Can you talk me into buying a Hotas Warthog?

[Surefoot]

How long have you had it?

If you mean the Uber2 Cougar, about 12 years ? sometime around that. The warthog i got for about 4 months now, i got used to it in a matter of days. Actually i feel the spring is on the light side, maybe that's due to my setup layout, i am sitting in a Playseat Flight with a layout very similar to the pilot ingame. I have the Oculus Rift too so tactile feedback is very important, cannot use the keyboard (the Warthog has may buttons and hats..)
(edit) about the center sensitivity, for landings for instance it's interesting that you just give a light pull on the stick without it moving at all, it will feel the ever so slight flex and the sensors will pick it up and move your ship down gently.

 

[sndle9]

Honestly, I wouldn't be willing to spend that kind of money on HOTAS, if ED was the only game I played with it. I'd have to be serious on other flight sims as well, preferably those that model A-10 as well.

Perfectly fair comment, only you know if the expense is justified. As others say, the T-Flight is an absolute bargain for an entry level HOTAS. Sure, it doesn't have as many controls but it has enough with the occasional keyboard backup and is very well built. It's a bargain at around £30, I just wished the link cable was 6" longer.
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@ Nerwan, Have you ordered it yet? Go on, you know you want to...

 

[Sylow]

I wouldn't persuade you to the Warhog. I use a Saitek X-55 and unlike many others, i am actually quite happy with it. (Although, the X-56 looks even more sexy... somebody wants to buy a used X55? *grin* )
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According to my personal experience, i like my X-55 way more than the Warthog, which i only tried for like half an hour at a friends place.
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Despite that, i don't really dare to recommend the X-55, either. It seems like i am very lucky to have one which worked for almost two years without any problems, there's a plethora or reports of quality issues on this device.

 

[Crazy Jedi]

Have had Warthog HOTAS for over a year and it is an awesome bit of kit. I can definitely recommend it. I am about to get some rudder pedals to go with it. The peddles are not a requirement and the HOTAS works great without them but I just fancy the whole set up plus it will free up the throttle index finger top-hat that I currently use for the rudder.....

 

[Katkon]

I went from a Saitek X52 Pro to a Warthog. Absolute no-brainer. Do it.

 

[Ren Garris]

Do it.

I purchased so many other set ups before... Plastic... Cheap.... Flimsy....

Then I found the Warthog.
She's like a strong, well endowed Viking Woman.
I abused mine for years and never an issue. Spilled various alcoholic beverages and no failure.

Once I was playing and someone broke in to my house. My assault rifle was on the other side of the room, but my warthog was in my hands....
I bludgeoned the intruded with the throttle rendering him unconscious only to find out later that I caused him massive internal brain damage due to the serious ass whoopery my Viking Queen dealt.

True Story.

Just buy it.
Get over the shock.
Use it.
Then see why quality products cost extra.
Thanks us later.

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I wouldn't persuade you to the Warhog. I use a Saitek X-55 and unlike many others, i am actually quite happy with it. (Although, the X-56 looks even more sexy... somebody wants to buy a used X55? *grin* )
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According to my personal experience, i like my X-55 way more than the Warthog, which i only tried for like half an hour at a friends place.
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Despite that, i don't really dare to recommend the X-55, either. It seems like i am very lucky to have one which worked for almost two years without any problems, there's a plethora or reports of quality issues on this device.

Brozilla....

What kind of sales pitch is this?

Thats like saying, 'Sure you can buy this car... I mean, most have issues and break down... But what are the chances..... I don't really recommend it... '

Plus where's the story about your X-55 saving your life?

Once an intruder broke into my house. My AR was on the other side of the room, but I had an X-55 and the guy chuckled (he owned a Warthog). He tossed me some cash and said, 'Go buy a Warthog, scrub'. He walked out of my house laughing.

True story.

[yesnod]

 

[sndle9]

Once I was playing and someone broke in to my house. My assault rifle was on the other side of the room, but my warthog was in my hands....
I bludgeoned the intruded with the throttle rendering him unconscious only to find out later that I caused him massive internal brain damage due to the serious ass whoopery my Viking Queen dealt.

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Clearly you are a Texan . The local constabulary frown upon that sort of thing over here in the UK. More's the pity.

 

[Viking84]

I love the Warthog. The feeling and heft is second to none. You will need to get pedals though, which could be a pain, but I much prefer flying with rudder pedals than with twist on the joystick

 

[Ren Garris]

That is truly a pity.

Sure is a good thing that bad guys follow the law like every one.... oh wait.

I guess if certain firearms are prohibited, there's always the Warthog.

 

[ianw]

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Clearly you are a Texan . The local constabulary frown upon that sort of thing over here in the UK. More's the pity.

As long as you clumped him as he was on the way in you be okay. If you launched a boulder at him as he's climbing out the window - not so much!

 

[Sylow]

...

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No sales pitch at all. I just tried to give fair feedback, that i think that my X-55, which has no quality issues, is the very best joystick i could've gotten, superior to the Warthog. (Now that the X-56 is released, it might be the second best joystick. )
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I consider it superior to the Warthog, but due to many reports of quality issues, i think i have to warn of that.
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Of course now that i know that knocking down burglars with a joystick seems to be some users standard behaviour, i get to understand that there are no quality issues but it's all about the lighter frame not being able to take (or rather do) that kind of beating. Thus I now recommend to get the X-55 (or X56), which is way cheaper than the Warthog. For the saved money you can buy a pile of baseball bats and store them all over your flat, so you are prepared for self defense even when you're not at your computer.

 

[the100thmonkey]

Bought one yesterday when buttons on my x-55 stick suddenly stopped working. I must say it is pretty awesome even if I now have to get used to not having twist rudder which I like.

In the throttle x-55 had better layout of buttons imo, but the quality is just so much better.

Did all the buttons on both stick and throttle stop, or just one?

A similar thing happened to my X52 Pro. It turned out there was a loose ribbon cable, which I reseated and set with a glue gun. Hasn't played up since.

 

[sndle9]

As long as you clumped him as he was on the way in you be okay. If you launched a boulder at him as he's climbing out the window - not so much!

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Yes, Shooting them in the back gets you locked up , you need a good solid hit to the face so you can reasonably claim self defence.
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Sorry, but if I found a burglar, all thoughts of lawfulness, or even 'can I win this fight' would be ignored as I launched myself at them.
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Back on topic. If you can spare the cash, and play enough games that can use it, just do it.
Both the Warthog and the CH kit is really solid and almost required if you go VR and can't see the keyboard.

 

[Darth Krayt]

I've had a Warthog since Elite was in beta. It's big, feels solid and has lots of buttons.
It takes a long time to get it setup and in fact I still occasionally tweak a setting from time to time. The training missions are the place to get your settings fine tuned since mistakes won't cost you any credits there. The TARGET software you optionally use for the Warthog allows you to set up macro actions and there is a GUI that makes things fairly simple although you will need time and patience to get things to your liking. ED has a built in Warthog profile that you can use as a starting point.
Mine has developed a little "sticktion" around the centre, but a small deadzone in the X and Y axis pretty much makes it a non-issue.
I have rudder pedals (cheap Saitek ones) that I use for ED and DCS, but I also have one of the hats on the joystick set to do yaw when I'm too lazy to put my feet on the pedals.
The stick is fairly stiff, but you don't have to be a bodybuilder to use it.
Elite feels fantastic when playing with the Warthog. Its as if the game was designed for it.

 

[Nerwan]

Thanks so much guys, this is such valuable feedback and it's really informing my choice. I am going to really miss yaw on twist I think.. and I don't want to splash out for pedals right away. Now you've all got me thinking that perhaps I'll use a two stick system and use my old stick for yaw and maybe vertical/lateral, alternating my left hand between the stick and the new throttle. Anyone tried this kind of set up?

 

[Bran Tse Mallory]

The question appears to be: Can you talk me into buying a Hotas Warthog?

OK, I'll give this a try...

Please buy a Warthog.

Did I win?


On a more serious note...

I tried flying with mouse and keys the other night. My mistake was having the Black Eyed Peas pounding out of my stereo which sent vibrations through the floor, up the desk leg and right into my mouse mat. This had the effect of causing the ship to bounce up, down, left and right in time with the music - quite fun but this also made combat rather... interesting.

Please buy a Warthog, they are better then dancing mice.

 

[Darth Krayt]

Thanks so much guys, this is such valuable feedback and it's really informing my choice. I am going to really miss yaw on twist I think.. and I don't want to splash out for pedals right away. Now you've all got me thinking that perhaps I'll use a two stick system and use my old stick for yaw and maybe vertical/lateral, alternating my left hand between the stick and the new throttle. Anyone tried this kind of set up?

Alternating your hands will probably feel awkward I think. Its well worth trying to include rudder pedals I believe. Saitek have some fairly cheap ones that aren't great quality, but are still much nicer to use than assigning yaw to one of the hat switches.
It takes a little time to get used to pedals if you've never used them before, but once you do get used to them it will feel perfectly natural.

 

[Deleted member 110222]

See if you can find someone nearby who will let you use theirs for a bit.

Pros:
Feels indestructible
Fairly easy to use software allowing you to map keys to switches, set response curves etc
Lots of buttons. Lots and lots and lots of buttons if you use the software

Depends on the user:
Stiff, chunky, quite large
No twist rudder - needs pedals or use a hat

Cons:
The price. OMG the price

No twist rudder?

Shame, it looked good.

Twist rudder is a must for me.

 

[Kuroshio]

I wouldn't persuade you to the Warhog. I use a Saitek X-55 and unlike many others, i am actually quite happy with it. (Although, the X-56 looks even more sexy... somebody wants to buy a used X55? *grin* )
.
According to my personal experience, i like my X-55 way more than the Warthog, which i only tried for like half an hour at a friends place.
.
Despite that, i don't really dare to recommend the X-55, either. It seems like i am very lucky to have one which worked for almost two years without any problems, there's a plethora or reports of quality issues on this device.

I know the feeling. My X-55 has been working flawlessly for over a year of heavy use now, and I still don't dare to recommend it ... Until I need someone to buy my used one it so I can get an X-56. (Analog 3-axis thumbstick!)

 

[Cmdr Ultra]

Don't buy a Warthog for this game.

I have one, it's in the cupboard for using with DCS A-10 flight sim. It is a replica of that planes joystick after all.

For Elite I use a Logitech 3D Extreme Pro because it has the twist axis. But I also use pedals for Up, down, left and right thrusters. I use the joystick twist for yaw control.

If you get a Warthog your losing an entire Axis of control. Just because it costs more doesn't mean it's best for this game.