Very discouraging, controls and bindings keep changing or disapearing ?

[JEFX]

Hello

I write here in case someone can help me.
I am back in Falcon after more than 10 years and I find BMS4.33 absolutely fantastic!
But, I cannot keep a stable controllers/keys configuration stable… something seems very wrong and I really dont understand…

I am using (under W7/64) TMWH with T.A.R.G.E.T software to bind my controls.
I made a TARGET configuration with the UI and I did bind all the right keys to the right controls : (ex. 0 for Orbit view, or all the relevant TMS, DMS, Pinky, switches, etc…).
I did all the main HOTAS control as described in the manual and I made a layer of shifted buttons for my views etc…
For a few days, it worked perfect. I launch the computer, launch Tir, launch TARGET and select my configuration and click : run script, then launch BMS…

Today it started doing some free games… In game, the controls dont stay binded (I have to give my axis assignations again) and some of the controls dont do what they are supposed in the TARGET script.
But the worst symptom now is that, in game, if I hit ESC, it doesnt even do what it is supposed (exit the simulation and go back to the UI), instead, it ALT-TABs out of BMS and puts the cursor in the search field of the START menu (Windows)… Everytime I hit ESC in the game, it exits the game… and also, in Target, I had bound a throttle button to do F9 for Tir use and it is clearly there in the Target configuration and doesnt work in the game… It is like if there is a conflict between the target running script and the actual ‘keyboard’…

There was also another funny symptom, actually it all started like this:
after I hit RUN in target to start the proper script, this afternoon I tried to click on my BMS shortcut on my desktop and it selected 2 icons instead and copied them on the desktop…
I couldn click on an icon without selecting two??? like if there was a conflict between my mouse and something else (or spirits and widja

Anyone knows about this potential anoying situation? I cannot even use my BMS now:-( (for which I need Target AND BMS to run in order to get all the key bindings).

Thanks for your help.

JEFX

[Frederf]

It’s all device order.

Device 1 is buttons 1-32
Device 2 is buttons 33-64
Device 3 is buttons 65-96
and so on.

According to your key file and DX buttons you pair callbacks with IDs 0, 1, 2, ,3… 94, 95. You press button 1 on device 2 and Falcon looks to see what callback is bound to button #33. If device order changes then button #5 suddenly becomes button #37 or #69 for example. When devices get into a new order which device gets assigned to a different 32 block.

The good news is that the key file won’t be altered without user action so as long as you quit Falcon and find a way to get back to the correct device order when you start Falcon again all the device button IDs will line up again just like you left them.

Axes in this situation often just gives up and sets everything to default-keyboard.

[JEFX]

Thanks Frederf,

I understand this concept, and ‘mes culpa’ I realized that my boy did play SHIFT2 and let the Wheel plugged in my computer before I started BMS…
This is certainly the reason it messed my axis assignations (as you explain), but how on earth could that mess with the ESC button, or select TWO incons and copy them on the desktop when I only click once on my desktop BMS icon???

[Frederf]

The Esc button behavior is defined in the key file as well. You could have accidentally bound additionally a joystick button to SimEndFlight or unbound SimEndFlight from Esc. Open your active key file in Notepad and search for “SimEndFlight” that it appears only once and is set to the “0X1” (Esc) key.

Actually your Windows search thingy makes me think that you are somehow pressing Ctrl-Esc which is a Windows hotkey to pressing the Start Button. Why is Ctrl being held down? That also explains why you are making copies of files. Notice that if you drag (and hold) a file over a new folder location it will say “____ to (folder name)”. If you hold down ctrl, alt, or shift before you release this drag the ____ changes to copy, create shortcut, and move respectively. Also right-click dragging brings up a menu on release. Windows features!

[JEFX]

question : I noticed something that might or not be at the root of my problem?
I might be doing something really stupid but I am trying to simulate the behavior of the Spreedbrake on the throttle…
There fore, in TARGET, I did assign to the SPDB (SpeedBrake button back) to send LSHIFT-b (with a HOLD command) so that I can hold the button a certain amount of time to open the brakes a certain percentage…
BUT: when I look at my aircraft form outside, the minute I press a little bit the SPDB, the speedbrakes continue opening all the way and the same for CLOSE with the SPDF and LCTL-b with HOLD…
It is like if target is not doing what it should, hold the key only while my button is depressed non?

Perhaps this is why something gets stuck and the ESC and other keys become weird?

By the way, I made sure I had no other USB device plugged before I started BMS and remapped all my axis, fine.
Is this saved with the Keyboard file? or not?

THanks again for your help.

JEFX

[JEFX]

OK, I have looked into my key file and the SimEndFlight is ok with a ‘0X1’ key (ESC).
But I have removed the HOLD event in TARGET for the speedbrakes and replaced them temporarily with a PULSE toggle speedbrakes command.
It worked and now no more problems… so… my question is… :
How will I be able to simulate a continuous press on a button withour making it STUCK…
For example, the gun trigger or the Lookforward function?
I am quite new to TARGET programming but getting there, almost everything is ok, except that…
Thanks again.

[JEFX]

oh bum…
While I was trying to find info in the various manuals and I did some changes in my target configuration (added a couple of new events…), I had shut down BMS (but not the PC and no, I didnt plug any new controller, etc… and after a few minutes, I fired up BMS again and lo… all my axis assignements were gone again…

Can someone tell me what files store the axis assignements so that I can change it to read only in windows perhaps??
Is this a good idea?
I thought I had read this somewhere in the hundreds of pages of litt. but couldnt find it again…
I know what are the ‘keys’ files but what are the other relevant files in the USERS/CONFIG folder?
Is there a place with a description of each file in there?

thanks!

[Frederf]

And all this points to the folly of the keyboard keystroke emulating joystick profiling software, especially with modifier keys. My TARGET profile presses Button 4 for speedbrake close and Button 5 for speedbrake open. If my hands had any dust on them my current activity would soon rid me of it. Our religion is actively proselytizing please take one of our handsome brochures.

There are tricks to schedule the order of the modifier and primary keystroke up and down events so they don’t have the perfect simultaneity (that human hands don’t) that causes this kind of mess. On the other hand the effort to implement is on the order of the effort to avoid the quagmire altogether.

axismapping.dat is the axis relevant file. Setting it read only doesn’t ensure that it will always work but it will prevent one unfortunate incident doesn’t erase your setup for the next time when you’ve corrected the offending cause. If you’re happy with a certain axis mapping then feel free to read-only it.

[JEFX]

Thanks Frederf for you answer.

Sorry I dont understand what you mean here?
@Frederf:

If my hands had any dust on them my current activity would soon rid me of it. Our religion is actively proselytizing please take one of our handsome brochures.

As far as axismapping.dat I will give it a try sure.

But would you be kind enough to tell me how to make a HOLD event (such as the gun trigger for example or the speedbrakes) without making a mess like this as you said?

thanks

[Frederf]

It’s an English language expression for “job done.” I realize it was very indirect.

It’s clear you’re using TARGET GUI which is fine I guess. The GUI options for a control are: PULSE, HOLD, PRESS, RELEASE which make it seem like they are options you will use equally. But PULSE is PULSE, HOLD is normal with no modifier, PRESS is DOWN, and release is UP when it comes to write the script file. Most if not all buttons should be HOLD unless there is some special need. PULSE is used for somethings if needed. UP/DOWN are very very rarely used and with care that you know exactly what you are doing.

I will describe making speedbrake back button for DX5:
GUI Configuration Files
Highlight desired file and Edit
Next
Next
Change Controller slide to throttle
Drag physical control “SPDB” from 3D to 2. Assign Parameters

Layers: IO UMD
Control: SPDB Press
Event Name: “Speed brake open”
Key Command: DX5
Hold
Default
Sequence not checked
Comment as desired

Save Event

This produces a line in View Script like so:
MapKeyIOUMD(&Throttle, SPDB, DX5, DX5, DX5, DX5, DX5, DX5);

This is of course stupid unless you are actually using these layers as different conditions but I digress. If I was writing this in the script editor normally I’d simply write:
MapKey(&Throttle, SPDB, DX5);
But there’s no harm in this auto-generated longer command. It does the same thing.

====

Now when you run this configuration when you press the SPDB button it will press button DX5. Now you go into Falcon find the control list entry “TQS: SPD BREAK Switch - Open” or whatever label is given to the AFBrakesOut callback, highlight it so it is receptive to binding, and press the SPDB control to finish the bind.

After this whenever you press this SPDB control at the control setup screen, text feedback below the list should show something like:
Button 5: TQS: SPD BREAK Switch - Open.

[Blu3wolf]

@Frederf:

It’s an English language expression for “job done.” I realize it was very indirect.

Very. As a native English speaker I had no idea what you meant.

[JEFX]

Thank you very much FREDERF, I finally had some time to understand and apply your recommandation and it is perfect! For sure I can testify that in T.A.R.G.E.T GUI, complex key commands including ALT, SHIFT etc… with a HOLD type event doesnt work (gets stuck). I didnt know about DX buttons and I assigned all the HOLD functions to DX buttons and did bind them in Falcon as you explained and LO, everything works perfect (that includes Air brakes gradually open, but also, Gun Trigger, Pickle button, MSL step, Pinky and Paddle Switch. I even assigned unused DX buttons to the cardinal directions of the POV HAT1 for continuous control of TRIM.

thank you again!!!

JEFX