Perfect stick for A-10C from Thrustmaster?

I doubt it's CGI. Of course you can model with such detail, but what for? If you look at the pictures posted from the CH HOTAS, you can see it's just basic materials, lighting and reflections, but the pictures in the animation is much different from that.

The page you provided does not once mention the word "hall". You're wrong, m8 ;)

 

Hall sensors measure magnetic fields. The strength of a magnetic field cannot be altered by putting strain on the application, only by moving the source of the magnetic field closer or further away (or by shielding it, for that matter).

 

The FSSB mod uses strain gauges.

 

But don't listen to me. I'm only a student of electrical engineering, so what the heck do i know about translating mechanical units into electrical ones.;)

Thats right it is a pressure setup of some kind, there is however another mod for the cougar which involves Hall Sensors which is much cheaper than the realsim ones. That same mod can also be combined with a 2nd mod called uber2nxt.

http://webpages.charter.net/davegun/Cougar.htm

Its possible to use an HS to measure pressure but it would require a much more complex setup than the FSSB mod.(afterall the stick does indeed move 1/4 of an inch) I originally assumed it had Hall Sensors but it was actually cubpilots mod I was thinking of. I think of all the mods for a joystick the FSSB is the best one to get and also the most expensive but pressure limits you to only one form of flying - FBW only it would be insane to use it for anything else(Black Shark= nightmare:D).

I doubt it's CGI. Of course you can model with such detail, but what for? If you look at the pictures posted from the CH HOTAS, you can see it's just basic materials, lighting and reflections, but the pictures in the animation is much different from that.

What for? Well, you have to make a design in a CAD program before you even begin thinking about doing the prototype, and making a CGI from that is very simple.

I could be wrong, but especially edges on "Flaps" button, stick nut and that lever thing are way too sharp for a real usable object, and the "Flaps" button shaft is also very unconvincing (it reflects a bright highlight even where it's surrounded by a black material all around).

It is clearly a CAD model. Look at the lighting on the stick, very stylized. That does not necessarily mean they are a long ways off from production, however.

I hope that panel is backlit. :o

What for? Well, you have to make a design in a CAD program before you even begin thinking about doing the prototype, and making a CGI from that is very simple.

 

I could be wrong, but especially edges on "Flaps" button, stick nut and that lever thing are way too sharp for a real usable object, and the "Flaps" button shaft is also very unconvincing (it reflects a bright highlight even where it's surrounded by a black material all around).

That's two different things. The CH HOTAS is shown as a directly ported CAD-model. Standard materials, standard lighting, even the screws are just copy'n'paste. And for a showcase that's perfectly okay.

If you extract the pictures in the flash-animation, though, you will see that the screws on the stick have different textures and the screws on the throttle reflect a dark room with a large white spotlight, not a normal CGI set spotlight. You can even see that the backplate in the area where the image is blurred does not exactly match the plate on the side. And the bright reflections match exactly the reflections from the labeling.

Of course you can do all that in CGI-model, but as I posted above: What for?

The simple CAD-Model rendered like CH did, would be more than enough for just a small sized flashbanner-presentation - even with setting up indirect lighting for the chrome-switches? And even if you want to make it special, why do you render the picture with the fitted typical production plate on the throttle and then blurr it beyond recognition? And why place it in the animation in a way, that you don't initially recognize something was grayed out?

As I posted above, it is possible, but it makes absolutely no sense to me.

Well, it just seems like a rendered picture. I'm not 100% convinced it is, maybe the lighting and image processing is fooling me, and the small resolution also doesn't help.

About the realism of rendering - somebody really took the time to model the HOTAS with lots of little details, chamfered edges, 3D screws (but they are aligned, that's not really usual)... Even the texture of the throttle grips looks like a brushed metal. But I have seen such renderings of a products that were already available, used in advertising. Why? I don't know, to give the product a perfect look that is usually hard to achieve with the real world object, especially with the large size photos of a relatively small object? The image might not be just for the flash banner, maybe it was done for other advertisements as well.

A company that makes CGI advertisements would have little problem with making a render such as this. All the "advanced" techniques such as realistic materials, life like lighting, ray-traced reflections... Would be just in their day's work.

I don't think the greyed and blurred part is there to hide the "production plate", since the plate looks empty, and blurring and greying extends above the plate and looks like it's a part of a pattern - like it was cut from another advertisement which extends beyond that point.

http://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=33753&d=1259394928

No, the plate is not empty.

It holds a symbol on the right, probably "THRUSTMASTER" in bold letters in the first line and probably HOTAS WARTHOG below. Then comes a line with a longer and a shorter word, each followed by a number of something similar. The blurred area extends over the whole plate and the labels of the switches.

The screws covered by the Warthog-label in the pictures you posted show the reflection of a larger lightsource, just like that of a single spotlight set up against a brolly. You can also see that the edges around the sides and especially of the flaps-lever are rounded.

And btw the original background is white, not black as seen in the banner, which makes the reflections very plausible.

Once again, you CAN do this via CGI, but this goes FAR beyond importing a CAD-model into Max set up a surface and light and do a simple render. Especially the diffuse lighting, the rounded edges and the notable differences in the screws and bolts would be simply overkill for such a simple banner.

I just hope that with the old potis they also ditched that crappy gimbal system. Hell, i bet i could build a wooden one that lasts longer.

This pics look really hot. I would definitive buy that controller.

But: how to program? Thrustmaster does not have an own Controller Programming Software. Today we have to use the old and unsupported foxy software. This software will not work with a new controller.

Or does anybody have different informations?

Today we have to use the old and unsupported foxy software. This software will not work with a new controller.

 

Or does anybody have different informations?

What do you mean by 'unsupported'?

James Hallows in working in conjunction with Thrustmaster on the development of Foxy specifically for the HOTAS Warthog ;)

I just hope that with the old potis they also ditched that crappy gimbal system. Hell, i bet i could build a wooden one that lasts longer.

Brand-New Hardware and Software for the Hogstick :D

James Hallows in working in conjunction with Thrustmaster on the development of Foxy specifically for the HOTAS Warthog ;)

So maybe I'm a bit out of date.

Where did you find some information about development especially for HOTAS Warthog?

What I found:

- The news page from James Hallows had last update on 2004!! (http://www.flyfoxy.com/downloads.html)

- The Foxy software has a comment: Development likely to continue.

- The download site http://cougar.frugalsworld.com is offline.

Doesn't sound trustworthy to me.

The last version of foxy I installed is Foxy4 beta and as I remember there was said: it should run under Win XP.

OK, it does it's job (under XP). What's about further development? Especially for HOTAS Warthog?

So maybe I'm a bit out of date.

Yep

....Where did you find some information about development especially for HOTAS Warthog?

Forums

What I found:

- The news page from James Hallows had last update on 2004!! (http://www.flyfoxy.com/downloads.html)

- The Foxy software has a comment: Development likely to continue.

- The download site http://cougar.frugalsworld.com is offline.

Woefully Out-Of-Date

....Doesn't sound trustworthy to me....

Quite So - With due regard to your Info, I would reach the same conclusion.

...The last version of foxy I installed is Foxy4 beta and as I remember there was said: it should run under Win XP...

Personally don't bother with XP anymore - However for Vista/Win 7, herewith Download Link for relevant Software package -

http://ts.thrustmaster.com/eng/index.php?pg=view_files&gid=1&fid=3&pid=50&cid=1

...OK, it does it's job (under XP). What's about further development?

At present, current to Win7. See Above.

Well this certainly looks like a real beauty and sounds like its being targeted for the general enthusiast. But it sure looks like its gonna cost a pretty penny. It appears to be built much higher quality than Cougar and even that is a fairly expensive joystick.

thing is - most people have spent £££$$$$ on there cougar to get the right result.... so if the new A10 Hotas is decent im sure it will be still the cheaper option....

wish they would have made new handles for Cougars... back in the day thought that was what was planned.

Personally don't bother with XP anymore - However for Vista/Win 7, herewith Download Link for relevant Software package -

http://ts.thrustmaster.com/eng/index.php?pg=view_files&gid=1&fid=3&pid=50&cid=1

The DL section on the Thrustmaster's site for the Foxy software (not: drivers!) has the date: 2004-07-04

How do you come to the conclusion that this software is for Win7 or even that someone is working on it?

.....How do you come to the conclusion that this software is for Win7 or even that someone is working on it?

Listen M8......I've told you once and I've told you twice.

Now I'll tell you again......Should you be running Vista/Win7, then the download link I provided is your answer. Installs on Vista/Win7 and runs no bother - Yes, Foxy too :thumbup:

As for someone working on it - Believe Me ;)

Yes, Viper is correct on both counts... I remember reading the same thread where James posted somewhat teasing comments about his involvement with the A-10C HOTAS project.

I can't comment too much, but I can say that I am not developing a version of Foxy for the HOTAS Warthog. The style of programming we developed for the Cougar arose from previous syntax TM users were familiar and comfortable with. That has produced a very capable and very powerful system for the HOTAS Cougar.

But now there's a need for something that can program a multitude of TM controllers such as the Warthog, Cougar and MFDs together, and furthermore, vastly increase the programming capability beyond what you've experienced to date.

I probably can't say as yet what my role is in regards to that, and nor can I comment on the software TM are developing. It is my hope that Foxy can be retired by something far more capable, and as such, I'm playing my part to try and ensure that one day, that becomes a reality for you.

(Actually I'm still going to use Foxy for my Cougar, because that works well on Win 7 and below, and I'm comfortable with it. The clever thing is is that I can still use that with the Cougar, as well as use the new stuff on top of that for the Cougar and the other controllers. Best of both Worlds as it were.)

That's all I can say at this stage I'm afraid.

Cheers

James

ps. Glad some of you are as excited about the Hog's switches on its base as I am. But those aren't the only new features TM are introducing with this setup. Watch out for further information regarding the throttle and the stick.

Thanks for posting, James! Exciting stuff.

i just peed myself

Sold!

Now Where's the Pre-Order Tab.....:D

Sold!

 

Now Where's the Pre-Order Tab.....:D

What he said! :joystick::D

ps. Glad some of you are as excited about the Hog's switches on its base as I am. But those aren't the only new features TM are introducing with this setup. Watch out for further information regarding the throttle and the stick.

This kind of feeding us with small amounts of informations will kill me one day!

Can't wait!!

Thanks anyway, James

If this stick suffers from the same low quality pots that TM is notorious for, I wont even look at this.

It uses HALL-sensors, as posted before. So it won't use the same potis as the Cougar ;)

Definitely looking forward to this one.