How to assign toggle switches for Thrustmaster Warthog?

[CommandT]

Hey folks,

 

Really struggling with the middle position of some 3-way toggle switches on the throttle quadrant (Thrustmaster Warthog). I can assign the 2 positions on either side of the centre position on the 3-way toggle swiches but not the middle position. "assign button" simply does not recognise the middle position of toggle switches :huh:

 

Also, currently messing around with the Su-25T and in control options it only gives you options for flaps UP or flaps DOWN. Nothing in between. Confused about that - by default if you press "F" on the keyboard you do get the flaps to extent to a middle settings but there is no way of assigning that in control options?

 

And one last thing. Why is there no axis assignment for rudder pedal toe brakes? Can't get my toe brakes on the pedals assigned. The control options only allows a single button for brakes? Strange.

 

Many thanks!

Edited April 25, 2020 by CommandT

[VpR81]

I use Target GUI to map the switches and buttons and i have no issues mapping each position of the 3 way switches. Are you trying to map the switches ingame or do you use a 3rd party software like Joystick Gremlin etc.?

[Svsmokey]

A lot of Russian birds don't have toe brakes . Rather a brake lever on the stick used in conjunction with the rudder pedals is used for differential braking . Spitfire too .

[CommandT]

I use Target GUI to map the switches and buttons and i have no issues mapping each position of the 3 way switches. Are you trying to map the switches ingame or do you use a 3rd party software like Joystick Gremlin etc.?

 

In game. I'm sorrym this all sounds like black magic to me! Could you explain if I should be using some sort of 3rd party tool? (just bare in mind I'm not computer genius type lol)

 

EDIT: So after some digging I now see that due to having more button/ switch positions than is acceptable, the HOTAS only has all switches working only in the A-10C because ED had included a custom .lua file with the A-10C. However how to get the inoperable switches to work in other aircraft seems all rather complicated to me. People are talking about some sort of TARGET stuff and what not. Could someone explain it to me in leymans terms? Can I do it without knowing how to code? I don't need to have the switches be mapped to the correct functions. I just want the switches to be available to be mapped to whatever I want depending on the aeroplane.

 

EDIT 2: So I've now figured out you can use Thrustmaster T.A.R.G.E.T Software to map every switch to a key binding. Although this is obviously a way round to not having some switch positions being recognised by default in DCS, I see it is impossible to only map the switches you require using TARGET and proceed with the rest of the mapping functions using the normal DCS controller setup. This makes it an absolute PITA. So basically every single switch and axis needs to be set up using TARGET software and you just bind it to the key assignments for functions in DCS. On top of this being highly inconvenient I see you can't switch to the TARGET window whilst DCS is running to jump back and forth so you can see which keys are assigned to which function to then assign them in TARGET. Seems an extremely tedius and unpleasant way round my problem. Any ideas how to make this easier?

 

Here's a list of all Warthog switches not recognised by the game in anything other than the A-10C:

 

Left Throttle Off

Right Throttle Off

Pinky Centre

Speed Brake Centre

Boat Centre

China Hat Centre

Left Engine Fuel Flow Override

Right Engine Fuel Flow Override

Left Engine Operate Normal

Right Engine Operate Normal

APU Off

Autopilot Selector Altitude/Heading

Radar Altimeter Disable

Enhanced Attitude Control Off

Flaps Manoeuvre

 

 

Even if I could just get the 3-way flap position switch and the 3-way autopilot position switch to work that would be enough for me. I don't care so much about the rest.

 

Many thanks!

Edited April 26, 2020 by CommandT

[CommandT]

A lot of Russian birds don't have toe brakes . Rather a brake lever on the stick used in conjunction with the rudder pedals is used for differential braking . Spitfire too .

 

But you'd imagine a lever should still be mapped on an axis of some sort to be able to vary the brake pressure! Instead you can only assign a switch to it like ON or OFF. So either no brake pressure or max brake pressure. At least using a lever on the stick in reality allows for varying brake pressure.

[VpR81]

With ingame i meant inside the DCS contoller settings. The switch positions you mentioned not beeing recognised by DCS aren't recognised as buttons in windows either. You will need Target or another mapping software, i.e. Joystick Gremlin to map those. Target is the domestic software of TM and JG is a 3rd party software not dependant on manufactors. Target is a bit annoying in the beginning and you'll need to get used to it. I did by trial and error and i remember watching a youtube tutorial, wich was very helpful. I will see if i can find it again, as it is about 2 years ago.

 

I'm not sure why you can't switch to the Target window when DCS is running. I had no issues with that while mapping, besides the DCS open beta crashed sometimes doing it. Again, annoying but realy worth the work IMO. I have all switch positions mapped in Target, not only those wich aren't recognised by the game. The advantage of that is, that you won't loose your mappings if there are issues with a DCS update. I've read about people that lost their mappings and had to start from scratch after certain DCS updates.

 

A way to map your switches "ON" and "OFF" position in DCS is to modify the .lua file of the specific aircraft you wanna fly. I.e. for the Hornet (for other aircrafts as well), there is a "joystick special" category in the controller setup. Those will make use of both switch positions of the Warthog, but the available functions are very limited. I remember the APU on/off special joystick function to work with both switch positions. By modifying your Hornet .lua file, you can add more of these "joystick special" commands to the mapping list and make the switches work as intended. I'd recommend to have a backup of the original file, as well as of the modified one. Just in case something goes wrong or an update will reset your .lua file. But to be honest, i have no clue about .lua modification, so these infos might not be 100% accurate. There are some real experts on this here on the forum that might help you out if you want to try it. A lot of ppl also share their .lua file setting on the forum, just ask for it and i'm sure someone will be glad to assist you. The DCS community is in general very helpful indeed.

 

I'm sure once you discovered a solution and have your HOTAS work as intended, you'll forget about the starting issues pretty fast. Was the same for me (and a lot of others) in the beginning, so don't give up. You won't regret.

 

edit: This the tutorial i watched back then. As stated above, was very helpful with getting into Target

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t_aRlS5Jvc

 

Cheers

Edited April 30, 2020 by VpR81