Button Box Switch Behaviour (why is it still like this)

[Honeymonster]

I'm going to have a little rant if I may...

 

Back in 2014 I made a button box, for this button box I used this controller:

 

https://www.ultimarc.com/control-interfaces/u-hid-en/u-hid/

 

That was 8 years ago...

 

That board allows this functionality to all its Switches and buttons as a bare minimum and you flash it straight in, no extra profiles, no Joystick Gremlin and it just works:

 

"Normal Primary

This sends (and holds) the primary keycode you selected above, to the

PC. If the U-HID Shift button is pressed, it will send the secondary code

instead.

Normal Secondary

This sends (and holds) the secondary keycode but you have not assigned

one at this point so no action.

Pulse Primary

This sends a short pulse, simulating the key being pressed then released,

even though it might still be physically closed (eg a toggle switch left

closed)

Pulse Secondary

This is the same as above but pulses the secondary code.

Toggle

This is not explicitly an option, but is the result of setting both the Down

and Up actions to Normal Primary. This will cause the selected keycode to

alternately be sent or not sent on alternate button presses.

Flip-Flop

This is not explicitly an option but is the result of setting Down action to

Secondary and Up action to Primary. This will cause the primary or

secondary key to be sent on alternate button presses.

See-Saw

This is not explicitly an option but is the result of setting Down action to

Primary and Up action to Secondary. This will cause the primary key to be

sent on press and secondary on release. Normal or Pulse mode can be

used."

 

This basically means you can use any switch you like and it will function in game as you expect. For example you can make latching toggles perform as you would expect in the aircraft. They can pulse a button when you switch them on and pulse the same or another button when you switch them off. This is amongst other macro and shift functionality with a very intuitive user interface...

 

Now this isn't an advertisement for the product (it's also quite expensive), I just don't understand why 8 years later the market is still flooded with products that don't have even this basic functionality and often try and work round it with momentary switches. Even Thrustmaster's effort requires running extra scrips, virtual joysticks and isn't truly plug and play. My new WingWing panels while pretty to look at and have some great features don't have this functionality. Most Boutique throttles, joysticks and collectives don't have this functionality. Hundreds of button boxes from various vendors and from Ebay to Etsy don't have this functionality. Yes you can use extra software to create a virtual profile and simulate it but you shouldn't have to. It just seems crazy there is still new products on the market not supplied with basic features to work properly with majority of sims. It's like manufacturers making new cars with single speed windscreen wipers... Am I the only one that just likes to plug stuff in and have it work without running extra profiles and software?

 

Just in case anyone else finds this as frustrating as I do... Rant over.

 

Salute HM

 

[Sokol1]

The culprit of this situation is the simmers, that in the last decades just demand another CH or Tm stick and their "programming software" running in background, or the same of the last century.

 

VKB take different approach, their firmware can be programmed for most of this behavior you describe, but how this firmware is programmed unfortunately is very unfriendly.

 

Are other USB card with similar functions in the market, even DIY ones e.g. MMjoy2, FreeJoy, Cub Firmware.

 

Other issue is how the games programmers implement their controllers, most just base on keyboard operation, not in, e.g. ON-OFF switches, after all most of the sticks/throttles don't have this kind of hardware.

 

See the VKB announce of Gladiator NXT EVO, they replace an encoder with a (ON)-OFF-(ON) switch because actual games don't support well encoders.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Sokol1

[Honeymonster]

I have the VKB Gladiator and the addition of the multipliers that double button functionality is an amazing feature, especially for the trigger buttons. I however haven't had much cause to play with the software since all the buttons are the push type. I also have the amazing VKB T_Rudder pedals allowing me to play accurately on a normal chair. So innovative (although I do miss toe brakes a little). The WinWing panel actually has some nice encoder adjustments allowing you to change the time between the pulse output for games that struggle with encoders. It also allows you to create switches from the analogue functions. But nothing for the toggle or rotary switches. In it's defence this product is designed primarily for DCS. The linked above controller also simulates keyboard inputs so can be used for any sim that doesn't support lots of controller functionality.

 

While we are here I am absolutely distraught VKB never produced the WW2 throttle pictured below (with more toggle switches ?) and went on to produce products of a very different design, this is all I ever wanted for WW2 combat. I would have happily paid a premium for it, that and the all metal Baur KG13 (although my Aviasim KG13 is still very beautiful).

 

Finally what really makes all these extra programs/profiles an issue (apart from remembering to configure/save and start them all the time, especially when from multiple vendors) is it creates vast numbers of joystick inputs meaning I have to unplug pretty much every unused USB controller to get a particular Sim functional. Your Warthog throttle effectively becomes 2 or 3 Warthog's as does any other device running a virtual output. This confuses lots of games which don't compute multiple inputs well, the exception being MS2020 for some reason? This is super inconvenient and annoying when you have lots of USB devices.

Flight simmers are also not alone most Sim Racers button boxes feature switches you have to turn on and off and on and off again to perform a simple two step function.. ?

 

Sorry I'm still complaining after your explanation ?.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Honeymonster
Typo

[LukeFF]

That WWII throttle would have been so awesome.  

[paul_leonard]

OMG yes.  Why did they not produce?  In any event, if you want the manage devices I have found JoyID app very helpful.