Using Virpil CM-3 ministick as mouse

[jbl101abn]

Has anyone mapped the ministick on the Virpil CM-3 Throttle (on the right thrust) to act as a mouse? If so, how? I've looked everywhere and don't want to use Joystick Gremlin if I can do this some other way.

 

Thanks!

[bfr]

Glad to be corrected on this but I don't think you can do this via the Virpil software alone as it stands. Joystick Gremlin & Joy2Key can both provide this for you though (and are easier/more flexible for doing other things helpful to DCS IMHO too like mode/shift states).

[Qsenox]

At the moment it is absolutely not possible to make axis act as a mouse using VPC Configuration tool. Maybe somewhere in the future it will be implemented into that software...who knows.

[jbl101abn]

Hi. Thanks for the answers! If I do use joystick gremlin, does this complicate my setup with other Virpil configurations or is using both fine with DCS. I just did not want to have numerous software programs that might confuse DCS. Also, I am considering configuring joystick pro at some point and wanted to avoid issues there as well.

 

[1BRAVO9]

15 hours ago, jbl101abn said:

Hi. Thanks for the answers! If I do use joystick gremlin, does this complicate my setup with other Virpil configurations or is using both fine with DCS. I just did not want to have numerous software programs that might confuse DCS. Also, I am considering configuring joystick pro at some point and wanted to avoid issues there as well.

 

 

Same here.

[Qsenox]

В 14.05.2023 в 02:05, jbl101abn сказал:

Hi. Thanks for the answers! If I do use joystick gremlin, does this complicate my setup with other Virpil configurations or is using both fine with DCS. I just did not want to have numerous software programs that might confuse DCS. Also, I am considering configuring joystick pro at some point and wanted to avoid issues there as well.

As far as I can tell, both VPC software and joystick gremlin save any config changes right into devices' memory. So configuring your devices in different software should not confuse games what so ever.

EDIT: Please disregard my reply and read the comment below.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Qsenox

[bfr]

9 hours ago, Qsenox said:

As far as I can tell, both VPC software and joystick gremlin (just like any other joysticks configurator) save any config changes right into devices' memory. So configuring your devices in different software should not confuse games what so ever.

Joystick Gremlin doesn't do anything to the device. It's basically sits as a layer in-between the device and the game (hence you bind in-game to the virtual devices it creates and not the underlying hardware), whereas the VPC software obviously does affect the controller at the firmware level.

Edited May 15, 2023 by bfr

[Qsenox]

18 часов назад, bfr сказал:

Joystick Gremlin doesn't do anything to the device. It's basically sits as a layer in-between the device and the game (hence you bind in-game to the virtual devices it creates and not the underlying hardware), whereas the VPC software obviously does affect the controller at the firmware level.

Thanks for clarification. Didn't know it works like that.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Qsenox

[bfr]

On 5/14/2023 at 3:06 PM, 1BRAVO9 said:

 

Same here.

There's no conflict as such. If you don't need to use a Gremlin profile for a given title then just don't enable the software and your controllers will just work however you flashed them to work with the native utilities.  I have a VPC stick and Virpil throttle and only use respective flash software for calibration and setting up the axes etc.  All the button -> keystroke and mode management stuff I do with Joystick Gremlin on a 1 profile per module basis (then just load whichever profile for whatever jet i'm flying).  For some games like MSFS where I don't want multiple modes configured then I don't use Gremlin at all and just configure directly in the game.

[1BRAVO9]

9 hours ago, bfr said:

There's no conflict as such. If you don't need to use a Gremlin profile for a given title then just don't enable the software and your controllers will just work however you flashed them to work with the native utilities.  I have a VPC stick and Virpil throttle and only use respective flash software for calibration and setting up the axes etc.  All the button -> keystroke and mode management stuff I do with Joystick Gremlin on a 1 profile per module basis (then just load whichever profile for whatever jet i'm flying).  For some games like MSFS where I don't want multiple modes configured then I don't use Gremlin at all and just configure directly in the game.

 

I watched a video on using Gremlin to map an analog joystick and it seemed a little "involved". Not really complicated but involved. What I mean by that is the video stated you must download and use 3 different software programs to get it to work.

Is that the only way for it to work?

He said you had to use one to mask the Virpil, one to create a virtual one for the game to see, and one to connect them. Is that the only way?

Edited May 16, 2023 by 1BRAVO9

[bfr]

13 minutes ago, 1BRAVO9 said:

 

I watched a video on using Gremlin to map an analog joystick and it seemed a little "involved". Not really complicated but involved. What I mean by that is the video stated you must download and use 3 different software programs to get it to work.

Is that the only way for it to work?

He said you had to use one to mask the Virpil, one to create a virtual one for the game to see, and one to connect them. Is that the only way?

 

No. Having never tried before (I just knew it was an option) I just managed to set it up in under a minute only using Joystick Gremlin (mapping the analog mini-stick X & Y axes on a CM3 throttle to the mouse). This video gives a decent representation of the process.  If you're setting up Gremlin for the first time you'll want to set up virtual controllers (for which you use VJoy, which is a dependency of Gremlin) but its a one-time process usually and pretty painless.

 

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by bfr

[1BRAVO9]

23 minutes ago, bfr said:

No. Having never tried before (I just knew it was an option) I just managed to set it up in under a minute only using Joystick Gremlin (mapping the analog mini-stick X & Y axes on a CM3 throttle to the mouse). This video gives a decent representation of the process.  If you're setting up Gremlin for the first time you'll want to set up virtual controllers (for which you use VJoy, which is a dependency of Gremlin) but its a one-time process usually and pretty painless.

 

 

 

Thanks for the response and the video, I'll definitely check it out.

I would love to be able to use my analog stick.

It would be a game changer for me, literally.

[bfr]

3 minutes ago, 1BRAVO9 said:

Thanks for the response and the video, I'll definitely check it out.

I would love to be able to use my analog stick.

It would be a game changer for me, literally.

Drop me a DM if you get stuck and i'll try and help as much as I can.

I'm assuming the 3rd program you mentioned you saw might've been HID Guardian? I didn't need this for DCS. The game detects both the virtual controllers and the 'real' controllers but you just make sure you're only binding to axes/buttons on the virtual ones (just make sure Gremlin is running and the profile you're using is enabled).

[Baldrick33]

I use the mini stick on my TM Warthog throttle as a mouse. 

I have used both Joystick Gremlin and Joy2Key in the past. If this is all you want to do I would recommend Joy2Key. In my view it is simpler for this task and doesn’t require installing vjoy which is just another thing to run which isn’t needed in this case.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Baldrick33

[1BRAVO9]

3 minutes ago, Baldrick33 said:

I use the mini stick on my TM Warthog throttle as a mouse. 

I have used both Joystick Gremlin and Joy2Key in the past. If this is all you want to do I would recommend Joy2Key. In my view it is simpler for this task and doesn’t require installing vjoy which is just another thing to run which isn’t needed in this case.

 

 

I'll check them out as well, thanks for the response.

[Baldrick33]

Joy2key axis as mouse screens:

[bfr]

Just now, Baldrick33 said:

I use the mini stick on my TM Warthog throttle as a mouse. 

I have used both Joystick Gremlin and Joy2Key in the past. If this is all you want to do I would recommend Joy2Key. In my view it is simpler for this task and doesn’t require installing vjoy which is just another layer which isn’t needed in this case.

I used to use Joy2Key for a very long time (liked it enough to pay for it).  Having used Gremlin for a few weeks now i'd say the one thing it has a distinct edge is if you use multiple modes.  Namely it can inherit from other modes if you have common functions per button (e.g. weapons release, TDC) rather than requiring copy & pasting over, plus you can make it send additional keystrokes when you switch mode (e.g. when I switch to AA or AG specifics mappings in the F-18 it sends the appropriate keystroke to DCS to set the plane's master mode).

[Baldrick33]

1 hour ago, bfr said:

I used to use Joy2Key for a very long time (liked it enough to pay for it).  Having used Gremlin for a few weeks now i'd say the one thing it has a distinct edge is if you use multiple modes.  Namely it can inherit from other modes if you have common functions per button (e.g. weapons release, TDC) rather than requiring copy & pasting over, plus you can make it send additional keystrokes when you switch mode (e.g. when I switch to AA or AG specifics mappings in the F-18 it sends the appropriate keystroke to DCS to set the plane's master mode).

I agree you can do a lot more with Joystick Gremlin. It does come with a bit more complexity in my view plus it requires vjoy which has caused me some issues which may be isolated. 

If the requirement is just for mapping an axis to a mouse I think Joy2Key is the simplest solution IMHO.

[bfr]

56 minutes ago, Baldrick33 said:

I agree you can do a lot more with Joystick Gremlin. It does come with a bit more complexity in my view plus it requires vjoy which has caused me some issues which may be isolated. 

If the requirement is just for mapping an axis to a mouse I think Joy2Key is the simplest solution IMHO.

I think VJoy put me off a little too when I initially opted for Joy2Key but its not been a problem so far. Yes you're right though, Joy2Key would be absolutely fine for the problem presented and its a great utility.