Helios/MFDE: How I got there, tips and questions
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First of all I’d like to thank Oakdesign and Wheelchock for their amazing support, the Helios developers who have made this all possible, the Helios profile builders such as -Ace and Weepop, the developers of the MFD extractor apps (BMS MFD / MFDE by Lightning / RTT / YAME) and all other BMS forum contributors that helped out… the list goes on.
Anyone who would want to have a touchscreen running Helios and one or another MFDExtractor as primary interface for BMS 4.34 should find helpful tips in here, as I’m a total nOOb and had to work trough the issues - with the help of the great people mentioned above.
Here’s where I stand today - A fully functional touchscreen running Helios 1.6 (Weepop’s profile) in combination with MFDE:
To get this far, I had to do the dance. This is because during Windows10 Home 64-bit installment, you are practically forced to create a Microsoft OneDrive account. Even when you create a local Admin account after Win10 setup, your ability to totally control Windows is limited and both BMS 4.34 and Helios have issues with this.
TIP: During Win10 setup, make sure you’re OFFline (WiFi or Networked). Then you have a true local Admin User Account and no OneDrive interference. Also, set Win10 user account control to minimum. Beware, even then Windows tried to trick me into switching to OneDrive account at a later point!
This solved three BIG issued I encountered:
-Running BMS in windowed mode had single digit fps, where fullscreen mode showed 50-70 fps. After the dance, windowed mode fps were just slightly lower than fullscreen mode (still using fullscreen mode though :p)
-Falcon BMS not recieving Helios 1.6 inputs at all to fully functional after the dance.
-MFDE loading very slow (>30sec), now loads fast (<5sec).At first I was looking into networked MFD extraction (to avoid resources of my main pc drained), but the more savvy guys did not recommend this.
TIP: Run Helios and your MFD extractor locally. It does not cost too much system resources at all, I can confirm on my lightweight rig
I’ve tried all MFD Extractor apps available, the BMS incorporated one, RTT, YAME, MFDE and the Helios incoporated extraction. Your mileage my vary but here’s my 2 cents:
- BMS incorporated extraction: cost me too much fps (however, this was before doing the dance so it might be ok now)
- RTT works fine, but does not have all the gauges needed for a fully functional Helios pit.
- YAME works great, but to date requires the BMS 4.33 installed workaround and I didn’t want that - might try it again once it’s fully BMS 4.34 compatible.
- MFDE to date, for me, the best/easiest one for a nOOb
- Helios incorporated extraction (which is based on MFDE code I hear): also very easy - drag and drop the displays into the Helios profile, resize, save, done. But, not all displays and gauges are available (yet).
TIP: At least for now, use MFDE by Lightning v0.6.3. It’s lightweight on your system resources, has all the displays and gauges for a Helios profile, is easy to place/resize displays and gauges and just runs outright smooth.
After doing the dance, I’ve installed Helios 1.6 -whereas before I had 1.4. It’s backward compatible so Weepop’s profile works just fine and it has improvements for Falcon BMS by Wheelchock . Also, Helios 1.6 has an improved “Interface Status” tab which made it much more easy to point Helios to your Falcon BMS 4.34 folder and .key file so key bidings were sent correctly to BMS.
TIP: Use Helios 1.6, as it helps us nOObs On top of that you can use the incorporated (partial) MFD extraction with it. For example, I’m using Helios 1.6 DED extraction, since I didn’t like the yellow DED of MFDE much.
Lastly, as the picture above shows, I have my touchscreen setup beneath my main monitor. It made sense to also configure my two monitors beneath each other in Windows, so that the mouse pointer travels down to the touchscreen naturally with physical movement.
TIP: Put all BMS related apps in the taskbar (TrackIR, HOTAS, MFDE, Helios, BMS,…). They will then show up on the copied taskbar on the touchscreen and you’ll be able to control them from there too.
Even though I’m a happy bunny with everything running, I have some questions still, which Oakdesign, Wheelchock or Weepop could maybe adress?
- Starting with a rampstart, Weepops profile does not seem to set all buttons and switches as they appear in the cold cockpit, safe for the landing gear. So, for example the UFC switch is off in the pit, but on in Weepops Helios profile. On the touchscreen I have to set if off and then on again during the rampstart. Is this so, or am I missing something?
- Helios 1.6 MFD extraction is partial - will we have full displays and gauges extraction in the future?
- With this setup, I hardly need use of mouse or keyboard at all anymore - which was the goal to start with. I still need to use the keyboard for communication to AWACS/TOWER etc. I’ve noticed -Ace’s profile has a comms panel popping up - but Weepop’s profile does not. As a suggestion, it would be great to have a pop-up panel much like the ICP with 6 buttons for AWACS/TOWER/… on a top row and 0 to 9 numerical buttons to choose the message to be sent. Those numerical buttons then also controls the views, and I can forget my keyboard
- I’d like to also try Waichou’s profile, as it incoporates the Balkans Theatre - but Waichou does not react to PMs, nor does anyone seem to have his Helios Profile or .key file to share?
Any comments, reactions, questions, additions are welcome!
Thx!
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Lastly, as the picture above shows, I have my touchscreen setup beneath my main monitor. It made sense to also configure my two monitors beneath each other in Windows, so that the mouse pointer travels down to the touchscreen naturally with physical movement.
Actually this is nt best practise. It’s better to have all extra monitors placed left and/or above of the main monitor in Windows.
The reason is that BMS (and possibly other programs you might want to run) on your main screen, can change resolution (e.g. BMS UI vs 3D is a big difference). If you set up windows on extra monitors based on absolute positioning (e.g. x pixels to the right and y pixels to the bottom), they will shift when the main screen switches resolution. Gauges that are looking in the correct place during 1024x768 BMS full screen 2D UI, will shift once BMS goes into 3D in 1920x1280 for example. Whereas they will remain on the same location if those absolute coordinates are negative values from the 0/0 point of your main screen, regardless of what resolution your main monitor/program is atI still need to use the keyboard for communication to AWACS/TOWER etc.
If you learn how Helios works, it’s pretty easy to make such popup comm windows yourself. Even I managed do get it to work
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Actually this is nt best practise. It’s better to have all extra monitors placed left and/or above of the main monitor in Windows.
The reason is that BMS (and possibly other programs you might want to run) on your main screen, can change resolution (e.g. BMS UI vs 3D is a big difference). If you set up windows on extra monitors based on absolute positioning (e.g. x pixels to the right and y pixels to the bottom), they will shift when the main screen switches resolution. Gauges that are looking in the correct place during 1024x768 BMS full screen 2D UI, will shift once BMS goes into 3D in 1920x1280 for example. Whereas they will remain on the same location if those absolute coordinates are negative values from the 0/0 point of your main screen, regardless of what resolution your main monitor/program is atIf you learn how Helios works, it’s pretty easy to make such popup comm windows yourself. Even I managed do get it to work
Not if you are using MFDE as it is not using absolute positioning from the primary display. It stores the DisplayID with any extracted gauge and position is absolute from the 0,0 of that screen. So as the secondary display will not change resolution you can position the screen anywhere
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Not if you are using MFDE as it is not using absolute positioning from the primary display. It stores the DisplayID with any extracted gauge and position is absolute from the 0,0 of that screen. So as the secondary display will not change resolution you can position the screen anywhere
Are you sure? Before I used Yame I used MFDE for years and I always had issues when my main monitored changed resolution. So did several of our vsqn.
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Thx Focaldesign,
I’m already dipping my big toe in Helios Profile editor, hope I’ll be able to report a working COMMs panel soonOakdesign, I have the same “issue” as Focaldesign says. When BMS switches resolutions (UI/Loading screen to anything other then 1920*1080 which is the Windows and 3D resolution I use now), MFDE’s dispalys and gauges shift. But, once in the 3D they pop back in place so it doesn’t really bother me
Thx! -
Hello to you,
We are working on the integration of gauges under Helios.
See the video I made.
All proposals are welcome and we will be happy to respond to your request within the limits of Helios.I am interested in your solution to your fps problem, but being French and going through Google translation, I did not necessarily understand your solution.
If I summarize, you installed W10 offline so you don’t have a OneDive account? -
Hi Ertiyu,
Yes, exactly. Windows10 Home 64-bit when connected wirelessly or wired will not let you install unless you create a OneDrive account. Once you do that -it would appear- even making a local admin account does not give you full control and system resources are used to do background OneDrive stuff which causes a) a massive fps hit when running BMS 4.34 in windowed mode and b) long loading time for MFDE and c) Helios 1.6 not working. The solution was to re-install Win10 disconnected from the web and thus making a true local admin account.
I’m looking forward to Helios having all displays and gauges like MFDE or YAME has (because I hear YAME has for example several versions of RWR for different F16 models).
Can I ask a total nOOb question to you as well? I’m trying to add a COMMS panel into Weepop’s Helios profile. When I bind the buttons to the correct callback for falcon (see screenshot), in game non of them work.
It would seem I need to bind the actual keyboard stroke (in this case q) in stead of the falcon callback, like the below screenshot of -Ice’s Helios profile:
I don’t know how to do that Help?
Thx!
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Thank you for your feedback on W10, I have to reinstall it after changing the processor, to switch from an Intel to an AMD.
Your feedback will be useful to me.
For Helios, I suggest you see it on Discord, the interactivity is easier.
Of course if you want to stay on the forum no soucci. -
FYI I can’t see your images.:(
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Thx Focaldesign,
I’m already dipping my big toe in Helios Profile editor, hope I’ll be able to report a working COMMs panel soonOakdesign, I have the same “issue” as Focaldesign says. When BMS switches resolutions (UI/Loading screen to anything other then 1920*1080 which is the Windows and 3D resolution I use now), MFDE’s dispalys and gauges shift. But, once in the 3D they pop back in place so it doesn’t really bother me
Thx!Same here but just MFDE extraction, I don’t have Helios or Yame. No biggie.
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FYI I can’t see your images.:(
Should be visible now, guess the forum doesn’t like .png files
Thx!
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NVM, Ertiyu… solved
I’m such an idiot… I used my laptop to make a comms panel, and in transferring it to my BMS desktop I of course forgot to change the interface to point to the correct location on the desktop of the .key file
So, for all nOObs like me:TIP: Make sure when playing around with profiles that your interface points to the right version of BMS and location of the .key file for your profile!
Here’s the result of my efforts today: a fully working COMMs panel, that also controls the view buttons:
Only one question remains: how could I make Helios read the positions of all switches/dials (like it does the gear handle in Weepops profile) such that what I see in Helios is exactly the same as the switch/dial setting in BMS?
For example, in RAMPstart most switches and dials are in the off position, whereas Weepops profile defaults to many of them being in the on position (except the gear handle - which changes during loading to the down position).Thx again, all of you guys for the help!
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For reading the switch position you could active some by using the BMS input interface and lua scripts. But I have to admit BMS shared memory, wich is the source data for the Helios interface didn’t provide switch positions.
So i.e. there is no direct indicator for gear handle. But Shared Memory would provide information if there is weight on wheels or if plane is in the air.
Other are the light bits which could be used to build up logic to determine switch positions. Some of them provide direct switch position like
AutoPilotOn or BusPowerBattery frompowerBits for the MainPwr switch. But you won’t get all switch positions.I personally went the way after building my Rampstart Profile to make a copy and made a second Taxi Start profile with the switch defaults just set for a already started jet.
Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk
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I just made several helios profiles with all switches in the correct position. One for cold start, one for taxi, one for airborne.
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Thx guys,
Ok then, guess I’ll be making a rampstart profile
But for now, I’m quite content with Helios/MFDE/Weepop’s profile, and I got to learn the basics of Helios profile building in the process.
Thx again for your help! -
Only one question remains: how could I make Helios read the positions of all switches/dials (like it does the gear handle in Weepops profile) such that what I see in Helios is exactly the same as the switch/dial setting in BMS?
So a pretty cool feature of Rogues Helios profile is that it will set all switches in Helios to match what is in BMS when the profile launches. You can review and download that profile from this BMS forum post here. You will need to look into the lua scripting on the controls to understand how its doing it but might be worth a look.
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Oh wow, thx Wheelchock… I know what to do tonight
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So I’ve tries Rogue’s profile v3.02 with his key file, but it doesn’t seem to set the switches in the correct position as they are in the sim. It seems the profile defaults to a cold jet, so when I start a taxiway TE, the switches are still in the off position (and obviusly ON in the sim):
I’ve dove in the profile but I don’t see any lua scripts attached to the buttons either.
It’s a very nice looking profile though, with nice big side panels, WDP integration, maps, datacards etc. The rotary buttons are a cool feature too, but this requires mousewheel action. I’m going to keep this one and play around with it a bit.
Thx!
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but it doesn’t seem to set the switches in the correct position as they are in the sim
its in the readme file RogueBMSv3.txt.
Right Rear Console:
The AVIONICS POWER and OXYGEN REGULATOR panels work with no modifications. However, since there is so much unused space here, I’ve chosen this console to include some profile and non-cockpit functions.
The SYSTEM panel includes several non-cockpit controls. Flicking up on the TIME switch will increase time compression with each flick, and flicking it to NORM will return time to normal. There is also a PAUSE/FREEZE switch, a SMOKE switch, and an FPS switch.
The SYSTEM panel also has two guarded switches. The top one will let you flick left to exit your mission and right to discard it. If you change your mind after opening the guard, closing it will make the ESC menu disappear. The HELIOS switch will let you flick left to exit Helios and right to reset the profile. After resetting the profile, you will need to close the guard manually.
There are also some profile functions on the ANTI ICE panel’s ENGINE switch. The default position is OFF, which represents a jet ready for cold start. Flicking it to AUTO will pause the sim, set all switches to the positions for a TAXI or RUNWAY start, and then unpause the sim. This will take several seconds as all the keystrokes have to catch up, but the sim won’t see them since it will be paused. Flicking the switch to ON will set the switches to positions for an air start (for which the only major difference is the LG handle).
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Wheelchock,
I’ll revisit this profile, cuz what that read me says makes sense - making a switch that flicks all others from the off position to the on position while the sim is paused.
Thx for the tip!