The Future of USB Flight Controllers
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In the realm of high-end HOTAS controllers, there are four companies that stepped up to the plate in the last few years and produced programmable throttles and sticks. Now that most of the new controllers on the way are going to be USB devices, we thought we would have a look at the current and future standard for high-end HOTAS flight controllers. There is serious compatibility issues between multi-device USB controllers and current flight simulators, and we'll try to shed some light on this issue, as well as the possible solutions. We'll first do a quick run down of the controllers currently available, and comment on their USB replacements as our information permits.
Thrustmaster
The F22 Pro/F16 TQS setup has been a favorite among the "power users" of the flight simulation community. The TM gear is not only the most expensive; it is also the most complicated to program. There is a strong user community with some great utilities such as James Hallows' Fox 2 available to make things a bit easier, and Bob Church's latest, the digital chip upgrade, seems to be very popular. First time users are often frustrated by the F22/F16 due to its complexity, but those who hang in there and figure out the programming interface usually become die-hard TM fans.
SuncomGuillemot acquired Thrusmaster last year, and at this year's E3 their new "high-end" HOTAS controllers should be on display. There has been some information posted in our forums regarding these new sticks, and we put in a call to Guillemot today to verify some of the information we've been receiving. Guillemot has told us that there will be a low-end as well as a high-end joystick set-up, and that the high-end stuff should be out in Q4 of this year. Although they wouldn't get into specifics, Guillemot assured us that the new HOTAS will be unlike any of its predecessors, and that no expense is being spared in their development. They also said that information in our forums may/may not be totally accurate. I guess we'll have to wait until we get a look at this new HOTAS at E3 for confirmation of this new HOTAS's features.
The F-15E Talon/SFS Throttle setup has been a popular choice for flight simmers, and it is probably the easiest to program. The user simply moves a switch or two, holds down the corresponding key in conjunction with each programmable button, and voila. There is a GUI program called SPI that adds a bit more power to the programmability of the Suncom gear, but multi-key string commands that are possible with the Thrusmaster gear usually won't work with the Suncom stick and throttle. There has been more than one user of SPI in our forums who has had problems getting it to work correctly, and like all the HOTAS systems available, it seem these issues differ on a case by case basis. Using SPI isn't a necessity, and the old fashioned "press key and stick button" method has always worked well for us. The F-15/SFS is a great solution for simmers who are looking for a rig that doesn't require hours of study to learn to program. This is one setup that can be given to somebody as a Christmas gift: The recipient should have it hooked up and programmed before lunch.
CH ProductsSucom's new USB F15E and SFS throttle should be out by the end of summer 2000, and they will both connect separately to the USB ports/Hub. The new stick and throttle don't look like they will differ a whole lot from their current analog versions, but they should be easier to configure and calibrate due to the USB connection.
The combination of either an F-16 FighterStick, F-16 CombatStick, or Jane's CombatStick with the CH Pro Throttle is an excellent solution for the flight simulation gamer. The Pro Throttle is unique in that it makes any analog joystick it is connected to programmable, and since the FighterStick is the only CH stick that is programmable on its own, the Pro Throttle is a must have for CombatStick owners. The SpeedKeys programming software is quite easy to use, and provides a nice GUI interface for the user. While still not as powerful as the Thrustmaster sticks, a good number of key combinations can be entered into the CH gear, and we've had great luck in avoiding any problems with sticky keys or other issues with our Pro Throttle and FighterStick.
SaitekThe USB CombatStick is already available from CH, and both the Pro Throttle and FighterStick are on the way. CH also has several versions of its rudder pedals available, and the Pro Pedals are currently available in USB form. All of these existing and coming CH controllers will plug in separately to the USB ports or hub.
The X36F/X35T combo is available as a USB device now. Unlike the previous analog version, it will not support analog rudder pedals when using the optional analog connector, but it does includes a rudder like toggle in the throttle that defaults to the rudder axis in the Windows game controller panel. We've been able to use USB pedals with this combo, but only with certain games (more on this later).
The Digital USB X36 combo we have is sort of a composite controller: The throttle plugs into the joystick, and then the USB connector from the stick plugs into the PC USB port. This is the first HOTAS USB device we have used, and simply plugging in the USB connector automatically installed and calibrated our device. This controller will be Saitek's flagship for the foreseeable future, and like its older, analog father it is programmable using the Saitek Gaming Extensions (SGE) program. There have been a number of users in our forums who have had problems with both the digital and analog X36, and again, the trouble seems to differ on a case-by-case basis. We are happy to report that our setup is functioning perfectly, and outside of a few known bugs, SGE works great for us.
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