Generic Axis - for all axis functions

[TomOnSteam]

Watching how many levers there were in the top of the Gazelle, and realising that my throttle only has one slider/rotary has given me an idea:

 

In DCS you could assign any joystick axis (say your zoom rotary on a warthog) to the generic axis command.

 

Now wherever your mouse cursor clicked last, you can use this generic axis to control that in game lever.

 

 

E.g. in the Gazelle:

• you would use the mouse to click on the yellow lever, and now your zoom rotary would control the yellow lever.
  
• Then you would click on the red lever, and you your zoom rotary would control that red lever.
  
• and of course then click on the black striped lever, and now your zoom rotary would control that black striped lever.
  

 

 

Perhaps instead of clicking, VR users could even focus their view on any given(allowed/compatible) control which would highlight it, suggesting to the pilot that the highlighted control is now able to be used via the generic axis.

 

 

 

 

I think this would be a more accurate and immersive way to control the simulator :)

Especially if there are many levers or throttles like you have in a WW2 plane.

Edited November 30, 2015 by TomOnSteam

[cichlidfan]

No offense intended, but a more accurate and immersive way, would be to add more levers to your set of controllers.

[TomOnSteam]

No offense intended, but a more accurate and immersive way, would be to add more levers to your set of controllers.

 

Well of course, but from what I understand most people who play DCS aren't that lucky :)

Especially people that are starting off, they haven't invested in such equipment, so it could make it more accessible.

 

 

I also think that for people using VR this would be a good option, as it is easy to locate one slider or rotary with your hand even without being able to see. But if you have say a saitek stack of 4 levers, it will be much harder to pull the right lever since you cannot see outside of the VR unit.

 

 

 

 

 

Actually that gives me an even better idea. Instead of using the mouse to click on levers inside the cockpit, you could enable an option to simply look at levers to highlight them - and which ever is highlighted would now be controlled by the generic axis.

Edited November 30, 2015 by TomOnSteam

[cichlidfan]

It would also probably be a far easier bit of coding to allow, assuming it doesn't already work, modifiers buttons to be combined with axis (similar to the default view/trim hat configuration for the Warthog).

[TomOnSteam]

I think you already are able to do that, and it works really well for one or maybe two modifiers.

 

But I think clicking on, or looking at something is a lot more intuitive than trying to remember or learn several shift/modifiers.

[shagrat]

It would also probably be a far easier bit of coding to allow, assuming it doesn't already work, modifiers buttons to be combined with axis (similar to the default view/trim hat configuration for the Warthog).

 

Possible Yes - useful? No! Both ways, click and Axis or Modifier and Axis have a practical flaw.

 

If you click/modify/activate the Lever to be controlled and just move the axis slider the tiniest bit, the Axis "jumps" to that current setting!

 

Try the collective for the Huey. Set it to Full up on your controller get into a Hot start mission, or use "cheat" Start sequence and slowly move the collective back to idle...

[TomOnSteam]

Hmm, true, well in that case I guess the only way this would work well would be with a non-stop rotary like a mouse wheel, where it doesn't have a start/end position it just keeps rotating in either direction.

Edited February 6, 2016 by TomOnSteam