Making the HUD SOI

[derbarbarian]

Hey guys, 

 

So I finally got a Thrustmaster HOTAS setup after searching for a reasonably priced one for over a year and I'm aching to get back into DCS as my last joystick broke a couple of years ago and I hadn't been able to replace it until now. So I've been having some severe DCS withdrawals for a while now so saying i'm excited to finally be able to play again is definitely an understatement. Anyways  I'm running into an issue trying to make the HUD SOI when doing the Air to air training in the A-10, when I go into the controls it says either use the HOTAS Coolie Hat Up Short command or the U key. So I have the Thrustmaster hOTAS Warthog stick/throttle and when I press the corresponding button to do that all it does is cycle through the screens on the left and right, which when I press the U key I run into the same issue. When I go into the control menu, it shows that the right key/buttons are assigned to the command yet it doesn't seem to want to do it. I'm curious if there's something I'm doing wrong, or if it's some sort of bug? Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Edited August 7, 2021 by derbarbarian

[Yurgon]

3 hours ago, derbarbarian said:

when I press the corresponding button to do that all it does is cycle through the screens on the left and right

 

That is extremely odd. Does it alternate between cycling the left MFCD page and the right one? I'm not aware of any one HOTAS command in the A-10C that would do such a thing. And you're saying the same happens when you press the "u" key, correct?

 

Just for confirmation, here's a screenshot from my Options -> Controls screen (A-10C II in this case, but should look exactly the same for the legacy A-10C).

 

 

Maybe worth noting is that in order for the A-10C (II) Real settings to take effect, you must have Game Avionics Mode disabled in the Gameplay tab:

 

 

If all that looks good on your end, I would first try to repair DCS (Start -> All Programs -> Eagle Dynamics -> Repair DCS World), and if that doesn't help, try and rename Saved Games\DCS to something else and try with a fresh configuration. You can later delete the newly created Saved Games\DCS folder and rename your previous one back.

 

Let us know how it goes!

[derbarbarian]

I actually have A-10 II as well and it does the same thing on both, it cycles between both MFCD displays when I press the U key, it does the same thing with the assigned button on the throttle as well. I actually just deleted all of my DCS Profiles and reinstalled the game and now in addition to that issue, it seems like my throttle inputs are now controlling my rudders, so if I increase throttle it see's it as a right rudder input and decrease is a left rudder input. Which is equally strange because it didn't do that before, and I've also gone into the control screen and removed it so the throttles aren't linked to the rudder controls and despite clearing it, it's still doing it. Something is really screwy..  I'm going to install one of those apps so I can capture footage in-game and I'll take a video of the HUD SOI issue just so you can see exactly what I'm talking about. 

[derbarbarian]

Hey Guys, 

 

So here's some in-game footage I took, when it requests setting the HUD to SOI I pressed the U key, after trying that a couple of times, I then tried using the designated button on the throttle. I also took a screenshot of the control menu as well and included it below. 

 

 

[Yurgon]

1 hour ago, derbarbarian said:

So here's some in-game footage I took, when it requests setting the HUD to SOI I pressed the U key

 

Haha, okay, DCS is actually not broken.

 

Unless I'm completely mistaken, you're pressing the Coolie Hat Up or "u" key just a little too long. There's an undocumented feature called "MSG Quick Look" for Coolie Hat Up Long.

 

To make HUD SOI, use Coolie Hat Up Short, "short" being less than half a second.

 

If the HUD is already SOI, Coolie Hat Up Short simply won't do anything.

 

And then there's Coolie Hat Down Short, which simply swaps the contents of both MFCD screens, and Coolie Hat Down Long for "DSMS Quick Look".

 

All of these are what I saw happening in your track, so I think your DCS is doing perfectly fine (except for the undocumented Coolie Hat Up Long, which has been in the game for ages).

 

In case you haven't already done so, print out the HOTAS tables for Stick and Throttle from the manual, put them under your pillow and make sure you know these by heart. You'll need almost each and every one of them in the A-10C.

[derbarbarian]

Haha Thanks m8, 

 

So I have tried it for varying periods of time, from a quick press, to a hold for 1/2 a second, 1 second, etc. and it doesn't seem to make a difference, though I did notice something yesterday when I was messing around with the various coolie hat controls, I'm going to create another video as I think the footage would do a much better job of explaining it than I would. I'll definitely print out that document you mentioned, I still need to get profiles setup for the other games, as In addition to A-10C and A-10 II, I also have F-14, F-16, F-18, Mig 21, P51, AV8, Me109, FW-190, UH1-Huey, and Mi-24 Hind. Which they all use varying controls on the stick/throttle.. I honestly have to re-do the training on them pretty frequently because there's so much stuff to remember and each one is quite a bit different than the other. Anyways as mentioned I'll get the new footage posted and I'll also try what you suggested to see if it works.