Maximize your Split Throttle with Response Curves in Joystick Gremlin

[Charon]

Many (but not all) throttle quadrants modeled in the sim are set up with throttle and RPM controls adjacent, so that the pilot could reasonably move both together. For example, the Typhoon, Tempest, Ju 87, P-47*, P-51, the late model Yaks, and some others. For many planes with such quadrants, I think it's reasonable to assume that the pilot was meant to move the two levers together, and also that rated power levels correspond to settings where both RPM and throttle are aligned.

 

*: This is even explicit in the case of the P-47, which is equipped with a hook so they can move together.

 

Take the Typhoon, for example. It's rated for +4.5@3150 (maximum continuous), +7@3700 (international), and +9@3700 (combat). The throttle lever has a greater throw than the RPM lever, and the throttle's slot bends as the lever passes the RPM stop. I think it's reasonable to assume that in the real plane, +7 Boost is achieved when the throttle is aligned with the RPM lever's stop; the +7 to +9 range corresponds to the bent portion of the slot beyond the RPM stop.

 

It's common to bind half of a split throttle to RPM and half to Throttle. Let's use Joystick Gremlin to do so such that rated power settings correspond to aligned physical axis positions for a specific plane.

 

* Install Joystick Gremlin and vjoy.

 

* Create an 8 axis vjoy device.

 

* For each logical axis (throttle, rpm, mixture, etc) choose one axis from your vjoy device. Use joystick gremlin to map each physical axis to this logical axis, and bind the logical axis in game (it may be easiest to make this assignment by editing your `data/inputs/global.actions` file directly)

 

* Create a new mode, name it after a specific plane, and make it a child of the standard mode.

 

* In game with technochat on, record the RPM and throttle percentages that give your key power settings. For example, in the Typhoon these are:

 

Throttle 16%: Throttle equal to the low stop of the RPM lever.

Throttle 80%: +4.5 Boost

Throttle 93%: +7 Boost

 

RPM 72%: 3150 RPM

 

* In your plane-specific mode, remap the physical axis to the appropriate logical axis, just as you did before. Add a response curve.

 

* Select 'Cubic Bezier Spline' and add appropriate points. For the Typhoon, for example, I want 20% to correspond to minimum RPM, 50% to correspond to maximum continuous, and 76% (the detent on my throttle) to correspond to international power. So I set:

 

For throttle:

 

(-1.000, -1.000)

(-0.600, -0.680)

( 0.000,  0.600)

( 0.520, 0.860)

( 1.000,  1.000)

 

For RPM:

 

(-1.000, -1.000)

(-0.600,-1.000)

( 0.000, 0.440)

( 0.520, 1.000)

( 1.000, 1.000)
 

Spoiler

 

 

 

In general, for physical value X to map to logical value F(X), you should set a point at (-1 + 2 * X / 100, -1 + 2 * F(X) / 100)

 

Adjust the handles to make sure the curve is monotonic and looks nice.

 

* Finally, set up a key or keys to let you switch modes and easily put JG in the mode corresponding to your chosen plane.

 

Enjoy being able to quickly and easily move from cruise to combat power, while still having the ability to control only the throttle where appropriate.

 

Edit: Note that you'll need to create separate modes for mods that change the engine performance. I have a child mode for the Typhoon +11 boost which inherits the same RPM curve, but uses a slightly different Throttle curve.

Edited July 3, 2023 by I./JG3_Charon