Hi all, I'm pretty much brand new to this and I recently got an X-56 stick. I also have black shark, the gazelle and now the mirage. None of which I know how to fly very well at all yet. Anyways I was going freaking crazy trying to figure out if I could use the mode switch without using the logitech software. Turns out I can. I didn't find it posted anywhere so here it is:
In the DCS keybinds menu, to set the mode switch up you have to set the 2 bottom positions as Modifiers, NOT Switches. So, button 35 and button 36. And leave the top position un-mapped. This allows effective modes to be used without the use of the logitech software. You can even add other modifiers on top of those modes.
I'm not sure what to use them for yet, so far I'm using the modes for lighting switches and pilot seat adjustment and stuff like that. Hope this helps I couldn't find it posted anywhere.