BluFinBima

I found this post while trying to use an XBox controller Left Trigger (which is half of an axis) for a button - actually the Landing Gear Toggle of the Hornet. This reply is to document how I got this working in case it helps others in the future, or I forgot how I did it and need to refer back to this. Kudos to LASooner for his updates above. 1) C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Mods\aircraft\FA-18C\Input\FA-18C\joystick\default.lua gets the following line added a new axis line into the axis definition section of the default.lua -- joystick axes join(res.axisCommands,{ ... {action = gear_commands.GearHandle, cockpit_device_id = devices.GEAR_INTERFACE, name = _('Landing Gear (Axis)'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}}, }) The values for the action and the cockpit_device_id come from C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Mods\aircraft\FA-18C\Cockpit\Scripts\clickabledata.lua specifically this line -- Gear system elements["pnt_226"] = LDG_Gear_Control_Handle(_("Landing Gear Control Handle, (RMB)UP/(LMB)DOWN/(MW)EMERGENCY DOWN"), devices.GEAR_INTERFACE, gear_commands.GearHandle, 226, gear_commands.EmergDown, 228, 4.5) elements["pnt_226"].sound = {{SOUND_SW8_UP}, {SOUND_SW8_DOWN}, {SOUND_SW9}} Then you go into DCS Options->Controls for the F/A-18C and press the Axis Assign button at the bottom of the page and you should see Landing Gear (Axis) in the Action list. Under the XBox controller column, select Add Combo and add Joy_Z . The next step is to tune the axis so that it acts like a button which involves setting the axis to be a slider, with a deadzone of 98 and a Saturation X of 98. The high values are to reduce the chances of double triggering if there is jitter in the axis. One final note is that only one of the triggers can be used because both of the XBox controller triggers use Joy_z null

Thanks @corbu1, I opted for setting easyflight to false in options.lua which I'm guessing is the same thing.

@NeedzWD40Many thanks for taking the time to provide advice. I tracked down the option in the mission editor, and yes, that did fix the problem for one mission. Who'd have guessed that option would have such a dramatic impact on the flight characteristics (obviously you did). Anyway, I still have the problem with "Create Fast Mission". I guess I need to hunt through options to see if there are global settings for Game Flight Mode. Once again, many thanks for the assistance.

Hi, I am having a few problems with the Apache (under-statement). I've returned to flying the Apache after a bit of a break. Everything worked as before in the Tutorial missions, but in game proper, I was having lots of problems with the flight controls, starting with the aircraft immediately moving backwards when the brakes were released, and no ability to move forward (although the in-game cyclic does move forward when the controller moves forward). Then I tried to increase the collective..... This is DCS 2.8.4.39259.1. All very strange. I'm certainly not going to rule out that I've done something spectacularly dumb (please give me a pointer if you think this is the case). Before going down the Bug route, it would be great to know if anyone else can reproduce this. 1) Cold and Dark 2) Increase the collective The video is 30 seconds long BTW. Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, Helios 1.6.5500 was never going to resolve this problem. Unless ED can explain how Helios' use of the update_arguments() on GetDevices(0) was incorrect, then this isn't something which Helios can resolve. Hopefully cofcorpse will work his magic on this issue (which was also reported on the new MB-339).

Final update in case someone stumbles on this thread in future years. I finally got the UH-60A to land on an Arleigh Burke when it takes off from a Perry class ship, so it is possible. My best guess is that it might be something to do with the angle of the landing pad on the Arleigh Burke which gives the UH-60A some enduring property. My reason for thinking this is that when the UH-60A takes off from the Arleigh Burke, the wheels are flat on the deck and when it successfully lands from another class of ship, the tail wheel is sunk into the deck and the front wheels are floating in mid air. I've wasted too much time on this. The best fix from my perspective would be an updated higher polygon SH-60B, but this investigation has taught me a little about scripting a mission so worth the effort.

I'm still not ruling out a rookie error, but I thought I'd update this due to the weirdness of my latest findings. Same script for every helicopter. Each UH-60A takes off from a different ship and lands on a Super Carrier (the same carrier). All helicopters land successfully, except for the two originating from Arleigh Burke class ships. These two immediately land and tip forward. They don't actually crash this time, and their rotors continue to turn. Any thoughts on what might be going on?

Checked this again with the SH-60B and confirmed that this helicopter lands without crashing, so problem is only with the UH-60A. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated. I have also tried with the Kiowa and it did not show a problem, so I have concluded that this is a problem exclusively for the UH-60A and the Arleigh Burke.

Hi, I'm new to Mission Editor and scripting so likely I've done something very dumb. I have a script that adds a UH-60A to a ship. The helicopter takes off and then lands on the same ship. When run against a Perry or Ticonderoga, the helicopter lands without crashing. The UH-60A always crashes (by tipping forward) when landing on an Arleigh Burke. Any thoughts would be most welcome. The landing waypoint looks like this: [3] = { ["action"] = "Landing", ["linkUnit"] = shipId, ["helipadId"] = shipId, ["alt_type"] = "BARO", ["alt"] = 40, ["x"] = 0, ["y"] = 0, ["speed"] = 41.666666666667, ["task"] = { ["id"] = "ComboTask", ["params"] = { ["tasks"] = { }, -- end of ["tasks"] }, -- end of ["params"] }, -- end of ["task"] ["type"] = "Land", ["ETA"] = 2470.7304609637, ["ETA_locked"] = false, ["name"] = "DictKey_WptName_977", ["formation_template"] = "", ["speed_locked"] = true, }, -- end of [3] 13 second video showing the problem I have. Helo Circle.miz AddHelo.lua

Hi Wayne, The Helios 1.6 thread is https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=282103. It looks to me as if you have not setup the interface so that DCS can talk to Helios. If you flip the console switch (Top Right in the image you supplied) you will probably see more info about the problem. Cheers

Missing Image in Profile Hi Wayne, Really this has nothing to do with the version of Helios that you're running except for the fact that Helios 1.6 detects that the profile you're using references an image that is not there. Specifically "C:\Users\Wayne\Documents\Helios\Images\Capt_Zeen\F18\balck_50_transp.png". Does that file exist? If not, it needs to be in that location in order to get rid of that message. The file exists in "Capt Zeen FA18C_V3.0.rar" Hope this helps

Hi Wayne, As the message indicates, you're missing one of Captain Zeen's images. I've checked his latest F/A-18C profile Capt Zeen FA18C_V3.0.rar from http://www.captzeen.com/helios/downloads.asp and the image is there. It does look like the version of the profile is a little old given that CZ is now at V3, but you can certainly pick up the missing image from the latest profile. For reference, there is a Helios 1.6 thread at https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=282103 Cheers, BFB

Thanks for the comments about this fix. For those following along at home, 2.5mm allen wrench is what you need for the surgery, and be careful about the circlip flying off into the distance.

Problem with Option Cuing Indicator and IFEI Nozzles Hi Denver29, This sounds like https://github.com/HeliosVirtualCockpit/Helios/issues/346 (you might like to subscribe to that issue) although I was not aware of problems with the IFEI nozzle indicator. The second problem is likely to be a completely different issue. Thanks for raising this. BlueFin

The continuation of the Helios journey is 1.6 and happens at https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=4437499. In addition to the obvious features in 1.6, it provides a more solid foundation for future capability. The small number of developers will be spread too thinly to support more than one release, so for this reason we will be retiring 1.4 as an active project. You're free to continue using and enjoying it, however the future is 1.6 and there are many great reasons to migrate to this release. Regards, BFB

@RightStuff thanks for the verification. I've now set the GitHub settings correctly so all should be visible now.

@Sabre_Ewan and @MarkTRurner1960, thanks for the heads up about the links. I've clicked them all and they all work for me.... I need to think about what might be going on. Could one of you type "https://github.com/BlueFinBima/DCS-Helios-MFD/blob/master/README.md" into a browser and see what happens? If that does not work, then try "https://github.com/BlueFinBima/DCS-Helios-MFD"? Thanks

Hi Rick50, I just clicked it and it worked for me. The link in the original post was to https://github.com/BlueFinBima/DCS-Helios-MFD/blob/master/README.md

@Rick50 more details on GitHub, but I got my panels on eBay (used) for 30 GBP each.

I've been looking for options to have a stand alone MFD using the Thrustmaster MFD Cougar. I investigated various options from RaspberryPi to cheap-ish Chinese HDMI displays, and I finally settled on, surprise, surprise, Helios on a Windows tablet. I've documented a reasonable amount of this project on GitHub including some information about changing the cable of the MFD. The AMPCD is completely wireless until the battery in the tablet runs out, and medium term, I'll probably mount this behind some plywood or MDF along with the left and right MFD's using the same approach. I thought I'd post here in case it piques anyone's interest. Cheers

I suggest that whichever plugin still runs after the change of export.lua is the one that is doing the over-writing. As Derammo, says, the problem is not being caused by the Helios Control Center.

JCae2798, your public appreciation is appreciated. Cheers

Hi PSYKOnz, until we revise the release numbering system again, you will have to manually remove the previous Helios via "Add or Remove Programs" before installing the new one.

It has been a little time since we released a version of Helios for Windows 32 bit, however with 1.4.2020.0530 you have the opportunity once again to run Helios on lower function machines. There is also the usual 64 bit version. For this release, most of the functionality is actually focused on Falcon BMS but there are also some bug fixes. The team also wanted to make a single download site for distributions of Helios, and that sire is Github where Helios is developed. This means that the file while is downloaded from the DCS "user files" site is simply a link to the actual file on Github. Finally, for those who are running a modern release of Helios which contains new release checking, you might see a pop-up offering you the ability to download the latest version directly. Some browsers will throw up a warning about the file, and it is obviously your choice as to whether you proceed, however if the file is downloaded from our Github releases, then I believe this should be the genuine article, and there are checksums on the site for you to validate an unaltered zip file.

@j9murphy, probably better to use an arduino pro micro or other board with an atmega32u4. Plenty examples of using this as a standard game controller and you'd be able to use x and y axis for the knob travel and I even found this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYMYF_zXgu4. I agree with derammo that the interaction style would be nice to have in Helios.