Falcon BMS Alternative Launcher (Easy Setup, Keep Joystick Assignments)
-
Hi Icer,
Thank you very much for your suggestion regarding how to create shifted actions. I am looking forward to trying this method, although I can’t get the first step of your method to work.
Here’s what I mean:
In the second sentence of your post #406, you said: “First set the DX button you want as SHFT, done (should look like my assignment in second screenshot).”
That’s the part I can’t do.
I can’t find any way to designate a button as SHFT. I’ve tried double-clicking on the line that says “STICK: PINKY SHIFT (DX SHIFT)” in green text. Nothing happens when I double-click that line. It seems like the lines in green text aren’t changeable.
Maybe my problem is that I can’t figure out how to make those green lines changeable. I’m not sure how to do that in the Alternative Launcher.
(BTW, it looks like the Alternative Launcher is using the BMS-Full keyfile. The reason you don’t see the keyboard equivalents of my HOTAS Stick buttons in that screenshot is because I accidentally deleted them when I was re-doing the AL setup after installing my TUSBA.)
-
Okay, I think I have figured it out again
This seems familiar, so I’m guessing it’s the same thing I did before. I’ll describe the three basic steps that have given me the ability to have the following two things:
A) A pinky switch that operates normally, i.e. which actuates the various “zoom” type of functions on the MFDs, such as when using the FCR or the HSD.
B) “Shifted actions”, which I execute by holding down the pinky switch, and pressing some other HOTAS button while the pinky switch is held down.
Okay, here are the three things I did:
- I went to the location Falcon BMS 4.34 > User > Config on my hard drive, and opened up the file “BMS - Full.key” with WordPad. I looked through the file, and I found this line:
SimHotasPinkyShift -1 0 0xFFFFFFFF 0 0 0 -0 “STICK: PINKY SWITCH (DX SHIFT)”
On the previous line of this post, notice that I highlighted the characters “-0” in boldface type.
I changed the -0 to 1
Then I saved the file.
- Next, I started Falcon BMS using the Alternative Launcher, and looked at the KeyMapping screen. It showed that I had solved the problem I described in the previous post, namely how to change the line that says “STICK: PINKY SHIFT (DX SHIFT)” from green to grey. In other words, after I made that little change to the BMS - Full.key file, the line “STICK: PINKY SHIFT (DX SHIFT)” became editable in the AL’s Key Mapping screen. It had changed from green to grey, and I was able to edit that line by double-clicking it.
Once I double-clicked the STICK: PINKY SWITCH (DX SHIFT) line, the AL was waiting for a keypress, and I just pressed the pinky switch on my TM Warthog stick.
This took the pinky switch assignment away from the previous line (“STICK: PINKY SWITCH”), leaving that line blank. (It’s possible I might have double-clicked the “STICK: PINKY SWITCH” line and cleared out the key assignment manually, but I don’t think I did. I think it just happened automatically.)
The attached screenshot shows the result.
- Next, I double-clicked on various lines in the KeyMapping page, to enable them to work as shifted actions. For example, I double-clicked the line “CKPIT: Visor - Toggle”. Once the dialog box came up, I clicked on the grey “KEYCOMBO / PINKYSHIFT” box, and it turned white. Then, without holding down the pinky switch, I just pushed DMS Down. Then I clicked “Save” and the dialog box went away.
I did this for a variety of other functions, such as toggling my night vision, taking a screenshot, and starting my AVTR. I even created shifted actions for the comms switch on the TQS so that I can start, pause, and move forward or backward among the tracks in my beloved Winamp software. Now I can rock out to some tunes while flying the Viper, and not even have to use the UFC! It’s kind of ridiculous how happy I am about this.
Here’s the thing that caused the most confusion for me:
For some reason, it’s OKAY to take away the button assignment from STICK: PINKY SWITCH. This doesn’t make any sense to me, since it seems to me that it would deprive me of the normal functionality of the pinky switch while in the sim. The line “STICK: PINKY SWITCH” doesn’t have any buttons assigned to it now, but the pinky switch still works in the sim. :shock:
I don’t know why this works, but I’m not complaining!
If I had to guess, I would imagine there’s some other line in the keyfile that makes the pinky switch work, but I don’t know what that line is. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful! Now I have a HOTAS system with all the “normal, basically authentic” controls, AND I can handle some other tasks in the cockpit that would normally have me reaching for the mouse or keyboard. Life is good!
:bdance: -
Unfortunately, BMS can’t recognize POV on the throttle (they only recognize POV on the stick) so I made launcher not to assign them to any callback.
Since U1 now supports POVs on multiple devices is this imposed limitation something that is easily reversible?
-
Since U1 now supports POVs on multiple devices is this imposed limitation something that is easily reversible?
Wheelchock, I successfully set my new Warthog POV2 as Comms button using Voice Attack
-
I actually just manually implemented the POV2 functionality and decided to stop using Alternate launcher until its workable again. I really is useful when doing DX mapping but after that is all set not much changes for me to have to keep using it. So when its fixed I’ll go back to it.
-
From javelin10–—With an x56 you would definitely want to assign the left ministick to Radar Cursor (Cursor X/Cursor Y) and probably use the right ministick as a 4-way hat for CMS up/down/left/right, as in the real HOTAS.
So, How do users like myself and others that have X52 PRO program the mini - stick that is on the right side of the throttle to control the Radar cursor. (((( ( specifically for for the X52 Pro))) using the Alternative Launcher??? You / javelin have it working on the X56 . We need your insite for the X52 Pro. We need to use the the X52 PRO’s ministick to control the Radar cursor and are thinking that we are missing something in Alternative Launcher to do this. Or do we need to continue to use the Logitech HOTAS software to do this by setting the X and Y bands as in the past.???
Coincidently I have a X56 but only use it for a space flight simulation and not BMS.
Yep Mar and thanks for the reply.
In the past most x52 and x52 pro end users had to create a profile (((*.pro type file)))) using the X52 Pro HOTAS’ programming software specifically to use the Ministick to control the Radar cursor. Otherwise all the other controls were programmed outside of the Manufacturer"s software by using DX created profiles . We were stuck with this method and unfortunately had to use the HOTAS software only for the mini stick because of the analog inputs the mini sticked used to communicate. Also We needed to load this profile ( *.pro file) prior to opening BMS and to make the mini stick control the Radar cursor and also the DX profile is loaded within BMS for the remaining controls.
SIDE. NOTE:
I have heard of people altering their Windows ’ OS" Registry to overcome this, but that is out of the question and a no no for most END Users .
I’m not certain if the ALTERNATIVE LAUNCHER made thE more cumbersome method mentioned above a little less cumbersome by including a feature that a user can select the mini stick for such controllers like the X52, X52 PRO and more …. as an input to control the Radar cursor.
Hi and sorry I haven’t checked up on this thread for a while.
The answer to your first part depends on what kind of physical device your X52 Pro is? I’ve owned the X36, X45 and X55 (and I won’t be buying Saitek again, but that is another discussion!) but not the X52 or X56. If it is an analogue type control (as with X56) which you setup with axes then you assign them to CursorX/CursorY as I said earlier. If it is a 4(or position switch then you set it up with “TQS: RDR CURSOR - UP/DN/LEFT/RIGHT” callbacks for best results. Analogue is better of course, but with my X55 the ministick is so rubbish that it wasn’t worth it and I just glued a separate analogue ministick to my throttle!I hate the SST programming software and don’t use it, so I can’t help you there. I think bms works a lot better without it for reasons I believe I gave in an earlier post.
The ‘Registry hack’ was, AFAIK, solely intended for the X55 but see above. It is in fact quite easy to apply but I don’t know if it will do anything for your hardware.
Your final point I don’t quite understand. Alternative Launcher has no special functionality for the ministick; it just expects 2x analogue axes for binding the radar cursors. End of.
Final comment; you have the X56? I would think that unit far more suitable for bms falcon then the X52! No ministick heartache as you already have a decent working analogue stick right where you want it and you can convert the ministick on the throttle to a 4-way hat for proper CMS functionality. Any defects of construction on the X56 stick I would also expect to see on the x52 stick as they have the same (IMO) rubbish centering mechanism.
-
Hi and sorry I haven’t checked up on this thread for a while.
The ‘Registry hack’ was, AFAIK, solely intended for the X55 but see above. It is in fact quite easy to apply but I don’t know if it will do anything for your hardware.
.
No, setting the axis through registry in order to use the ministick as analog CursorX/CursorY will work with X52 / Pro as well. The issue is you have to give up one of your other axis as you are limited to 8 analog axis per device.
I personally have DIY build rudder pedals in combination with an X52 so I could reorder my axis in the registry to put the rudder on the X52 last and know have the X52 ministick as analog Cursor and everything else as DX setup. So far no SST profile needed at all. The only reason I have to load at least an empty profile from SST is to get the Pinky switch latched so I could use it as double Action. Short press < 0.5 seconds for expand SOI FOV and long press as shifted layer function -
The only reason I have to load at least an empty profile from SST is to get the Pinky switch latched so I could use it as double Action. Short press < 0.5 seconds for expand SOI FOV and long press as shifted layer function
Well I never knew that the x52 ministick was analogue; I hope it’s better quality then the one on my x55!
Are you aware that BMS Falcon already gives you the short press/long press functionality natively? Default 300ms but can be altered in the .cfg? Just checking…
-
hello all, im a bit of a newbie and i apologize if this has been covered before, search function didnt render much for me but im having an issue with alternate launcher.
my x56 cant seem to be programed while in alternate launcher, also once in sim, i have to keep loading the cash profile as it never saves it once i exit the program
I am running windows 10 with 4.34 U2.again, sorry if this is a simple one, i just cant seem to bind anything with this update
-
The locked SimHotasPinkyShift was mentioned in the U1 change logs:
**KEY FILES & EDITOR:— Changes to Key Files: (r10913)
- Set SimHotasPinkyShift to locked to prevent assigning it to a DX device via ui.
— Editor: set SimHotasPinkyShift to locked to prevent assigning it to a DX device via ui. (r480)**
Okay, I think I have figured it out again
<snip>Okay, here are the three things I did:
- I went to the location Falcon BMS 4.34 > User > Config on my hard drive, and opened up the file “BMS - Full.key” with WordPad. I looked through the file, and I found this line:
SimHotasPinkyShift -1 0 0xFFFFFFFF 0 0 0 -0 “STICK: PINKY SWITCH (DX SHIFT)”
On the previous line of this post, notice that I highlighted the characters “-0” in boldface type.
I changed the -0 to 1
Then I saved the file.
<snap></snap></snip>
- Set SimHotasPinkyShift to locked to prevent assigning it to a DX device via ui.
-
V1.50 released!
https://github.com/chihirobelmo/FalconBMS-Alternative-Launcher/releases/tag/v1.50
- Allow roll/pitch axis invert. - Supports BMS 4.34.1 and later. - Supports Throttle POV. - Automatically unlock PINKY SHIFT assign. - Automatically enable Borderless mode. - Recommends window mode when disabled. (warning panel) - Fixed crash when adding command lines. - Removed several third parties launchers. - Now shifted DX can be assigned by just pressing and holding the pinky switch and pressing another DX button at the same time. - Fixed mini assign window not showing joy number of pov assign. - Fixed Smart Scaling description position in a full-screen window. - Fixed Apply Button Appears with an invalid command option. - Key Search function finds shift command while pressing a shifting key. - Key Search function finds release command when released a key. - Fixed AB detent assign. - Implemented simplistic press/release assign system.
-
That is amazing chihirobelmo, thank you!!
-
Hey guys, hope you’re doing well.
I’ve ran across a problem with the Alt Launcher where it forces the game to think I have 2 POV hats when I actually only have one (I got a T.Flight Hotas X so the only POV hat it has is the one on the stick).
From what I saw fiddling around, the launcher basically forces the values of “set g_nNumOfPOVs”, “set g_nPOV1DeviceID”, and “set g_nPOV2DeviceID” in falconbms.cfg to be 2, efectively telling the game there are 2 POV hats, with the same ID, which is POV2 (if I’m not mistaken).
The thing is that, while binding the POV in the launcher’s keymapping tab, it recognizes it as POV1 (which is correct, since there is only one POV hat) and lets you bind keys to it normally but the game sees it as POV2 when pressing the POV hat in the controller tab (and since POV2 doesn’t really exist in this case, it cannot be bound to any key, so it defaults to panning the view). The in-game result is that the POV hat behaves as two POV hats at the same time, doing both what I bound it to do in the launcher and panning the view (again, at the same time).
Let me explain myself better with an example: I have the POV hat bound to slew the radar cursor in the launcher so let’s say I press POV UP to slew the radar up, well then the game slews the radar cursor UP and pans the view UP both at the same time.
I tried changing the values of “set g_nNumOfPOVs” and “set g_nPOV1DeviceID” to 1 (and the rest to 0) and launching BMS via the original hub.exe and it works fine, so I figured I would try modifying the .cfg and then launching via the launcher with the “launch w/o any setup override” option active but it still overwrites those values back to 2. So right now the only solution I found is to momentarily launch the game through the normal hub.exe after having modified the .cfg, which is a pity seeing that the Alt Launcher is way better.
Sorry for the long post but I thought I’d write everything I had found while trying to solve this myself in the hopes that it helps to find a solution quicker.
-
Sorry and thank you for your detailed issue report.
I just fixed it.https://github.com/chihirobelmo/FalconBMS-Alternative-Launcher/releases/tag/v1.51
-
Thanks man, you’re awesome!
-
Hi, I’m very new to Falcon BMS. Long time DCS player and I was intrigued by the dynamic campaign so I decided to jump into Falcon. Anyway, I’ve been trying to map hotas bindings for the last few days. I finally had to download Joy Gremlin to get the throttle POV to work for me. I happen to come across Alternate Launcher and seen that now “Supports Throttle POV.”. I bound the POV to trim and launched Falcon and it seems not to register in the controller setup menu and when in the cockpit it doesn’t seem to work either. I’m in the please help stage haha, as I felt like I’ve tried everything…
Sorry if I’m not understanding something.
-
Hi, I’m very new to Falcon BMS. Long time DCS player and I was intrigued by the dynamic campaign so I decided to jump into Falcon. Anyway, I’ve been trying to map hotas bindings for the last few days. I finally had to download Joy Gremlin to get the throttle POV to work for me. I happen to come across Alternate Launcher and seen that now “Supports Throttle POV.”. I bound the POV to trim and launched Falcon and it seems not to register in the controller setup menu and when in the cockpit it doesn’t seem to work either. I’m in the please help stage haha, as I felt like I’ve tried everything…
Sorry if I’m not understanding something.
I’m new to this stuff as well - but I’d try binding the trim switch to other functions. That might help you diagnose…
-
I’m new to this stuff as well - but I’d try binding the trim switch to other functions. That might help you diagnose…
I’ve bound it to multiple different functions. I don’t know what is meant exactly by “Supports Throttle POV” but I’m assuming that I can now map my POV button to a function regardless that it’s on the throttle axis. It’s showing up in the Alternate Launcher key mappings that it’s mapped, but in game it simply does not work for me. Is there something else I’m suppose to do other than map it and launch the game from Alternate Launcher??
EDIT: Fixed I hadn’t realized I needed to download the U1 and U2 patches for everything to work.
-
I’ve bound it to multiple different functions. I don’t know what is meant exactly by “Supports Throttle POV” but I’m assuming that I can now map my POV button to a function regardless that it’s on the throttle axis. It’s showing up in the Alternate Launcher key mappings that it’s mapped, but in game it simply does not work for me. Is there something else I’m suppose to do other than map it and launch the game from Alternate Launcher??
EDIT: Fixed I hadn’t realized I needed to download the U1 and U2 patches for everything to work.
Have you downloaded the latest AL (1.51), it was just released on Feb. 1st.
-
Hi all,
After installing the latest version of the Alternative Launcher (v1.51) I found out that my POV hats weren’t working anymore to orbit around the plane. And also I had a pilot model active which wasn’t the case prior to installation. I had a look in the Alternative Launcher and saw that for some reason the External MouseLook and Pilot Model options were enabled so I decided to untag these options. Problems solved! However, I now have a new problem which at first sight doesn’t seem to be related with the modifications I made. Now, the 3D world stays in a windowed mode and doesn’t switch to fullscreen anymore. It uses only a quarter of the screen or so (like in 2D). I’ve made a screenshot to explain what I mean. Does anybody have any clue how this might have happened and moreover: how to fix this problem? I’m running on Windows 10 64-bit with the latest upgrade (Nov 2019) and start Falcon BMS in windowed mode. I have two monitors attached but am using only one of them to play the game.