TARGET with T.16000M FCS HOTAS and TFRP T.Flight Rudder Pedals: best practices?

[LeKeno]

Hi,

Just got the Thrustmaster pedals to go with the T.16000M Joystick + Throttle.

I've been using TARGET GUI for curves and macros/combos so far, but with the combine virtual device, it looks like DirectX doesn't have enough analogue axis.
I have to give up on the mini throttle on the stick and the rotary on the throttle.

Unless, I'm doing it wrong?
- Does it make a different if I plug the pedals via the RJ connector or the USB connector?
- Does the non GUI version of Target avoid the combined device axis limits?


Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[GunnerBill]

Personally I hated target, far too clunky. So uninstalled it.

Have you tried vJoy?

I've been using this firstly with the HotasX and now with the T16000m and FWCS. No problems from Windows 7 to Windows 10 (although TBH I had to jump through hoops to get W10 to allow ME to download it)...

vJoy has plenty of scope to add devices so I son't think that would be a problem.

Utility: http://www.xedocproject.com/joystickcurves.html

3rd Party Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqzoJPCZM0w

I've got full functionality on all the twiddly things and sliders on my setup. I even added an old Belkin Nostromo N52 which has a wheel and some hats things.

 

[furrycat]

- Does the non GUI version of Target avoid the combined device axis limits?

There is no escaping the fact that a DirectX device can only have so many axes. However the script editor gives you full control over the TARGET software which means you can use a trick.

By default when you start a TARGET profile the driver hides the raw device(s) and presents only the virtual device to Windows. If you configure the hardware in "filtered" mode it will preserve the raw device inputs.

Configure(&T16000, MODE_FILTERED);

That can be confusing when binding controls in the game because you will end up with a control being mapped to action on virtual device plus action on raw device.

To mitigate that you can force the virtual device not to generate any input at all for buttons you don't want to modify with macros.

MapKey(&T16000, H4U, EV_HID_NONE);

You'll probably still end up hand editing your binding XML to recognise only the specific device you want. For this reason I only use TARGET to do stuff when I absolutely have to use the virtual device.

You should consider the TARGET GUI as a sales demo to highlight some of the things that the driver is capable of doing. Use the script editor for anything halfway complex.

Using vJoy is good advice too. I use it with FreePIE and most of my customisation lives there. TARGET will be faster and more efficient for some operations though.

 

[leeG]

TARGET combines the selected controllers into a single, virtual device. One way around DirectX number of analog axis limitations is to use TARGET with only two of the controllers. Set up the third as an independent USB device and assign its functions through the game controls screen.

 

[NotHere]

The method furrycat posted is one possible way to get around the limit. Myself, I eventually just decided to exclude the joystick in my TARGET script so the game still sees two devices: a "T16000M" for the stick and a "ThrustMasterWarthogCombined" for the throttle+pedals. I get to keep all my axes, but it does mean I can't use TARGET to customize the joystick.

The only reason I need TARGET in the first place is to be able to put vertical and lateral thrust on the pedals, so the loss wasn't a big deal. I was never satisfied with using that small joypad for the thrusters. Just couldn't be as precise as I'd like. Felt like the ultimate n00b throwing my ship in the general direction of the landing pad and hoping for the best. By combining the toe brake axes and adjusting the response curves to give me very fine control around the zero point, docking and landings are so much smoother and more professional. My passengers definitely appreciate it!

 

[LeKeno]

Thanks for the advices.
I'll start with the "only include the devices you need to tweak in Target".
The only fancy thing I have at the moment is a PIP combo on the throttle.
I also have curves set on the stick.

Which means I'll keep using the profile I have and map the pedals on their own in Elite Dangerous.
Really excited to hear DuckTyped's experience, I was also using the mini stick on the throttle for thrusters.