ericinexile

Thanks. It was that Admin checked part that had me turn UAC on in the first place. With UAC off that box is greyed out. Thinking this was a problem, I turned UAC on just so I could have the honor of checking that little box. Then things got ugly. UAC is off, Admin option is greyed out. I've turned Alchemy off (which gives Creative cards the ability to play OpenGL sounds) and moved the System32 version of msvcrt.dll to the Lock On folder. This gets me in the pit with the Vista sound problem...but at least it works. I haven't flown for more than a few seconds so I don't know if it REALLY works.

Well I FUBAR'd my ability to start Lockon (with an exception) apparently after tuning UAC on. Don't ask why I did it but I did. It's off now. Anyway, the instant I did I got the following: So I turned UAC off: No Luck I made the lockon.exe.local file: No Luck I reinstalled: No Luck I used "lockon.bat": No Luck Did the lockon.exe.local thingy again: No luck (BTW, the install is completely default, no changes in directories, ect, I'm running in XP Compatibility Mode and as Admin (UAC Off)) I uninstalled, erased mentions of Lockon and Lockon 1.1 from the Registry, and reinstalled: No Luck I copied the executable and ran the copy: Works I changed the name of the copy back to "Lockon.exe": Back to the error. So, I can play but only if I play "Lockon - Copy.exe". This wouldn't be a problem but Hyperlobby must see "Lockon.exe" and I can't use that name...for whatever reason. {EDIT: If I remove msvcrt.dll from the Lockon folder, the unrenamed Lockon.exe will work...but without sound} Vista 64: All hardware and software has been unchanged except for the new stick installed in October. Until the "UAC" check earlier today, I haven't had significant problems. As always, help is appreciated!

The only way LO works for me is to copy the Lockon.exe file and run the copy. Otherwise .dll hell.

What is peculiar to me is Logitech's response...or lack of. Initially, in September and early October, a Logi Rep named "Mark" (or "Logitech_Mark") was fairly active on this forum, SimHQ, and the Logitech Support Community. He did his best to explain improvements with each Profiler fix, encourage game developer support, and encourage users that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. More than a few of us were aware of the controller's limitations but we dove in with the belief that there is no way Logitech is going to let hundreds of thousands of dollars of R & D, not to mention reputation, go to waste on a doomed product. Well Logitech, and Mark, have been silent since mid-October. There is no, zero, nada support on the Logitech forum. There are a myriad of damning posts that potential customers are reading with no official reply. The fact that moderators let these posts stick with no editing is no longer admirable to me, it's just pathetic. It's as if they've given up and no longer care about reputation or sales. They just wish the whole thing would just go away. But HEY! That's just me thinking out loud. It's probably a great product with a great future. Anybody want to buy a slightly used G940? They can't keep 'em on the shelves, you know.

Well the original post is two days old so I don't knaw if negative feedback is dying. 5.08 is 3 months old and did fix a few problems. Don't buy this stick on hope of future improvements. (or if you do wait for folks like me to unload cheap.)

If you also have the Ru version of the sim, it's very easy to set up for an English pit and a wonderfully sexy Russian Betty. Unfurtunately the Russian Betty sound files are not included in the English version even though you have both English and Russian folders. Months ago a forum participant offered to host the Russian Betty sound folder with ED's permission. I don't recall what resulted from that discussion.

I've waited 2 months to write my true feelings about this stick. As with any new piece of equipment, time and experience will often cure initial gripes. So I have given it time and that time hasn't made a speck of difference. Everything I have learned have been adaptations and walk-arounds to overcome either the mechanical shortcomings of the stick or the flaws in the software. I've learned to make careful XML edits to profiles. I've learned to Globally force profiles manually so that the software doesn't pick the wrong one when games are loaded. I've learned to relegate the poor mini-stick to 4 zones for weapons selection because it is far too inaccurate to be used as a workable axis (Logitech learned this too--look at their own supplied DCS:Black Shark profile). I've learned that the two wheels on the throttle are almost as inaccurate as the mini-stick. I've learned to NEVER shift a DPAD or POV switch or Windows will do horrible things never before seen in my 15 years of Microsoft slavery. I've learned that the center slop is the fault of game developers and it is their responsibility to properly implement Logitech's hardware. I've learned to use a weird negative curve in DCS Axis Tuning so that FFB will (almost) work. (The problem however is that control is twitchy and unsatisfying and the trim will not hold an attitude above 200 kph). I've learned that Logitech is ASLEEP--their forum is full of complaints like those listed above and not a peep in response from Logitech Reps since early October. I've learned that Logitech will continue to insist on distributing a single piece of software to drive practically every wheel and controller they sell. That's the short list. The good news is that the stick itself (except for the slop) is excellent. I feel like a rock star with IL2. I never snap-roll anymore. I am able to hold an edge and usually out-turn the other guy. For that reason alone I can't completely say that I fully regret my purchase. Another thing I really love is to UNPLUG the stick and fly helicopters in X-plane with no silly centering spring--huge fun (works with Mac too)! The immersion quality of Force Feedback in games like IL2, Lomac, and Rise of Flight is exactly what I was hoping for. Black Shark on the other hand, is the one game that was hyped to benefit the most and, honestly, I like the non-ffb, old-trim-method best. So unless and until Logitech wakes from their G940 slumber and do some real firmware magic I think the 940 will be relegated to the tech scrapheap along with the Apple Newton and APS film. The idea of a FFB HOTAS is brilliant. I know the customer base for such a product is small and getting smaller but I still think that with the right product it will sell. Now, can Logitech make the G940 that "right product"?

No trouble for me except with the mini-stick (the most frustrating and useless feature of the g940).

It's a "Study Sim". Not much to "study" online I guess. I've tried online but I get more lonely there than I do on my own. At least on my own there are guaranteed targets to search for. The other reason I now rarely go online are ping timouts (low ping!!!). Even though that's likely a problem on my end, it happens nowhere else. Finally, some people want to fight with other players. Doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for that with DCS.

It's funny. I was playing LockOn for the first time with the G940 and trying to trim the Su25 but nothing happened. Wierd, I thought. Then I let go of the stick and the nose shot up. I was holding the stick in position despite my triming and failing to notice the extra pressure. This is exactly how the trim works in real life--at least in planes with a very light control force. We discuss the FFB trim implementation with the BS, but the benefit is just as apparent in planes.

Force feedback has a benefit even in virtual force sensor sims as it's the only feedback available for most of us--besides sound and visual cues. Buffeting through the stick provides some sense of the pilot's position in the envelope that aren't always there visually. But overall I think FFB is a fun, sometimes helpfull feature that MUST take a back seat to input accuracy. A bad stick isn't made the least bit better with FFB.

Let's not completely roll over and call this lack of feedback realistic. Much of what is done with FFB in flight sims isn't truly something that real pilots feel through the stick. But the stick is easiest way to convey feedback to the virtual pilot. Stalls aren't felt through the stick either. But as a real pilot I love the REALISM of feeling an incipient stall through the joystick.

Anyone care to speculate as to what this is about or have I been under a rock?

Thanks. I tried that several times and still got some drift in flight. I think the previous poster has it right, at least in my case that its an issue of time. Quick movements result in considerable drift in X (but not so much in Y). Funny that it doesn't do this in LockOn.

Well of course I agree with the logic but the point of this thread is to avoid uneccessary returns. The mini works perfectly in testing with the logitech SDK software. So I think it could be a setup problem. And since I have yet to hear of anyone who is getting flawless use, I'm not sure an exchange is going to solve anything. I like the stick too much to say goodbye forever over this. Anyway, I'm not looking for "do I/don't I" advice. I just want to verify that it's flubbed for all of us or just a few of us.

Thanks. Yeah I can stop mine as well which works well enough in testing but not in "combat".

The solution for me: NO CURVES, NO DEADZONE. (with a FFB G940)

I am on the verge of returning my G940 because the mini-stick drifts when Directing the Shkval in DCS and recenters in LockOn. Others, but only a couple, have complained of the same which leads me to believe that, for most, it works just fine. If that's the case I'll exchange mine for a working unit. But I want to verify before taking that leap. I'd greatly appreciate a reply from anyone who is getting accurate use of the mini-stick in either DCS or LockOn.

I am on the verge of returning my G940 because the mini-stick drifts when Directing the Shkval in DCS and recenters in LockOn. Others, but only a couple have complained of the same which leads me to believe that, for most, it works just fine. If that's the case I'll exchange mine for a working unit. But I want to verify before taking that leap. I'd greatly appreciate a reply from anyone who is getting accurate use of the mini-stick in either DCS or LockOn. Sorry for the accidental double post. It seems that delete is no longer an option.

Are you getting accurate results with the mini-stick? If so, how? Regarding non-FFB, I found that the old method worked best (I preferred it even with the Saitek). In-game curves seem to "confuse" the game's sense of joystick center so IMO it's best to use logitech's curve (sensitivity=0%) and keep the DCS settings linear, perhaps with a tiny deadzone. But again, this is for non-FFB use of the 940. I'm having a great time with FFB using the settings earlier posted--but still can't fight without control of the shkval.

Correct. The non-FFB trim method has no effect with FFB. When the trim is depressed the player's stick and the in-game cyclic are held in new position.

No I stand by "NUTS!". While I don't have numbers to back up why coventional designs are better and have zero inclination to research it, it seems that a simple analysis suffices: No other major manufacturer is building coaxial rotorcraft. Why? We all know the advantages. So why aren't the other guys going with the best design? Well they are and coaxial it isn't. An attack helicopter is a flying tank. It doesn't need to be fast. It just needs to be a safe and stable launch platform. If helicopters really were zooming over the battlfield trying to gain "air superiority" over one another then the Ka50/52 might be the machine to have. But that's a cartoonish view of the role of combat helicopters. Don't get me wrong. I too love the virtual version on my desktop and yes I can reliably fly it with no harm done to my virtual body. But by real body doesn't even want to be within 2 clicks of the thing when it's airborne. And since Russia was smart enough to say, mostly, "NYET!", the world--Russian and Turkish pilots in particular--is safer.

I should add to my post above that while the stick settings work great, the mini-stick does not, no matter what I do. I know this isn't a flaw in the stick because I can use the logitech software to Check numerical values for mini-stick positions as I move it--and it's perfect. Perhaps it's a directx issue and will be fixed soon enough. If anyone has gotten it to work in DCS or LOMAC, I'd appreciate any help. BTW, my gunnery has never been so good in IL2. I feel like I'm cheating! This has done for my ability to stay in control in a dogfight what Trackir has done to help keep SA. LOGITECH, for all the genius you have put into this stick, you've done a dreadful job documenting how to use it. It's a shame because many would-be happy owners have returned their sticks, just as I almost did, because they didn't have the time to invest tweeking it. Are you guys in a bunker in China? Do you care if this great product sells? Help us help you market this thing or lose thousands of sales to fence sitters hoping for a better product from Saitek.

Mini-stick drifts wildly for me. No setting helps. If I use one of the SDK calibration programs that came with the software, the mini is extremely accurate with liquid smooth, linear values from center to edge. But in DCS it's ugly, mainly in X.

I'd continue to stay on the fence for now if I were you. Logitech pushed this thing out into the public with no documentation and minimal support. It's getting better but I think I would let the $300 beta-testers continue their "work" and see if logitech can get their act together. Plus, the mini-stick and DCS don't seem to communicate so well and moving the shkval around is a bit of a chore as it tends to go drifting off on it's own. As far as the stick itself goes, I'm happy with my settings but I'd prefer a little bit of a centering spring effect in other sims. Until Logitech allows FFB settings to change from game to game, the player is forced to make global changes each time he switches sims. In other words, it was released to the world about 6 months too early. Wait 'till x-mas!