Best option for in cockpit controls manipulation.

[nobuttons]

I have a Pimax with Leap Motion mapped to a mouse movement with some custom software a friend wrote and it's not a bad solution. Feels similar to what the PointCtrl videos show.

I have left/right click mapped on buttons on both my stick and throttle so I can use both hands to point.

 

To be honest it's a little twitchy 'cause your head movement causes the cursor to jump around, so it's not really great for buttons you have to find and push in a hurry if they are not right in front of you. It's also ridiculous if you goto the map or use the comms menu because you are pointing way up in the air...

 

Also because it's mapping your 3D hands to 2D mouse, your natural sense of motion is skewed, and often times reaching for where you 'see' the button, and trying to grab it, is less accurate than doing a weird T-Rex arm thing where you 'scroll around in the air' between your eyes and the button.

 

The other (cheaper) mouse in VR solution I found is one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PGFHJDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a light weight trackpad and like a trackball you won't lose it or have to grab it like a mouse. Better than a trackball you can easily mount it anywhere at any angle (unlike a trackball), and single finger or double finger tap give you pretty natural left ad right mouse click (double tap and drag to hold for knobs and stuff).

One idea I want to try is to get multiple of these pads (two more), and place them in the physical locations of the actual aircraft control panels themselves. That way my fingers can actually reach out to where I see the buttons 'are' in VR, then I will touch the surface, get a cursor to pop up, and be able to do fine adjustments, but with a natural arm position.

[Wakkaman]

On 3-2-2021 at 10:37 PM, westr said:

I currently have left right mouse and rotary switches mapped to my Hotas and can point to things with my headset. But I’ve just purchased a ring mouse and am waiting for it to arrive. For £40 I thought it’s worth a go and is a lot cheaper than point ctrl which does look good I admit but seems a bit pricey to me plus the long waiting time. I shall see how it goes but it looks pretty workable with your thumb whilst still using your hotas. 

Really curious if this works nice and smooth enough. Yeah and also a finger mouse works in all flightsims... ctrlpoint is definitely the more sophisticated solution but it's limited for dcs at the moment. 

4 hours ago, nobuttons said:

I have a Pimax with Leap Motion mapped to a mouse movement with some custom software a friend wrote and it's not a bad solution. Feels similar to what the PointCtrl videos show.

I have left/right click mapped on buttons on both my stick and throttle so I can use both hands to point.

 

To be honest it's a little twitchy 'cause your head movement causes the cursor to jump around, so it's not really great for buttons you have to find and push in a hurry if they are not right in front of you. It's also ridiculous if you goto the map or use the comms menu because you are pointing way up in the air...

 

Also because it's mapping your 3D hands to 2D mouse, your natural sense of motion is skewed, and often times reaching for where you 'see' the button, and trying to grab it, is less accurate than doing a weird T-Rex arm thing where you 'scroll around in the air' between your eyes and the button.

 

The other (cheaper) mouse in VR solution I found is one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PGFHJDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a light weight trackpad and like a trackball you won't lose it or have to grab it like a mouse. Better than a trackball you can easily mount it anywhere at any angle (unlike a trackball), and single finger or double finger tap give you pretty natural left ad right mouse click (double tap and drag to hold for knobs and stuff).

One idea I want to try is to get multiple of these pads (two more), and place them in the physical locations of the actual aircraft control panels themselves. That way my fingers can actually reach out to where I see the buttons 'are' in VR, then I will touch the surface, get a cursor to pop up, and be able to do fine adjustments, but with a natural arm position.

Great Idea I am really curious how smooth those trackpads are.

[nobuttons]

2 hours ago, Wakkaman said:

Great Idea I am really curious how smooth those trackpads are.

 

They are very high quality. Smooth slightly textured glass like a PowerBook or SurfaceBook.

[firefox121]

In my humble opinion, I use this mini mouse atached to my fingers, point with my head and click the mini mouse

 

https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B078RMPPYF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[nobuttons]

2 hours ago, firefox121 said:

In my humble opinion, I use this mini mouse atached to my fingers, point with my head and click the mini mouse

 

https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B078RMPPYF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you want something to just click on your finger while using your head to point (if your HOTAS is full or you have a replica stick), this little ring here gives you three buttons and is quite light...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Kokuyo-Operation-Presenter-Obsidian-Kokuyoseki/dp/B00D63BIAO/ref=asc_df_B00D63BIAO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198072228887&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13056189339425782147&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052350&hvtargid=pla-390918039267&psc=1

 

The scroll wheel on that finger mouse does look handy tho!

[firefox121]

I can ensure you that the scroll wheel makes its function very well, the photo is reversed, you put the mini mouse in your right hand like the image I send and works really fine, this pointer looks good, but it has no scroll weel and imo it's very expensive, although its sees cool

This one costs less than 10€. 

[DerekSpeare]

I use a track ball on the left and a mouse on the right (im a lefty but mouse with the right)

[nobuttons]

Quick update on my multiple track pad test...

 

So some good, some bad.

 

Reaching out and touching exactly where I want to get the mouse cursor is very good! Feels very natural.

Also, swapping between multiple trackpads is no problem at all and very smooth.

I also found a trackpad on Amazon that is only $29!!! And it is full multi touch, good tracking, everything top notch: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BHYD9FG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00

 

The bad news is that while I don't t-rex arm anymore with my fingers floating at odd angles, I still have to keep my head still while I try and point and click the controls... as soon as DCS detects head movement the cursor starts jumping and fighting my mouse.

 

If I could only have DCS keep the mouse in the cockpit space it was on, this would be *perfect*~

[Topo]

There are these new things:

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/852538132/snowl-the-mouse-reimagined?lang=it

 

https://www.sowegotech.com/products/蓝牙鼠标

 

 

What do you think?

[Lurker]

Need to order a left handed trackball mouse (or just a trackball with two buttons) anyone know where I can get one reliably (Im in the EU)?

[LASooner]

I can ensure you that the scroll wheel makes its function very well, the photo is reversed, you put the mini mouse in your right hand like the image I send and works really fine, this pointer looks good, but it has no scroll weel and imo it's very expensive, although its sees cool
This one costs less than 10€. 

I second this, I've been using this exact mouse for 2 years, i flip it around and use it on my left index finger. The scroll wheel makes all the difference and the large mouse buttons are easy to find in VR

Sent from my Samsung Chromebook Plus using Tapatalk

[Jumpjim]

On 2/6/2021 at 8:34 PM, firefox121 said:

I can ensure you that the scroll wheel makes its function very well, the photo is reversed, you put the mini mouse in your right hand like the image I send and works really fine, this pointer looks good, but it has no scroll weel and imo it's very expensive, although its sees cool

This one costs less than 10€. 

I can’t find anywhere to buy one of these in the UK.. Any ideas….?

[PicklePicklePickle]

This solution doesn't address the cockpit controls, but for the ejection handles:

Martin Baker GRU-7A Ejection Seat from the Legendary F-14 Tomcat! Complete RARE! | eBay

 

a little pricey...

Edited February 22, 2021 by PicklePicklePickle