about the default Warthog throttle besides the silly slew nub is the red button on the throttle grip which is rather hard to press, otherwise it’s near perfect. This mod looks like it would up the usability by quite a bit.

This result surprises me, such a big delta.

Will post first impressions this weekend.

Try a non-powered USB hub (like a 3-4 way hub). If that doesn’t work the only option would be logic board replacement. The last time I had to do that (logic board) was a few years back. There is also a guy on eBay that would fix the logic board if you don’t want to deal with TM tech support. Edit: I managed to fried my TMW logic board again somehow. The cost for a new board is $47 via Thrustmaster support.

Directly from Steam's page VIVE Software 2.0.19.0 – Beta Release Notes Released October 26th 2021 Vive Console [General] Improved on motion compensation quality Fixed a bug where vive console doesn’t appear on the screen [OpenXR] Enable XR_MSFT_scene_understanding Enable XR_HTC_facial_expression for VIVE facial tracker (Experienced release) Fixed rare engine editor crash on releasing hand tracking API layer

There might be and I’ll get to show you soon, but I might be a bit biased [emoji16].

It seems Pimax is trying to add all of the thinkable features out there in VR and cram them all into this new headset. Wireless, face/body/eye trackers, crazy high res, hybrid aspheric/fresnel lenses, auto-IPD, active cooling, stand-alone mode without PC. I mean it sounds really great on paper, but let's wait and see the actual hardware demo. I just hope it doesn't turn out like their sword controller which was supposed to be much superior to the Index controller.

Yeah I did a short free flight on the infamous Marinas map earlier and it was quite tolerable at 1:3 reprojection (30 fps on the main island) with no significant visual artifacts at all, not to mention 1:2 reprojection in other maps were buttery smooth. So, it seems they also improved the frame pacing somehow. The VP2 was really hampered by the software that wasn't quite ready for release, but this update seems to help unleash the true potential of this headset. I didn't have time to do extensive testing but Vive's motion compensation did feel as good as SteamVR's motion smoothing. Edit: Forgot to mention that you can exit SteamVR without seeing the "SteamVR has crashed" window now. You would still see that message if you close the Vive Console first though. So the correct procedure is to exit SteamVR first then either leave the Vive console on or close it.

There has always been a firmware that allows single HID but limits the total inputs to 32 DX buttons per memory slot. The upcoming one opens up all the possible inputs (64) per memory slot while retaining single HID on windows listings (activated by depressing any 5-way button then push up/down/left/right). Check if you currently have 32 or 64 DX inputs.

The latest Vive Console beta is now on Steam. It seems to have fixed jelly-like artifacts with motion smoothing (or compensation) which makes this a game changer for me. I didn't have time to test it with other titles but DCS plays like a dream on my VP2 now with motion compensation on. Without motion compensation the ground objects close to you become blurry during a gun run when you're close to the ground.

The specs seem really ambitious and almost too good to be true. We'll see if they can pull that off by Q4 2022. Why announce a product a year ahead of the released schedule though.

Those weird pixel numbers probably have something to do with binocular overlap, geometric correction, etc. You can read about DSC tech here. This is one of the reasons why NVIDIA is still ahead of AMD in the GPU arena, imo, more mature software solution especially when brute forcing with hardware can’t get things done. AMD is catching up though, just not quite at the same level yet. https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/dsc-higher-fidelity-vr/

Right now the single HID option is only for the FSSB R3, but this will be available for all the grips as well.

It’s currently in testing but you can email them and ask for the latest beta version, don’t think they would mind that. For games with limited HID devices support, I suggest that you use HIDHide app or something similar to mask some of the devices (can be configured per app as well). I have 15+ peripherals, and this allows me to play MSFS without crashing in control setting menu.

Yep. They sell high-end military sim gear mostly to the professional sectors. The FSSB price isn’t too bad considering the professional version would cost 2,500 Euro. I don’t have the Cougar but you can buy an adapter from them (or other vendors) to connect the throttle directly to the PC.