No doubt.

It was a pleasure meeting you & the other SHQ folks!

Teej

There's been more panic in this thread than the whole of the SoW forum!

Hope it works as good as it looks, because it looks fantastic!

Good news!
or will it be like in the Hitchhikers guide; we know the answer (ie, september 2010) but what is that "when" question? I fear it is "when will we get some proper information on the Hog?" =D

Edit: whoops, on the main pange: SimHQ's hands-on previews of the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog and DCS: A-10C Warthog will be published in a few hours.!!!

Thrustmaster confirmed to me that the HOTAS Warthog will be available in September 2010. They also said there will be a pre-order option and would announce it later on.

My "when?" was in reference to everyone asking when it would be available for purchase.

This thing is cool, folks. Words coming soon.

The TM HOTAS Warthog is a stick that will blow away any competitor out there. The detail on this controller is simply amazing.

Guys you'll want one for yourself and you won't be let down.

Hmmmmm

Sounds like a dual/packaged release to me if DCS A-10 is that close to going out the door.

I was hoping for a summer release on the Warthog but September will just have to do.

What is that yellow/orange thing on the top portion of the throttle area? I don't remember that in any of the other photos we have seen but it is intriguing...maybe a nose wheel control or a trim function of the rudder or aileron.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

September gives me time to save some money and prepare - though with my attempt at the Logitech combo, I am more than a little apprehensive about buying a product again so soon. My trusty CH Products combo is back on my desk with everything but the Logitech pedals collecting dust.

September? What a let down. Did you inquire the reason for the delay?

Of course, in September they could say coming for Christmas 2010.

Yesterday, with no indication of SoW or TM info available at E3 I was prepared to post a rant about the importance of 'Michael Jackson's Dance Studio' and it's effect on world peace and the global economy... I'll shut up now.

Sept. suits me fine, it's my Bday month. I had kind of figured this product was going to be timed with the new DCS sim anyway. Make mine a double.

Still standing. Although my feet are getting a li'l tired...

OK, after a few hours of sleep following a long day, some answers that can be released now...though to be clear I am not associated with SimHQ - this post represents my own opinions/experiences and reflects discussions within my team, The Virtual Thunderbirds.

It is absolutely not "limited" in any way to only work with DCS A-10 as some had feared. At the release event, it was demonstrated with DCS A-10C courtesy of Wags, with FSX, and with Flaming Cliffs 2, the latter in some formation flying by The Virtual Thunderbirds.

No, there's no rudder port built in. The units (stick & throttle) each have their own brains and each plugs into a separate USB port. If you've got a setup that plugs rudders into the Cougar, you should be able to get a USB gameport adapter for $5-20 at various places that will let you keep using your pedals. I got something like that 10 years ago from Radio Shack. A quick check showed they're still readily available (but I haven't looked to see if RS still has 'em).

Programming software is still a work in progress. Unless there's something they haven't told those of us testing the units yet, you will not be downloading profiles to the stick like a Cougar - the interface happens in Windows. This does NOT mean that you are limited to DX buttons. Even the early software I'm using allows some quite powerful capabilities, and they're not done yet.

Some have asked if there's an afterburner detent or not, since the A-10 doesn't have burners. Others have said they don't want a stick without detents. Either way, you won't be disappointed. Out of the box the throttles have a very long, smooth, silent travel with no detent. However, in about 60 seconds you can pull off a small cover and turn a little plastic piece around, and then you'll have a detent. It's not a click-clack detent like the Cougar's - you'll lift the throttles up slightly (~ 1/8 inch or so) and advance them into afterburner.

I've been flying a couple of the pre-production units over the past month, and pre-production software for the past week or so. Given the pre-prod nature, there's a lot of things I'm not in a position to say with certainty.

Those of us in the Virtual Thunderbirds who have been testing these units have found their precision and handling to be excellent out of the box. Most of us have been flying Cougars with the non-moving FSSB / FCC mods. After a few hours of adjusting to a stick that moves again, the Hog is well suited to the precise movements we require. My modified Cougar has been on a shelf in my closet since the day I received a beta unit. There were a few issues with that rev 1 unit that were addressed in the next revision. Although a final opinion can only be rendered once the whole team has tried them, we expect the HOTAS Warthog will receive our full endorsement and recommendation. This is not biased by our sponsorship relationship with Thrustmaster - we are that impressed by the Warthog. If it didn't meet our high standards, we wouldn't have flown a live formation demo. As nice as the ACES-II and A-10 pit from SC Simulations were, the ergonomics were different from what any of us (even Gunner with his own pit) have flown, and we had very little time to adjust before flying live.

Thank you for your description, Teey!

I am wondering about one thing:



I have Simped F-16/C connected to Thrustmaster Cougar (non USB variant). Can they be connected to gameport adapter? I heard that they are made exclusively for the Cougar connection and that they don't work like regular gameport pedals. But there's very little info on that on web.

I'm not sure on that, as I don't have simpeds to try. I'll have to refresh my memory on the Cougar port wiring (I know it's a bit different).

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that what I think would happen is you wouldn't get toe brakes with a game port adapter, but I think the rudder would still work.

I only have about a 50% confidence in that simply because my memory of said wiring is so hazy right now.

I don't believe there is anything yellow/orange at the top of the throttle base... take a look at this picture for confirmation:


If you are referring perhaps to the object visible in this picture,

the yellow object is a band of rubber around the base of a hand-held microphone, which has nothing to do with the HOTAS Warthog.

Other than that, there are two red-orange switches on the throttle itself (one on the inboard side and one on the back of the left throttle), and no other color that I am aware of other than the grey trim axis and green backlighting. Does this help?

Was referring to the bottom picture and from when I saw the picture this morning it appeared to be attached to the rotary dial up on the top portion of the throttle. Thanks for the explanation.

It's actually a new cross-over project from TM intended to attract business from both simmers and karaoke fans, the 'Karaoke Warthog'.

Presently being beta tested by Justin Bieber.







j/k

Thank you Teej. I'll post my questions about Simped connection elsewhere, since it's off topic.

On-topic couple of questions:

Can anyone describe the feeling of joystick and throttle movement? Is the joystick movement smooth all around, without clear X, Y "detents"? How strong is the spring compared to Cougar? Any "stiction" on the throttles? Could we get a photo of the front part of throttle? Is there a lever that connects the throttles together? How are the hats compared to Cougar?

Etc, etc...



Thank you for your report, again!!! I think there's not even one mention of Thrustmaster Warthog at E3 outside SimHQ (unless it references your review)! And this is supposed to be gaming industry?

Beat me to it Bwaze, I've read the preview but it's a little light on details about actual physical feel. The Cougar was a bit of a disappointment due to the 'bumps' felt when passing through neutral position in both X and Y axes. It was also difficult to move the Cougar throttle with precision when making very small adjustments due to the 'sticktion' effect. How does the Warthog compare?

And yes, is it possible to interconnect the two throttles, locking them together for single engine flying?

Another Warthog sighting on E3:

Gaming Nexus - some new photos, description from the layman point of view.