Joystick Gremlin Howto Configure Switches

[Archduke]

First of all, all this is based on postings in this forum or on reddit. Credit goes to the original contributors, I just stumbled through until it worked.

 

So, since I deem TARGET to be quite unreliable for some people (and restricted to Thrustmaster devices) I will try to explain how to create a Joystick Gremlin profile that enables all toggle states of switches. I recommend creating this profile once and then just copying and experimenting with it for different games as needed.

 

So without more ado:

 

Step 1: Configure vJoy
You have to configure a vJoy device with at least 7 axes, 2 continous POVs and lots of buttons, I use 100.

 

 

 

Step 2: Regular buttons and axes
In Gremlin you remap the axes and normal buttons (e.g. pickle) to the corresponding axis or button of your vJoy device. Remap -> Add -> Select a new virtual button. Note: If you press a button or mover an axis, Gremlin shoud select the corresponding physical button/axis in the left pane.

 

 

 

Step 3: POV hats
From the »Basic« pull down menu select »Hat buttons« -> add. Then remap North, East, South, West to different virtual buttons, just as you did with regular buttons in Step 2.

 

 

Step 4: Toggle Switches
This takes a little bit the first time. Afterwards it gets really simple.

Warthog toggles switches normally only send a signal in an on-state. That means you only can use it for a single function. But with Gremlin you can make these toggles send a signal in each state.
We will use button 24 (EAC ARM/OFF). ARM send a signal, OFF does not.

 

a. Now in Gremlin select Basic -> Macro. Then »Add a new action«. Set »Action Settings« to »vJoy«, »vJoy Device 1« and select an unused button (in my example: vJoy button 1). Set this button to »Press«. This is the normal on-state (switch up).
However at the same time we need to define another button (switch down). So again: »Add a new action« and select another unused button (here: vJoy button 2). Set this to »Release«.

 

 

 

b. Then under this create a second macro by selecting »Macro« -> »Add« (in the row under this first Macro!). Below the first Macro a second one will be created.
Now you do the same steps as before: Create buttons 1 and 2 again, but this time reverse »pressed« and »released«. This is the state for switch down.

 

 

c. Now on the right side select »Condition«. Apply conditions to »Action«. In the first Macro-Box (for the first Macro = switch up) select »Action Condition« from the pull-down-menu. It should read »Activate when this virtual button is Pressed«.
In the second Macro-Box do the same but set it to »Released«.

 

 

 

d. For 3-way toggles you do the same thing as above. The only difference is that these switches (like the AUTOPILOT switch) have 2 on-states: up and down, middle is off. So you do exactly the same setup as in steps 3a-c for middle+up. If you set the switch up, Gremlin will select it for you in the left pane (up is Warthog button 27, down is 28). Note the number of the virtual button that you used for the middle position (off).
Once you did that, set the switch down (Warthog button 28). Now do exactly the same setup as before, but this time you have to set the middle position to the same virtual button as before. Only the »down« position is a new virtual button.
That means, you simply create the middle position twice with the same virtual button for both physical Warthog buttons (Warthog buttons 27 + 28).

 

e. Thats it. You can use the Input Viewer (from »Tools«) to see if it works as advertised: Activate the profile by clicking the »Gamepad« button. It shoud turn green. In the Input viewer select »Throttle - Buttons + Hats« and »vJoy Device #1 - Buttons + Hats«. If you toggle a switch you will see that the physical switch will only send a signal in the »on«-state, but the virtual button will always send a signal according to the position of the switch.

 

I hope this was a. useful and b. understandable. It's also possible to create long button presses like in the A10.

 

Regards, Archduke

[peirof]

Great...!!!!!!!!!!

 

One question, in Hotas Warthog manual, say that HATS are 8 position Hats. In Step 3, do you remap as 4 positions Hats.

 

Its the same?

 

I am begining the journey....

[peirof]

I am not doing something right, in step 4 of your guide.

 

But those options are not shown to me. I indicate the steps that I have followed ...

 

A- On the Hotas Cougar Throttle Device, on BUTTON 24 (EAC / Arm)
B- I add the REMAP action -> vJoy Device 1 (Button 51)
C- I add the Macro action, but this is where the difference is, I can add ACTION SETTINGS -> vJoy, but the rest of the options are NOT the same as in your guide

 

What i am doing wrong?

 

 

[Archduke]

Okay, that's no problem, I guess I wasn't clear enough.

 

First: You have to set the POV hats to continuous, otherwise they don't work. In Gremlin you set them as 4 way hats, because thats the way they are used normally, e.g. the trim switch.

 

Your second question: First you have to add actions, that is the small button in the vertical row in the middle:

Afterwards you can configure this action.

[Archduke]

Ah, just saw something: If you simply remap a single button (not a toggle switch), you only need to remap to a vjoy button.

 

But if you work with toggle switches (Step 4), you don't select "Remap" from the left drop-down menu at the beginning. You only need to select "Macro" from the right menu. Otherwise you'll get a "remap"-Action aditionally to your Macro and that wouldn't work right.

[peirof]

i have finished in Joystick Gremlin.... and press "ACTIVATE PROFILE", but... a windows comes, with errors, i don't know how to track them...

 

Ideas?

 

 

NEW: The mistake must be in macro buttons, i have erased macros and profile works

 

NEW 2: NOW WORKS!!!!!!!!! I had done something wrong, I have repeated the steps. THANK YOU

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by peirof

[Archduke]

Could you maybe post your Gremlin profile? I've attached my own standard profile.

 

Only thing is, it won't work on your system out of the box because Windows assigns different device GUIDs to the physical controllers. You would have to look up the GUIDs of your devices in Joystick Gremlin and change these values in the xml-file.

 

Just open it with a text editor, search for "device device-guid="  and change the strings in the brackets. Eg the guid of my throttle is {761A6510-BF58-11EA-8007-444553540000}, simply change this to the guid of your own throttle. Do this for throttle and joystick, save the file and open it with Gremlin. Then you should be able to use my Profile. It's just not my newest one, because I'm not at my PC at the moment, so there might be small errors in there, but nothing major.

Thrustmaster Combined.xml

Edited July 10, 2021 by Archduke
Clarifications

[peirof]

thanks,

 

I have corrected the bugs ...

thanks, the file will serve me for the 3 way buttons

[peirof]

A penultimate thing ...

 

When you add the conditions to the switch macro (on-off), in the guide it says that:
- The condition is of type ACTION
- The first condition (PRESSED), has to be an ACTION CONDITION
- The second condition (RELEASED), has to be a KEYBOOARD CONDITION condition.

Well, that is so while you are in that button, at least in my case, if you go to another button and return to that, the conditions HAVE CHANGED to the last one you have chosen

It must be said that in DCS they work.

 

Thank you very much @Archduke for the help

[Archduke]

No, both actions need to be an action condition. Joystick Gremlin just always defaults to Keyboard condition, so it looks in the screenshot like it were not an action condition.

 

 Glad it works now!

 

A last thing: If you want to try long and short button presses: these work with „Tempo“ instead of Macro. Then you can simply assign two virtual buttons to a single physical button and define a time delay before a long press is activated. I live this for switching FCR range in the F16.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Archduke
Typo

[YoYo]

Hello,

I have a little different question - does Joystick Gremlin Software (active) can work with TARGET (Thrustmaster) it the same time:

- for example - Id like to use my TH profile for TH product but for the rest of my controlers Id like to use Gremlin, so both software in the same time.

Is it possible?

Edited December 12, 2021 by YoYo

[Brainfreeze]

Priceless little tutorial!  Thanks Archduke

[Archduke]

22 hours ago, YoYo said:

Hello,

I have a little different question - does Joystick Gremlin Software (active) can work with TARGET (Thrustmaster) it the same time:

- for example - Id like to use my TH profile for TH product but for the rest of my controlers Id like to use Gremlin, so both software in the same time.

Is it possible?

 

Hey, sorry, I didn‘t see your post earlier.

Tbh I was so frustrated by Target that I completely uninstalled the app. I guess you should be able to use both Target and Gremlin as long as you don‘t enable your TM hardware in Gremlin resp. Vjoy. But honestly I‘m not sure what the point of using both at the same time would be. I think with the exception of controlling the leds of the WH throttle Gremlin should be able to do everything Target does.

[YoYo]

11 hours ago, Archduke said:

Hey, sorry, I didn‘t see your post earlier.

Tbh I was so frustrated by Target that I completely uninstalled the app. I guess you should be able to use both Target and Gremlin as long as you don‘t enable your TM hardware in Gremlin resp. Vjoy. But honestly I‘m not sure what the point of using both at the same time would be. I think with the exception of controlling the leds of the WH throttle Gremlin should be able to do everything Target does.

Yep, it colud look a little strange but its logical for me ;). I have a lot of profiles for TARGET for TH Warthog (for each module) BUT I bought collective from Virpil (for Apache for example) and id like to do only profile in Gremlin for this the new one tool, for the rest (like joystick and throtlle Id like to use my old TARGET profiles).

[Archduke]

On 12/14/2021 at 9:28 AM, YoYo said:

Yep, it colud look a little strange but its logical for me ;). I have a lot of profiles for TARGET for TH Warthog (for each module) BUT I bought collective from Virpil (for Apache for example) and id like to do only profile in Gremlin for this the new one tool, for the rest (like joystick and throtlle Id like to use my old TARGET profiles).

Ok, I get that. Duplicating things that work doesn't really make sense.

So did you get it to work with Target and Gremlin at the same time?

Edited December 18, 2021 by Archduke

[Magic Man]

Once you create the two macros for a single toggle, can you duplicate them to another button as an initial template or do you need to create the same for each and every one?

Looks like I can do it by editing the .xml directly but any way from the tool itself?

Edited March 23, 2022 by Magic Man

[Vasilich]

10.07.2021 в 12:39, Archduke сказал:

First of all, all this is based on postings in this forum or on reddit. Credit goes to the original contributors, I just stumbled through until it worked.

 

So, since I deem TARGET to be quite unreliable for some people (and restricted to Thrustmaster devices) I will try to explain how to create a Joystick Gremlin profile that enables all toggle states of switches. I recommend creating this profile once and then just copying and experimenting with it for different games as needed.

 

So without more ado:

 

Step 1: Configure vJoy
You have to configure a vJoy device with at least 7 axes, 2 continous POVs and lots of buttons, I use 100.

 

 

 

Step 2: Regular buttons and axes
In Gremlin you remap the axes and normal buttons (e.g. pickle) to the corresponding axis or button of your vJoy device. Remap -> Add -> Select a new virtual button. Note: If you press a button or mover an axis, Gremlin shoud select the corresponding physical button/axis in the left pane.

 

 

 

Step 3: POV hats
From the »Basic« pull down menu select »Hat buttons« -> add. Then remap North, East, South, West to different virtual buttons, just as you did with regular buttons in Step 2.

 

 

Step 4: Toggle Switches
This takes a little bit the first time. Afterwards it gets really simple.

Warthog toggles switches normally only send a signal in an on-state. That means you only can use it for a single function. But with Gremlin you can make these toggles send a signal in each state.
We will use button 24 (EAC ARM/OFF). ARM send a signal, OFF does not.

 

a. Now in Gremlin select Basic -> Macro. Then »Add a new action«. Set »Action Settings« to »vJoy«, »vJoy Device 1« and select an unused button (in my example: vJoy button 1). Set this button to »Press«. This is the normal on-state (switch up).
However at the same time we need to define another button (switch down). So again: »Add a new action« and select another unused button (here: vJoy button 2). Set this to »Release«.

 

 

 

b. Then under this create a second macro by selecting »Macro« -> »Add« (in the row under this first Macro!). Below the first Macro a second one will be created.
Now you do the same steps as before: Create buttons 1 and 2 again, but this time reverse »pressed« and »released«. This is the state for switch down.

 

 

c. Now on the right side select »Condition«. Apply conditions to »Action«. In the first Macro-Box (for the first Macro = switch up) select »Action Condition« from the pull-down-menu. It should read »Activate when this virtual button is Pressed«.
In the second Macro-Box do the same but set it to »Released«.

 

 

 

d. For 3-way toggles you do the same thing as above. The only difference is that these switches (like the AUTOPILOT switch) have 2 on-states: up and down, middle is off. So you do exactly the same setup as in steps 3a-c for middle+up. If you set the switch up, Gremlin will select it for you in the left pane (up is Warthog button 27, down is 28). Note the number of the virtual button that you used for the middle position (off).
Once you did that, set the switch down (Warthog button 28). Now do exactly the same setup as before, but this time you have to set the middle position to the same virtual button as before. Only the »down« position is a new virtual button.
That means, you simply create the middle position twice with the same virtual button for both physical Warthog buttons (Warthog buttons 27 + 28).

 

e. Thats it. You can use the Input Viewer (from »Tools«) to see if it works as advertised: Activate the profile by clicking the »Gamepad« button. It shoud turn green. In the Input viewer select »Throttle - Buttons + Hats« and »vJoy Device #1 - Buttons + Hats«. If you toggle a switch you will see that the physical switch will only send a signal in the »on«-state, but the virtual button will always send a signal according to the position of the switch.

 

I hope this was a. useful and b. understandable. It's also possible to create long button presses like in the A10.

 

Regards, Archduke

Hi Archduke! How i can use your method with keyboard, not virtual buttons? For example. When I switch the button to the ON position on the keyboard, button "A" must be pressed. And when I switch the button to the OFF position, button "B" must be pressed.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Vasilich

[_Hoss]

On 7/10/2021 at 7:34 AM, peirof said:

Great...!!!!!!!!!!

 

One question, in Hotas Warthog manual, say that HATS are 8 position Hats. In Step 3, do you remap as 4 positions Hats.

 

Its the same?

 

I am begining the journey....

No, just assign the up/down/left/right to what ever function you want to use.  The Hat/Trim button on the stick will assign right to your Nose Up/Down, R/L wing Up/down. the other four positions will do noting since you don't have them mapped. 

[Jascha]

Thank you for this guide. I struggled for a second a little but overall it pointed me in the right direction.

Regarding step 4 maybe it would be useful to post complete picture:

In this case Warthog Button #24 (EAC ARM/OFF) is duplicated as vJoy #24 and for toggle switch - as #51 and #52.

I also recommend editing the profile xml file to set up new toggle switches. It's probably the fastest way. I use Notepad++ for this. All we have to do is to copy and paste section from one button to another and rename the virtual toggle switch buttons:

Also I don't fully agree with the 3-way toggle switch setup. The guide suggest doing it with 3 virtual buttons (i.e. middle position shares the same virtual button), but I struggled with binding it in DCS correctly because we cannot use the same button for different functions. So for my test - UH-1H armament toggle switch OFF-SAFE-ARMED, I had to configure Warthog Autopilot mode switch it like this:

Warthog #28 (ALT) is vJoy #58, Warthog # 27 (PATH) is vJoy #55 and Warthog ALT/HDG in this case is vJoy #56 (UP --> MIDDLE) AND #57 (DOWN --> MIDDLE).

Then I could bind it like this:

That's the only way I got it working exactly as in the cockpit:

Maybe it depends on how keybindings are designed for the specific module.

It's also worth to mention that when using the toggle switches we must always remember to synchronize toggle switch position in-game (in cockpit) with toggle switch position on our HOTAS (using mouse in cockpit). Otherwise it will work backwards.

Edited August 11, 2022 by Jascha

[Sabre]

In Joystick Gremlin, is there a way to bind 2 different vJoy buttons to the sequential pressing of the same physical button? For example, the first press generates vJoy1 Button5, the second press generates vJoy1 Button 7, and so on?

Thanks.

Edited June 24, 2023 by Sabre

[Sabre]

59 minutes ago, Sabre said:

In Joystick Gremlin, is there a way to bind 2 different vJoy buttons to the sequential pressing of the same physical button? For example, the first press generates vJoy1 Button5, the second press generates vJoy1 Button 7, and so on?

Thanks.

 

Yes, it can be done with  Chain container facility.

[Brainfreeze]

9 hours ago, Sabre said:

Yes, it can be done with  Chain container facility.

Thks Sabre. Could you explain how so it can benefit more people?

[Sabre]

13 hours ago, Brainfreeze said:

Thks Sabre. Could you explain how so it can benefit more people?

You choose a physical button first, then add Chained Action (in the right drop down), then add 2 remaps (keys or buttons) - Action 0 and Action 1, record the desired output for each Action, then go to Condition Tab of the so called container that you created and record your physical button to the both (the same physical button). 

I hope this will help you.

 

[Phil C6]

Hi guys I'm thinking to swich from Foxy to Gremlin for my hold Cougar, I don't understand few things in this tutorial because of the language barrier, someone here could share his Gremlin profil please for i test and understand better how it works for S3 button and Dogfight switch?

Best regards

[_Hoss]

TARGET is so much simpler than vjoy/joystick Gremlin. GUI mode is easy, (emulating keyboards) you get Normal presses, then there are CHAIN events... push a button or switch and you can have multiple commands ( turn on battery, generator, set fuel switches) .  SEQUENCE events, different command each time you push the button, (usually a momentary button or switch). Now using  SCRIPT, is the easiest of all, it's ridiculous. I use Sedenions 128dx Hack SCRIPT. With just the throttle and stick, I get 96 commands, a lot of them are long TEMPO presses, which is what you should be using if you fly modern jets, and you can switch between F/A-18 and F-16 sticks and use the same profile and still get all 96 commands.  Now I do have a Blackhog button box I use Joy2key with it, but only for IL2,  because you have big limitations on how many buttons you use. So it's back to emulating the keyboard. You can still designate a shift function in SCRIPT and multiply those 96 commands. And his is the only script that makes the A-10 Autopilot button sequence work.

Cheers