Thrustmaster Hotas - how much did it change your game?

[Nume Noctre]

Hi folks,

 

i am wondering wether i should get the Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog. I used to play with a Saitek X52 wich is "alright", but feels like what it is, a plastic stick without enough buttons.:D

 

The Hotas looks really nice but then again it is 300€. So i was wondering if it really had i big impact on your gaming experience? An impact that makes it worth buying.....

 

Nume

[BackboneOne]

was using x52 too then buy TM Hotas Warthog and it changed everything. i think thats the only proper stick 4 the hog. buy it or not is the rhetorical question 4 a hog driver))

[Boris]

It doesn't only look really nice, the difference to an X52 is huge. To put it into perspective, if the Warthog is three times as expensive as an X52, the Warthog is ten times better! You get a lot more value for your money.

 

It is huge and clunky, incredibly solid and heavy. You'd think it's been ripped out of a real aircraft.

 

As far as the impact on flying goes... You won't find a more precise stick. Both the throttle and the stick are much harder to move and the buttons also take a lot more force than you're used to, but this is as it should be. It' precision makes things like air to air refueling a lot easier.

 

The best part is, is that the configuration is identical to a real Warthog stick, so everything is exactly where it should be, and you won't have to remap or program any buttons whatsoever (with the exception of giving the stick hat its rightful trim function).

 

If you spend a lot of time in the Hog it's definitely worth it, provided you have the cash.

[BackboneOne]

maybe one little setback is the plastic throttle handles (IRL its metal). i like the x52's metal throttles, but its VERY hard and tight, TM got no problem with that. :thumbup:

[Wrecking Crew]

I recommend the Warthog. For a bit more $$ I also recommend the Thrustmaster MFCDs, and to round it all out you may want rudder pedals...

 

 

Sure, there are compromises using the Warthog to fly the other aircraft - I use it with the F-15C and a little bit with the Huey, too. For flying the A-10C the Warthog is wonderful.

 

WC

[Evil.Bonsai]

I've had a TM Cougar since that stick came out. It's got a few issues, but it is SO MUCH better than trying to use a less functional setup. I also, fairly recently, bought a set of Saitek combat rudder pedals. Oh, and TRACKIR is probably the greatest of all three.

[Nume Noctre]

Tanks for your replies. I think i am going to Five this baby a try. Hopefully it will give me an even greater immersion!

 

Nume

[Hueyman]

Don't know if it is due to that, but, without being too pride, I'm a really good sim pilot, precise etc on DCS helis with that rig... and the Hotas, with the extended stick, is certainly for something ( don't remember when I still got the X52 )

 

 

 

[Nume Noctre]

Hey Hueman, this looks like an interesting setup. Very powerful machine that you have. Imagine if DCS could actually use all that. :-)

 

What about that long stick mod with the HOTAS, I think I never saw anything like it. Is it attached to the ground or does it stand simply by weight?

 

Nume

[Tetra]

I was in a similar situation to you, I had the X52 (non pro) and a good profile which worked fine, even if many of the A-10C functions were on shifted buttons.

 

However I wasn't overly happy with the actual stick itself, the incredibly loose travel on it etc. Ended up picking up the TM Warthog and I have to say it just transformed my actual ability to fly the A-10 and every other aircraft I have exponentially. The stick itself is incredibly heavy in motion which, I find, leads to way less twitch in your input and leads to a much smoother flight experience. Obviously not to mention the amount of buttons and switches which are fantastic for every sim, not to mention the plug-and-play A-10C layout. Overall I would say it's the best investment I made so far for flying.

[Hueyman]

Hey Hueman, this looks like an interesting setup. Very powerful machine that you have. Imagine if DCS could actually use all that. :-)

 

What about that long stick mod with the HOTAS, I think I never saw anything like it. Is it attached to the ground or does it stand simply by weight?

 

Nume

 

That black thing is a tube my grand father made :

 

Standard aluminum tube, painted in black, cut with around 15° forward slope ( to allow the stick, when centered, to be comfortable, if it was straightly vertical, aft movement would be very hard and painfully to achieve )

 

Then the whole thing bolted with 8 wood screws on the wood floor

[Scarecrow]

For a bit more $$ I also recommend the Thrustmaster MFCDs,

WC

This is a real game changer, even if you're not using a TMWH, the MFCD's on an old fifteen inch monitor really makes A10C so much easier to operate.:joystick:

[Trubshaw]

The feel of the TMWH adds to the immersion. It is solid and cold to the touch. The Saitek being plastic and more flexible does not feel the same. But you get what you pay for. I fly with some great pilots who use the X52 pro. My TMWH has not made me as good as them but it has made me fly much better. BTW I don't fly the A10 much but would imagine if you do if would have a greater effect on your sim.

 

Bottom line...if you have the cash and you are in Flight Sim for the long haul buy one you won't regret it. But if in two years time you will have moved on to CoD or another hobby them you probably won't get your monies worth so stick to the Saitek. (no pun intended)

[Nume Noctre]

Hey Hueyman, thx for the quick answer.

If I had the place and the floor I would give it a try...:-)

 

Nume

[dburne]

For the last several years, I was flying a modded TM Cougar HOTAS setup. I had the U2 NXT gimbal mod in the stick, hall sensors for the stick and throttle, anti-stiction mod for the throttle. Man I was in flight sim heaven, I think I modded that thing like in 2003, and flew it until around March of 2012. Prior to getting the Cougar back in 2001, I flew with the good old TM FLCS setup.

I did not think anything could best my modded Cougar HOTAS setup.

Until I finally ordered the Warthog last year, mostly because I had just purchased DCS-A10C, and well I did a lot of reading on the forums and saw a lot of positives, so curiosity kicked in as well.

 

I absolutely love the Warthog setup, yes for A-10C wow it just fits like a hand in a glove, plug and play all ready to go. I was concerned how I would feel about it in my other sims, but found it works very well for me in them as well.

 

The TARGET software is very powerful. I know a lot of guys don't particularly care for it and just do all their button assignments in the sim's controller setup. I really like the ability to use Target, add modifiers and utilize the up/middle/down positions on the rocker switch, giving me the ability to assign several commands to one button press. I can view and print the command assignments shown on a drawing of the stick and throttle from the Target menu as well - nice quick reference tool.

Another advantage using Target - if say one's controller setup gets wiped out in the sim's controller menu, no big deal - does not effect of course the Target profile for that particular sim - I like to keep most of the key commands at default when I use Target, then no worries if it gets wiped - certainly have had that happen before.

 

Of course, with A-10C being just plug and play for the Warthog , I do not use Target for that sim.

 

Well as I am sure you can tell, I do love this setup. Also both the throttle and the stick use hall sensors, no more dirty/spiking pots.

Also when I ordered the Warthog, I ordered the Saitek Combat Pedals as well - love them also.

 

TM Warthog - Saitek Combat Pedals - Track IR5 ---> flight sim bliss for this particular flyer...

Edited September 8, 2013 by dburne

[Picksplitter]

It is huge and clunky, incredibly solid and heavy. You'd think it's been ripped out of a real aircraft.

 

As far as the impact on flying goes... You won't find a more precise stick. Both the throttle and the stick are much harder to move and the buttons also take a lot more force than you're used to, but this is as it should be. It' precision makes things like air to air refueling a lot easier.

 

The best part is, is that the configuration is identical to a real Warthog stick, so everything is exactly where it should be, and you won't have to remap or program any buttons whatsoever (with the exception of giving the stick hat its rightful trim function).

 

I couldn't agree more. Yes, a lot of cash, but after having one, I'd have no problem paying a lot more!

 

Picksplitters' Pit... http://forums.eagle.ru/album.php?albumid=693

[Nume Noctre]

Finally......I did it!

 

Hey guys,

 

after almost two years of reading every review in the internet that i could find and after all of your warm recommendations I went out this morning and bought that Warthog Hotas stick.

 

Boy, what a beats is it when it comes in its packaging. I never expected it to be that heavy! The build quality seems fantastic for a stick.

 

Anyway, I opened it, took it out ( not much in the box exept the throttle and stick) connected it and fired up DCS and almost anything was set up immediately. :thumbup: For some reason it did not map the trimming function but that issue was solved without any problems.

 

Up in the air the Hog suddenly feels like a real plane, much more realistic, much more sensitive and much more stable. The HOTAS makes such a huge difference. It feels rock solid and all the twitching and stuttering and lagging of the X52 is gone.....yes. Can't wait to feel this baby in a heavy crosswind landing at Batumi!:joystick:

 

All the buttons are where they are supposed to be, which is a great thing. But it also means that I have to learn another "workflow" now....so, back to the school bench:smartass:

 

I think I will take some time until I am really working with this thing and until I can get everything out of it. But I think the money was spent well. I hope it will last quite a few years.

 

But there is one thing.......not having a twist rudder function anymore means I have to get the MadCatz Combat Pedals....

 

How am I going to explain that to my girlfriend.....:doh:

 

Nume

[Tetra]

Good choice :D ! You certainly won't regret it (aside from maybe having to explain to the girlfriend maybe lol). It will definitely take some time to re-learn the layout, when I switched from my X-52 to the Warthog it was like going back to square one again, nothing was where I my muscle memory had remembered it to be, but after a few hours it becomes like second nature again.

 

Trim hat is defaulted to view control with trim being a shifted function on the default layout. Only other thing I would suggest is get some serious curves and saturation on the slew nub, its way too sensitive with the default setting. As for rudder yep pedals next for sure lol, although a lot of people have success using the fake friction slider for rudder and then setting up wheel brakes on either the paddle or a shifted button. Get some pedals though and you can use the friction slider for zoom or whatever you like.

 

Anyway enjoy!

[GC1993]

It's a quality piece of kit, and you won't regret buying it. You'll notice how much smoother and controlled your flight is with it too, especially noticeable on gun-runs. As for the trim switch, the TM warthog has it mapped to view by default because they assume most people won't have TrackIR. But like you said it takes next to no time to assign trim to it.

 

I also struggled with my HOTAS commands when I got mine last month, I just redid the HOTAS fundamentals mission once or twice and then did a lot of practise on the instant action missions to hammer in the muscle memory - now the process from finding a target to rifling a maverick takes no time at all! Just practise practise practise your muscle memories for different HOTAS processes.

 

It's a bit of a blow having to buy pedals with it due to there not being a twist function, but like you I just went for some simple Saitek Cessna pedals (didn't see the justification in £60 more for the combat ones) and using pedals just feels so much more authentic now.

 

If the woman starts to complain, tell her she isn't allowed to play it!

 

You made a good choice, assuming the throttle doesn't brick (like the early models did), that'll be a nice multi-year investment for you. :)

[Nume Noctre]

As for rudder yep pedals next for sure lol, although a lot of people have success using the fake friction slider for rudder and then setting up wheel brakes on either the paddle or a shifted button. Get some pedals though and you can use the friction slider for zoom or whatever you like.

 

Hey Tetra,

 

thanks for the hint. I think I will try using that friction slider as a rudder axis.

 

Nume

[drmagnumwolf]

Don't know if it is due to that, but, without being too pride, I'm a really good sim pilot, precise etc on DCS helis with that rig... and the Hotas, with the extended stick, is certainly for something ( don't remember when I still got the X52 )

 

 

 

 

I've got to say that desk setup is really good and ingenious. I hope you don't mind me saving your photo for, maybe in the far future, build a desk like that.

 

I used to have a similar one, both Wheels and X52 could be used, with keyboard and mouse. It was a dream, and very comfortable(built it myself using an old desk found on the streets with some extra planks). But I had to dismantle it, and throw it away after I moved out of the UK( :cry::cry: I miss London sooooo much).

 

Now on the stick itself, the TM Warthog is just going to be a dream, because where I live now(bit of a hellhole) with taxes I would be paying double(if it arrives, that is, because my last 4 parcels never came) and where I live now is 1/3 the size of where I used to live in he UK. (Price per square meter here is really high)

 

Anyway, I hope you don't mind me using your setup as an inspiration :)