coolts

UK amazon site today (link for HOTAS btw); Looking for something? We're sorry. The Web address you entered is not a functioning page on our site. Go to Amazon.co.uk's Home Page I Guess they are updating it. My pre-order stands and i havent had a "I.m sorry" email from them. [A BRAINWASHED TM FANBOY] [bRAIIINNNNNNSSSSSSSSS!!!]

<BRAINDUMP> The cost IS comparable with TM's competitor’s prices for their top of the line gear. Fact. So, cost isn’t an issue in itself. (Just in general). Let’s not get into the "things cost more nowadays" argument. Price won’t "come down" for a long long time. Cougars were still £300 after TEN years till about a month ago. Previews have been overwhelmingly positive across the board. Add [ "TM fanboys....."] argument, but we all have our own opinions and judgement. (Ive had CH, Saitek, TM an Logitech and dont consider myself a particular fan of any of them. Tools for the job.) Stick designed for DCS: A-10 but not limited to that in anyway. I can use my Cougar to play ARMAII easily. (and find uses for all those extra hats and switches in other sims. looking forward to it - INNER GEEK) No FFB, but has there EVER been any proper implementation of that, matched with a game that used it properly? (IL2 worked pretty well for me, but.....). Witness the g940/DCS:BS trim debacle. Also, FFB will break, (i had about 3 x Saitek’s in 5 years that all popped). Having a piece of metal / plastic throwing itself about inside the controller on purpose is not an engineering recipe for longjevity, (unless you are Nintendo. My N64 rumblepak still works). No pedals, but 80% of forumites here already have some sort of pedals that we can reuse, and besides, it would have added another £130 to the price right? You CAN use your massively modded and costly Cougar stick it you want! That’s a great move from TM. They didn’t have to do that. Would other manufacturers do that? </BRAINDUMP> ps. If its crap "take it back" (within 7 days)

Blimey mate you are going to pap your pants when you get some proper pedals, it makes that much difference. not kiddding. suddenly landing is easy and in the shark, you can pivot on a sixpence get a set of USB CH Pro pedals off ebay for about £60. they are rock solid and simple mecahnically. (less likely to break). my theory was, "they sit under my desk so im not spending loads on them".

Thats me that is! Just started creating a profile for AF. After a few weeks it will be done. Then the tweaking starts. Wouldnt it be nice to just get a stick and a a game that are made for each other. Oh wait........ As for pedals, cant you just re-use your existing ones? Do they have a USB connection?

I know what you mean. The floating cursor combined with the, "drank ten pints the night before", inertia makes pinpoint control decidedly dicey. I would much prefer the option to turn it off. It’s not exactly like asking for jump pads or anything. Reaction times are critical in this game where one shot kills. Lurching about like Frankenstein’s monster on roller-skates is not a survival technique IMO. Still love ARMAII though. Bless it.

hmmm. The lag is annoying though. Like a 'wading through custard' simulator sometimes. I know its touted as a realsm thing, but it only seems to end up simulating someone with slow reactions and ten thumbs. Someone who would get shot. ARMA II - Grandad Simulator :smilewink: I would prefer to be able to toggle the inertia. Unless its an engine limitation which my suspicious mind points towards.

got mine from amazon uk. no problems. robust, easy to install (download drivers from site and bin the daft micro-cd) makes FC2.0 sytems seem like a toy though. only falcon uses most of the buttons. back to AF till DCS:A-10 comes out!

Card gets charged on dispatch so don't worry there. If its turns out to be crap i will return it as £340 is too much too pay for a paperweight. "Believers"? I don’t think so. hardnosed simmers with years of disappointment under our belts, (gunship 2000), but with a firmly held belief that sometimes.....somewhere.....good things DO come to those that wait...[and preorder] :music_whistling: you are IRON MAN! there is no way that box is going to remain 'boxed' for more than ten minutes when it arrives. if i am at work there will be a bit of "boss shuffling" going on to open a window in the schedules for a group geek-out 'IT crowd' style..

I got 'Amazon prime' so i (usually) get free delivery. £40 a year. IT pays for itself in a couple of months if you are as lazy, (and hate malls), as me. [also, not wanting to sound like an advert for Amazon, but you can share Amazon prime membership, so, me, my other half and some guys from work all get free delivery and share the £40 a year. Being a cheapskate can be a social event!] Pre-ordered. This goes against my usual principles of “wait and see” but I have such a good feeling about this (sort of a negative 'han solo' effect), that I have surrendered. Too many people whose opinions i respect have had hands on with this HOTAS and had nothing bad to say. Nothing. Now either TM has compromising pictures of EVERYONE concerned or..........its damn good.

amazon link updated. now has an pics of throttle and stick with hotspots. (which are pretty cool for amazon. supplied by TM surely) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrustmaster-Hotas-Warthog-Joystick-Throttle/dp/B00371R8P4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1280214707&sr=8-1 payday tomorrow but it will be another month I reckon. wheres my stasis pod?

its like a Gillette advert. "a joystick for MEN** with switches for MEN and a throttle with lights and dials for MEN. works straight away so MEN dont have to mess around" they should sell them with free stubble! * and women (ps. without the stubble)

Stop.....tormenting.....me ! :joystick:

the throttle is an a whole different league to any other HOTAS never mind the cougar. joystick base akin to modded cougars with hall sensors, etc. no centre play in joystick no more fannying around with "firmwares", etc (a cougar thing) to be honest, if i had spent £100's on modding my cougar i would wait till the throttles turn up on ebay. (or TM sell them separate, which may happen down the line) i got mine cheap though so am selling to buy. [DCS:A-10 - plug and play. no farting about for a week in foxy or ingame with key assignments. it will just work. all buttons/switchas and hats. straight away. theres £100 just there IMO.]

nope. no panels. no pedals. but.... big lovely throttle with a million buttons proper switches new hall sensors (no more cougar faffs) metal heavy heavy metal

my 2p worth Well, it’s not cheap, but in comparison to the other pro-level HOTAS, it’s comparable. £40 more than the Cougar RRP....after ten years inflation. When you look at it like that, and its metal, and it’s a cougar. You pays your money and makes your choice. (Apologies for poor formatting. the forum messed up my table) HOTAS, RRP, Comes with pedals? Thrustmaster Hot as Warthog £339 No Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar £299 No Saitek Pro Flight X-65F £297 No Logitech Flight System G940 £299 Yes CH Pro throttle, stick & pedals £338 Yes For me pedals aren’t an issue as i bought some CH pedals from another forum regular, and before that was using my G25 wheel pedals, so am not fussed about "game-port-gate". Besides, i just forked out best part of £600 to have a "tree surgeon" chop 3 conifers down. It would have been cheaper you buy some beavers and let them have a go! PS [Pre-ordered] - entering poor mode PPS - got my MFD's on Saturday, and, man are they cool. Getting back into AF as it’s the only game to really use them, until A-10 comes out

Got it. Some tweaking in game sliders, etc. It auto trims which is nice (and lazy of me). The ULB / Helfire - Apache combo is worth the game price alone. Its super-cool

Cheers guys. It seems much more natural to me. I guess it saved 1-2 fps to remove the pilot.

Guys Returning to BS and have been watching Wags producers notes to get a leg up. On some of his vids, the pilot has a body! Is this a mod? Used to FSX, etc. where your plane is inhabited by a ghostly spirit pilot. Having actual arms and legs seems.....decadent. Coolts (the invisible avatar) :holloween:

Heh, i know, and to be honest, once i get the hang of it, (as i did in ARMA1), it’s a blast. You do kind of wonder though, if the top bods at BI and ED had lunch....... Imagine a combined micro/macro battle simulator. High fidelity ground battle and integrated air operations. If a military buyer was interested, (as seems to be the pre-requisite financial prerogative for both companies, and in the current economic situation, who can blame them?), then the eventual consumer potential would be absolutely awesome. There, that’s me dreaming again. Back to helo 101 [i now know why I am crap. When I had ARMA1 I hadn’t even heard of DCS:BS. Now I am used to the shark, I am all over the place in the ARMA2 helo’s]

Its the movement range i reckon. It only uses a few % of the whole controllers range. Upping the sensetivity just shunts the range up. I will get the hang of it. At least it hasnt got the DCS:BS "Trimmer of death".......or any trimmer.....Actually, it needs a bloody trimmer! thats why i cant fly it!

Guys Do any of you have a quick way of determining if a bridge has been destroyed? I have had a few attempts based on having a vehicle nearby that will presumably get destroyed if the bridge is hit, thus triggering a flag. Seems a bit fiddly to me.

Case. my attempt didnt work. you cant put a waypoint on a bridge. looking at your suggestion, I would need to have the vehicle constantly moving back and forth and timing its route to determine if the bridge was destroyed. (As the bridge destruction could happen within the 1st 20 mins of the mission starting). it might be easier just to put a single truck near the bridge and hope that spash damage would take it out and trigger a flag.

Heli HOTAS controls are all over the place. Throttle only works from 50%-100% and there arent any joystick curves. i may try and make a Foxy profile instead. as it is, i cant control the helos at all, and i completed the DCS:BS campaign! :joystick: The lack of proper weather sucks as even COD had dramatic thunderstorms, etc. but, I still really rate the game and constantly prod my colleagues to give it a try. Most people are tuned to Quake/ COD type games though and ARMA is too hard for them. ("wheres the healthpack and exploding barrels?")

Started faffing with the ME. I had an idea in my head..."...a freezing, rain lashed stormy night. The exhausted spec ops team sruggled against the biting wind as they ascended the slope to the enemy held outpost. Only their training and their desire to complete their mission kept them going." I managed some slight drizzle and a breeze with all the weather sliders maxed out. Not exactly "where eagles dare". more "where budgies snooze" Still, the ME has some benefits over the FC ME.

Cheers. I will try both tonight and see which seems the most natural/flexible. Here's hoping for a more robust editor in A-10 so we don't have to rely on so many hacks! Thanks C