DCS World TARGET profile for TM Cougar and Warthog + MFDs

Home Fries

FYI More and more flyers are moving away from JSGME to OvGME for their mods so when you get the chance, you might want to look at it and incorporate it into your manuals.

Home Fries

FYI More and more flyers are moving away from JSGME to OvGME for their mods so when you get the chance, you might want to look at it and incorporate it into your manuals.

Thanks, sobe. I'll give it a look.

Home Fries

Line 335 of the Mig Module reads as follows:

 

DeferCall(LED_Delay,Backlight_Max_Init, 0);

 

What do you think I did wrong?

I confirmed it's a typo. I haven't compiled and tested it yet, but it appears to be a simple fix. Just put the ampersand (&) in front of Backlight_Max_Init (required for Defercall function).

It should read:

DeferCall(LED_Delay,&Backlight_Max_Init,0);

Home Fries

I am having some issues with the kneeboard commands in the F86 module. I tried to locate where your code is for these commands but could not locate the keyboard commands for them in your files. Is this something I can locate to look at and try to figure out my issues?

Home Fries

It should read:

Code:

DeferCall(LED_Delay,&Backlight_Max_Init,0);

It compiled and ran.

Home Fries

I am having some issues with the kneeboard commands in the F86 module. I tried to locate where your code is for these commands but could not locate the keyboard commands for them in your files. Is this something I can locate to look at and try to figure out my issues?

The kneeboard commands are common to all modules, so it could be an issue with the keyboard lua files (sometimes these are rendered obsolete by updates). I'll take a look and get back to you. Thanks for the report.

BTW, I've finished the high visibilty MFD graphic for the MiG-21. This link will be available until the next release is out, at which point it will be included in the package.

EDIT: F-86 hi visibility graphic is now available.

I really screwed up this time

Today I bought a powered USB hub and plugged my mouse into it just to see if it worked. Everything seemed ok so I plugged an old Saitek controller into the hub and it worked fine. Now the bad news.

When I fired up your 1.65 profile, the lights on my WH throttle would go out and it did not show connected on the device analyzer nor did it work in the game. If I stopped your profile, the lights would come back on and it would work fine.

So I uninstalled the USB HUB and still got the same results. Now I am at a loss as your profile causes the throttle to not function. Did I do something with the USB connections? I cannot figure this out as it works when your profile is not active. Just as I was typing this, the lights on the throttle went out even though your profile was not running.

Do you have any thoughts on this? I have attached your 1.65 if you wanted to look at it.

DCS World - Copy.zip

sobe,

I'm sure there's a straightforward answer to this, but first I need to know which aircraft profile you were using. Also, when you checked device analyzer, were you looking at the TM Warthog Throttle, or the Thrustmaster Combined device? If you're using the TM Combined, you can still see all of the original controller axes on the left side; was the throttle responding over there?

Also, try rebooting. Sometimes when you change USB ports, weird things happen, especially with controllers. Thrustmaster controllers normally reinstall drivers every time you choose a new port, so this may also be the case. Try a reboot, followed by cycling the plug in the port again (unplug, wait for the unplug noise, then plug it in and wait for the noise again). Then see what happens.

sobe,

 

I'm sure there's a straightforward answer to this, but first I need to know which aircraft profile you were using. F86

 

Also, when you checked device analyzer, were you looking at the TM Warthog Throttle, or the Thrustmaster Combined device? If you're using the TM Combined, you can still see all of the original controller axes on the left side; was the throttle responding over there? When the lights were on, both sides of the analyzer worked. However after about 30 seconds, the lights went out and both sides did not work.

 

Also, try rebooting. Sometimes when you change USB ports, weird things happen, especially with controllers. Thrustmaster controllers normally reinstall drivers every time you choose a new port, so this may also be the case. Try a reboot, followed by cycling the plug in the port again (unplug, wait for the unplug noise, then plug it in and wait for the noise again). Then see what happens.

sobe,

I'm not sure what to say regarding the hardware issue. I run my HOTAS from a powered USB hub and I have no problems. It could be as simple as re-installing drivers or it could be something that doesn't make sense. What you first want to do is get your controllers working in native mode before even attempting to use TARGET. This just eliminates one set of variables from testing. Once you have that working consistently, try using TARGET again and hopefully the problem took care of itself. If not, let me know and also open a new thread so more people can take a look at it.

With regards to the kneeboard commands, I just verified that the F-86 with the v1.50 of the lua files works as intended. You use left GAIN short to change pages, GAIN Long to cycle shortcuts, LOSB20 short to mark point LOSB20 Long (or S3+LOSB20 short) to toggle the kneeboard, and S3+LOSB Long to create shortcut. With the exception of creating a shortcut, no keyboard commands were added and all commands are DirectX based.

Update: Everything works in Windows, but when I load 1.65, the lights on the throttle go out after about 1 minute and the throttle no longer works. I just noticed that a dialog box pops up that says: "Windows Shell Common DLL has stopped working." Is this the culprit?

Home fries

It is to soon to be sure, but I may have solved the problem. I had deactivated virus checker A when I installed new virus checker B. This morning I noticed that old A was still popping up with warnings even though it had been deactivated so I completely uninstalled it and was able to fly for 1/2 hour with no problems. Unbelievable. Will try to fly again later today.

UPDATE: Still working tonight.

Home fries

It is to soon to be sure, but I may have solved the problem. I had deactivated virus checker A when I installed new virus checker B. This morning I noticed that old A was still popping up with warnings even though it had been deactivated so I completely uninstalled it and was able to fly for 1/2 hour with no problems. Unbelievable. Will try to fly again later today.

 

UPDATE: Still working tonight.

Oh yeah, antivirus programs don't play well with each other at all. Glad you got it fixed.

Home Fries

I recently sent you some PMs concerning the Mig 21 profile.

Also, on the F86 profile, I cannot get the canopy button to work on the LMFD and in the TM Combined column in the game, there are no buttons listed.

Hi sobe,

I saw you sent a PM but I haven't looked at it yet. I'm so busy and I won't be able to get to anything until Monday. I'll let you know what I find out.

Home Fries

No problem as I am still waiting for Capt Z to publish his Helios profile for the Mig 21 so in the interim, I have been flying the F86 with your profile.

One problem is that you are so smart that each sentence in the manuals are like little gems and if you skip one sentence, you end up with issues until you go back to the manuals and understand the point.

Hi Home Fries,

I want the trigger on my Cougar to be the weapons release for the Huey. I don't really care about the intercom functionality right now. How do I make the trigger the weapons fire command?

Thank you!

Hi Home Fries,

Thanks for all that work, that looks awesome and complicated to the newbie I am to the world of DCS and HOTAS and script.

I downloaded the profile on box.com. Before I start using it I was wondering if it would work with my actual setup without conflict.

I have:

Saitek x52

Cougar MFDs

Track IR

All I need is the part to use the MFDs, so I was wondering if the HOTAS part of the script would interfere with the rest. If so, is there a way I can only use the MFD part of the script?

Thanks,

BobBreton

Setup:

Windows 10 latest updates

x52 driver and profile software latest version

Cougar MFD latest drivers and TARGET software

Intel i5 6600K

Asus Geforce 1060

DCS 1.5 latests version

I want the trigger on my Cougar to be the weapons release for the Huey. I don't really care about the intercom functionality right now. How do I make the trigger the weapons fire command?

First, my apologies in getting back to you so late. The short answer is that what you ask cannot be done. Because the CommState routine is so integrated with the profile, remapping the trigger is a very tall order. You already have the pickle button set for firing weapons, and that will have to do.

All I need is the part to use the MFDs, so I was wondering if the HOTAS part of the script would interfere with the rest.

The script is so tightly integrated that you need either the Cougar or Warthog HOTAS and the MFDs for it to work properly.

What I recommend for an alternative is to use the MFDs as individual controllers in DCS and map the static functions as they are mapped with the inserts. This way you at least have the MFD inserts made for your setup. For shifted functions, you can assign one of the buttons on your X52 as a modifier. Note that you will need to use TARGET to program TEMPO functions.

Home Fries

Now that CZ has published his HELIOS profile for the Mig 21, I was considering changing the shifted H3 panel views to something else such as the F6 and F10 views. Is there any problem in doing so if I am careful in doing so?

Mig 21 Wheel brake issue.

I am not sure if Capt Z's Helios profile has caused a problem, but now the joystick lever does not activate the wheel brake while the jet is on the ground. The W key is a quick workaround for now. Capt Z's profile does not need any keyboard or controller changes so I don't think that is the issue.

I have had some recent issues with Target. Sometimes when I go to shut it down, it hangs and I have to quit it with the task manager, so could that be an issue?

Is anyone else having this issue?

As another workaround, I am using the left toe brake axis [invert] of my rudder pedals as the wheel brake. The game seems to only accept one axis for the wheel brake. Is there any way to also add the right toe brake for the wheel brake so I can use either one?

Just got the profile installed today and absolutely love it so far. One thing I've noticed though (and I've only tried out the F-15 atm) is that the slew seems incredibly fast. Any way to slow it down?

Home Fries

In your Mig 21 profile, why are both buttons 3 and 4 on the joystick labeled SAU Disconect?

Home Fries

Now that CZ has published his HELIOS profile for the Mig 21, I was considering changing the shifted H3 panel views to something else such as the F6 and F10 views. Is there any problem in doing so if I am careful in doing so?

I don't recommend doing anything before I release 1.66 (which should be soon after the new year) because I have relocated many of the routines that deal with hat switch assignments. However, when it comes time to do so, here is the section for the MiG-21 (lines 385-394 in DCS_Mig21.tmc in the 1.66 working build):

                   [color=#ff00ff][b]if[/b][/color] (WarthogThrottle > [color=#00ffff]0[/color])
                       {
                       MapKeyIO(&Joystick,     H3R,    Std_SnapView3,    EXEC([color=#ffff00]"MiG21_DA_Cycle(8,0);"[/color])    );    [color=#32cd32]//DX12);[/color]
                       MapKeyIO(&Joystick,     H3L,    Std_SnapView1,    EXEC([color=#ffff00]"MiG21_DA_Cycle(-1,0);"[/color])    );    [color=#32cd32]//DX14);[/color]
                       }
                   [color=#ff00ff][b]else[/b][/color]
                       {
                       MapKeyIO(&Joystick,     H3R,    Std_SnapView3,    MiG21_Radio_Ch_Incr    );    [color=#32cd32]//DX12);[/color]
                       MapKeyIO(&Joystick,     H3L,    Std_SnapView1,    MiG21_Radio_Ch_Decr    );    [color=#32cd32]//DX14);[/color]
                       }    

The Std_SnapView commands are macros that govern the SnapViews, and I don't have any for function keys. However, this would be an easy fix:

                   [color=#ff00ff][b]if[/b][/color] (WarthogThrottle > [color=#00ffff]0[/color])
                       {
                       MapKeyIO(&Joystick,     H3R,    TEMPO(USB_F1,USB_F6,DefTempo),    EXEC([color=#ffff00]"MiG21_DA_Cycle(8,0);"[/color])    );    [color=#32cd32]//DX12);[/color]
                       MapKeyIO(&Joystick,     H3L,    TEMPO(USB_F1,USB_F10,DefTempo),    EXEC([color=#ffff00]"MiG21_DA_Cycle(-1,0);"[/color])    );    [color=#32cd32]//DX14);[/color]
                       }
                   [color=#ff00ff][b]else[/b][/color]
                       {
                       MapKeyIO(&Joystick,     H3R,    TEMPO(USB_F1,USB_F6,DefTempo),    MiG21_Radio_Ch_Incr    );    [color=#32cd32]//DX12);[/color]
                       MapKeyIO(&Joystick,     H3L,    TEMPO(USB_F1,USB_F10,DefTempo),    MiG21_Radio_Ch_Decr    );    [color=#32cd32]//DX14);[/color]
                       }    

The important thing is the TEMPO command

TEMPO(USB_F1,USB_F6,DefTempo) 

(or F10). This makes a long hold press F6 and a short hold press F1 (which you'll need to get back to the cockpit view). DefTempo is the default TEMPO interval set in DCS World.ini (nominally 500ms).

Sorry for the delay in replies, folks. I've been up to my eyeballs in grad school (and I'm still up to my eyeballs but took a few minutes here). Let me try to hit your questions.

I have had some recent issues with Target. Sometimes when I go to shut it down, it hangs and I have to quit it with the task manager, so could that be an issue?

Is anyone else having this issue?

The TARGET FAST service is not the most stable service out there, so I'm not surprised. I know when I do a lot of programming and testing the script, I occasionally need to restart the PC when FAST starts acting up. For the programming brilliance of TARGET, TM really should have written a better service to run in the background.

As another workaround, I am using the left toe brake axis [invert] of my rudder pedals as the wheel brake. The game seems to only accept one axis for the wheel brake. Is there any way to also add the right toe brake for the wheel brake so I can use either one?

For the rudder workaround, I have tried this but haven't figured out a viable solution. Problem is that an axis is an "always on" state (as opposed to a button or switch), so pedals up is still an active state on the axis. If anybody gets any great ideas, please let me know and I'll be happy to implement them. Problem is that a TARGET solution would only work for Cougar rudders or the TFRPs (which I have disabled in the profile to increase the total number of available axes).

Closest I've been able to do is the analog paddle brake using the stick's Y axis (see p.19 of the User Reference), which can be enabled in DCS World.tmc by setting AnalogPaddleBrake = 1.

Mig 21 Wheel brake issue.

I am not sure if Capt Z's Helios profile has caused a problem, but now the joystick lever does not activate the wheel brake while the jet is on the ground. The W key is a quick workaround for now. Capt Z's profile does not need any keyboard or controller changes so I don't think that is the issue.

 

In your Mig 21 profile, why are both buttons 3 and 4 on the joystick labeled SAU Disconect?

Hopefully I can answer these questions here. First, button 4 (the paddle switch) has two functions, and the function is determined by the logical GearState of the profile. In other words, if the GearState is down (GSD), S4 does the brake, whereas if GearState is up (GSU), S4 duplicates S3 as SAU disconnect. The duplication is so you can disconnect without having to worry about a TEMPO command (you have to tap it pretty quickly with S3 as it doubles as the shift modifier).

In order to cycle the GearState, you must cycle the gear using the HOTAS. With the Warthog, this means using the Flap switch. You will notice that the Left MFD LED2 flashes when the gear is in transit, then goes solid on when GearState is down or off when the GearState is up. To toggle the GearState without cycling the gear in-game, hold S3+LDGH until you see the LED cycle.