Hardware & Technical New generation of Hotas please.

Dozer.k.a.o.

D
I really hope to see this in the near future, now a new era of space simulators and new flight styles (i.e, the newtonian one) are coming, i miss not to find in the market Dedicated Hotas and flight peripherals more focused on them.

They should look more futuristic, with lots of switches and also have more analog and handly joysticks added for a good position thruster managment.

I have a X-55 and i´m happy with it, but i think there is a potential market out there for new concepts, Hopefully some companies are thinking of it at this moment.
 

Alexis

Alexis
Well these new space simulators need to gain success, the genre can still die as fast as it is currently revived.
 

Enride

Enride
If these games draw enough success the coming year I would be suprised if we arent seeing an influx of joysticks, hotas and various addioonal hardwares.
Im almost expecting Saitek or Logitech to announce some sort of sci-fi hotas soon.

Btw, there was some company that announced a hotas for mechwarrior online....or was it hawken...one of them.
Well it was a two stick configuration with integrated keyboard, touchscreen and aome additional buttons.
Dont think it was ever released though, maybe since both those games didnt really reach the success that they thought.
 

Titus Balls

Titus Balls
Wish I could find the video but some people are building 6DOF joystick/throttle combos that look awesome.

Also 6DOF platforms that you can sit in - DO WANT
 

HoshiQaVam

H
Personally I don't see that the joysticks themselves need to be changed. Instead, I'd prefer to see some better panels released as additions to the HOTAS. And they need to look as good as the current crop like the X55, not just some cheap crappy box with clear plastic buttons that you can stick a label behind.

The Saitek panels are arguably the best out there right now, but only if you buy the entire series and that's obviously quite expensive and still rather limited in use.

The thrustmaster MFD's are ok, but they look pretty cheap and at the end of the day they're just a plastic frame with buttons. To make them worthwhile you have to make your own inserts or otherwise mount them onto a screen. Again costly, and somewhat defeats the purpose.

Using roccat powergrid on a mobile or tablet is ok, but again it's just a cheap work around and I've yet to see an actual decent looking grid. It's also not very useful when you need to press something in a hurry.

Everything else is pretty much just a "real world" equivalent to roccat - a customisable box of buttons.

I want to see something I can mount on a desk that looks like it belongs in a cockpit. I want panels of switches that I can swap out depending on what I'm playing. etc etc

So that's why I am building my own. I'll be documenting the whole process, and will be offering blueprints, circuit diagrams, and source code, for anyone to download for free so you can replicate it all yourselves as well.
 

Doomus

Doomus
I've just spent the best part of 3 months researching this because I wanted to ensure the £300 odd I spend would not be wasted on junk. The Warthog looks great but is only metal on the outside, the internals are still plastic. The Saitek is simply poor quality with a 50/50 chance of having to RMA on delivery. I went with CH Products mostly because the build quality and functionality are unparalleled although partly because building my own wasn't feasible for me. CH mainly build controls for military and industrial customers where reputation and build quality is paramount. The consumer flight sim market is purely a sideline for them. Companies like Saitek rely on selling new models to gamers constantly. It's not in their interests to build their products to last.

Basically, from what I've come to understand, it really doesn't matter what the kit looks like. It's about how it performs and how it stands up to continued punishment. Some guy on one of the sim forums said it best: "When your control manufacturer goes for bling over build quality then it's time to rethink your manufacturer." Let's face it, we don't spend any time looking at the HOTAS. We spend our time using it to fly.

We may very well see a raft of peripherals aimed at ED and SC released in 2015 but I suspect the vast majority of them will be cheaply built, overpriced junk. A new HOTAS from CH seems unlikely. Logitech could release something really interesting as could Thrustmaster and Saitek if they lift their game but unless the reliability and quality are there then the fancy looks are like polishing a turd.

Just my 2p's worth anyway.
 

HoshiQaVam

H
Sorry Doomus but I completely disagree. Visual appearance may not be as important as build quality, but for many people (myself included) it's fairly close to it.

I, like many, am not prepared to pay over £250 for a product that looks like it came directly from the 80's. CH products are ugly, and look incredibly cheap.

You're also losing functionality for that mythical build quality. CH sticks don't have twist action, so if you don't have pedals you've completely lost a fairly important flight axis, and tend to have fewer buttons. There is also the question of the mechanical construction of the joystick gimble and shaft. The way CH builds theirs will certainly last longer than the way Saitek does it with a gimbled joint, but the gimbled joint feels far more smoother.

The simple fact of the matter is that there are at least as many reasons why not to buy a CH HOTAS as there are not to buy a HOTAS from Saitek or Thrustmaster.

That's the beauty of having consumer choice.
 

OVMorat

OVMorat
I wish I could get on with twist yaw, but I really can't :(
I'm happier with my X-45 rudder rocker on the throttle because it separates the three main control axes.

Then again, despite my X-45 having lasted since 2001 I'm not sure I'd buy another Saitek. It has always been a frustration to get it working properly, be it driver support or the crunchy movement.
 

Mephane

Mephane
If ED is successful enough, we might see a HOTAS setup that looks precisely as the one in the game - the extra panels, switches and screen in the middle included.:D
 

Rickenbacker

Rickenbacker
Please, no futuristic looking stuff! I suspect that even in the future, flight controls will be very utalitarian, and most likely NOT have blinking lights or fancy color schemes. I don't mind lots of switches, though. Mmm, switches... I'll be in my bunk.
 

Mephane

Mephane
Rickenbacker said:
Please, no futuristic looking stuff! I suspect that even in the future, flight controls will be very utalitarian, and most likely NOT have blinking lights or fancy color schemes. I don't mind lots of switches, though. Mmm, switches... I'll be in my bunk.
Click to expand...

In the actual future, stuff will be controlled wirelessly through chips implanted in the brain. All forms of screens and input devices will vanish. Could be in 100 years, maybe 200 years, but I expect no less than full brain-machine-interface integration eventually.:D
 

streki

streki
Mephane said:
In the actual future, stuff will be controlled wirelessly through chips implanted in the brain. All forms of screens and input devices will vanish. Could be in 100 years, maybe 200 years, but I expect no less than full brain-machine-interface integration eventually.:D
Click to expand...

Yeah they tried all that in Battlestar Galactica, but the toasters just hacked everything, so Adama banned that sort of control, and went back to hands on....telephones were landlines only (no mobiles) that kind of thing.
 

HoshiQaVam

H
Rickenbacker said:
Please, no futuristic looking stuff! I suspect that even in the future, flight controls will be very utalitarian, and most likely NOT have blinking lights or fancy color schemes. I don't mind lots of switches, though. Mmm, switches... I'll be in my bunk.
Click to expand...

The costs of manufacturing cars has dropped to the point where pretty much every car manufacturer can produce the same thing, so they are now having to look into areas that are pretty irrelevant, like adding blinking lights and fancy colour schemes, as a selling point.

Precisely the same thing happened to computers, to mobile phones, and it it's a pretty safe bet that it'll happen to aircraft as well.

Especially when owning a Sidewinder is as common place as owning a Mini is right now.
 

dognosh

dognosh
Mephane said:
If ED is successful enough, we might see a HOTAS setup that looks precisely as the one in the game - the extra panels, switches and screen in the middle included.:D
Click to expand...

In my cockpit the HOTAS looks just like my X52 pro, do you guys see that or your own joystick ? I love that the fingers press the buttons I press :cool:

ok, regarding the discussion about build quality saitek/warthog/CH :
My X52 PRO is 9 years old and functioning perfectly, and has just about enough buttons on it, I have even utilised the throttle slider to start up the FSD to save one other button for more important things.

regarding thread title:
I personally believe we will see a new generation of throttles in 2 or 3 years time , not least of all because of the Oculus Rift(making us blind to our hardware when wearing it). These will be more ergonomic and OR friendly.

the other reason is because of Elite and Star Citizen :cool:
 

Winterwalker

Winterwalker
Mephane said:
If ED is successful enough, we might see a HOTAS setup that looks precisely as the one in the game - the extra panels, switches and screen in the middle included.:D
Click to expand...

This is doable as a DIY project now of course, getting really realy close matching to joystick. Comes at a price though, like everything :rolleyes:
 

DaveB

DaveB
Doomus said:
...The Saitek is simply poor quality with a 50/50 chance of having to RMA on delivery...
Click to expand...

When MadCatz took over Saitek, build quality went into the toilet for their earlier batches built under that brand. I've a pre-MadCatz X52 that has seen nearly a decade of use and abuse and it's still rock solid with none of the build-quality or longevity issues that have been reported since. I'm also hearing that the latest batches have addressed much of the QC issues.

Unfortunately many of those early batches output with their quality issues are still in the supply chain and the folks who get a bad one are the ones that are "loudest"

It's no longer a 50/50 chance of an RMA but if you do get a bad one persevere - once you get a good one the X52/X52pro are rock-solid sticks.
 

Vandyl

V
I have a 8 year old CH setup (Stick, throttle, pedals) that just takes up too much room in my current habitat. I am using a T-Flight HOTAS X with VoiceAttack (and an Orbweaver as backup) because is is more compact.

The T-Flight worries me as it feels brittle and I'm afraid I'm going to crush it. The CH may look cheap as stated earlier in this thread, but I works as If I just took it out of the box 8 years later.

I would love a more compact version of the X-52 Pro setup, just manufactured by someone other than Saitek. I can deal with smaller switches and buttons, just make them robust.
 
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