Jump to content

How can I enable axis controls for the lights?


Recommended Posts

I built a box with a bunch of potentiometers and an arduino clone. It works great for controlling various dials in the aircraft which allow it-for example the volume controls in the Huey. However, I dont know how I can assign some of thesede dials to control the lights. Although the rows are present in the cintrols settings dialog, i cannot assign anything to them. And their cells have a slightly darker gray tint to them than the cells that are assignable.

4930K @ 4.5, 32g ram, TitanPascal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Often it is because the line was not created in the default.lua file which is in the folder : ...\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Mods\aircraft\xxxx\Input\joystick\

You are looking for what line?


Edited by Tanuki44
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am running the latest openbeta of DCS.

I have a TotalControls button box. I also built my own button box with two controllers in it. One controller (named Arduino Leonardo)runs 6 dials on the left side of the box and the other controller (named Serial-Keyboard-Joystick) runs the 6 dials on the right side of the box. (I needed two controllers because windows limits the number of recognizable axes per usb device to 7)

These are my bindings for the HUEY axes:

uOmTaDP.jpg

You can see the left dials run the lights and the right dials run the radio volumes. But the intercom volumes are not assignable for either of my new controllers. However the Total controls box allows thesde volume axes to be defined.

To better understand what is going on, I decided to make a virgin install of DCS and also have a separate saved games entry for it by modifying the dcs_variant.txt file.

My regular DCS game has a dcs_variant.txt whose first and only line is 'openbeta'.

The new virgin DCS instal has a dcs_variant.txt file whose first and only line is 'pure'.

This way I can keep all settings separate.

After running the new virgin DCS open beta install I have a new folder in my saved games folder titled 'DCS.pure'. I still have my usual 'DCS.openbeta' folder.

This is what the bindings for the Huey axes looks like for the 'DCS pure version':

QtV9AyD.jpg

Many fewer axes. Notice, no intercom volumes. I must have done something to my regular DCS install . So I checked the default.lua files for the regular DCS install and the new 'pure' one.

They are on different drives

C:\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Mods\aircraft\Uh-1H\Input\UH-1H\joystick\default.lua

D:\DCS World OpenBetaPURE\Mods\aircraft\Uh-1H\Input\UH-1H\joystick\default.lua

 

I did a 'diff' and they are identical.

Here is the relevant section from the axes definitions


 

axisCommands = {

-- joystick axes 
{combos = defaultDeviceAssignmentFor("roll")    , action = iCommandPlaneRoll  , name = _('Flight Control Cyclic Roll')    },
{combos = defaultDeviceAssignmentFor("pitch")    , action = iCommandPlanePitch , name = _('Flight Control Cyclic Pitch')},
{combos = defaultDeviceAssignmentFor("rudder")    , action = iCommandPlaneRudder, name = _('Flight Control Rudder')        },
{combos = defaultDeviceAssignmentFor("thrust")    , action = iCommandPlaneCollective, name = _('Flight Control Collective')},
{action = device_commands.Button_26, cockpit_device_id  = devices.ENGINE_INTERFACE, name = _('Throttle')},

-- systems
{action = device_commands.Button_28,    cockpit_device_id = devices.NAVLIGHT_SYSTEM,    name = _('Overhead Console Light Knob'),        category = _("Ins Overhead panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_29,    cockpit_device_id = devices.NAVLIGHT_SYSTEM,    name = _('Pedestal Light Knob'),                category = _("Ins Overhead panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_30,    cockpit_device_id = devices.NAVLIGHT_SYSTEM,    name = _('Secondary Instrument Light Knob'),    category = _("Ins Overhead panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_31,    cockpit_device_id = devices.NAVLIGHT_SYSTEM,    name = _('Engine Instrument Light Knob'),        category = _("Ins Overhead panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_32,    cockpit_device_id = devices.NAVLIGHT_SYSTEM,    name = _('Copilot Instrument Light Knob'),        category = _("Ins Overhead panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_33,    cockpit_device_id = devices.NAVLIGHT_SYSTEM,    name = _('Pilot Instrument Light Knob'),        category = _("Ins Overhead panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_12,    cockpit_device_id = devices.ADF_ARN_83,        name = _('ADF Gain Knob'),                category = _("ADF Set Control panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_15,    cockpit_device_id = devices.VHF_ARC_131,    name = _('VHF FM Radio Volume Knob'),    category = _("VHF FM Radio Control panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_14,    cockpit_device_id = devices.INTERCOM,        name = _('C1611 Intercom Volume Knob'),    category = _("Intercom Control Panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_17,    cockpit_device_id = devices.UHF_ARC_51,        name = _('UHF Radio Volume Knob'),        category = _("UHF Radio Control panel")},
{action = device_commands.Button_5,        cockpit_device_id = devices.MARKER_BEACON,    name = _('Marker Beacon Volume Knob'),    category = _("Systems")},

-- TrackIR axes
{action = iCommandViewVerticalAbs, name = _('Absolute Camera Vertical View')},
{action = iCommandViewHorizontalAbs, name = _('Absolute Camera Horizontal View')},
{action = iCommandViewHorTransAbs, name = _('Absolute Horizontal Shift Camera View')},
{action = iCommandViewVertTransAbs, name = _('Absolute Vertical Shift Camera View')},
{action = iCommandViewLongitudeTransAbs, name = _('Absolute Longitude Shift Camera View')},
{action = iCommandViewRollAbs, name = _('Absolute Roll Shift Camera View')},
{action = iCommandViewZoomAbs, name = _('Zoom View')},

},
--Cargo view 
{down = device_commands.Button_1, cockpit_device_id = devices.EXTERNAL_CARGO_VIEW, value_down = 1, name = _('Cargo View'), category = _('View')},

}

 

so then I compared the files for the arduino

C:\Users\Stefan\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Config\Input\UH-1H\joystick\Arduino Leonardo {160073F0-CC93-11ec-8006-444553540000}.diff.lua

C:\Users\Stefan\Saved Games\DCS.pure\Config\Input\UH-1H\joystick\Arduino Leonardo {160073F0-CC93-11ec-8006-444553540000}.diff.lua

No difference here either.

 

 

so then I decided to investigate a file I added some time ago to my regular install:

C:\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Mods\aircraft\Uh-1H\Input\UH-1H\joystick\Total Controls MFBB.lua

This file does not exist in the 'pure DCS install'. I added it because I was trying to adapt the total controls box to my A10C 

In this file I put a LOT of AXES definitions

axisCommands = {

{action = 3009, cockpit_device_id  = 4 , name = _('CMSP - Adjust Display Brightness'), category = _('CMSP')},

{action = 3006, cockpit_device_id  = 5 , name = _('CMSC - Adjust Display Brightness'), category = _('CMSC')},
{action = 3007, cockpit_device_id  = 5 , name = _('CMSC - Volume Knob'),                category = _('CMSC')},

{action = 3006, cockpit_device_id  = 37 , name = _('Throttle Friction Control'), category = _('Engine System')},

{action = 3003, cockpit_device_id  = 41, name = _('Environmental - Canopy Defog'),         category = _('Environmental')},
{action = 3009, cockpit_device_id  = 41, name = _('Environmental - Flow Level Control'), category = _('Environmental')},
{action = 3013, cockpit_device_id  = 41, name = _('Environmental - Temp Level Control'), category = _('Environmental')},

--{action = 3001, cockpit_device_id  = 35, name = _('Altimeter - Set Pressure'), category = _('Altimeter')},

{action = 3009, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Formation Lights'),                     category = _('Lighting Panel')},
{action = 3001, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Engine Inst Lights'),                     category = _('Lighting Panel')},
{action = 3002, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Flight Inst Lights'),                     category = _('Lighting Panel')},
{action = 3003, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Aux Inst Lights'),                         category = _('Lighting Panel')},
{action = 3005, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Flood Lights'),                         category = _('Lighting Panel')},
{action = 3006, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Console Lights'),                         category = _('Lighting Panel')},
{action = 3015, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Refuel Status Indexer Lights'),         category = _('Lighting Panel')},
{action = 3016, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Weapon Station Lights. No function'),    category = _('Lighting Panel')},
{action = 3018, cockpit_device_id  = 49, name = _('Lighting Panel - Refueling Lighting Dial'),                 category = _('Lighting Panel')},

--{action = 3001, cockpit_device_id  = 45, name = _('HSI - Heading Set Knob'),     category = _('HSI')},
--{action = 3002, cockpit_device_id  = 45, name = _('HSI - Course Set Knob'),     category = _('HSI')},

{action = 3001, cockpit_device_id  = 47, name = _('ADI - Pitch Trim Knob'),     category = _('ADI')},

{action = 3003, cockpit_device_id  = 48, name = _('SAI - Standby ADI Knob rotary'), category = _('SAI')},

{action = 3005, cockpit_device_id  = 74, name = _('TACAN - Audio Volume'),         category = _('TACAN')},

{action = 3001, cockpit_device_id  = 52, name = _('Stall - Volume'),             category = _('Stall')},
{action = 3002, cockpit_device_id  = 52, name = _('Stall - Peak Volume'),         category = _('Stall')},

{action = 3011, cockpit_device_id  = 54, name = _('UHF Radio - Volume'),         category = _('UHF Radio')},

{action = 3005, cockpit_device_id  = 55, name = _('VHF/AM Radio - Volume'),     category = _('VHF AM Radio')},

{action = 3005, cockpit_device_id  = 56, name = _('VHF/FM Radio - Volume'),     category = _('VHF FM Radio')},

{action = 3002, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - INT Volume'),     category = _('Intercom')},
{action = 3004, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - FM Volume'),         category = _('Intercom')},
{action = 3006, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - VHF Volume'),     category = _('Intercom')},
{action = 3008, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - UHF Volume'),     category = _('Intercom')},
{action = 3010, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - AIM Volume'),     category = _('Intercom')},
{action = 3012, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - IFF Volume'),     category = _('Intercom')},
{action = 3014, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - ILS Volume'),     category = _('Intercom')},
{action = 3016, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - TCN Volume'),     category = _('Intercom')},
{action = 3018, cockpit_device_id  = 58, name = _('Intercom - Master Volume'),     category = _('Intercom')},

{action = 3005, cockpit_device_id  = 44, name = _('HARS - Latitude Dial'),             category = _('HARS')},
{action = 3007, cockpit_device_id  = 44, name = _('HARS - Push-to-sync rotary'),    category = _('HARS')},

{action = 3001, cockpit_device_id  = 29, name = _('RWR Adjust Display Brightness'),    category = _('RWR')},

{action = 3013, cockpit_device_id  = 38, name = _('SAS - Yaw Trim'), category = _('SAS')},
},

As you can see, I just copied a file from the A10C directory- there are a lot of controls listed which do not actually exist in the Huey.  I had made this file because I wanted to use the Total controls box in the Huey so I thought I needed it back then but it turned I didnt. I just forgot to delete that file.

This clears up why I have so many more axes in my regular install. The Total Controls lua file which I had created was adding a bunch of bindable axes. However, these extra bindable controls were irrelevant. 

I removed the TotalControls.lua files from the game install directory and now the axes list in the Huey looks like the one in the 'pure install'

Since I just want to be able to bind the VHF Am and Nav Comm volumes (VHF COMM and NAV comm at the top left of the pedestal) I need to find out what those ids are and add them to the default.lua file.

I wrote all this up in case anyone else tries to fiddle with the game install files. It turns out you dont have to and all that needs to be done is adjust the default.lua file to add those controls to be bindable if they are not bindable by default.

 

4930K @ 4.5, 32g ram, TitanPascal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I understand correctly, you want to bind a potentiometer to these buttons,
But these do not seem to be managed as axes but simply by key pulses.

I am not sure that management functions and axes exist.

Personally, I managed this via rotary pulse buttons.

 

For info, Windows can manage 8 axes per controller, X, Y, Z, RX, RY, RZ, Dial, Slider 😉

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi.

I also have some button boxes, and for the Huey I use the "out of the box" settings, no mods, no extra entries, nothing, just the pure thing, and the volumes etc work just normally. You can bind both the axis and the key, but the potentiometer will override any input from the key. To  my eyes, the pure version should work ok.

Saludos

Saca111

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...