Mouse snapping to nearest control.

Obviously a mouse is not as good as a finger. But it could be better at selecting controls than it is.

I would like to suggest mouse snapping. The yellow cross would continue to be the mouse pointer. But the green switch indicators that appear when the mouse is over a control, should always appear on the 'nearest' control. So that I don't have to put my pointer exactly dead-on a control.

I think this would be very helpful. The point of the mouse is to adjust controls. This would make it very much easier to do.

I was actually trying to figure out a way to do this by getting the mouse cursor location using AutoHotKey and relating that to the tooltips or mouse and controls in the game's lua files. But I don't think that it can be done without accessing the DCS code.

Attached is a pic to show what I mean. As you can see, when the mouse is over a panel, almost always some control is selected. There would be much less 'hen pecking' with the cursor..

Anyhow, I think this would be massively helpful, especially in VR. And well, it's just an idea... :joystick:

Good idea, also context sensitive snapping would be good, if there are a lot of switches in close proximity and you happen to be in say air to air mode, you don't want to be snapping to say the selector for bombs.

If it was implemented it would have to be able to be enabled and disabled by the user.

+1

Good idea, also context sensitive snapping would be good, if there are a lot of switches in close proximity and you happen to be in say air to air mode, you don't want to be snapping to say the selector for bombs.

 

If it was implemented it would have to be able to be enabled and disabled by the user.

But how would the game know what 'mode' you are in? In FC3 you have AA and AG mode keys. But you don't need this since those aircraft are not clickable. So, how would the game know what mode you are in? If you are saying it should keep track of certain switches in the different aircraft to know if you are doing A/A, I think that is asking too much to code for the smaller benefit it would provide. You should know what switches are where.

I am not asking for any changes to any specific aircraft I don't think. I am guessing that the code to select a switch when the mouse moves over it is general shared code that could be altered to affect most of the aircraft.

I've spoken about the mouse control methods on multiple occations for, I'd guess, two years now.

And yes, there should indeed be options. I would primarily want to see the mouse unbound from the viewport, so that the mouse stays in place relative to the cockpit and not relative to your view. Some have said this would not be feasable, but it in fact already works in VR when using menus wether in cockpit Esc-menu or the main menu (which in VR resides in a 3D rendered hangar scene that you can look around in.

So that's already half way here. Another option would definitely have to be the snap-to-control scheme.

And before anyone says "don't ruin my mouse controls", I am suggesting these as options. Not a mandatory change to the current system. Options are always good.

Regards,

MikeMikeJuliet

+1 Good idea, but I imagine switches within very close proximity may be a little tricky.

But like Cap'n kamikaze, if it were implemented I'd prefer it to be optional.

+1

Sounds like a great idea!

For controls that are close, the "switch"-limits would just be closer together.

It would make a great difference nevertheless!

//Jarl

+1

Just like in F... oh wait... Nevermind!

+1 :)

But how would the game know what 'mode' you are in? In FC3 you have AA and AG mode keys.

If its an aircraft like say the F/A-18 that's easy, in the Harrier for example you select the sidewinders or the cannon in A/A mode, then it wouldn't be hard to do it based on that.

Yes. This was a lifesaver in another click-pit sim that shall not be named. For those of us without overpriced TrackIR gear, Opentrack and other DIY head trackers aren't as steady. It's common to have moments where I'm clicking like a madman because the cursor was on the switch 0.5 seconds ago, but my head tracking decided to drift a few millimeters and drag the cursor off the switch.

If its an aircraft like say the F/A-18 that's easy' date=' in the Harrier for example you select the sidewinders or the cannon in A/A mode, then it wouldn't be hard to do it based on that.[/quote']

 

As I said, if it can be kept simple (not aircraft specific) maybe they will do it. Just snap the mouse to the nearest switch. Not program it to know each and every aircraft's specific switches. I doubt that would ever happen.

I don't think it would be as hard to do as you think.

Yes. This was a lifesaver in another click-pit sim that shall not be named. For those of us without overpriced TrackIR gear, Opentrack and other DIY head trackers aren't as steady. It's common to have moments where I'm clicking like a madman because the cursor was on the switch 0.5 seconds ago, but my head tracking decided to drift a few millimeters and drag the cursor off the switch.

Trust me, it is heck annoying with an actual TrackIR too! I really, really want the mouse to be bound to the cockpit and not the view.