FC3 MIG Variants - Aircraft and Control Profiles

[zippydoda]

In the DCS User manual, on page 30 there is a section on Controls Setting.  The graphic there shows the various functions, tabs etc.  The first input area on top left in the document is labeled Aircraft Control Mode, where we select which aircraft we wish to work with for controller mappings.  I am confused with the description and the label.

“Aircraft Control Mode. The Aircraft Control Mode drop down list shows the different control modes possible in a mission: • Aircraft Game. Active when a mission is launched with Game Avionics mode on. • Aircraft Sim. Active when a mission is launched with Game Avionics mode off. “

In my understanding of the app, this field is not Aircraft Control Mode.  That setting is in the GAMEPLAY  tab, and the selection field actually is selecting the aircraft you wish to set up. So this is confusing to me.  So looking for comments on that.

Been using DCS for many years, but just getting into FC3 and setting up controls and need some guidance.  I've spent quite a bit of time creating mappings for some variant of the Mig-29 , but then realized things were more complex than I first assumed since there are multiple variants of this aircraft included.  So a couple of really basic questions. 

When I go into Options - Controls, there are three MIG variants listed there - MIG-29, MIG-29C, and MIG-29G.  When you go to fly a MIG in FC3 there are four options: 29, 29A, 29G, 29S.  You can see where I'm going here - and I bet this has been answered on this forum previously as it seems like a very basic issue.  Please free to reply with a link to topics that pertain.  

1) So clearly the plane names (e.g. from the FC3 Instant Action menu) do not have a one-to-one match with the set of control profile aircraft names.   So looking for a bit of clarity on that. For instance there is no control profile for the 29S, there's no 29C aircraft listed in the Instant Action list.  I'm focused on the relationship between aircraft profiles, and actual aircraft not on the differences in functionality between the variants in case you were headed in that direction. 

2)  If I go into the Input folder in Saved Games and look at the last modified dates and times on the various .diff.lua files - they are all identical - from about 3 days ago at 15:40 or whatever.  I've done substantial work on several variants over the last few days yet the modified dates are not changing.  This doesn't make sense to me and makes me very nervous about doing any manual profile file saves and loads.  I have not done any profile file saves - just changing the mappings and assuming it's being stored in those profiles.  

3) When I click OK on the Controls screen after making changes to mappings it must update each of the profile files that are currently associated with that aircraft.  If I choose Save Profile As - I can choose a different file name for the control setting I've been working on that I can load for future use in this or other aircrafts.  Correct?  However, when I go to a column of a controller, and then 'save as', the new file does not show up in the folder for that FC3 aircraft.  

4) In the Input folder I see only my TM Hotas and Throttle, but I have rudder pedals and a Logitech stick that are part of each aircraft's configuration.  Where do the mappings for those get stored.  

5) In the case of the MIG I want to share the same mappings with all variants so I don't have to worry about which profile to use with which aircraft, and so that I'm only maintaining one set of mappings.  To start that I assume I would select, let's say, the MIG-29 control set.  Then would make the mapping changes to each controller and then would I do a 'save as' for each controller creating a new profile name?  And then select another variant and Load the profile(?s) into that and click OK.    

6) If I do load a save profile for an aircraft, will it 'remember' that or must I reload that profile each time?

Clearly I do not understand this process, and didn't need to up to now, now that I'm using FC3.  I could experiment with all of this and probably figure it out, but I'm concerned about losing all the work I've been doing over the last week.  

Thank you in advance. 

Edited April 3, 2023 by zippydoda

[Ironhand]

MiG-29C(S) are the same variant. It’s just a matter of whether the Cyrillic “C” or English “S” is used to describe it. Is there really just a generic MiG-29 listed in the ME? Guess I’ve never noticed it.

AFAIK, .diff.lua is assigned to the profile you save manually (other than clicking “OK”). At least that’s how it seems. When you load that profile, that’s what you’ll get until you either change it or make alterations.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Ironhand

[draconus]

Just some quick answers:

There may not be IA mission for every variant of the MiG for every map - that's ok. I know there are missions for all of them, just on different maps.

Diff.lua is not named this way by accident. It only saves what you changed from default (differences). You may see your pedals bound but it may well be what was already there by default so you won't see the diff.lua for them if you didn't change bindings. The module stores some default profiles for many devices and applies them automatically. Sometimes it's good - less work to do. Sometimes it creates problems like double bindings esp. in axes.

If you click OK you should have all the changes saved in the /saved games/dcs world/config/input/

There is this structure under input: _module_/_devicetype_/device.diff.lua

If you set one profile for the one variant of MiG you can load it to the others but be extra careful to load the correct files for the correct devices. Profile (saved file) is just for one device (column in controls) and for the selected aircraft/type/control. Do not mix profiles from other modules.

About the control type - it doesn't apply to the FC3 but there are some modules that have separate controls for real (sim) settings and game flight control ex. TF-51D.

You load the profile once and it will be applied and saved instantly for the module/device.

[draconus]

There are only 3 variants of MiG-29 both in ME, misssions and controls:

1. MiG-29 = MiG-29A

2. MiG-29C = MiG-29S

3. MiG-29G