Mining laser toggle

[Wyldwiisel]

Can we have mining lasers on a toggle so they power up with one press and switch off if you press again
Mining is tedious enough without having to sit there physically pulling the trigger I've started using a Velcro watch strap around my Hotas and I'm only mining 500t for Selene gene for sanity a sake toggle on and off for mining lasers is needed

 

[Chrystoph]

+1 for a sensible suggestion

 

[Siobhan]

With a hotas, bind the trigger to one of the sliders...

 

[Magic Man]

Really? I can't believe anyone finds it tedious to hold the trigger the short amount of time it takes to deplete an asteroid.
Do you use the strap when system and warrant scanning too?

 

[Allchemyst]

Really? I can't believe anyone finds it tedious to hold the trigger the short amount of time it takes to deplete an asteroid.
Do you use the strap when system and warrant scanning too?

Wether it takes time or not is entirely dependant on the array of mining lasers you bring. If your miner is built for defending itself (RES extraction, for an example) rather than quick extraction (limpets are slow and incompetent as hell anyway), depleting said asteroid can actually take some time...

But that itself is irrelevant. Would this suggestion be an improvement to the game? Yes. Complaining about other players wanting the game to have a better experience does not a good contribution to this thread make...

 

[Lestat]

Another trick is buy a voice attack/Macros. So all you have to do is say Fire Mining lasers. It fire them at a set time and then stop.

 

[YinYin]

My steam controller layout supports this.

https://autohotkey.com/ can also do the trick

Really? I can't believe anyone finds it tedious to hold the trigger the short amount of time it takes to deplete an asteroid.

Try someone mining with a freshly bought T6 with an A grade prospector inside an extraction site (maximum amount of fragments).

Those two small lasers will take quite a while.

 

[CMDR Ahab]

Sometimes old school hacks work best. Rubber band wrapped round the fire button trigger works for me!

 

[YinYin]

How quickly can you put that on/off?

 

[CMDR Ahab]

How quickly can you put that on/off?

With a bit of practise, about 2 seconds. Do go through a fair few of them though so might have to resort to keeping a jar of them on my desk.

 

[Chrystoph]

While these ideas are all meant to offer alternative solutions to the problem, the key factor SHOULD be that they ARE all work arounds that could be resolved with a relatively minor programmatic fix.

 

[Allchemyst]

While these ideas are all meant to offer alternative solutions to the problem, the key factor SHOULD be that they ARE all work arounds that could be resolved with a relatively minor programmatic fix.

Precisely. FD could either add a toggle in the right options menu, or just plain make mining lasers trigger like turreted weapons (need to switch fire groups to stop them).

None of the other solutions proposed even come close to a fix for M&K users.

When I wasen't in a RES, the best I could do was start shooting at the rock, and then activate the debug camera while holding the trigger. It'd keep shooting indefinitely without any input necessary (and it'd allow me to just fly around the ship and contemplate it bathed in the glow of its mining lasers, which was quite relaxing...). You can't do that with pirates around, thought.

 

[YinYin]

None of the other solutions proposed even come close to a fix for M&K users.

I don't think you've looked at what autohotkey can do ...

 

[Allchemyst]

I don't think you've looked at what autohotkey can do ...

You mean the keyboard macro freeware? Yeah, admittedly, not a bad solution. Hadn't seen your earlier post, my bad. I'll actually give a look at that.

Thought, it's a bit like Bethesda hoping the modders will fix their stuff, isin't it? If a game pretty much requires plug-ins from other sources (or litterally tying a string to your controller or whatnot)... That implies the developpers need to improve the game's controls.

Good products don't require outside input to be functional - especially when the fixes could be as trivial as making the already-turreted lasers fire like actual turrets.

 

[YinYin]

Sure. I'm usually focused on making it work for myself. I am still also waiting for all the analog axes to support a split onto triggers. In the meantime I do have temporary solutions.

 

[=71st=RuSh]

Is an old issue, many players have asked for that, but FD is deaf. I use a elastic band for that!

 

[Gabriel Sternenstaub]

Can we have mining lasers on a toggle so they power up with one press and switch off if you press again
Mining is tedious enough without having to sit there physically pulling the trigger I've started using a Velcro watch strap around my Hotas and I'm only mining 500t for Selene gene for sanity a sake toggle on and off for mining lasers is needed

The throttle control works like a charm, amazing idea everyone!

 

[Leadfoot]

Really? I can't believe anyone finds it tedious to hold the trigger the short amount of time it takes to deplete an asteroid.
Do you use the strap when system and warrant scanning too?

OP does have a valid point. I go mining once in a while and it would be nice if the mining laser was a toggle type instead of a push-and-hold. It's the only "weapon" that would need a toggle.

 

[FlyingBrickyard]

I mapped a 3 position switch on the throttle to the weapon groups. Middle position is "off" (does nothing), up is Group 1, down is Group 2.

I mostly did it so I could just turn on the PWS and not have to bother holding down a button as I flew along, but it works just fine for regular weapons as well.

 

[gorankar]

button hold is a sorely missing control feature in ED. That said, I doubt anything will ever be done about it or the 32 button limit.
Also, as already said, one can put a slider or rotary they are not using on their HOTAS to it, or program a hold macro into one of their mouse buttons if they have one of those nice multi button gaming mice.