More Sophisticated Controls Options

[H-var]

Dear Eagle Dynamics,

 

So many of your clients are using manually modified input configuration files. With every

update you change\add\remove something to these files. Oftenly, changes are significant.

The first inconvenience appear when every single update forces your clients to burn down

many hours of their lives for one single purpose - re-assigning the controls for their modern,

complex controlling devices. Most of the time, the update just delete the user-crafted

configuration and write a new, clean one. No conversion, no nothing. Is it bad? Probably.

Gamers have to modify the files manually because this is the only way to add things like

Action on Button UP, and other. These configuration features are not accessible through the

options menu, and this is the second unpleasant inconvenience. These arguments should be

easily accessible for everyone. The GUI key configuration feature in the options menu, as

well as the whole key binding system is far from perfect as for today, and is in critical need

for your attention, dear developers.

 

--> So how to improve this part of the game?

1. Add the hidden key\axis (down\up\%) arguments to the gui.

2. Consolidate as much as it is only possible.

How:

2.1 Consolidate all the similar controls into one, default, controls setting, named, for example, GLOBAL.

2.2 If anyone wants to invert the throttle axis for helicopters, and leave it not inverted for planes, they can do it simply by modifying the heli's settings.

2.3 DCS will first read the heli's config file, remember which commands are binded, then the system will read the global config file and bypass the commands which were already set in the heli's config file.

3. Mark with red, or put on top, or make the line (command) that has recently been introduced (like the sling commands for huey in v1.2.8b) glowing.

(this will make it easier for players to know right away "what's new", to say.

4. If there was a conflict during the update -> conversion, notify the user and prompt them to update\fix the problematic command combo with a help of an interactive gui menu.

 

What are the good sides of such approach? Firstly, your clients will not have to change

every single file anymore. Only 2-3 changes for each aircraft, in its own controls settings.

Secondly, it will save hours of work for your clients. And finally, it will make the Eagle

Dynamics look like it really does care about its clients.

 

 

--> Here is an another idea how to improve the configuration:

note: this will be an additional way to configure your controllers. The classic ways (via options) will still be available.

benefits:

1. User can quickly assign joystick buttons to exact specific aircraft switches without even knowing the switches' names..

2. User will not need to go to controls options and spend long time searching one command after another, constantly changing sub-menus, and getting confused.

3. User can always change the set assignments very quickly, on a go, any time.

 

how it is going to work:

1. Sit into a click-able cockpit.

2. Hold down CTRL.

3. Point and click on a switch you would like to configure.

4. Interactive prompt window appears asking you to...

5. ...click any button on your joystick, or any key on your keyboard.

6. A new, sophisticated window appears now where you can add a wide of additional parameters to your button\key\axis assignment, like (action on button up, or down, axis %, etc)

7. configure to your taste and press <OK>.

 

 

P.S. Let's all be fair - the current key configuration system is a mess. It

is in a big need of some serious improvements. The improvements which would open the

huge specter of the game's possibilities to a regular user, the improvements which would

once and for all free your clients from spending their lives on remaking their input

configuration files from scratch, again, again, and again. Most of the time backups do not

work, like, for example, in the situation with the v1.2.7 -> v1.2.8. My configuration files were

butchered, badly converted into the new format. Many key combinations were lost during this

transition, leaving me at the square one in configuring my game controllers. I have no other

choice, but to do it all over again. Why? Why should I do that? This is unfair, inconvenient,

time consuming, and hard. It the company's duty is to make this problem go away, forever,

and your clients believe that Eagle Dynamics can do it right.

 

--> DEAR FORUM USERS, DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN IDEAS HOW TO IMPROVE THE CONTROLS SETTINGS SYSTEM? PLEASE SHARE THOSE IDEAS WITH EVERYONE.

 

Thank you.

Edited April 30, 2014 by H-var

[Reksi-Erkki]

I couldn't agree more.

 

I haven't taken a look at the 1.2.8 beta with the diff files yet, but having those button up/down/pressed/released/whatever options in the GUI would be way better than the current need to manually edit lua files.

 

Also, I've been thinking of a system where each controller currently connected would be presented with all the available buttons and axes, and sim functions would be assigned to them - basically the exact opposite of what we're doing now.

 

I like the idea of a global configuration file with as many general controls as possible!

[Zabuzard]

Imo they should concentrate on the aircrafts and the other stuff which is more important imo. Most users do only spent soome hours and not the while day or so. Its not perfect but its okay imo :)

[Flagrum]

You are aware that the latest changes under the hood of the controller configuration IS one/the first step into that direction?

 

But your point 1 is a good one, though.

[Abburo]

Some work must be done for this aspect for sure.

 

Consolidated GUI for controls might be ok, but I am affraid it will be quite hard to achieve due to game menu layouts limitations or so. I am suffering for other aspect too: G940 has 3 distinct controllers, I have two more Leo's boards and one virtual joystick plus a G13 mini joytistck. Including Keyboard there are 7 columns in controller options GUI which are quite nasty to manipulate.

 

My ideea could be to have an "offline controller editor" which might be able to consolidate, highlight changes and creating diff files. This ideea is only to surpass any possible game GUI limitations. And I am also sure that somebody with some programming skills could create such a tool as a 3rd party... and why not, even payed.

Edited April 7, 2014 by Abburo

[S77TH-Ez-Ian39]

I Agree, After hours of Tuning all of my controls for all my mods was however a big disappointment. I'm sure it wasn't a rookie mistake and was intentionally done for a good reason.

[Tellurico]

+1

[Bushmanni]

I think the control assignment UI is pretty good, at least I don't know how to make it better. But it's really stupid and frustrating to re-do all the controls of a plane from scratch when a change is made to the available commands. There should be some kind of automatic system that will transfer all the previous bindings to the new configuration.

[Fishbreath]

I think the control assignment UI is pretty good, at least I don't know how to make it better. But it's really stupid and frustrating to re-do all the controls of a plane from scratch when a change is made to the available commands. There should be some kind of automatic system that will transfer all the previous bindings to the new configuration.

 

That's one of the big benefits of the 1.2.8 system—storing commands as differences from a reference file is much easier to merge when the latter changes than storing a reference file and a modified copy of it.

[-MadCat-]

As I already said in another thread:

There are underlying switch states within the simulation for all switches, in all positions, for all cockpits.

 

Just an example for the Ka-50:

There are no seperate commands for the short, medium, long burst, just 1 command to circle the switch about its positions.

I edited those definite positions in via .lua, they work and I now can assign button "xy" to short burst, and it will set the switch to short burst, no matter the previous position.

If it already is in short burst, the keypress does nothing, but at that point my 3-way switch is in that position already anyway.

 

For every position of every switch in every cockpit, the simulation has to know what to do, so there absolutely needs to be a value assigned to all of those.

All those values need to be fed through to the GUI so we can assign them directly.

 

All those commands in the "default.lua" and everything that we changed in the .diff files would be the holy grail.

The simulation reads the default first, then overwrites everything we changed (with the .diff files).

At that stage, ED only updates the "default.lua" and everything we change from that point gets added to the .diff files, which remain untouched by ED.

No need to ever rewrite all our controls, just update them with what gets added by ED.

 

My 2 cents, greetings

MadCat

Edited April 29, 2014 by -=MadCat=-

[docfu]

Is there any way to override control settings in the autoexec.cfg like there is options for graphics?

 

Jonathan

[cichlidfan]

Is there any way to override control settings in the autoexec.cfg like there is options for graphics?

 

Jonathan

 

What are you trying/wanting to override?

[docfu]

What are you trying/wanting to override?

 

{down = iCommandPlaneFlapsOn, up = iCommandPlaneFlaps, name = 'Flaps Landing Position', category = 'Systems'},

{down = iCommandPlaneFlapsOff, up = iCommandPlaneFlaps, name = 'Flaps Up', category = 'Systems'},

 

Although really the SU-25T needs a command for Flaps Maneuver as well. But I can't seem to find one anywhere...

[docfu]

Let me clarify my last post to ED:

 

I would like to be able to make adjustments like this to the game without modifying the original installation files.

 

Thank you,

Jonathan

[Scarecrow]

Would be brilliant if we could assign a press and/or release action for a button on our controllers in the GUI. I can't see how this would be to difficult, please team make this possible:thumbup:

 

i don't know how guys with dedicated pits are managing after the 1.2.8 shakeup, must be a nightmare.

[Scarecrow]

{down = iCommandPlaneFlapsOn, up = iCommandPlaneFlaps, name = 'Flaps Landing Position', category = 'Systems'},

{down = iCommandPlaneFlapsOff, up = iCommandPlaneFlaps, name = 'Flaps Up', category = 'Systems'},

 

Although really the SU-25T needs a command for Flaps Maneuver as well. But I can't seem to find one anywhere...

 

Flaps toggle command is what your looking for.

[Rivvern]

Great poll and ideas. Something must be done. With 1.2.7 it was somewhat acceptable control mapping with some lua hacking. It was possible to map a switch function as a switch.

 

With 1.2.8 you made it almost impossible to edit the lua files.

 

We need higher standards than this. Switches and advanced buttonmappings should be done inside the game in a better control GUI and also should be able to do one "general" mapping for all aircrafts and then be able to set controls for each individual aircrafts.

[arraamis]

There are some of the very well thought out comments and suggestions in this thread. I would hope that whatever solution the Dev's come up with, addresses all concerns without the end-user having to stop and reprogram after every patch\update.

 

One post mentioned a profile conversion process would\should take place once the update is complete. Well, what I witnessed was a complete scrambling of the original profile. (warthog based) As a consequence, I'm redoing all profiles for all aircraft in the 1.2.8 format -- hoping that going forward, this won't become a routine or habit.

 

There has to be a way to incorporate all button and switch actions into an easily understandable universal format. One that will remain consistent, across all patches\updates.

 

Good poll & suggestions guys!!