<!–#set var="article_header" value="Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar:
The Luxury Joystick!” –>
The HOTAS Concept
The article first appeared in Tom’s Hard News Email Newsletter
“Hands on Throttle and Stick”. For decades, military aeronautics engineers have been trying to improve the human interface in aircraft involved in extreme combat situations. Of all the major advances that have resulted from their research, the HOTAS concept has been a real revolution. HOTAS enables pilots to use the avionics, radar and weapons systems without having to remove their hands from the control column or the throttle. So it was quite natural for the idea to be transposed into the PC computer world. In 1991, Thrustmaster launched its first HOTAS gaming peripheral – the FCS (control column) and WCS (throttle) were born. Two years later, the FLCS F-16 and TQS F-16 replaced them. These new models were equipped with advanced programming functions. Much imitated but never really equaled, ten years later, the FLCS and TQS were souped up by enthusiasts who added enhanced electronics and programming software. These devices are now being offered on online auction sites for much more than their original price!
But soon, all of this will be history. That’s because Thrustmaster has just produced a HOTAS for today, and well beyond. In fact, the HOTAS Cougar might even soon be touted as the “joystick without limits.” To be sure, no concessions seem to have been made in terms of more realistic pricing. There’s no getting away from it, the Cougar is expensive, very expensive. At $299, it can’t be compared to any other gaming peripherals on the market. For this reason, it is vital to find out whether the investment is justified over the long term.
Full Metal Joystick
Installing the HOTAS Cougar is easy as pie. You start with the USB drivers, including a control panel, and then go on to the Foxy Cougar Edition programming software. Then all you have to do is connect the throttle to the base of the control column, and finally, attach the column to the PC using a USB connector.
Upon initial inspection, the weight of the device is the first thing you notice. Each of the two elements weighs four kilograms (around 8 1/2 lbs)! That’s because the Cougar is made entirely of metal, right down to the last button. The grip is perfect, but then again you’d expect nothing less from a HOTAS that faithfully reproduces the device used in USAF F-16 Block 50 fighter planes. Here are its specifications:
- Number of axes: 7 analog axes (2 for the microstick)
- Number of buttons: 16 (28 including directional hats)
- Number of hat switches: 4-8 directions (one of which is recognized by Windows)
- Processor: Internal with speeds up to 24 MHz
- Memory: 64 Kb
- Connection: USB 1.1 Full Speed
- Compatibility: Windows 98, ME, 2000
Mechanics Made To Last
So the HOTAS has a total of 16 buttons, four directional hats and seven analog axes, including a microstick that is built into the throttle. The throttle itself is comparable to those you’d find on gamepads, but it is a big improvement on the “rubber button” that were fitted to the old TQS throttles that were seriously lacking in precision. Cougar’s microstick enables it to emulate a mouse in real time to move a cursor on the screen. Its sensitivity can be reprogrammed for each game. Although they are made of metal, the ergonomics of the directional hat switches ensure that they don’t slip out of the control of your thumb, so they are very comfortable to use. The other buttons are within easy reach of the fingers after a minimum amount of practice. This is what you would expect for a design based on technology that has proved so effective in military applications. There are two stops near the start and stop of the throttle movement, symbolizing the position of the engine in idle mode and transition to the afterburner. Their resistance can be adjusted by turning a knob on the front at the base of the throttle.
You will probably be surprised by the resistance of the recoil springs on the joystick axes. It takes real effort to pull the stick back fully. In flight simulator programs whose action is fast, furious, and prolonged, you’ll soon be getting a serious cramp in your right arm! The other consequence of the resistance of the springs is that you need to put a lot of effort into moving the stick diagonally. Fortunately, the base unit is so heavy that it will stay in place on the desk, even if you pull the stick back as far as it will go on any of its axes. The HOTAS Cougar is not very useful in action-packed simulations such as Crimson Skies, in which the player is constantly required to perform sudden, violent maneuvers. But overall, the mechanics of the HOTAS Cougar display great strength and durability. Manipulating its eight kilograms (17 lbs) of metal produces sensations that cannot be compared with those offered by any other joystick on the market.
The Cougar Reveals What’s Inside
Of course, we were in a real hurry to open up each of the two sections of the Cougar and find out what’s underneath the black metal casing. Not that this action does anything to invalidate the warranty – in fact, users might actually need to access the inside of the throttle device because they may want to alter the slowing, idling and afterburner features and move them closer to or further from the extremities of travel of the axis. Dismantling and reassembling them is no problem, and the internal parts are extremely simple, which is an indication of their durability. Similarly, the nice, clean electronics reflect a high level of integration.
Upon examining the interior of the control column, we found we had a little surprise in store. Contrary to the current trend, Thrustmaster relies on electro-optical technology to control the main analog axes (X and Y) and has resorted to digital potentiometers. This means that there is a greater danger of wear; former users of the FLCS F-16 will remember only too well the recurring control problems they had as a result of poor quality potentiometers. Thrustmaster’s project manager Guillaume Lelevй explains that this choice was due to the accrued precision contributed by this type of digital potentiometer. This type of potentiometer is capable of returning more than 3,000 separate values, as opposed to the 256 that are normally returned by an electro-optical system or by standard potentiometers (which are in fact used on the other Cougar axes). In any case, with the Cougar, the signal is reduced and amplified electronically, to deliver a grand total of 65,635 separate values. Is this sort of precision really necessary, even at a cost of eventually having to replace worn out potentiometers? We doubt it. It should be admitted, however, that through the duration of the test, the responses of the X and Y axes on the control column showed no sign of weakness. That’s a good sign when you recall that the FLCS F-16’s potentiometers showed the first signs of fatigue after just a few days of prolonged use. In a worst case scenario, the very simple mounting of the control column potentiometers, set into a plastic frame attached with screws to the body, makes them very easy to replace (parts supplied upon request by Thrustmaster), using nothing more than a Philips screwdriver.
Axes Galore!
Opening the Cougar control panel reveals the amazing profusion of analog axes (beyond the basic X, Y and Z axes) offered by this joystick that are essential for handling roll, pitch and engine. In addition to the microstick, which is equipped with the two axes of a standard joystick, the control column has two further analog axes on the radar range regulator button, and the directional antenna button. But since the Cougar has no rudder control, it is almost impossible to control yaw, a serious defect. It is possible, however, to attach a rudder bar to the base of the control column, using a standard 15-pin connector (of any make). This will require an additional investment of course, but there’s some good news-the rudder signal is handled electronically by the Cougar, which allows it to take advantage of the auto-calibration system shared by all the other axes. You can also calibrate each axis manually, if you aren’t satisfied with the accuracy of the auto-calibration.
But Thrustmaster does not stop there. Thanks to the control panel, you can modify the response curve for each axis separately, and adjust the neutral zones at the extremities of movement and when idling. You can then record each adjustment profile and load them depending upon the simulator in use. Even better, the response curve of an axis can be changed in real time while you are in flight. Imagine that you are getting ready to land, a maneuver that requires very delicate handling to remain level and prevent pitching and rolling. By pressing a series of keys on the keyboard, you can immediately switch to a different adjustment of the response curve on the X axes of your joystick, so that you can make tiny corrections to the roll. This is something that has never been seen before in gaming controllers!
Windows Or Programmed Mode
It would be a pity not to make best use of the plethora of axes, buttons, and hat switches that the Cougar has to offer. There are two ways of taking advantage of them. The first and easiest to use is the Windows mode. In fact, since all of the Cougar axes and buttons are recognized by DirectX, you can easily assign the functions of the most recent simulators to each button, using the button configuration menu. This is an important detail because, whether in Windows or programmed mode, the buttons and their associated controls can be operated simultaneously. This is a major improvement on the TQS/FLCS, which only transmits impulses from buttons in a strictly sequential order. Pressing several buttons simultaneously would result in the loss of all of the actions requested except one, and this would be chosen in an arbitrary fashion.
The Cougar offers so much more as soon as you dive into the arcane secrets of its programming language. The interface used to program the Cougar is Foxy Cougar Edition software. This software makes it possible to create files that assign the controls of your choice to a particular simulator, and you can then load these instructions into the Cougar. You can also simply upload to Cougar any of the numerous files of ready-made programming, a very exhaustive list that covers all the simulators currently on the market. Then all you have to do is consult a chart in JPEG format to find out which function has been assigned to which button or axis. While on the subject, the only bug we found in the Foxy program involved the print command, which does not work with graphics charts. So until Thrustmaster corrects the problem, you will need to use a program other than Foxy in order to print them.
The Cougar And Its Programming Language
It’s quite an intimidating experience to launch Foxy and its Cougar programming files for the first time. The language is complex and uses very specialized syntax. Each button has its own identifier, such as “BTN H1U,” that indicates the top position of the first directional hat switch. Then there’s an argument that defines the type of action to be associated with pressing the button. For example “/A” defines the command as having to be repeated as long as the button is being pressed. Finally, there is the control itself, which can be a key on the keyboard or a macro associated with a key. The Cougar is mostly programmed with the help of two files: the files containing the commands and the file containing the macros. This is an option that gives programming a certain amount of flexibility and greater readability. For example, the line:
BTN H1U /A Trim_Down,
means more to the user than directly associating a keystroke sequence with the line, as in the following:
BTN H1U /A CTL UARROW
There are also arguments that make it possible to reduce the number of accessible functions. In particular, you can assign two commands to each button, depending on whether or not button S3, at the base of the joystick handle, is pressed. Other arguments, associated with a three-position button on the throttle, enable you to use the same button for three commands! As you can see, there are almost infinite possibilities for programming the Cougar and we have merely skimmed the surface. It’s not unusual for enthusiasts to spend more time tinkering with the programming files than actually playing on the simulator!
Foxy Cougar Edition, The Programming Software
Since the programming and macro files are in text format, you can easily create or modify them using a simple text editor. The Foxy programming software offers heaps of options and aims to help you at every level of expertise for programming the Cougar. In addition to editors for the programming and macro files, which are the basic Foxy tools, the software offers a series of utilities that help you create and test your files.
There is Korgy, for example, which helps you create your macro files more easily by associating the correct key sequence with each name, thanks to a GUI. It even makes it possible for you to program directly, if you don’t want to use macros. Using a GUI to create files will enable you to produce a command file for the whole Cougar device. Even if these utilities are quite difficult to access for the beginner, they have the advantage of avoiding the inevitable syntax errors that occur when files are output directly in text mode.
Nor is this the full range of Foxy Cougar Edition features. The software also provides numerous additional utilities that make it possible to calibrate and test the HOTAS Cougar in all its configurations. To summarize, Foxy has a lot of bells and whistles, and requires many hours of practice before it can be mastered, but you will have to do spend the time if you want to get the best out of all that the HOTAS Cougar has to offer.
Conclusion: The Present And The Future Of The HOTAS Cougar
There is absolutely no doubt that the HOTAS Cougar is a product of the highest quality as far its mechanical design is concerned. It is built to last, and many years will have to pass before a competitor dares to bring out a peripheral that offers this sort of value for money. On the other hand, the software suffers from a few teething problems. We were able to locate several bugs, the worst of which is that the commands for button S3 are the wrong way round, depending on whether it is pressed or not (arguments /I and /O).
Furthermore, on a test computer, the Cougar had problems recognizing the various axes and buttons in Windows mode, and the control panel frequently froze, as would the computer. To give Thrustmaster its due, a patch has already been issued to improve USB compatibility and correct the /I /O problem (available from the technical support site at http://www.thrustmaster.com/).
It is self-evident that Thrustmaster will continue to support the Cougar and will hasten to correct the latest software problems, both those involving the drivers and programs, and those affecting the Cougar’s internal logic, whose memory is easily “flashable” using Foxy.
Even on the hardware level, the future of the HOTAS Cougar seems assured. Thrustmaster intends to bring in a three-axis rudder control in the near future, which is currently the one serious omission in the Cougar. Without revealing too much, Guillaume Lelevй has told us that it ought to be as inexpensive as possible and offer greater travel and better ergonomics than the old Thrustmaster rudder control. Furthermore, new handles for the control column are likely to be introduced. In fact, the current Cougar handle can easily be removed, merely by unscrewing the metal ring on the base.
The first optional handle will be a faithful replica of the F/A-18 Hornet, but that might pose a few design problems. This type of handle would have to be made of plastic fibers if it is to imitate the real thing, but this could be taken the wrong way by the users of the Cougar, due to its original metal handle. Whatever happens, Cougar’s future seems more than promising. All it needs is a foot pedal worthy of the rest of the device – this will ensure that those lucky simulation fans that can afford it will be absolutely delighted.
