[SOLVED] Question about bindings.

PainIsJustaFeeling

P
Hello all fellow Elite Dangerous gamers.

I have a question about button bindings. I have a custom (made by me, myself and I) HOTAS controller, in which I have four on/off style switches with LED. These switches are currently configured so, that when they are on, the LED is on and windows sees the joycstick button as pressed. When I turn the switch to off, windows sees the button released.

My question is, can I configure Elite Dangerous button bindings so that i.e. I have one of the switches set for hardpoints in the way that when the button is pressed the hardpoints are out and when it's released the hardpoints rectract? Currently it is set in the game in the way that when the button is released, it toggles the hardpoints, so I have to toggle the switch multiple times to get the desired functionality.
 

Zieman

Zieman
Some functions have the option to choose between hold & toggle. I think for those functions that don't have that option, you need to get that functionality out of game.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
PainIsJustaFeeling said:
Hello all fellow Elite Dangerous gamers.

I have a question about button bindings. I have a custom (made by me, myself and I) HOTAS controller, in which I have four on/off style switches with LED. These switches are currently configured so, that when they are on, the LED is on and windows sees the joycstick button as pressed. When I turn the switch to off, windows sees the button released.

My question is, can I configure Elite Dangerous button bindings so that i.e. I have one of the switches set for hardpoints in the way that when the button is pressed the hardpoints are out and when it's released the hardpoints rectract? Currently it is set in the game in the way that when the button is released, it toggles the hardpoints, so I have to toggle the switch multiple times to get the desired functionality.
Click to expand...

Can you set the hardpoints control to "Hold" instead of "Toggle"? If not then you are stuck.
 

STRONTIUM DOG

STRONTIUM DOG
ya for any button tom foolerie voice attack can usually let a button on a controller do multiple things or a single keystoke
as well as all the voice command stuff...…………………..(best game enhancement software ever written imo an under a tennna)
(my silent hunter 4 sub is 99% voice controlled using only the controller for the periscope" " dive! dive! dive!" "ahead flank" you get the picture lol sound samples used from the film run silent run deep) (most of this game too to be honest) just saying "docking!" for me requests docking lowers landing gear and reduces speed to mid ships for eg "whilst playing the dropship hydraulics sound pinched from the movie aliens as a landing gear sound enhancement for individuality and added coolness factor that's ontop of the docking requested sound sample from 7 of nine :cool: (sounds and keydtrokes can be set via a timer function)
(purchasable pre made voicepacks for elite are availble to buy but I made my own using free audacity sound sample software)

setting hardpoints to deploy upon firing may be a key to doing this found in game controls section
then it just a case of the stow retract binding having 2 programable options
 
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Ashnak

Ashnak
Not in-game. Weapon deploy and cockpit mode at least can't be set to hold. You'll need an external tool (I use autohotkey) or reprogram your button box.
If you go the tool path, you can read out ED's status.json to know the current status of these (and a few other) settings from the game.
 

PainIsJustaFeeling

P
Thank you all for your replies. I was affraid that this was the case, that it can't sadly be done in the game itself. It would be so much easier and reliable to code it in the game engine, than in the joystick firmware and because there is apparently no easy way to get feedback from the game, coding the joystick software in the way, that it sends the realease command is way more unreliable and may potentially cause some synchronization issues(missed key press = switch off and LED off, but hardpoins still out) and also I have to have seperate firmwares for Elite Dangerous and other games. I have to check out the autohotkey if I can solve this with it, without changin my joyctick behavior in the firmware.

Thank you all again for the tips and everything. They really where not wrong, that Elite Dangerous has great online community. Nice to be part of it and I hope I can chip in sometimes and help others around like you all helped me.

P.S. I am planning to release my HOTAS as a opensource in some time near future, when I get all the bug's out and the pedals finished. I will keep you guys informed, if anyone is interested. If you have a 3D printer or acces to one and some basic electronic components and soldering skills, the price of the whole HOTAS system is going to be in around 20-30$ depending on where you source the electronics. The main mcu's are one Arduino pro micro (basically any 5V ATMega32U4 board will do) and two arduino pro minis( again basically any 5V ATmega328 board will do), but I digress.
 
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PainIsJustaFeeling

P
Ashnak said:
Like I said, status.json - see https://elite-journal.readthedocs.io/en/latest/Status File/

Otherwise, if you want to see how I solved it, see https://github.com/markus-i/AHK-EDToggle
Click to expand...
Thank you for the links. Sorry if I was not very clear what I meant with the sentence you quoted. I meant, that if I want to get some feedback from the game directly to my joystick firmware there would be no any easy way to do it, as I would have to code my own windows driver for the joystick and that would be too much for this project at this point, considering windows driver signing and all.

The autohotkey seems to be just the right solution for my issue for now. Thank you again.

The idea of HOSAS is actually quite intriguing, I have to try it some time. As I mostly play solo and mostly avoid combat, it's something I have not considered. Would you say, that it's more suited for combat or is it as good and intuitive for space flying in general or just a personal prefrence? How do you control throttle? Do you use pedals with the two sticks?
 

Ashnak

Ashnak
Yes - writing your own joystick driver would be painful - not something I would do, either.

HOSAS - in space flight, you need (or at least in ED you can use) full 6 DOF. Rotoation around and translation along all three axes. You can accomplish that with a single input device, called a "space mouse". If you've seen it - that's what the pilot is using in the Rocinante in The Expanse. You can use a twisty stick for the three rotational axes and a throttle for the main translation axis, with (e.g.) a ministick on the throttle for the other two translations. That would be the common HOTAS setup. Or you can use a second stick instead of the throttle + ministick: HOSAS. Without the twisty on the stick, people sometimes use pedals for yaw. In my setup, I have the right stick twist for yaw, the other two axes for pitch and roll (probably the most common assignment). Left stick is for throttle (twist), up/down and left/right thrusters. You can even get (or print yourself) adapters that let you mount the stick at an angle, so the throttle feels more like a motorbike/-boat throttle. At the cost of messing up the movement for the other two axes, but I guess you can get used to everything.
But: I don't need to keep the stick twisted all the time for a constant throttle setting - I only use the twist throttle for maneuvering: combat, landing approaches, active mining - any activity where I want to chage throttle settings fast. For other situations, I'm using EDs capability of assigning multiple inputs to the same functions. So, a clicking thumbwheel on my right stick is my second throttle input, set as digital input with 12.5% throttle increment per click. Twisting the left stick immediately takes precedence over the fixed settings (i.e. last active input wins). Otherwise, e.g. in Supercruise, two clicks down from full speed gets me the important 75% setting for station approaches, another two clicks down gets me the 50% setting for planetary approach. And since SC doesn't have any vertical/lateral thrusters, I can fly SC singlehandedly (at least until I get interdicted...).
 

PainIsJustaFeeling

P
Well, thanks a lot Ashnal. Now I have to build a totally new system! This one just does not seem adequate any more!
Just kidding.
Now I am wondering, why I did not build HOSAS system from the get-go. That sounds so much better and more intuitivie, maybe it's because when I started this hobby of PC gaming, in the early 90-ties, Falcon 3 was the thing and I was having wet dreams of Thrustmaster's HOTAS system. As a huge Expanse fan (So far I have read the firts seven of the books and watched all but the last two episodes of the TV series.) obviously I should have paid more attention to the control scheme they use in Rocinante and Razorback. Oh, well back to the drawing board I guess. Good thing I enjoy 3D modelling, coding and electronics. But again I have to digress. I could go on for hours with these topics. It's late and I am dead tired, I hope it wont show in my text with the fact that english is my third language. My apologies if it does.

I really appreciate your fulfilling answers and patience with me. Yours and other persons kind replies make me seriously think of comming out of my closet of solo play end experience the Elite Dangerous community as a whole. I maybe even try joining some squadrons or what they where called and that very scary discord thing all the younger people talk about these days.
 
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