Supplied Key Binds

[Able Dog]

I am a newbie and have been struggling with setting up my key binds. I am using a Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog Throttle and Joystick. In particular, I can't seem to figure out how to achieve left and right engine start using the throttle arms (moving them from the rear detent position into idle position).  I can see that there are key bindings for this on a keyboard but using the keyboard doesn't seem as realistic. When I click on the equivalent box in the HOTAS Throttle column, a menu to add a binding does not appear. Moreover, in the flight control section, movement of the throttle arms does show activity in the Right Throttle Up, Right Throttle Down, etc actions so I know that my throttle is recognized by the program.

Reading through the DCS Forms website, I discovered that there are prefabricated key bind files that were included among the files that were downloaded on my computer when I installed the A-10C Tank Killer II program. I was able to find some .lua files that, to my newbie brain, would lead me to believe that they contain a complete set of key binds for my Thrustmaster flight controls. There were two that appeared to fit the bill:

Throttle - Warthog.diff.lua  (1 KB)

Throttle - Warthog.lua  (110 KB)

And there were similar files for the Joystick.

So here are my questions:

1) Are these files intended for my Thrustmaster flight controls?

2) Are they a complete set of key binds that will fix the above mentioned problems and will fill out all the other axis and flight control categories?

3) If I muck things up, can all my key binds be reset to default values so I can start over.

4) Are there prefabricated files out there that are better than the ones supplied with the A-10C program.

Thank you in advance for your expert advice

 

 

 

[Yurgon]

44 minutes ago, Able Dog said:

1) Are these files intended for my Thrustmaster flight controls?

Yup.

44 minutes ago, Able Dog said:

2) Are they a complete set of key binds that will fix the above mentioned problems and will fill out all the other axis and flight control categories?

All that should work out of the box with your TM Warthog. So the answer is yes.

44 minutes ago, Able Dog said:

3) If I muck things up, can all my key binds be reset to default values so I can start over.

Yes. There is a "Reset category to defaults" option in the controller assignment dialog for each controller category.

44 minutes ago, Able Dog said:

4) Are there prefabricated files out there that are better than the ones supplied with the A-10C program.

None that I am aware of.

Now what's missing...?

44 minutes ago, Able Dog said:

In particular, I can't seem to figure out how to achieve left and right engine start using the throttle arms (moving them from the rear detent position into idle position).

How do I get that to work?

Chances are DCS fails to detect the position of your throttles when you enter a mission, and thus fails to detect when they get moved from OFF to IDLE. There's a sensible explanation for why that is, but the gist of it is, there are 2 common ways to solve the issue.

1. After entering a mission in the A-10C or A-10C II modules, move your throttles from OFF to IDLE, then back to OFF. Now DCS will detect the next motion from OFF to IDLE.
   (Or, my personal SOP: Keep throttles in IDLE, then when entering a cold start A-10, move them to OFF after I've slotted into the cockpit and the mission is actively running).
2. Set Options -> Misc. -> Synchronize Cockpit Controls with HOTAS Controls at Mission Start to Checked

Does either of these solve the problem?

Edited September 4 by Yurgon

[Able Dog]

Thank you Yurgon! You answered all my questions and validated my suspicions. That is very confidence-building for a newbie like me. This is actually the second time you have helped me with a vexing problem. I SO appreciate experienced users like you who will take time to explain stuff to someone in my position. I learned some really good things from you. It turned out I didn't need to get DCS to recognize my throttle, but I will keep that hack in mind if I run into difficulties in the future. Thanks again.

For any newbies who stumble upon this thread, I have some advice. Don't bother with fiddling around with individual key bindings. Leave that to experienced users like Yurgon (or ask for help). Wouldn't you rather be flying than fiddling? There is a simple way to fix your problems with your throttle or joystick. You just need to use the prefabricated files supplied with your program when you bought and downloaded it. First you need to find the prefabbed input files on your computer. The directory address for me was Local Drive(C:)/Program Files/Eagle Dynamics/DCS World/Mods/aircraft/A-10C_2  <<your aircraft may be different>>  /Input/A-10C_2  <<your aircraft may be different>>  /joystick. You should have this same directory address except with you particular aircraft as noted above. Now you are looking for a .diff.lua file that corresponds with your type of throttle or joystick. DO NOT MESS with any .lua files. These are for DCS use only. I have a Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog setup so the relevant file for the throttle is Throttle-HOTAS Warthog.diff.lua for the throttle controls, and Joystick HOTAS Warthog.diff.lua for the joystick. Write these directory addresses down because you will need to find them from within the DCS program. Now start your program and go to the start page for your aircraft. Click on the settings gear in the upper left corner. Now click on the CONTROLS panel at the top. Make sure your aircraft is selected in the first panel at the top left, and then click the menu arrow (downward pointing arrow) in the panel labeled All But Axis Commands. Now click Axis Commands. Now find the column with the header Throttle-Warthog   <<your system may be different and will be labeled accordingly>>   and highlight the column by clicking on the header (this would be the same if you are working on your joystick, just select the joystick column). Click the menu options (down arrow) and select Load Profile. Your current default profile directory will be displayed. You now need to clear this default directory by single clicking on the "c:/" at the beginning of the address. Then you build the directory address that you wrote down by double clicking on the yellow folder icons until you find the list of files that you want  to use. So, when you are doing your throttle commands, highlight the .diff.lua file corresponding to your type of throttle and click OK. Now you are done and the program will save this as your default. You can now do the same for your joystick. Easy peasy. I hope this will be helpful to any other newbies out there.

 

[Yurgon]

19 hours ago, Able Dog said:

For any newbies who stumble upon this thread, I have some advice. Don't bother with fiddling around with individual key bindings. [...]

Glad it's working for you now!

Just to be clear, the TM Warthog should be plug and play with DCS. If I understand correctly, you needed to load the existing TM Warthog Throttle and Joystick config files for DCS to recognize the device and apply its default bindings - but that really should not have been necessary.

The standard trouble-shooting in such a case would be a) DCS Repair from the Launcher or b) renaming Saved Games\DCS\config\input so that DCS works with a blank default input configuration.

But if it's working okay for you now, all the better!

[Moxica]

After loading that throttle profile, I can not find any binding for throttles; off to Idle.   Idle to off only.
And I can not cold start properly without first going  Idle->off.
How do I find the bind for Off->Idle? (As in the F16)

Edited November 19 by Moxica

[Yurgon]

2 hours ago, Moxica said:

After loading that throttle profile [...]

And why would you do that? The TM Warthog is plug and play with DCS. Never had any problems there, it gets recognized when DCS starts up. If it doesn't, that's an issue all of its own.

I'd recommend getting rid of any profiles and just using it plug and play; the Left Engine Throttle Set Off/Right Engine Throttle Set Off keybinds from the "Special For Joystick" category should already be bound.

The only common issue is that DCS doesn't always detect the current throttle position (same for all other 2 and 3 position switches) and you may need to cycle from IDLE to OFF once before it detects the OFF to IDLE motion - or you can set the "Synchronize Cockpit Controls with HOTAS Controls at Mission Start" checkbox in Options -> Misc which should address this issue.

[Baldrick33]

3 hours ago, Moxica said:

After loading that throttle profile, I can not find any binding for throttles; off to Idle.   Idle to off only.
And I can not cold start properly without first going  Idle->off.
How do I find the bind for Off->Idle? (As in the F16)

You can assign the left and right throttle buttons 30 and 29 to left and right throttle off respectively

Then assign 30off and 29off to left and right throttle idle respectively.

Then you can cold start with your throttles in the off position.

 

[Moxica]

9 hours ago, Baldrick33 said:

You can assign the left and right throttle buttons 30 and 29 to left and right throttle off respectively

Then assign 30off and 29off to left and right throttle idle respectively.

Then you can cold start with your throttles in the off position.

 

That's the problem; There are no throttle off->Idle to to assign.

10 hours ago, Yurgon said:

And why would you do that? The TM Warthog is plug and play with DCS. Never had any problems there, it gets recognized when DCS starts up. If it doesn't, that's an issue all of its own.

Because I had no Off->Idle functionality in default profile.

I'd recommend getting rid of any profiles and just using it plug and play; the Left Engine Throttle Set Off/Right Engine Throttle Set Off keybinds from the "Special For Joystick" category should already be bound.

I didn't knnow the profiles were there until I read this thread.

The only common issue is that DCS doesn't always detect the current throttle position (same for all other 2 and 3 position switches) and you may need to cycle from IDLE to OFF once before it detects the OFF to IDLE motion - or you can set the "Synchronize Cockpit Controls with HOTAS Controls at Mission Start" checkbox in Options -> Misc which should address this issue.

"Doesn't allways detect" = Never.
F18 and F16 has no such problem.

 

Edited November 20 by Moxica

[Yurgon]

17 hours ago, Moxica said:

How do I find the bind for Off->Idle? (As in the F16)

I still don't quite understand what your problem is or why you would want to load a profile for the TM Warthog, or why "Synchronize Cockpit Controls with HOTAS Controls at Mission Start" doesn't solve it.

But you did try the "Engine Start Left" (RALT + Home) and "Engine Start Right" (RCTL + Home) keybinds, right?

[Baldrick33]

6 hours ago, Moxica said:

That's the problem; There are no throttle off->Idle to to assign.

 

I don’t believe you need an off to idle action, simply bind 29 to off and 29off to idle for the left engine, 30 for the right.

Put the throttle in the off position prior to starting the mission. When you are ready move the throttle to idle and DCS should recognise the state change to off.

Note that the option to bind off states (you have to select this using the drop down in the control binding window) is relatively new so a lot of previous instructions won’t refer to it. Previously I used Joy2Key to manage off states of latched switches on the warthog throttle, this option makes it much easier.

Edited November 20 by Baldrick33

[Moxica]

2 hours ago, Yurgon said:

I still don't quite understand what your problem is or why you would want to load a profile for the TM Warthog, or why "Synchronize Cockpit Controls with HOTAS Controls at Mission Start" doesn't solve it.

But you did try the "Engine Start Left" (RALT + Home) and "Engine Start Right" (RCTL + Home) keybinds, right?

I do not want to load any profile. But the off-> idle did never work, so I tried after reading this thread!
i don't understand why it works so flawless on the F16 and 18, but not on the A10 with a dedicated controller..

26 minutes ago, Baldrick33 said:

I don’t believe you need an off to idle action, simply bind 29 to off and 29off to idle for the left engine, 30 for the right.

So, let me get this straight:
I don't "need an off to idle action."
But still I should "Simply bind 29off to idle for the left engine"
How?

[Moxica]

@Baldrick33
I love the "Off" function, and was overhappy when they arrived.
Here's what I did to the A-10 flaps at the time:
Now they work as they should.   

 

@Yurgon
The "Synchronize Cockpit Controls" work.
Thx!

Edited November 20 by Moxica

[Baldrick33]

1 hour ago, Moxica said:

I do not want to load any profile. But the off-> idle did never work, so I tried after reading this thread!
i don't understand why it works so flawless on the F16 and 18, but not on the A10 with a dedicated controller..

So, let me get this straight:
I don't "need an off to idle action."
But still I should "Simply bind 29off to idle for the left engine"
How?

I am not at my PC for now to check, I recalled there being an idle bind but it is always possible I am mixing this up with another module!

Glad you got it working with the sync option.