Option to make mouse cursor stick to the center of the screen
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@Moderators Can you please move this topic to https://forum.falcon-bms.com/category/75/vr-and-tracking-devices please?
@chihirobelmo What you think - that would be more appropriate, I suppose? -
@Sneakpeek Can you elaborate on the quality of the product…?
The item only has two reviews: 1 star review and a 2 star review.
Sounds bad.
Shame, as the concept looks good. How would YOU rate the product…?
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@Aragorn said in Option to make mouse cursor stick to the center of the screen:
@Sneakpeek Can you elaborate on the quality of the product…?
The item only has two reviews: 1 star review and a 2 star review.
Sounds bad.
Shame, as the concept looks good. How would YOU rate the product…?
Yeah, it’s one of those products that they sell under a dozen of randomly generated brand names to get rid of those ratings.
You can find several alternatives with the following search: https://www.amazon.de/s?k=Wireless+Finger+Ring+Mouse&__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=YOR6JJP5VSM9&sprefix=wireless+finger+ring+mouse%2Caps%2C186&ref=nb_sb_noss
There could be more using other keywords for the search.As for your question: It has not let me down yet and I’ve bought it in April 21. The battery can be changed, which is the most important maintenance task. I was only using it occasionally, though. Maybe every-day usage would reveal quality problems - but as of now, I have no problems with it.
I’d give it a 4-star rating, if I had to rate it. That’s 4 stars, because it really does what I need it for. That’s having it attached to my right index finger and using the mouse buttons and scroll wheel.
Fortunately I don’t have to use the IR sensor to steer the mouse cursor, because DCS has implemented centering of the mouse cursor yet (which is the whole point of this topic). -
maybe for U2 or later…but can’t promise
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There is already a command to recentrer the mouse in the middle of the screen
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@chihirobelmo Great news. Thanks for the quick response!
@Mav-jp Thanks - you mean a callback? -
@Mav-jp said in Option to make mouse cursor stick to the center of the screen:
There is already a command to recentrer the mouse in the middle of the screen
? I’m searching for words like “mouse” and “center” but I don’t see anything obvious.
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I could be wrong, but as I read the request it is for the mouse cursor to stay in the center of the view, even as the player pans the view by moving the head. So that whatever is looked at can be clicked
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@jayb (presumably it would stay in center, unless you bumped it
I suppose one can manually move the mouse, to align on top of HMCS crosshair…
At that point, I’m sure there’s some configurable AutoHotkey script out there that will generate left/right mouse clicks, from joystick button presses.
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Still going by what I think the request is
The HMCS turns off in-pit, so it would be for your point-of-view to function as the PointCtrl VR pointer tool. Effectively not having the need for PointCtrl with VR headsets.
Ex: Zoom in and look at Right MFD button 6, press click using some mapping from left mouse to a HOTAS button. Look down-right to the RADALT switch, click it. And so on.
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I just made this option for U1…but needs some more test
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My neck hurt at the mere thought of this concept… but I’m sure some people would find it useful. I also have some moderate scarring between T1 and C1, so I’m no measure of a target users of this kinda feature.
That being said, programmatically it is one of the more simple things that could be done. There are a number of ways this could be improved, but wanted to try it out and see if it would work well enough. I whipped up a bog-standard console application that will keep the mouse centered when the BMS program is in focus if you wanna try out this concept right away @Sneakpeek
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Here is a copy of this console application pre-compiled and ready to run for the Falcon BMS process: https://www.dropbox.com/…/MouseCenteringUtility-BMS.zip
# Mouse Centering Utility # by SemlerPDX Jan2022 # https://github.com/SemlerPDX/MouseCenteringUtility This is a very simple mouse centering console application which forces the mouse to remain centered when the Falcon BMS process is in focus. When this utility program is running, and BMS is in focus, the mouse cannot be moved from center - use ALT+TAB to switch to this console app to close it. Being so simple, this can easily be improved upon, but can serve a purpose to test and explore the concept of a forced centered mouse using Falcon BMS in VR. USE: 1. Start Falcon BMS and get into the cockpit of a mission 2. When ready for a locked/centered mouse, run "MouseCenteringUtility.exe" 3. When you return to Falcon BMS, the mouse will be locked 4. ALT+TAB to this console app and close it to disable mouse centering
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And here is a link to the GitHub repository if someone would rather pull & compile it for themself, or review/improve upon my code - be sure to follow instructions in the readme: https://github.com/SemlerPDX/MouseCenteringUtility
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@jayb Yeah, you nailed it! That’s exactly what I mean.
PointCtrl is a bit more comfortable, as you can interact with most controls in your peripheral view without having to exactly look at it. That’s a lot better for your neck.
But if you need a low cost way to interact with the pit, my proposal might be worth a try.
@chihirobelmo Thanks a lot! That’s great news. Really cool, that you guys listen to the community!
BTW in DCS it’s this Option here (just as a reference):@SemlerPDX Great (except for the part about your neck. Hope it gets better over time)! Thanks for the code. I’ll have a look at it tomorrow. I would have tried it with Java (java.awt.Robot to the rescue), but it’s always a hassle to ship the whole runtime along with the tiny program.
Cheers,
SPEdit: I mean the “Use mouse” option on the screenshot…
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@Sneakpeek I used a .NET Core console application with a target framework of .NET 5.0 for maximum compatibility with other systems, and can run on Windows, Linux, or macOS. Can definitely be improved upon, but I commonly whip up little utilities like this in C# using Visual Studio because it’s simple, fast, and a small package - this one has just 4 files in addition to the .exe and I didn’t bother with an icon or any dross.
Bog-standard concept tester, might even actually work until U1/U2 implementation of a proper system but no doubt could use some QoL improvements at the very least. -
@jayb basically the same as the dcs “don’t use mouse” option. DCS version, when you untick use mouse for Vr, is a small blue cross in the centre of your view.
But, it doesnt need to be tied to pointctrl or such like, it’s really intuitive when paired with hotas binds for left and right click.
That way, look at switch, press hotas button. Done.
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@SemlerPDX I love little one-file C# apps like this.
I opened a few issues, for suggestions.
https://github.com/SemlerPDX/MouseCenteringUtility/issues -
@Sneakpeek said in Option to make mouse cursor stick to the center of the screen:
@jayb Yeah, you nailed it! That’s exactly what I mean.
PointCtrl is a bit more comfortable, as you can interact with most controls in your peripheral view without having to exactly look at it. That’s a lot better for your neck.
Cheers,
SPI see your point, not having to turn your head 1:1 towards what you would like to click is more comfortable. So PointCtrl still holds an advantage in that respect.
A neck-saving variation could be to look at, say, the right MFD with cursor initially dead-center of viewport. Let’s assume that the dead-center is exactly mid-screen for the MFD and we want to press a button on the MFD. That would be a bit off-center (unless we move the head and thereby the cursor). Then for finer movement of the cursor away from mid-screen to the button, one could use the radar cursor on HOTAS (possibly in a shifted state).
That way the cursor could be moved anywhere within the current view, ie. contact any peripheral object.
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@Sneakpeek Is there a left hand version?? I’ve been looking at these before, just never pulled the trigger because don’t know how they perform. Do you still need a mouse pad/surface for it to work on?
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we need to focus on fixes for U1 and this feature can be pushed for U2 or later.
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@jayb There’s already an app called VR Necksafer which works with DCS and IL2: https://gitlab.com/NobiWan/vrnecksafer. It’s not compatible with BMS yet. Maybe if someone suggests it to the developer.
@chihirobelmo No prob. Fixes go first. I fully understand that - especially as there is a way to fix this by third party software.
@spotdott I tried to find a left-hand-version, but I couldn’t find one. But it might work for you anyway - you’d have to try.
If you use it on your right hand, you put it on your index finger and press the buttons with your thumb. This should also be possible with your left hand, too. The downsides are, that the left and right mouse buttons would be swapped and the IR sensor would be facing towards you. The IR sensor is meant for moving the mouse cursor around by holding it close to a surface and moving it around. Even clothes do suffice in that case. But this whole thread is about moving the mouse cursor with your head (by centering it on the screen). That way you wouldn’t need the IR sensor anyway. Without a way of centering the mouse cursor on the screen, the index finger mouse isn’t doing much good for our cause. In that case, I’d rather use a trackball.