Request to NOT assign commands to controllers by default

[ARM505]

Good day,

This seems simple enough, but I'm not sure what the general consensus is:

Unless you have the most basic of flight controls, and even then I don't see how it'll always get it right, no software can correctly assign functions to all buttons and axes on a newly detected device. So, I respectfully wonder if there is any point at all of assigning anything by default.

I'm kind of tired of having to go and clear everything from every device (I have six - joystick, throttle, button box, rudders, F16MFD 1 and 2) when the control assignments get scrambled, or windows does some USB device ID scrambling (whatever the problem might be, but it happens).

I'd rather start from scratch each time, as DCS's default assignments literally never get anything right. Assigning pitch and roll axes to throttles, pedals etc is just a waster of time.

I've seen the argument that 'new players need basic assignments', but to be honest, it's most likely going to add even further confusion as their aircraft thunders off the side of the runway because their throttle axis is also randomly their rudder axis.

 

tl;dr - please DO NOT assign any controls to any controllers axis or button by default.

[SharpeXB]

Agree. I don’t see how preassigned controls would ever be correct and it’s a chief source of confusion. The only devices this could work for are ones designed for specific aircraft like the TM Warthog throttle for the A-10.

1 hour ago, ARM505 said:

I'm kind of tired of having to go and clear everything from every device (I have six - joystick, throttle, button box, rudders, F16MFD 1 and 2) when the control assignments get scrambled, or windows does some USB device ID scrambling (whatever the problem might be, but it happens).

You know there’s an easy way to redo these right?

[Slippa]

Agree with the OP. They’re a PITA to sort out and whoever it is that’s flying using pedals to pitch and roll is a better man than me.

As well as a nutter.

Sharpy what is the easy way to redo these then? - Since this ‘carnage update’ yesterday I’ve found bindings all shot to <profanity>. There’s a red exclamation mark next to the binding for throttles and collectives and they’re not easily re-assigning. I’m having to clear them, restart DCS then re-assign to fix em up. A nice quick and easy redo’s just what I’m after.

[SharpeXB]

38 minutes ago, Slippa said:

Sharpy what is the easy way to redo these then?

Create new .lua files by pressing a button on each controller in any module. Copy those file names (containing the new device ID) onto your old .luas and then replace the new ones with them. Going from memory since I’m away from the game those files are in your DCS Saved Games / Config / Input / Modulename folders. 

[ARM505]

1 hour ago, SharpeXB said:

Agree. I don’t see how preassigned controls would ever be correct and it’s a chief source of confusion. The only devices this could work for are ones designed for specific aircraft like the TM Warthog throttle for the A-10.

You know there’s an easy way to redo these right?

If you're talking about right clicking on the dropdown for the device and selecting 'clear all', or having saved, then reloading the settings, then yes? Otherwise I'm all ears!

Speaking of saving, I'd also like an option to save ALL bindings (not just as a per-device save) for each aircraft.

 

Edit, to add: I see your answer above, yes, familiar with that. Definitely works......shouldn't be necessary IMHO, but I'll live with it.

Edited July 12, 2024 by ARM505

[MAXsenna]

After this massive update, it's clear ED needs to do something about the way controllers are populated.

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[SharpeXB]

2 hours ago, ARM505 said:

If you're talking about right clicking on the dropdown for the device and selecting 'clear all', or having saved, then reloading the settings, then yes? Otherwise I'm all ears!

Speaking of saving, I'd also like an option to save ALL bindings (not just as a per-device save) for each aircraft.

 

Edit, to add: I see your answer above, yes, familiar with that. Definitely works......shouldn't be necessary IMHO, but I'll live with it.

 

You can also use the Save / Load Profile function to load your old controller profile (if you saved it as such) into the new one. But copying and pasting the new ID file names is faster IMO

Something else you can do with Save / Load Profile is copy any scheme to another module. But the commands all need to be the same. The easiest one is rudder pedals since all those axis settings are universal. If I ever found myself with a new HOTAS to do this all over again I’d create a generic throttle profile for example and set it up with all the common commands I use like the axis itself along with zoom view or whatever and then load that in to every module as a starting point.

I can’t think of a way to really make this all easier because there are really very few commands which are truly common to all the modules. 

[Slippa]

Cheers for that.

After checking most of my modules (without coming back here first, as I’m an idiot) I found almost every one had at least the throttle or some axis broken.

I couldn’t re-assign them whichever way I tried. The only way I could sort it was by clearing out the busted binding, saving the profile, restarting DCS then going back to re-assign what I’d just cleared. Then I saved the profiles.

Whatever I tried, unless I rebooted DCS it wasn’t working. There’s a few posts around with others having similar trouble so I don’t think it’s just happening to me. Thankfully, there isn’t a flood of posts about it but they could be drowned out by everything else that the update’s brought us.

I don’t know what’s happened this time but they really need better testing, it’s caused untold mess.

If I need to though, I know where to find this now so cheers for the pointers, maybe it’ll help others out too.