Open Source Helios

[[FD]Ripper]

Good news from Gadroc.

 

Open Source Helios

 

Submitted by Gadroc on Sat, 01/03/2015 - 18:51

 

http://www.gadrocsworkshop.com/node/19119#comment-form

 

Source code for Helios is now available for people to look at and start working on extensions, mods and updates. You can find the code on github (https://github.com/Gadroc/helios). I would ask that we try and keep it centralized. Fork the repository and setup a pull request for your changes. I'd rather not see a bunch of distributions. Consider the master tree beta for 1.5 of helios. No new features but a few bug fixes and cleaned out all DRM and consolidated all the modules a little cleaner. There is still a decent amount of cruft.

 

I am working on a new website and thinking through how I would like to co-ordinate a roadmap for features / design changes. I have about 5 different source trees where I've started rewriting different sections of the code.

 

A few of the main lines of work that need to be done:

1) Revisit the configuration and plugin management systems. These could be cleaned up and streamlined a bit. Plug-ins should have an initialization routine and central interface to create things, instead of each control and interface being annotated. This is necessary for a few beta things I have around spurning saitek IPS modules.

2) Create a Helios rendering API instead of residing straight on top of WPF.

3) Implement rendering API on top of DirectDraw or Direct3D

4) Implement remote rendering into rendering API (to support remote screens like iOS, Android and Raspberry Pi rendering clients)

5) Create a gauge composer to allow anyone to create the graphics to create new gauges with out coding.

[agrasyuk]

Good news indeed

[Snacko]

Yes, very good news.

 

I personally would like to see Helios be able to simply send keystrokes so you could use it with other games.

[Thick8]

Very cool. I couldn't fly without Helios. I have all the planes but only fly the A-10c. It will be very cool if I can start using for all the aircraft.

I have one request. Would someone please make the radios work again? I hate having to pull my mouse down to set frequencies.

Thanks.

John

[Gadroc]

Yes, very good news.

 

I personally would like to see Helios be able to simply send keystrokes so you could use it with other games.

 

Ugh.. It's been able to do that from the beginning. Every profile has a keyboard interface in it be default.

[s1man]

This is great news indeed :thumbup:

After all the hard work Gadroc put in i would love to see a number of people take up the challenge of helping out on this project.

[[FD]Ripper]

I'm looking forward to see all capacity of the library's EOS

[Gadroc]

A great start would be someone wanting to help with DCS BIOS integration and extending DCS BIOS to do BlackShark and FC3 (Limited Data Available but can pull some sim data).

[sobe]

and the Mig 21 and the F86 (or am I asking for to much?)

[FSFIan]

Gadroc: I'll certainly help with DCS-BIOS integration wherever I can. I did some VB.NET programming a few years ago, so reading, understanding and debugging C# should not be that big a leap from there. Writing maintainable code that adheres to best practices is another matter of course...

 

For DCS-BIOS, my priority right now is to create some form of documentation (written tutorial and/or video) on how to add another aircraft module. So far, I have been contacted via PM by people who are interested in contributing Me-109 and Mig-21 support.

 

My problem is that there is a lot of information to convey and I am still struggling to bring it into a linear form.

I also want to implement some small changes (make it possible to assign several export modules per aircraft) before I document the process.

[Gadroc]

I understand that. Extracting data from the sim is not straight forward and requires a lot of train an error to interpret the values correctly. My intention is right now to make Helios a client to DCS-BIOS but still drive EOS via Helios and not connect DCS-BIOS straight to the Arduinos. This will allow me to drive out of game logic with the hardware switches easier.

[Snacko]

Ugh.. It's been able to do that from the beginning. Every profile has a keyboard interface in it be default.

 

Hmm. I remember looking for it, but couldn't figure it out. I didn't see any profiles for anything but DCS and Falcon 4 on your site.. And so I asked a friend (OverDhill) who uses it for IL2 and he said he used a bunch of different software somehow to get it to work. I found what he did so confusing.. But I do see your keyboard interface now. I'll just have to figure it out.

 

EDIT:

Took me about 20 minutes to get it working. :doh: Sweet!! :thumbup:

Edited January 6, 2015 by Snacko

[OverDhill]

Snacko I was using the Keyboard interface but at the time I was doing so on a networks PC so I had to use an app that sent keystrokes from one PC to another. I now use a second monitor hooked directly to my main PC so that is not an issue now.

 

Thanks Gadroc for releasing it to Open Source.

 

 

Personally I would love to see the P-51, 190 and the 109 get added for gauges.

[Snacko]

Is your IL2 profile in Gadroc's Download library? I didn't see it when I looked today.

[OverDhill]

Not sure it made it there as I never finished it before my touchscreen went belly up and I decided to build my new pit with button panels. So for IL-2 1946 I use some UDPSpeed skins on the 19". For IL-2 Cliffs of Dover I use Virtual Cockpit and a selection of custom skins for each type of plane. That works very well.

 

My IL-2 1946 skin used part Helios (for buttons) and UDPSpeed gauges. So the Helios profile for it was not all that complicated.

 

Check out this thread for more details. Don't want to get OT

 

http://dangerdogz.com/forums/topic/11575-virtual-cockpit/

[Capt Zeen]

Hello all.

As you all know, i have some experience making helios profiles for dcs.

I used the program enought to help improving helios, mainly in art and usage aspects.

In my hours using it, i found several aspects than can be improved.

My main skills are artistics, (i work as lead artist in a videogame studio) but i got some programmer knowledge aswell.

Let me know if you need my help.

[sobe]

Capt Zeen and/or Snacko

I have only used ready made Helios profiles as I find the program a little confusing to do anything on my own. I, and I am sure a number of others, would appreciate if one or both of you would provide a simple set of instructions to do a Helios profile for the F15 or Mig 21 or anything else. Perhaps Capt Zeen could just explain how he did the SU 25t as a tutorial. I would be willing to do my own profiles (with generic panel art) if some would just show me how to do it. The youtube videos confusing.

Thanks

[Capt Zeen]

Capt Zeen and/or Snacko

I have only used ready made Helios profiles as I find the program a little confusing to do anything on my own. I, and I am sure a number of others, would appreciate if one or both of you would provide a simple set of instructions to do a Helios profile for the F15 or Mig 21 or anything else. Perhaps Capt Zeen could just explain how he did the SU 25t as a tutorial. I would be willing to do my own profiles (with generic panel art) if some would just show me how to do it. The youtube videos confusing.

Thanks

 

 

Hello Sobe!

i got almost finished my F15C profile, (i just returned today from holidays) I hope finished it in several days. The 16:10 version is allready terminated but need to work in the 16:9 version.

 

You can take a look on it in my new web page:

 

http://www.miguelangelcarrillo.com/micky/helios/F-15C.asp

 

Hope you like it

[agrasyuk]

I'm offering my help on this project. well that is in case my skills can be of help at all.

I am quite senior SQA engineer specializing in test and process automation. i Know "where software comes from", familiar with SDLC and development methodologies. I think i do have some understanding of how DCS works as far exporting/importing.

 

with that all coding i've done so far are from QA perspective, quite a different mindset. i'm not sure i can take on any of the outlined tasks myself, but willing to learn and work under mentor/team-lead, preforming side tasks perhaps.

[sobe]

Capt Zeen

There is an old American saying: "No good deed goes unpunished." To put this saying in proper context, now that you have given the community your Helios profiles for BS, SU25T and the soon to be completed F15C (for which I am sure every one thanks you), what about your doing a SU 27 profile now that DCS has produced a new campaign?

 

Do you believe that your SU25T profile could be used as a basis for the SU27 profile if I want to attempt it on my own?

[Capt Zeen]

Capt Zeen

There is an old American saying: "No good deed goes unpunished." To put this saying in proper context, now that you have given the community your Helios profiles for BS, SU25T and the soon to be completed F15C (for which I am sure every one thanks you), what about your doing a SU 27 profile now that DCS has produced a new campaign?

 

Do you believe that your SU25T profile could be used as a basis for the SU27 profile if I want to attempt it on my own?

 

Width the su25t profile you can fly others russian aircrafts.

You can aswell fly width the f15 but the dials are in metric system not imperial.

Width the new f15c one, everything is imperial, and extra data is exported to the profile.

 

Make a profile for Su27 can be very easy, just adapting from the su25t and implementing new features from the f15c one.

 

But i am thinking to try to do something more especial right now, perhaps P51 or Mi-8, i wanna now how far i can go width those ones.

[cichlidfan]

But i am thinking to try to do something more especial right now, perhaps P51 or Mi-8, i wanna now how far i can go width those ones.

 

An Mi-8 profile, at the level you achieve, would be epic!! :thumbup:

[sobe]

Capt Zeen

Any chance of you including in your F15 profile the hidden radio feature that is in Loz's A10 profile? This stuff might be easy for you, but I find Helios programing a dead end.

See below

If you use TM Warthog HOTAS with this profile you will notice that the Fuel Contents and Engine Instrument panel disappear when you select the Mic button UP,FWD, DWN or AFT. This is an intentional part of the profile as I use it, because you can get the Radio Messaging menu for VHF AM, UHF and VHF FM to appear in the black space when the Panels disappear. (By pressing Mic Up, the panel is then replaced.) This allows you, depending on your type of monitor, to either use the Mouse or the Touchscreen to make your Radio calls. It works very well but you have to change some of the /Eagle Dynamics/DCS A-10C/FUI/Resources/Radio .res files as per this guide. http://files.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/84648/

On my setup, I have fixed the position that it will appear on my monitor, made it clickable/touchable, and changed the font size to make it easier to read and operate and I have included my menu.res file

(Again, do bear in mind, this is for my resolution and will need adjusting if your res is not identical)

If you don't want to use this, then it is just a case of going to the input bindings for the Fuel Gauge panel and Engine Instruments and under "toggle hidden" remove those for Button 3, 4, 5, and 6. Then it won't disappear.

[bengo]

Hi,

I want to use Helios on a laptop with 24" touchscreen, and send the commands over my network to DCS on my desktop.

Unfortunately the Helios-forums are down so I'm trouble finding info on how to do that.

So I'm looking for a link or a pdf that describes how to do this.

Thanks.

[Gadroc]

bengo,

 

Install helios on both computers. On your flight sim computer open the profile editor and create a new profile. Add the A-10C interface to it. Enter the ip address of your laptop and click setup DCS A-10C. You can now close helios and you don't need to run it on the flight sim pc.

 

Open helios on the laptop and create your profile. Add the A-10C interface to it. You don't need to click setup DCS on this machine. Configure your profile and bind to A-10C as needed.