How to output instrument info to LEDs etc

[lesthegringo]

Guys, I'm pretty adept at making my own controls for throttle quadrants, button input panels, rotary encoder panels. I am even able to make them with engraved lettering that is backlit.

 

As an extension of this, I was wondering if it is possible to output landing gear information in the form of red and green LEDs and also for the flap positions. There are also other possibilities such as bomb bay doors, and other items such as device modes. On some racing games there are software plugins than allow things like shift lights, gear indicators and digital RPM outputs

 

Does anyone do an interface module, or a software solution for Il-2 that does something similar?

 

Cheers 

 

Les

[AndyJWest]

Not currently available. There have been several requests for something of the sort, but the developers have stated that they aren't going to consider creating one until supplied with a concrete proposal stating exactly what is needed:

 

 

[lesthegringo]

So that's a bit of a catch 22 situation then. How can I  make something to suit something that they want me to guess at? Chicken, egg.......

 

Shame, really. I  see that DCS has The DCS-BIOS system that works with the Arduino. If the software plugin could at least output to the Arduino we would have a starting point

 

Cheers

 

Les

[AndyJWest]

They aren't asking you to 'guess at' anything. They are asking for someone to come up with a concrete detailed proposal for an instrumentation API for use with specific software and/or hardware. Which is what happened with Tacview, and with the motion simulator API.

 

[lesthegringo]

Oh, I  see - you are talking about the company that produces Il-2 doing this - I  was thinking more along the lines of the modding community. Take a look at what people do for race sims, there are loads of homebrew solutions for stuff there. Years back (2008?) someone came up with stuff for rFactor that did this, including the above mentioned outputs. People use arduinos for loads of things, like the CNC machine controller I have on my milling machine and engraver,  reading digital vernier caliper outputs plus loads of other things. There are some clever programming guys out there.

 

I  make my own hardware including printed circuit boards and so forth, but am a duncewhen it comes to programming,  so can't make that final step. Maybe I'll need to befriend a guy who can do that, but of course finding him or her is the question.

 

Oh well

 

Cheers 

 

Les

[Dutch2]

 

 

We did show @Jason_Williams about ideas like the use in bass shaker, game pads like gametrix/jetseat and wind simulator. I do hope he will consider this aspect and TACview and motion support is just a start.  All those aspects, I wrote down and sure are more, are being used by different racegames and are much simpler and cheaper to build then an moving chair using  BoX motion support. 

 

[AndyJWest]

1 hour ago, lesthegringo said:

Oh, I  see - you are talking about the company that produces Il-2 doing this - I  was thinking more along the lines of the modding community. Take a look at what people do for race sims, there are loads of homebrew solutions for stuff there. Years back (2008?) someone came up with stuff for rFactor that did this, including the above mentioned outputs. People use arduinos for loads of things, like the CNC machine controller I have on my milling machine and engraver,  reading digital vernier caliper outputs plus loads of other things. There are some clever programming guys out there.

 

I  make my own hardware including printed circuit boards and so forth, but am a duncewhen it comes to programming,  so can't make that final step. Maybe I'll need to befriend a guy who can do that, but of course finding him or her is the question.

 

Oh well

 

Cheers 

 

Les

 

Mods able to access the sort of information necessary for an instrumentation API wouldn't be possible without resorting to the sort of low-level trickery that permit all sorts of exploits, and would breach the EULA. The developers have made it clear enough that they aren't going to permit unrestrained modding.

 

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/34695-a-word-about-mods-for-il-2-sturmovik/

[Sokol1]

From the linked (now close topic):

Quote

We export flight data to TacView and for motion sims. I've said many times, show me what you software or hardware kit you want the data for and we'll consider it just as we have already shown.

 

In il-2:46 are used the software Device Link for use game output data.

 

In il-2:CloD Device Link read only version was implement by TF guy and an community member create a software for use this data, the Virtual Cockpit*  and set of custom instruments in second monitor, Windows tablets, iPad and Smartphones and Linux tablets.

 

* I am illiterate in programming, but was able to create some panels by "reverse engineering" in the code of exiting cockpits, seems in C++.

 

Some guys are able to use this data in motion platforms, don't know about LED's (Wart Thunder has data export for LED's).

 

Since exist some "knowledge" base about Device Link, if Il-2GB could "talk" with this software, will be a good start.

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by Sokol1

[AndyJWest]

DeviceLink was an interesting concept, but I don't think the developers would be best advised to mimic it. It is unnecessarily complex if all you want is one-way communication of instrument data, and converting numerical data to ASCII format to be transmitted (via UDP) and then converted back to binary is not only inefficient, but liable to introduce bugs: there is at least one bug in DeviceLink which is a result of this. Starting from scratch, a simpler and more efficient API shouldn't be particularly difficult to design. I think the biggest problem might be getting people to agree on what exactly they want, and in avoiding feature creep. Which is possibly why the developers have been so insistent on wanting a concrete proposal rather than vague requests for 'an API'.