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Thread: Custom afterburner detent settings

  1. #1

    TWOT


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    Post Custom afterburner detent using UCR and vJoy

    Intro

    I've always found it frustrating that the afterburner detent cannot be set in DCS. Every jet (which has an afterburner, obviously) has its own point down the thorttle lever travel range of the in-sim throttle at which the burner ignites. Firstly, this is almost never in line with your own throttle's detent and secondly, it differs per jet. For example: the F-5's afterburner kicks in at approx. 83% throttle whereas the Mirage's afterburner kicks in at approx. 89% throttle. Currently the only two workarounds are creating a curved or manual translation of controls in DCS.

    Falcon 4 (1998) does have this feature but let's leave it at that. With the help of a scripter named evilC I've found a way to fix this annoyance until ED is willing and able to implement a function similar to Falcon 4.

    If you feel any of this is a little too adventurous, do yourself a favor and don't attempt it.



    The way this works

    In order to align the in-sim afterburner detent with the physical detent on your throttle you'll need to follow a couple of steps. First you'll need to install vJoy, this will install a virtual joystick. Afterwards you will need Universal Control Remapper (UCR) and an additional plug-in for UCR. UCR will give you the option of mapping your physical throttle to a virtual throttle as well as the option to create a breakpoint in the curve. What this means in plain English is that you can define a range from 0% to X% on your physical throttle lever's travel to control 0% to Y% of the virtual throttle lever's travel. You then go into DCS and map the virtual throttle instead of the actual physical one to benefit from a new afterburner detent.

    In case of the TMWH HOTAS and the F/A-18C you would set the breakpoint for the physical throttle levers to about 73% (the TMWH HOTAS' detent) and the virtual throttle levers at 80.41%. This means that the first 73% of travel of your TMWH HOTAS translates to the first 80.41% of the F/A-18C's in-sim throttle. Naturally, the last 27% of your physical throttle translates to the last 19.59% of the F/A-18C's in-sim throttle. This will allow for linear control of the IDLE-MIL range as well as linear control of the MIL-MAX range.



    Required software

    vJoy, latest version
    https://github.com/jshafer817/vJoy/releases

    UCR, this particular version
    https://github.com/evilC/UCR/release...0.1.22/UCR.zip

    UCR plug-in
    Attached in this post



    How to

    1A. Install vJoy.
    1B. Run vJoy and create at least one virtual joystick.
    1C. Just trust me on this one. For the virtual joystick you've created, disable all axes except X and Y, set the number of buttons to 0, set the number of hats to 0, and disable all Force Feedback checks. Do not use sliders and other axes because DCS will confuse you by naming the axes differently than UCR does.

    2A. Download UCR and unzip it in a directory of your choice.
    2B. Download the attached plug-in and place it in <UCR root>\Plugins\User\.

    3A. Run UCR (as Admin, at all times).
    3B. Create a profile in the right pane called 'DCS World'.
    3C. Select the plug-in called "Remapper (Axis to Axes with Detent)" and hit "Add".
    3D. In the left frame ("Input") of the newly created record, select the stick number of your throttle and click the stick button again to select the appropriate axis. By moving your lever back and forward you'll notice the blue indicator move if and when you've selected the right joystick and axis. This requires trial and error as it may differ for your unique situation. In my case the TMWH HOTAS throttle is joystick 1 and the left throttle lever is axis 4, the right throttle lever is axis 3.
    3E. Check "Invert".
    3F. Move your left throttle lever forward until it's at the detent position. Don't move it over or push it through.
    3G. Click "Insert current point". The position of your physical throttle lever will now show up in the input field of the 'breakpoint' frame.
    3H. In the output field of the 'breakpoint' frame you should enter the value at which the in-sim afterburner ignites, 80.41% in case of the F/A-18C. Finalize this by clicking the "+" icon next to both fields.
    3I. As with the selection of the input joystick, do the same for the output but this time select the X-axis of the virtual joystick.
    3J. Hit "Save Settings" at the bottom.
    3K. Repeat steps 3C to 3J for the right throttle (if applicable for your jet) and select the Y-axis of the virtual joystick.

    4A. Fire up DCS and make sure you remove all default binds DCS maps for your virtual joystick.
    4B. Remove your physical throttle's mapping from the thrust axes commands.
    4C. Instead, map your virtual throttle's X or Y axis (depending on what you've selected during step 3) to the thrust axes commands. You do not need to set it as a slider in DCS.
    4D. Repeat step 4C for any additional thrust axis.

    5. Make sure UCR is running when you plan on flying a jet for which you've configured a virtual joystick. vJoy in itself is nothing more than the provider of the virtual joystick, you'll need UCR to actually give commands to the virtual joystick.



    Note

    UCR allows the options to minimize to tray and to start-up minimized. I've selected both once I was done setting it up. Furthermore you may use whatever way to start UCR. I've added it to my batch file which launches DCS, SRS, and UCR all at once. You can also opt to put a shortcut in the Start Menu\Start Up folder, run it as a scheduled task upon boot/user logon, make it a Windows Service, etc.

    Good luck, have fun, and get rid of those non-linear throttle curves!
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Last edited by Oliver; 06Jan21 at 11:03.


    A mission’s execution often reflects the quality, discipline, and tone set in the briefing. - Chris “Kimos” Haave

  2. The Following 8 Users Say Thank You to Oliver For This Useful Post:

    Black (19Jan18), Brian (21Sep19), Dojo (19Jan18), Gliptal (18Jan18), Hansolo (26Jan18), Panther (29May19), Snoopy (19Jan18), Stuka (18Jan18)

  3. #2

    Condom


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    This is great, good job!
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  4. #3

    TWOT


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    I've updated the link to the UCR version that you should use.

    NOTE: The developer of UCR has stopped developing the AHK based UCR and has rebooted the tool using a different programming language. The reboot, which is v0.3 and higher, does not support the plug-in (yet). As such you will have to use the particular version I've linked in the post instead of Googling the tool and simply downloading the latest version.


    A mission’s execution often reflects the quality, discipline, and tone set in the briefing. - Chris “Kimos” Haave

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to Oliver For This Useful Post:

    Snoopy (06Jun18)

  6. #4

    TWOT


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    Updated the vJoy link to a new GitHub fork. The older one by 'shauleiz', the original developer, no longer works in later Windows 10 builds due to driver signing. The newly forked one by 'jshafer817' does.


    A mission’s execution often reflects the quality, discipline, and tone set in the briefing. - Chris “Kimos” Haave

  7. #5

    Condom


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    I've tried tweaking the Viper throttle slider, in dcs settings, like i did with the Hornet... The result is a clipped and non linear axis, gotta set UCR back up. Thanks for the updated links.
    http://www.476vfightergroup.com/signaturepics/sigpic1750_22.gif

  8. #6

    TWOT


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    Glad I could be of help.

    Warning for the Viper though. At this time, the AB seems to kick in (based on nozzle position and fuel flow) at the right time; when the throttle lever passes the detent and tilts up slightly. However, the external AB effects only kick in when you're almost at MAX power. As such, it's best to fine tune the UCR solution based on the in-pit throttle, not based on the external effects.

    This is a bug that's so obvious I'm guessing it'll be all over the boards within the weekend. If not, I'll report it.


    A mission’s execution often reflects the quality, discipline, and tone set in the briefing. - Chris “Kimos” Haave

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to Oliver For This Useful Post:

    Snoopy (04Oct19)

  10. #7

    Condom


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    Aha! That's what it was, everything makes much more sense now.
    http://www.476vfightergroup.com/signaturepics/sigpic1750_22.gif

  11. #8
    The Viper isn’t getting full wet thrust in my opinion. I need to research that.

  12. #9
    I'm 99.99% sure that Win1909 will break vJoy, or at least a reinstall after 1909 isn't possible. May get lucky if you patch to 1909 with vJoy already installed. 100% failure rate during install, vJoy never completes the installation and then you're left with a corrupt driver which sort of looks like it is working but really isn't. FWIW: I'm working with a brand new pc build, just the required stuff to fly daily, and productivity programs.

    UPDATE: Secure Boot in BIOS is stopping the install of vJoy with Win 1909.
    Last edited by Panther; 17Dec19 at 20:43.

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