| The Complete HOTAS Pt.2 by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson |
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The function of the unit itself is quite logical. There are five buttons along the bottom, each of which has an LED beneath it. The LEDs are colored, three red, one yellow and one green. The buttons along the bottom are labelled (from left to right): VIEWS OUT, VIEWS IN, WINGMAN, RADAR/TARGET, and WEAPONS. Two buttons above these five, a grey button on the left and a red on the right, are respectively labelled PAUSE and EJECT. A single grey button to the right of and on the same level as the five black buttons is labelled GAME SELECT. Pressing this button clears the display, allowing you to select another program (the number of programs you can store in the EEPROM unit depends on how many functions you require per button). What I discovered when programming this setup was that I wanted only certain command sets in my Masterpilot, and other commands I wanted for my sticks so that I could access them instantly when needed. As a result, targetting commands and weapons selection, most avionics, ECM and basic engagement commands are in my sticks. I programmed most of my WINGMAN commands and other COMMS functions to the Masterpiilot, as well as ATC and NAV commands. The only limitation to THIS setup is that you have to write the commands you have programmed to the Masterpilot onto a six by six area. With the 24 buttons surrounding the console each capable of storing five separate commands, using ALL the command space means you have to write small. This defeats the purpose of having command access at a glance. The solution? Chain TWO units together! Since these units sell for about $60 each and they are only eight inches wide, a pair of them can be had for $120 and still nestle in BETWEEN the stick and throttle on your desktop. (They also look cool as can be, even if you DON'T build them into a permanent cockpit setup like Matt Wietlispach who created the homebuilt that is pictured at the opening of this article!) BTW, in case you haven't read the earlier review, the MPilot software allows you to save your configurations to disk to share them, edit them, etc. and then load up to three different games at a time to your cartridge.
Janes F15
Onward and upward! I have the SUNCOM SFS and Talon hooked up to CH pedals and a PDPI L4 digital game port. The CH pedals are standard fare, inexpensive and reliable. The L4 digital game port is a bit expensive, but gives you smooth and precise response and it can be a life saver for online gaming. (Watch for our complete review of this great piece of hardware). F15 is another incredible entry into the genre by Janes and is as far beyond Strike Eagle III as Janes Longbow was beyond DI's HIND or 688I was beyond SeaWolf. In virtually every way this sim rocks! But its a particularly good testbed for the Complete HOTAS because it has a complex command structure in addition to complex avionics. The average HOTAS user will find his command file stretched to the limit by this sim, even with the programming capability of Thrustmaster gear.
But isn't the goal of a HOTAS system to keep your eyes on the fight at all times? Isn't the beauty of that conception lost by the use of a separate console? To answer that question, lets think back to the nature of modern air combat and modern avionics. First, lets remember that in the real F15 the pilot does NOT have all the controls of his aircraft and systems on his sticks, but neither does he have to reach after generic keys that read A, B, C, D etc. In fact, he has most of the targetting and weapons system at his finger tips in his sticks, and most other controls arrayed around him on various panels. The Masterpilot does a lovely job of simulating that concept, and a pair of them works even better! The system I have worked out for Janes F15 places all weapons and targetting commands in my SUNCOM gear, including CHAFF and FLARE and ECM, and all ATC, NAV and most of my COMMS in my Masterpilot pair (my Thrustmaster system is about the same). |
The unit on the left holds most of the pre-engagement and engagement COMMS for WING, ELEMENT and FLIGHT. The unit on the right holds other comms, for JSTARS, AWACS, ATC (air traffic control), NAV and IFR (in flight refueling). This latter unit also holds some avionics commands like landing gear. Both units come equipped with grey and red buttons which are prelabelled for PAUSE and EJECT, and I program those functions to the respective buttons. (My only wish for the future is that the EJECT button be made larger ;-D ) A few wingman and element commands still reside in my SFS. I have ENGAGE BANDIT, COVER ME, HELP ME, BREAK RIGHT, and BREAK LEFT in the SFS for instant access. This works very well for me, and of course I can make small adjustments to the programming of my sticks at will, even in flight if I decide a command is better needed somewhere else!
SUMMARYMy other system has Thrustmaster gear mounted, and on that system I use a Masterpilot setup also. Having to program six functions per switch is simply too much for me, and I hate looking for keys on a keyboard when things are tense. F15 offers a pretty good compromise in that COMMS functions are all available on number keys, but the best possible world is still to program macros to a HOTAS. If you don't program macros to SOMETHING, you will be hitting as many as four keys to access a single command function. For example, if you want to order your Flight to attack their primary targets, you must hit TAB, then 4, then 6, then 1. How many command functions are actually available in Janes F15? Here is a partial list:
This means that sims like Janes F15, Microprose Falcon 4, and DiDs Total Air War are going to push serious sim fans to commit big bucks to programmable HOTAS systems or go crazy. I think the Masterpilot should receive serious consideration from anyone looking to make the best use of their hardware budget.
Maybe the best thing about these programmable consoles is that they stretch your HOTAS ability AND level out the playing field between SUNCOM, Thrustmaster, CH and Saitek gear. Its true that TM gear is MORE programmable than SUNCOM or any other system, but only at the cost of burying about 150 commands in two sticks, requiring a learning task that is overwhelming for most of us, not to mention the actual programming and selection of all those slots. Why not go with a SUNCOM and Masterpilot combination and spread those functions out over more buttons, or add the Masterpilot to an existing Thrustmaster or CH or Saitek system? It looks great on the desktop, and it works great in the air! A complete Thrustmaster HOTAS will set you back about $300 US. A SUNCOM HOTAS with CH standard pedals will cost you about $200 US. You can add the Masterpilot and programmer to either setup for about $65 US. Note: the MPilot unit is much better than the PC Dash, both in usability and convenience. Onward and upward!
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