Thrustmaster Hotas A-10C key assignment question

[jjohnson241]

I have a Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog and fly A10C using the default key assignments (no Target profile). I've reversed the detent on the throttle because I fly other sims and need full throttle range.

I want to assign the Left/Right Start/Stop Engine commands to the ignition switches on the throttle (using just the joy button id's).

When I attempt to do that in the Options/Controls menu, the GUI will not let me assign those commends to the throttle. The related throttle fields are (blued out) and can't be modified.

Strange because the GUI will let those commands be reassigned to the Joystick and to the Cougar MFD's but not to the throttle.

 

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is in assigning those commends to the throttle?

Thanks.

[lxsapper]

I just got the warthog but I'm already getting my hands on getting it to work with my several sims. I'm not sure what you mean by reversing the detent beucause the reversable detent is only for afterburner and doesn't give more or less range. The range is the same but you eighter have a detent to access to last 20% or so of travel or you'll have no detent, but the range of detection is the same. I can't comment on assigning those commands to Start/Stop Engine commands because I'm not on my DCS computer and I can't test it. But you have no axis range aft of the idle detent, the axis stops there, only the "ignition switches" as you called them are read there. A possible workarround if setting those switches on the Options/Controls menu is beeing to much of a problem would be to make a target profile and assign to those two switches the commands you want. You could probably leave the rest of the hotas unprogramed if that's what you want.

 

I'm not sure if that's of help, but I may not have fully understood the issue.

[jjohnson241]

LXSapper,

Thanks for the response.

I don't fly with the Warthog throlle detent "active". This means that I have to use key commands to start/stop the engines in A10.

As far as I can tell, the ignition switches on the Hotas throttle are not mapped in the game. Therefore they are available and I want to map the engine start/stop command to the ignition switches on the throttle.

 

When I go to the Options menu to do that, I can't assign the start/stop functions to the ignition switches because those functions are "blued out", i.e., not assignable, in the controllers main window.

[ZaltysZ]

Did you remove afterburner detent or idle detent? Removing idle detent simple gives you more travel for the handle, but it does not reflect on the axis in any way (axis start after idle detent end ends past afterburner detent).

 

Regarding assignments. It is likely that game treats Warthog throttle in special way. Controller can have only 32 DX buttons, and there some tricks need to be used if you want to have more than that (i.e. lots of multiposition switches). Start/stop of right engine is accomplished by single button (DX29): pressing it shuts down engine, and releasing it starts engine. It is not treated as usual toggle button, and because of that it can be considered special. You probably have to create TARGET profile, before you will be able to use some buttons freely.

[jjohnson241]

ZaltysZ:

I reversed the detent that is physically under the plate that is under the throttle arms. Reversing that detent (it's a small piece of plastic) removes the stop and afterburner detents that are the "normal" configuration of the throttle. You can find this described in the Hotas Warthog manual that ships with the device.

Re: the assignments.. that's a bummer. I guess I'll have to create a profile or continue using the keyboard commands to start/stop engines. I was trying to stay away from yet another hotas profile as the A10C sim does just fine (with a few exceptions) with the native hotas assignments for the Warthog Hotas.

Thanks for your help.

[ZaltysZ]

ZaltysZ:

I reversed the detent that is physically under the plate that is under the throttle arms. Reversing that detent (it's a small piece of plastic) removes the stop and afterburner detents that are the "normal" configuration of the throttle. You can find this described in the Hotas Warthog manual that ships with the device.

 

I have it reversed too, but it has nothing to do with idle detent. If you have it done according to the manual, then you should have smooth travel between idle and max and remaining detent between off and idle. Bringing throttles to off position should still register as holding DX29 and DX30 buttons pressed (check windows control panel, game controllers applet). Maybe you have corrupted DCS controller profile?

[jjohnson241]

ZaltyZ,

By gosh your right.. I have the idle detent intact.

Off now to try to start the A-10's engines with the throttle.

Thanks.

[lxsapper]

Sorry.... I just have to....

 

LOLLOLOLOLOL

[ralfidude]

As far as the option for the keys being GRAYED OUT, I asked about this problem. Apparently when you use a profile to assign keys for a section of your joystick, it overrides some options.

 

If you notice that the option for it is grayed out, then you actually need to RESET the controls for that section (IE: The throttle section to default). Then reassign all the keys you want manually. The option will be available to you again then.

 

 

A bit pain in the arse, I know... I noticed that my CENTER BOAT SWITCH button is not there. I wanted to add it in, but its grayed out as well. I do NOT want to spend the next 30 minutes trying to reassign each key again just to get that one button down for FORCE CORRELATE MODE on the mavs. Fuuu that...

[lxsapper]

The boat switch does not have a center ( the same for all the other 3 postion sitches), you program that position by assigning a command to the other switch positions to activate when they are off.

[lxsapper]

can't do it in game by the way it has to be done in TARGET. They all work with A-10C because the warthog is speacially suported by default.

[jjohnson241]

Railfidude,

Thanks but I never have used a profile for the stick or throttle in A10C. I use the default HOTAS assignments.

I'll play around with it.

[Slayer]

If you use target and play multiplayer or fly multiple aircraft you will have lots of issues, stay away from it for DCS. As previously posted its plug and play as far as DCS WH is concerned,

if items are greyed out you can sometimes select the offending controller( click any selection in the column) and hit "clear category" this will ungrey them for you, of course you will have to remap all the buttons for that controller so best to write down what you want. There are also several posts on how to reset your controls if they get messed up.

 

Some pitbuilders or advanced users have also modified LUA scripts to get the functionality of buttons and switches. It can be done but it's pretty drastic and time consuming to go this route.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Slayer

[ralfidude]

no there has to be a center boat switch. The only way to make force correlate work is to rock the boat switch through center. It doesnt work if you go white and black hot.

[Slayer]

Electrically no there is no center the switch is on-off-on. If you don't believe this, go into the Windows game controler panel ONLY buttons 9 and 10 light up when you move the switch through its positions, nothing is on when it's in center.

 

ED makes it happen with LUA script behind the scenes. I know this is case as I had wondered how it worked and started poking around in files to see how it works.

 

You can assume that it is in center position if neither of the 2 other switches are active. They use this lack of input to generate a command and send it to the game.

 

If ED didn't make this custom code for the WH all the switches would be what they are in reality on or off.

Edited February 2, 2013 by Slayer

[lxsapper]

Now that I know Target a little better I'm not sure if there is a center positon on the switch or not. There is no DX button that's a given. But in T.A.R.G.E.T (and DCS lua) not only you can program the middle position by giving "release" programing to the outer positions (like you did with the cougar through Foxy) but you can actually assign a command to the center position. Now two things might be true, eighter the switch exits but not as a DX button, but a button that TARGET drivers can read and assign keystrokes. Or the switches electronicly realy don't exist, just like they didn't in the cougar (the dogfight and speedbrake switches), but TARGET software is design so that you can program those positions not only in the old way but also in an easier new way, in wich you just assign a command to those switch positions and the software makes the necessary adjustments in the background to make it work. My money is on this later possibility.

[pii]

I have a Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog and fly A10C using the default key assignments (no Target profile). I've reversed the detent on the throttle because I fly other sims and need full throttle range.

I want to assign the Left/Right Start/Stop Engine commands to the ignition switches on the throttle (using just the joy button id's).

When I attempt to do that in the Options/Controls menu, the GUI will not let me assign those commends to the throttle. The related throttle fields are (blued out) and can't be modified.

Strange because the GUI will let those commands be reassigned to the Joystick and to the Cougar MFD's but not to the throttle.

 

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is in assigning those commends to the throttle?

Thanks.

 

Yeah I'd like to know why some things are un-mappable across the board. Sometime some of the keyboards, throttle or JS have un-mappable options.

A-10c is the worse but all there stuff seems to have options that are completely un mappable in the options screen. for example "Enable exploration mode" in P-51 is unmappable to any device and I want to use whatever it is damn it! :D Seriously though There are lots of free buttons that a-10 won't let you use.

[Maverick-X]

Hey, I've got a simmilar problem with greyed out fields in the GUI. Got CougarMFDs and wanted to reassign the rockerbuttons (thought STP would be better than brightness... I tried resetting the keyassignments but that did not get me access to the greyed out parts. I'd prefer not to get TARGET, as I already have profiling software for my Mouse, Keyboard and Joystick... each -.-

 

Is there a config file I can edit to add the wanted funktionality? I took a look in savedgames\DCS\config\input... but there is no file regarding the MFD's