HOTAS Warthog™ Press Release (*CAUTION* Oversized Pics)

[LawnDart]

Microsoft owes me about a dozen new OS installations! ;)

[Slammin]

Mower is Mower. He will always be Mower. I wish TM would realize this and just call him Mower.

 

Mower, did you know PopaDoc?

[Teej]

Wrong.

 

When I bought the Cougar in 2002 it was $550 US.

 

For that kind of money I sure hope you got lube.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Teej
On the gimbals, that is!

[Sticky]

Mine came today, all I have to do is go and pick it up :cheer3nc:

And PAY ofcourse :cry:

 

Im very eager to see it for myself now, soon.. SOON!!

 

Slammin I remember papadoc. I think he used to post in the Flanker2 days? Interesting times back then... Does anyone remember Kurt Plummer??? He used to post at simhq iirc, very fascinating person, if he was a real person LOL, I could never decide if he was for real or not. Anyone remember him? Or was it just some crazy dream I had :megalol:

 

Edit: Or perhaps it was at combatsim.com, before it became pay, I dont remember now. And where is Hornit? He still around? It would be cool to have him around if next DCS is F/A-18!!

Edited November 18, 2010 by Sticky

[Sticky]

I think Mower is right on this one. I really shouldnt buy something from a company that sold me something that expensive and that disappointing. It was very expensive where and when I bought it but very soon worthless to me. And now im doing it again ;) I hope this time Im actually getting what I payed for.

 

A big +1 to you Mower :thumbup:

[Sticky]

Just like to add, when I bought my cougar I payed almost the same price then as I am paying today for the WH.

[Botch]

I ordered mine on Sunday evening late and it showed up Wednesday early with the postman before I left for work. Lets say I was a bit late in that day.

 

After a couple of hours flying I can say this thing leaves my old X52Pro for dead. The precision of the stick is brilliant, especially noticeable on landings were I used to all over the place with my old hotas. I will admit I didn't tune the curves on the X52 much but it has so much slop around the center position I was never really happy with it.

 

The only think I have done is played around with the curves:

- added a tiny deadband for the stick and a bit of curve

- made a profile for the throttle so that I'm able to use the middle section of the travel much better. On a standard linear curve, I only seemed to use the last 10-30% of the travel when I wasn't going full.

- Modified the slew curve as it was a bit slow - but it is too sensitive now.

 

About the only thing that I'm not really impressed with is the slew control. Tiny little joystick that doesn't give much fidelity or feeling.

 

The hotas just has a solid feeling about it and is a joy to fly with. A brilliant piece of kit.

 

Botch...

[Steel Jaw]

Then you got bent over backwards and dominated? The Cougar released in 2002 with a MSRP of $299. Then it quickly dropped down to MSRP $249 and had the street prices of ~$199 for years.

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thrustmaster-hotas-cougar,458.html

 

Sorry, that's just plain wrong.

 

It cost that much EVERYWHERE at the time.

[Steel Jaw]

For that kind of money I sure hope you got lube.

 

I am GUESSING you were not old enough to be simming then, cause that's how much it was EVERYWHERE.

[Sticky]

I got it!!! :cheer3nc::joystick:

 

MUUUCH better than I expected!!!

 

Pros: Everything good everyone else have been saying about it. I dont know where to begin.. Stick and throttle movement and control are very good!! All the hats and buttons feels perfect (except slew and china hat, see cons) Force is perfect if you have them close to your legs, I think I would have problems if I had these higher on a table (get tired in the arms). But for me its perfect since I always have my HOTAS close to my legs anyway.

 

Cons: Slew control doesnt feel as good as the rest. The fake throttle friction control is a bit too far for me to use as Zoom, so im using mic switch for that, works great. Its a bit hard to reach the china hat, not very ergonomic, but this isnt TMs fault, blame the USAF ;) I think I will get used to both the slew and china hat, so it will be no problem soon. And zoom is no longer a problem since I use mic switch for that.

But the slew feels like it could break much easier then the rest.

 

The real mic switch commands I use with the extra pinky button together with mic switch, it was easy to set pinky button as modifier in DCS A10. I use this modifier for everything else that isnt mapped from the start, gears for example.

 

No problem at all strafing with guns, feels very good, precise, easy to control and hit the target. Also have very good control in both regular flight and other combat situations. But I dont know about dogfighting in something like IL2, perhaps for that something else would be better. But I havent tried it.

 

I am a cougar hater, for very good reasons IMO, but I LOVE this even though I only used it for a few hours. Very different feel from the cougar. Im so glad it doesnt feel like the Cougar! Cougar was easily one of the worst purchases I ever made, this is probably going to be one of the best purchases I ever made. Unless it breaks or something LOL :cry::helpsmilie:

 

Bottom line: Very good first impression. Feels great and really enhances the DCS:A10 C experience. Much better than I expected.

[Steel Jaw]

*sigh*

[Teej]

I am GUESSING you were not old enough to be simming then, cause that's how much it was EVERYWHERE.

 

No way. NFW.

 

I'm 41. You're senile.

 

Here's Gamespy's comparo from 11/2002.

 

http://archive.gamespy.com/hardware/november02/pcspecial/

 

And PC Gamer from 2/2003

19th February, 2003: Review at PC Gamer (SimColumn) : A Flyboy’s Dream: the HOTAS Cougar

COMBAT FLIGHT SIM FANS can be divided into two camps: the clinically insane and the well-equipped clinically insane. Ever since I got my hands on one of Thrustmaster’s new HOTAS Cougar flightstick-throttle units, I’ve definitely moved over to Camp B. For those of you who haven’t heard about this remarkable new peripheral - or who didn’t catch the praise-filled review in October 2002’s Hard Stuff section - the HOTAS Cougar is the most robust, most technologically advanced, and priciest ($299) joystick-and-throttle combo that you will ever plug into your machine’s USB port.

I remember it well because I was just getting back into Falcon at the time due to the SPx releases (having been disappointed in v1.08 of course) and for the dollars I had to spend, the Cougar lost out to an X45 ($80), TIR v1 ($120 as I recall) and something else that was right around $100 but I don't recall at the time.

[Steel Jaw]

Bah!!

 

People *DO* live outside of the US ya know...:P

 

At the time with crappy exchange rates, US$299 was about CDN$500, or worse for me, since I bought from Europe (no North American stock for months after release), more like $CDN600.

[Cp]

Why is the backlighting green and not blue/teal-ish?

[kylania]

Why is the backlighting green and not blue/teal-ish?

 

Because that would match some of the LEDs in my case and the universe is determined to make no lighted computer peripherals I use to ever match. Amber lights on the monitor, blue backlight on the keyboard, green on the throttle, red AND blue case lights... sigh.

[MTFDarkEagle]

Its a bit hard to reach the china hat, not very ergonomic, but this isnt TMs fault, blame the USAF ;)

Seriously? how small are your hands?:music_whistling:

 

But congrats on getting yours as well :D:pilotfly:

[Teej]

Bah!!

 

People *DO* live outside of the US ya know...:P

 

At the time with crappy exchange rates, US$299 was about CDN$500, or worse for me, since I bought from Europe (no North American stock for months after release), more like $CDN600.

 

Oh, I know.

 

Actually we went to Toronto right around that time and were getting 1.6-1.7 CAD/$US exchange rate. :D Sometimes 2:1 at street vendors.

 

And more to the point, you said:

 

Wrong.

 

When I bought the Cougar in 2002 it was $550 US.

 

So even if you paid $600CDN, at the time that was the equivalent of $400 US at most.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Teej

[Sticky]

Seriously? how small are your hands?:music_whistling:

 

 

I guess "hard to reach" wasnt the best way to put it, its easy to reach aslong as you twist your wrist slightly from the more natural grip on the top of the throttle, and I was never used to this wrist movement with my other sticks, so for me I will have to get used to that, but once it becomes natural, then yes you are right, no problem reaching it. Its just a matter of getting used to it and learning where it is without looking I think. I should have been more precise in my description I guess.

 

But congrats on getting yours as well :D:pilotfly:

 

Thanks :D:D

[Slammin]

SN #1815 has arrived! And I know this is a subjective area, but I really like the feel of U2-NXT better so I will probably be putting this handle on my Cougar. This will also solve two problems - base is huge! I can still screw it down, but also I need one more USB port. Between my PC and monitor I have 8 USB ports. I need nine. Then again, this would also mean I need to use Foxy and TARGET. That may be too daunting. I'll give it a few days and in the meantime, just stop fondling my Cougar. I have to keep it near since it is what's handling my rudders right now. Maybe I could put a box over it or something.

 

I really cannot add much over what's already been said. TM outdid themselves this time. This is some serious HOTAS!

[LawnDart]

Then again, this would also mean I need to use Foxy and TARGET.

 

TARGET works with the Cougar too you know.

 

I really cannot add much over what's already been said. TM outdid themselves this time. This is some serious HOTAS!

 

Told ya so! ;)

 

Oh, and 9 USB ports... What on earth are you hooking up?

[Slammin]

I have the Cougar, 2 MFD's, a touchscreen that uses a USB port, Nostromo, keyboard, mouse, TIR, Hog stick and Hog throttle, but only 8 ports available.

 

I was just playing with TARGET. That is so cool how it virtualizes everything so I think you are right. It shouldn't be that much of a hassle to use my Cougar base. I've already screwed the Hog throttle to my desk :P

[Pilotasso]

SIMWARE has dispatched my order but its taking its sweet time leaving Belgium borders... :S

[sobek]

Is there an error message in the open beta when trying to modify the default TMHW binds?

[Succellus]

Bah!!

 

People *DO* live outside of the US ya know...:P

 

At the time with crappy exchange rates, US$299 was about CDN$500, or worse for me, since I bought from Europe (no North American stock for months after release), more like $CDN600.

 

Will you both stop crying:mad:, i bought Cougar at 300,00 USD and it reached me, shipping + import taxes, about 700 USD or more, can t remeber the change at time, but i remember it was well over 100% of the buying price. I After that i still shelled more to put hall sensors to it.

Do you see me crying ? No. yes it wasn t perfect but it was well ahead of anything at its time. And even with those crappy pot leaving me 8 month without flying (saving for halls) i m very happy, and will be sad when i pass them on. They served me 7 years, 4 of them with hall sensors. They still work flawlessly. Wana see some plastic stuff lasting that long with heavy use not going fubar.

Nobody forced anyone to buy anything, you did on your whim, as i m buying the warthog on a whim. And the warthog, if we believe the reports, is able to die 24H after plugged. I ll be pissed if that happens, yeah.

But its my responsability alone to have bought it without waiting longer for reports.

We are the only ones responsable for our decisions.

[Succellus]

SIMWARE has dispatched my order but its taking its sweet time leaving Belgium borders... :S

 

Yeah i know your pain, same here. And i tought the Swiss ones where the slow people, it took them more than 24 MTFKG hours just to register it in their system by computer and then manually !?!!?!

Analogic registering after a digital one ? :megalol:

This is as funny as french jokes about belgians.:D