I know @klarsnow wants to do a review on it so I will leave all that to him.
But here are a few pics.
I know @klarsnow wants to do a review on it so I will leave all that to him.
But here are a few pics.
Still waiting for mine.
How do you like it?
I will wait until I talk to @klarsnow regarding his before I give my impressions. But put it this way, I still haven’t plugged it it and awaiting response from customer services. At the moment I am not bowled over by it.
I am sorry to hear that Bogus. There are few worse things in retail than ordering a device online, getting excited for it, and then having issues out of the box. I have been eyeing one of them as well so I look forward to hearing your’s and Klar’s experiences.
But hey, that is a sweet shag rug you covered your desk in! That’s genius, I bet no peripherals move around on that beauty!
Plus a great back-up defibrillator if you hit the deck in some sweet polyester.
Far out man
OK so here it is. I have taken a deep breath and will post as best as I can the issues I have with the throttle in a non-biased way.
Don’t get me wrong. There is nice things about this throttle - but I am here to post about the issues I have encountered to save others that may fall into the same hole or may have issues with said items. So I will be quick and succinct.
I can’t actually comment much on the functionality of the throttle. I simply have not tried it in game yet (and that is the problem).
detents. Unfortunately the detents offer no feel of where the afterburner and cut off gates are.
Deskmount. (I have screenshots of the store page which has since changed today since my email to Virpil). If like me you purchased the deskmount to go with your throttle, you would have researched their website. Under throttle, it stated that the deskmount and throttle are compatible.
Ther was also an adapter plate that stated the following
While the VPC MongoosT-50 Throttle can attach directly to the VPC Desk Mounts, this adapter will allow the VPC MongoosT-50 Throttle to be mounted closer to the user allowing for more comfortable use!
However the deskmount IS NOT compatible with the throttle.
So without actually using the throttle in game. I have a throttle, a deskmount that does not fit it, and a bag of bolts I have had to purchase myself to match the ones that should have shipped with the mount.
Virpil have already replied but that is another story.
This might be helpful?
EDIT: On further reading, I am not sure that provides any information at all.
So… initial impressions, it worked for me out the container for about thirty minutes and then I got greedy and updated the firmware incorrectly ( their software is not the most intuitive) and am now waiting on customer support to resolve the issue after sussing out what went wrong (throttles bios needs a flash it seems).
UPDATE: Much easier to reset the BIOS than with the stick, you simply hold down one of the buttons on the throttle as you plug it back in and it resolved the issue, had it working again within five minutes of reading the email they sent, no disassembly required.
It requires either the adaptor or a warthog mounting plate for it to work with their mounts or any other mount. So be warned if you don’t have that already you are going to have to just set it on a desk.
That being said initial impressions are this. If you have a warthog throttle, and have used it for a long time, the two things that you will have issues with right out the door are the lack of slew, and the weak detents. This being said most warthog detents are modded in nowadays, so it was not a default item with them either. I’d call that a nicety that I have grown accustomed to after years of using custom detents in my warthog.
The lack of slew is going to be the bigger problem for warthog users. The 5 way hat on the throttle that sits under your thumb works quite well, but it is definitely NOT a slew. If you have used any other side mounted thumbstick (Saitek hotas) I would argue it is superior, but definitely not as good as a real slew.
That being said there are a ton of things I really like about this throttle. The button and switch layout is imho superior to the warthogs throttle, with far far more options. The two rotaries, and three rotary encoders are super awesome, I want more of those. All of the switches are momentary or spring loaded, so you have none of the warthog issues with mapping switches that requires either dedicated switch slots, or playing with third party software to get it to work.
I literally had so many mapping options I ran out of ideas and flew around with like 5 buttons unmapped, so there’s that
It has smooth movement and good friction adjustment ( something that died a long time ago in my warthog). The throw seems about a quarter to a half inch less than what I am used to with the warthog throttle. Basically it feels like when you hit the stop is about where the warthog is going into afterburner/ hitting my detent.
I think this is more something I have to get used to than a deficiency of the throttle itself, 8 years of muscle memory can be hard to overcome.
The elevation rotary on the throttle is smooth and works quite well as an elevation wheel for radar control.
It has 21 buttons plus the elevation wheel axis on the throttle grips alone, which is quite a lot. For comparison the warthog has 21 IF you count the OFF pole positions of the speed brake, boat, and lights switches, which can be a pain to map (for me) the mongoos throttle has four hats, one of which is a 5 way, and they are all quite nicely placed, at least for me.
So conclusions…
I would throw the caveat out that VPC seem to still be having issues with quality control, and their initial setup is definitely not as simple as plug and play like we are used to (reference my wiping the bios on my throttle by accident).
If you already have a warthog throttle I would probly recommend waiting until at least a slew is added before you consider switching to one of these. If that got added in I would probly say to consider it as an upgrade due to what I feel is a superior layout, quantity and ease of mapping buttons and axes.
If you have something other than a warthog throttle (ch, Saitek etc…) I would probly recommend this or the warthog as an upgrade, they are different but both solid throttles, and right now both offer quite a bit of functionality, just in different formats.
If you are a warthog user and are considering this keep in mind that while I do think the overall button and switch layout is superior, I also have 8 years of muscle memory from my warthog throttle, and using a particular scheme as well as Universally as I can for about the last 3.
So if you are like me you will still find yourself reaching for the flap switch that isn’t there, or trying to utilize some functionality that you are just used to from the warthog. That’s not a knock on the Virpil throttle, more just an acknowledgement that it is quite different in layout and will feel wierd after using a product for so long.
Finally I’ll throw my two cents in on what features I think would make Virpil’s next throttle a no brainer upgrade for a warthog owner as opposed to what I see as a parallel product.
First off the slew, get a proper slew in there, it was/is one of the weakest parts of the warthog, almost anything is better, but a slew is better than a 5 way hat. (Btw a five way hat or two or a slew on a new version of the Virpil grip would be MONEY)
Second, the detents, with custom mods we can have very good detents on The warthog that you can very easily feel and that actually resist you when you hit them, this you can easily move to an AB stop and stop your throttle, or you can put enough force in to go straight through to afterburner. This would be a money feature by default on the a throttle, I classify it as a nice to have, not a necessity, but it would definitely step up the game.
Third, small issue, but real throttles and sticks usually shape all of their hats differently so you know what you are feeling easily when you actuate a switch, the Virpil throttle has three hats that are the same, two of which would be accessed by your thumb, not a huge deal due to their location, but it would be nice.
Anyhoo those are my initial impressions. I’m about to go on a trip for a couple of weeks so when I get back I’ll give it a more thorough wring out and see if I need to adjust my initial impressions once I figure out how to remap my hands to a new layout.
Also the lack of slew is not such a big deal if you are planning on flying the tomcat a lot
That’s what your RIO is for
Thank you very much for your impressions @klarsnow. I am still wavering about this one. The detents sound like they would be a big issue for me personally. After having modified my WH’s detent I am very happy with it and the ability to quickly and confidently going into full military power or AB as required has improved my overall flying. The absent of slew sounds like a missed opportunity. The slew in my WH is so bad that for finer control I often revert to a regular 4(5)-way hat for precise control anyhow, but that is actually something I would like to upgrade from.
The buttons sound very nice though, especially as they can all be used without hassle.
A difficult decision. I have the T-50 stick which is absolutely fantastic (after solving the initial QC problems). On the other hand there are rumors that eventually there will be a new Hornet throttle by TM for their new HOTAS that would hopefully improve on the shortcomings of the WH throttle.
Just as an update to the slew issue. The “Pyramid” hat on the throttle is an 8way hat so you can get diagonal movement out of the TDC if you wish.
Don’t the soviet HOTAS have the slew on the stick?
Yes. It is on the stick. I would still like one on the throttle