[EL] Two observations regarding the IDS/Inertial systems

Rangoon · Post by **Rangoon** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:49 am

I've finally just about gotten my HOTAS profile finished. I use CH Control Manager for my scripting and button/axis assignments on an array of CH Products controllers.

Two things I've noticed and/or wondered about:

Observation 1
I wanted to use my actual HOTAS throttle axis for both throttle set (IDS) and inertial fore/aft thrust. As far as I can tell, you can't assign the same axis to both functions. So initially I used scripting such that when I hit a particular switch, it would center one virtual axis and activate another (and vice versa), both assigned to the same physical control axis. Then in EL I could assign both axes and everything worked out fine. So essentially it was one physical control but two virtual controls, one assigned to Inertial thurst and the other to throttle. The only "drawback" is that while in Inertial mode, I would lose my "SET" indication so my only visual feedback as to my inertial fore/aft thrust position was from the graphic indication at the top of the HUD (pretty slick feature actually!). This wasn't a big deal, since EL doesn't seem to recognize throttle setting anyway while in Inertial nor inertial thrust while in IDS, so to speak.

- first of all...that is correct, right? My testing seemed to show this....

So then I realized, well if they don't conflict, then why not just assign both virtual axes to be constantly fed from the same physical throttle axis? So I re-wrote the script to do just that. And I don't see any conflicts.

- so second of all.... I have to wonder: why not just design EL so that you can assign both of these to the same axis input? I mean if they don't conflict, as in they are mutually exclusive, why not allow this? I like having my throttle position basically represented by the "SET" number while in Inertial mode, just as another bit of feedback. And wouldn't this be the preferred setup for anyone with a basic HOTAS setup of stick, throttle, and pedals? It seems most intuitive that your throttle would control both forms of fore/aft thrust input, doesn't it? Or is there some deeper logic to this that I am missing?

Observation 2
I understand how the graphics work at the top of the HUD - left side for control input and right side for actual thruster solution based on either Inertial or IDS computations. Is it a bug or a feature that when you're in IDS mode, the right graphic shows a forward thrust when the left graphic shows a forward control, yet while in Inertial mode the right graphic shows a reverse thrust while the left graphic shows a forward control? And vice versa. It seems like a bug. I'm accelerating, so both control and thrust should show forward, right?

Or am I missing something here?

p.s. thank you for creating this incredible space flight sim!

Post by **Vice** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:05 am

You should indeed be able to assign both control functions to the throttle axis and they will self-toggle between them when you switch the IDS on and off. Just select the axis you want to use for throttle, then select throttle control, then select the throttle axis again, then select inertial forward/reverse. The game control system will apply both to the same axis and move the inertial label to below the throttle label next to the same axis channel indicator.

The control and thruster indicators should align, but if you have an axis channel mapped to throttle and inertial forward/reverse mapped to a virtual axis somehow, the control indicator will remain locked onto the throttle axis, so you may see it indicating forward while you are controlling the separate forward/reverse thrusters on a separate channel, which may make them appear opposite. Otherwise, I'm not sure the reverse would apply.

Glad you're enjoying the game!

Deep Thought · Post by **Deep Thought** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:10 am

Hi
I have both IDS/Inertial assigned to a single throttle axis on my Warthog & my friend has them assigned to the same Keys on the keyboard they work perfectly when swapping IDS/Inertial modes

Rangoon · Post by **Rangoon** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:07 pm

Yes, indeed it does work to assign two axes to one control. Wish I would have figured that out before working out that original script, haha! So that's working...but I'm still either confused by the 2nd issue or it's a bug. When I'm in IDS, and have forward acceleration, the image of the spacecraft in the graph moves forward. But if I'm in Inertial mode, it's the opposite. Forward acceleration shows the spacecraft moving aft (down) from center in the graph for the right/thrust instrument, but forward for the left/control instrument. It's inverse. All other directions show correctly and consistent across both IDS and inertial modes.

What's the logic here? I have verified that I have no control axis inversions for throttle/inertial thrust, both throttle and inertial thrust bound to the same axis, and no unused/hidden virtual axes coming from my control profile through Windows.

Does anyone else observe this behavior?

Post by **Vice** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:18 pm

It's aligned for me when I tested it last night, but I'll check it again.

Post by **Vice** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 7:47 am

Confirmed. Lol, it's definitely broken since the update. I'll get it sorted for the next build.