topdog

UK price is assumedly with 17.5 VAT already added into it; whereas isn't it more common for sales tax on US prices to be applied more individually to different areas/states, so it's not in the general listed prices online? If so, that'd make it nearer 299 GBP + VAT vs. 399 USD + any applicable sales tax, which isn't quite so heinous (unlike, say, a comparison in gas prices!), otherwise I'd agree that it's typical of some other product pricing I've seen where that wasn't the case and not nice pill to swallow. I don't think I could enjoy using a force sense stick anyway as I like the 'throw around' feeling of using a moving cyclic control, until I was able to substitute one sensation of movement for another like this: Then it'd work for me, in fixed wing at least. Not for tanks or helos or what have you. I'm also getting hooked into the programmable LEDs and MFDs now, and that's another kind of feedback I'd miss. So a pass from me, but still interested in the warthog...

You mean it's acting as a mode shift and you use an SST profile? What I do is edit my SST profile, click on Views so I have the tabular format (not the 'graphical' view of the throttle and stick), then deleted the 3 columns of shiftstates that involved mode1+pinkie, mode2+pinkie, mode3+pinkie. Upload your .pr0 file if you like and I'll see if it knackers my pinkie control too.

In case of a .dll hell type problem, search this link below for ".local" and see if it helps; the short version is "create an empty file called LockOn.exe.local in the same folder as the LockOn.exe file" but the article has more info as to why this can help if you'd like to know: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms811700.aspx It may not help in this particular case, but it won't hurt to try, and if you still have the same probs afterwards it's easy to cleanup by simply removing the empty file again. Given a clean reinstall seemed to fix things for another poster, it's a distinct possibility that a clash with another app that was installed/patched previously could be behind the problem. Regarding other points made of Program Files and MS support lifecycle: I like Reg® but that article's pretty stupid. It's only referring to the SP0 version of Vista (which like the SP0 and SP1 versions of XP is already long-since retired too). It'll still be years yet before Vista SP2 and beyond is retired. This is all part of their normal support lifecycle applied to all OS (when a new SP comes out, older SPs or 'base install' OS have 12-24 months left on the clock). So that article's just tabloid media hype and not at all indicative of the 'love' for an OS by its maker (trust me, Microsoft love its ugliest abominations to the bitter end of their cycles like only a mother could, it's when they kill off the good stuff (like VB6) completely unnecessarily to try and strongarm (not strongharm :D) them into using .net that it's time to /boggle). (You surely aren't running Vista without service packs are you?) Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ - skip through to "19. What is the policy for service packs?" Regarding phobia of the Program Files folder; this is mostly due to your permissions and the programmers don't need to change a thing really. Create the game folder yourself inside Program Files manually, like 'lockon' or 'eagledynamics', and then make yourself the owner of it (administrator will be the owner otherwise, as inherited from Program Files) and give yourself full control. Anything you install in there now will be no less peachy and free of any UAC / VirtualStore issues just as if it had been installed somewhere else like another games folder you create. This is with UAC still fully on and whilst also not exposing you to any security probs by reducing permissions outside of this folder. Modman, lockon, blackshark, they're all running just fine (despite modman's incessant nagging to the contrary). The real fault there is with MS for not providing good enough UI intuition and/or documentation for this side of Vista, they just focused on the eye-candy docs it seems. It's unfortunate to have to (seemingly) jump through extra hoops to get an app installed into the Program Files (the natural place for it), but those who appreciate UAC's goal can live with this at install time since that's relatively rare occurrence compared to having to make concessions at every run time.

I do have a half-interest in something like that, but purely for replacing the # -> F2 -> F6 -> F3 sequences to radio commands around and to call them out instead. I've seen other products used/sold to do it. I will more likely go the route of a cockpit / MFD build for organizing my controls and keys first. Actually, the X52 Pro was the first step towards doing that really because my other joystick wasn't really up to the task of distancing me from the keyboard enough. Thanks, the tip is appreciated. When I come to getting that setup I'll add it to the products I compare and price out before choosing one.

The ministick may be clashing with your mouse (and its driver), since that's more or less what it tries to masquerade as by default. Crazy idea perhaps but maybe you'll have success tackling the problem from the other end, any chance of a driver update being available out there for the mouse or is it a basic MS mouse just driven from the OS-supplied drivers? Conflicts with my existing mouse (Razer Copperhead - so has its own systray icon and macro abilities for buttons and stuff) was a worry I had to begin with, but was glad when I had none. It's what I'd try if I did hit any though.

Hover landing, but I'm pretty aggressive at my approach to it, it's almost like a runway landing until a sharp 180 turn to bleed off speed and remaining low before dropping her down, which I'm sure breaks all sorts of aerial etiquette :) I'm actually not very good at the controlled/stable decline-to-hover approach without gaining mucho altitude or ending up going seriously backwards. My method has nothing to do with ability! I will continue to practice at attempting/doing it the right way though as well, until I get it.

I maybe had a bad hair day, but to me the difference between hat/pro clip was the speed and smoothness of the updating, you know how like a laggy mouse appears to trail behind your actions in a lassoo motion? Good mouse operation is sharp and precise? It was that kind of sensation for me, but not by much, and maybe affected by my environment. I agree it's plenty good both ways though :) I wouldn't have noticed unless I even had a pro clip to try out even probably, but that gave me the opportunity to test them out and look for differences side by side.

I've heard of some people getting good results with freetrack and similar stuff, but trackir5 is definitely the supercar of head trackers especially if combined with the pro clip (though hat clip does a pretty good job too). If I couldn't use mine because it broke or got lost, I would not hesitate to replace it ASAP, and I don't do anything fancy mine's pretty much using out of the box config/profile with just the pause/precision buttons disabled (so I don't run out of key combinations in BS!); center is the only one I really need to use. Remember to minimise the applet to system tray after setup before you start using it in-game, the applet is good but it's actually kinda hungry on system resources when trying to keep up high frame rates (in the background). Once minimized the resource usage is unnoticable. I only use the applet for periodic 'calibration' (checking my rotations go to extents/extremes easily and without dropping off the radar before they get there) - we're talking once every day or two if it seems a bit 'off' when I put it on and it takes about 30 seconds to fix, otherwise just good to go.

Does the controller config screen in Blackshark list the X52 Pro column (separate from the keyboard and other columns)? If you do and you double-click in the cell for that column and action you want to assign to the joystick, the pop-up window that appears should only require you to actually click the corresponding button on the joystick to assign it - as the others have mentioned. This should work even if you're using the SST profiler (with its icon in the system tray), but in case you've accidentally loaded or edited the profile such that it is conflicting with Blackshark, there is a Clear Profile option on the icon's menu which you should use. Otherwise, whenever you assign a macro or keypress in the SST profile editor to your joystick, games will no longer see that button as a joystick action, but as a genuine keyboard keypress instead (a macro is just a sequence of uninterrupted keypresses that happens on the press of a button, in case you wanted multiple things to happen on a single click). If it's still not playing ball for you, let us know if the icon is in your system tray for the saitek profiler, and maybe a screenshot or two of what you're seeing within Blackshark, in case it's not what we'd expect on our own setups.

Depending on how successfully (quickly) I can get to grips with lua export capabilities, some time next week I may have a crack at a solution for this. I believe I can do it with a small app if it can receive changes in cockpit panels status (like knowing when master arm is on or off) and using keyboard hooking with some unused (in lomac/dcs:bs) keyboard commands to decide what to do during mode switches. Hardest part of this for me would honestly be the lua side since I've only glanced at the surface of it and not really sure what is the minimum interference with the game files to get what I need (and/or make it modman compatible) and time is precious/limited. If this works within the timeframe that I have, I'm also looking to integrate some x52 pro led and mfd programming (I'd like for example, when master arm is off, that my Fire LED is also off, and only lit when it is on, and things like flaps, autohover, gear, etc., I'd also light up appropriately). I've read up on the DirectOutput SDK and it looks easy enough, but again depends on my getting the cockpit status info I need through lua export. I haven't yet seen any existing projects tackle this - if I missed one I'd appreciate a pointer to them, if so maybe I can contribute rather than reinvent the wheels.

From my perspective, if you strapped that gun to the VW Beetle and then fired it, the car's 0-60mph time would break records - in reverse :D

FaceAPI is limited to some extent by the webcam quality and also the port used; most aren't really set to process high frame rates to create as fluid a motion as you can get from a 'real' headtracker unit, and firewire cams are rare for PCs, more common (in my experience) on macs. With firewire cams FaceAPI utilization was able to get down to only a few % CPU, but with USB the whole setup required more, I think in the order of 12-25%, and that was mostly a camera thing rather than to do with their software. You may get faster and more accurate tracking if you can lower the camera resolution and colour depth too, as processing greyscale smaller res streams would typically require less effort and bandwidth to capture and process, but it's all very much a 'depends' thing because of the independent parts all used in the setup vs. a 'one stop shop' solution dedicated and designed for the purpose. I've seen many vids on FaceAPI (I was interested in writing apps with it too for fun but the SDK is estimated to cost around 3-4K dollars which is out of my league), and it has the capability to do the job fast and well, it also has the potential to capture more than 6DOF as it does fairly good face expression and lip movement capture in real time. Unsure what to use that for unless they mapped the sticking out of my tongue into the game at other pilots though :P :D Edit: The non-commercial license I see only covers the 6DOF stuff, so presumably any hobby/community apps released would only have this capability too anyway.

It's only started happening in the last half hour or so it seems, search again and you should find some stuff on it now :D It's a database server error on their side, if alerts/alarmbells haven't already woken up the DBAs (admins) to fix it, "A dedicated mailbox for activation and payment problems" is where you'll need to request help from, and tell them they've got a database error to get fixed asap.

Q's for Mr Pink please- I was wondering if the i7 920 @ 4GHz was something you had planned on overclocking yourself or you went for a pre-set mobo/cpu(/ram) combo (and any tales to tell from the experience). I'd been looking at that as the 'easy way out' for not getting my hands too dirty by buying a bundled deal from OC myself. Also- are you running it air or water cooled? Cheers.

Whoever maintains the registration database (not sure if ED do this directly or it's a contracted service/job) needs to be told this problem is happening - the SQL Server database administrator is the one that needs to be engaged to fix it.

The problems are serverside with their database, not local to you. This is a standard SQL Server administration error message for the DBA to address. Your other thread/post here looks like it is already in the right place for getting the correct attention to it. Nothing that can be done on your side without their help though. I guess you should follow the info sticked on "A dedicated mailbox for activation and payment problems" and send the appropriate mails too if you haven't already. Make sure you mention the SQL Server error.

I've had a look at this and I think unfortunately without DCS/Lockon increasing the potential keys it's not easily fixable. In Lockon for example, flaps key aren't just up/down toggle, you could 'fully retract' or 'fully extend' flaps on individual keys, there were a number of other things you could activate 'on' or 'off' individually without it being a toggle. A lot of the shark's cockpit toggle switches/buttons are only given a single toggle command (and therefore key) though (which is where I'm noticing this as more of a problem). For improved device compatibility I hope this is something that could be changed/enhanced in the future. I do something similar now with mode switching (red light = weapons active, and it flips master arm on automatically, other modes = nav/flight, etc., and master arm goes by itself) and saw this same behaviour you're getting there too. Likewise I was looking at seeing if the 2 trigger positions could be used for different rates of gunfire, things like that, but that's looking awkward to setup effectively too :) Only options you can try playing with as combinations in the x52 profiler itself are whether the difference between a 'do nothing' and a 'fallback' action can impact the actions of the mode2+pinkie shift setting such that it doesn't re-engage mode2 settings when released. Personally I use pinkie for trim though, so I deleted modeN+pinkie lines from my x52 config.

Nothing to stop you using the pro clip; you just need a head visor / band to attach it to instead of to headphones (at least, most behind-the-head phones I've seen wouldn't interfere with this). I'd recommend you try it, you're wearing a hat anyway for the track clip right? You just need a vertical loop or fastener to bind the clip around the band - the knot in the makeshift belt-bandana I used was up to the task, but even a flat shoelace or something would allow it to be secured without making it uncomfortable to wear.

Took my X52 pro apart yesterday - new fault had developed with it and curiousity got the better of me even though it was under warranty. I can see why they have such hit and miss fail rates now - the combination of poor wire quality and even poorer securing of the wires in their solder joints that are prone to some movement (i.e. between the base of the joystick up the shaft) was pretty bad. The ones between the center shaft and the 'head' with the hat switches was done just as bad but at least these wires don't tend to move except simple gravity and inertia. Everything else was up to standard; the pcbs and components were well placed and secured, microswitches and LED fittings sound, hall sensor areas and the two-stage trigger all good. Just let down by flimsy wiring and flimsy workmanship on those same wires. Silly really, so easy and cheap to fix, I can't imagine it's cost effective for them to deal with warranty returns instead. I'll be fixing mine and putting it back together again tomorrow (have already tested that the wiring I fix is going to do the job). If I ever get the itch to mod it at all I can do so more fearlessly now, otherwise I can understand why people get aggravated at problems like this when shelling out a fair amount. It is close to being an awesome and reliable stick if they'd only make some minor low cost alterations. I'll probably go ahead and impulse-buy the TM warthog as soon as I can get my hands on one, I don't think I'd be looking to tinker/mod with that at all though :D

It's blinking because it's known as the 'clutch', which among other things is a way to be pressing other buttons you're not sure what their function is without actually having the system 'engaged' (like a gearbox) and actually pressing the button in-game. A kind of "what's this one do? whoops! that drops my bomb payload! and I haven't taken off yet!" safety measure. You can control if through the 'SST' profile editor; download the latest version of the drivers and this software from Saitek's site. Don't use outdated versions from the CD. In the profile editor you can also click each button and it will zoom to the definition of that button in the editor so you can quickly identify and change/control it. Turn it off as the clutch if you desire.

I was just going to get the TrackIR5 and make due with the hat clip, but the store I shopped around to get a good price from, not only had the cheapest one I could find, but was bundling the pro clip with it and still costing less than some other places - so couldn't resist. I don't like wearing headphones for playing most games so I made a makeshift bandana out of an old jiu-jitsu belt of mine and strapped it to that :D I've since switched to using it on headphones (which translate into less reconfiguration time needed each time I take the thing on/off because the headband would sometimes position itself and the clip at a different angle than before) but I'll probably go back to using a visor/headband to attach it to again later. It's quite apparent when configuring the hatclip vs. the pro clip at how more reactive and precise the pro clip allows it to be, even though it works well with the hatclip alone. The only reason I can see to have/keep the hatclip now is as a backup in case I accidentally crush the proclip or something, otherwise I'll never use it again. Edit: I turn off the Pause and Precision hotkeys completely, I don't really see or have a need for them, and just leave the Center key enabled. Other than that, default profile is working just fine for me.

I've been using ~10 year old Cyborg 3D until a month ago (I wanted a hotas again having had one in the past, but until recently not really playing a game that needed more functionality than a basic stick could give - the Cyborg was just fine for me in lomac but it wasn't really up to scratch for me for blackshark), and so picked up an X52 pro. I'm content with it, but it's not perfect, a few niggles I encountered: 1. Of the 3 toggle switches at front of the flightstick, the left most one doesn't always action if you lift it directly in the middle of the switch. Lifting it on the right side of the switch is fine. I'm sure they're not all like this. 2. Others have noted the cable joining the throttle and flightstick isn't the best coupling device and falls out easy; I'd agree with that, but a quick check before I start using it after picking it up to make sure they're secure is fine and it doesn't fall out after that. If I forget to check, then it can sometimes happen. 3. Stiction with the main shaft. I grabbed some silicone grease to help, it's helped a bit but not much, certainly didn't just cure the problem for me as I'd hoped. Also what helps is having the stick on a stable platform (flat/stuck to the desk etc.), when it's on a loose platform like if you just rest it on your leg/thigh, it makes it less effective at overcoming thsi problem. This is by far the worst / most annoying issue I've encountered so far, and I may just adjust the springs on the shaft since they seem to be causing it (my old stick has single spring centering and it's fine, no stiction, and isn't too soft/weak either). 4. If you switch USB ports it doesn't pick it up properly. May be an OS problem, but it recognises it as a basic HID game controller and causes the Saitek Profiler to not launch and most of the LEDs/settings on the controllers are switched off. It's easy enough to fix though, just locate the device in Device Manager, tell it to update drivers, then it finds the right one (already installed) and everything comes back to life again. Really not bothered by this at all, but if someone else encounters it and doesn't understand the cause, I'd bet on it being frustrating to experience. Am I disappointed at these on a piece of non-cheap hardware? A bit, yes, but once I overcome the stiction one the rest are trivial. Seems some people don't have stiction issues at all with theirs either. I don't have any problems with stick travel, if I don't move it, it doesn't move, and as soon as I move it, I get instant response. You shouldn't try these things out without at least having them plugged in and able to test the responses through the OS Control Panel or similar. That Thrustmaster Warthog looks extremely impressive; I may just knuckle down into getting one when they come out. But mind you, over the past 25+ years I've been gaming, I've tried them all.. CH, Thrustmaster, Saitek, and none of them have had products that didn't have some issue somewhere in my experience, my TM F1 wheel pots were DOA and had to be mailed replacements, I had erratic drifting over time mid-game with CH products that I had to constantly trim for, whilst others of theirs I've had were all just fine.

I had to replay the track a second time just to see if you hadn't blown your own wingman out of the sky with a passing missile when your 2nd missed the target :D He was a way off though. E6850 @ 3.00GHz 8800 GTX (600MHz core / 900MHz mem, not OC'd unless pre-fab'd that way at factory - I honestly can't remember heh) 4GB PC2-6400 4-4-4-12 (DDR2 Corsair Dominator) Vista 32bit (Good stuff 3 years ago when I got it :) not the best even at the time though) 1920x1200 @ 60Hz vsync forced on with 4xAA 8xAF ("multiple display performance mode" as I have my TV 1920x1080 on extended desktop) HIGH / 1024 cockpit / mirrors on Min: 21 Max: 52 Avg: 33.6 Usually I play with app-controlled AF and 512 cockpit (I can't see much visual difference but it seems to look a little better.. didn't notice as much aliasing or missing detail in lines on abris or around instruments.. I should probably compare screenshots side by side though), shadows set to planar full. Min: 22 Max: 57 Avg: 35.3 Been wondering when to upgrade and what to, looks like I could near double FPS if I wanted to (based on some other reports) but haven't done my homework on it yet to know whether I could just do ram/cpu/mb (to i7 levels) and keep the rest to get it, or even if the game is primarily CPU bound with most hardware combos whether I'll still be off the mark until I upgrade graphics too.

www.fraps.com Most would use this in its 'benchmark' mode where it'll collect stats over a period of time of play. You can get some free/trial usage out of it just by downloading and installing from their site, I think I only had to pay for the privilege for longer (than 30 seconds) recordings without watermarks on them.

Could guess, but nothing to truly base that guess on this time :) With a 32-bit OS the top 512MB is grabbed by Windows purely as a reserved address space, it doesn't matter what it is (or isn't) used for, so with 4GB you'll appear to only have 3.5GB max anyway. A 256MB graphics card (for example) would not then show you 3.75GB. With Vista 32-bit it's easier (but more depressing!) to guess because the system RAM dedicated to graphics is deducted after the 4GB has already been reduced to 3.5GB, so a 768MB card would report in Vista 32-bit as ~2.8GB actual for programs (max). Either way I don't expect this is something to get too crazy over, as you can load up DCS:BS, TrackIR, joystick profiler, DCSMax, some doc files into Acrobat/Word for the manuals, and still have a decent chunk of unused RAM free. Sorry to 'nitpick', I don't disagree with the advice given throughout this thread and just sharing some info to the 4GB / 32-bit address space side of the conversation. All resolved and history once everyone hops to 64-bit OS anyway, worth doing nowadays. Here's an example from a system with 4GB in it on XP 32-bit, and it only has a 64MB (Nvidia Quadro NVS AGP8x) graphics card (circa 2003 work desktop): The 2.8GB system mentioned is another I own, but not to hand.