Is there a quick solution to add more buttons?
 

I thought of something, I think I read somewhere about it but could not find it again:

An easy way to make more keys could be to add an extra USB-keyboard or an extra USB-arithmetic keypad (I saw one today, they sell them as add-on to notebooks which have no arithmetic pads).

Would it be possible to add a second keyboard and allocate different functions to its keys?
(I need to put keys for the heating contol of a twin-bomber's engines and it is a nuisance).


~S~

Don't know about a keyboard, it looks like it will transmit the same ASCI codes as your existing keyboard. I do have a gamepad with a lot of buttons attached. Some sort of HOTAS this way :-)

Maybe something like the Belkin Nostromo.

http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPa...duct_Id=390404

Get a (cheap) additional USB keyboard + HID Macros.

www.hidmacros.eu

With a cheap keyboard you dont care in add some customized label over keys, like Roger Dodger:

http://www.pcgamingaccessories.info/...ification.html

http://www.rogerdodger.net/diyflight...board_mod.html

Sokol1

You tried JoyToKey?

Excellent suggestions thanks very much guys!

Belkin Nostromo looks good but rather too few keys for the space it consumes (I have two Saitek Throttle quadrants to fit on the tableas well in addition to X45 and MSFFB2)

I will try the HID macros!

The keyboard layouts of RogerDoger look awesome, too!

Joy2key I do not know, I will search for some information about it.

~S~

You change assignments with the press of one key. I used it in PF with my MSFFB2 as it had so few buttons. Worked ok then but dunno how it works in CloD and if it's what you're after.

I dont know what controlers you are using but let me suggest something. I have allways assigned 'Ctrl' to a button on my throttle and 'Shift' to a button on my Joy. So lets say you have four buttons on your throttle hat. You will now have eight commands. You have the normal commands and then four 'plus shift' commands. Same goes for the joystick ect.

Try it out, it will double or maybe even triple the amount of buttons you can have.
I have also used a USB numeric pad. Its an easy add on.


Just my two cents.

Smart!

very smart indeed!

Excellet idea!

Well, I have MSSFFB2 + X45 throttle + 2x Throttle Quadrant
The problem is the MSWFFB2 because it has too few buttons so difficult to sacrifice one (the X52,X45 and every other modern joystick have a lot more posibilities but, lack the handling so I am stuck with it...).

For the time being I woud prefer the solution of an additoal keyboard because there are too many combinations that are rarely used (e.g heating of pitot tube) and are being quickly forgotten (in my case...).

~S~

If your looking to get more creative, check out Desktop Aviator. They have a 20 button USB circut board that just plugs in and is recognised as a 20 button gamepad. With some basic soldering skills and some imagination you. Can build a pretty sweet toggle switch panel that adds to the immersion. :)

If you have good soldering skill (and patience) and like building things - for ~35/40U$ you get:

64 push button
16 toggle switch (2 mode)
2 rotary encoder (2 mode)
1 POV HAT
8 analog axis

http://www.x-simulator.de/forum/mjoy...df4b78b95d844b

Or

81 push buttons
1 POV HAT
4 analog axis

http://www.xtremeracers.info/forums/...hp?f=45&t=5696

Sokol1

soldering skills???

patience???

Sorry, guys, this is science finction to me... :D

I have seen amazing things posted in this and other forums but I am no person with the patience to work on such things and time is limited.

I got myself an extra keyboard though and I hope this will solve my current needs... ;)

Thanks again for all the constructive feedback!

~S~

Hmmmm.... Sokol, I need some help !!!!!!!!!


second keyboard installed
HIDmacro installed
macro (keystroke ctrl-j) set to second keyboard Y key

It works but, when pressing Y the game will also intercept the keypress from the second keyboard and tilt the rudder as well :(
Any suggestions on how to avoid this?


~S~

I keep it all on a excell document. THat way I dont forget where I put that command.. "Was it Shift+ this button, Oh Damn, that was eject"

Start by opening the software to the X-45 and assigning keys to the buttons. A, B, C, ect. Of course make sure you assign Ctrl and Shift. I put Ctrl on the throttle and Shift on the Joy, but to each his own. Assign the A, B, ect in game. Then assign the Ctrl+A ect. If you want a copy of my Excell let me know I will email to you.

Maico

Thank you Maico, it is a solution but I am already using this way and honestly I am not happy with such a solution when I look at all the other nice possibilities that could exist :(

Examples:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9916878/download.jpg

http://www.lelv30.net/kuvat/-WH_cockpit078s.jpg

The problem could have been been solved so easily with a second USB keyboard and HIDmacro, unfortunately however CoD seems to intercept the commands from the second keyboard despite the HIDmacro programming which is supposed to suppress it :(

But many thanks for your offer! :)

~S~

I use the Nostromo 52 game pad. You can map one key to scroll through 4 modes plus you can set keys as CTL ALT SHIFT thus you can get something like 130 or more commands.

Ok, well if it is low tech that you want....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1231/...b0fa3e5cba.jpg
Dial=A-Kill2 by marklopez996, on Flickr
I made the brackets from some plastic I had laying around and used model glue to connect them to my X-52. I dont use this anymore but It was my low tech solution to your question.
With my new method I hardly ever have to move my hands away from my controllers in combat.

Uhmmm... The Hat on my Joystick has 12 Commands on it. Up is Map Dn is Normal View, Rt is Gunsight View and Lt is Wide View. Up + Shift is Tgl Engine, Rt+Shift Select Eng 2, Lt+Shft Select Eng 1, Dn+Shift Select All Engines. +Ctrl Is for Missile commands with the corresponding Up, Dn ect.

But that is just the way I like to work it.

Wow, that looks very good Maico, well done!

Do not get me wrong, this is not quite what I am looking for.


I have setup the numerical keyboard to put the bombsight control commands. This is doing the job fine for me.

The challenge I need to solve now is to allocate single keys (withot combinations of ALT, SHIFT, CTRL and God know what...) to other functions like, for example, the Radio frequency control and the directional gyro control.

Of course I could add these function to the num pad as Alt, shift, ctrl combinations but I would prefer a more elegant solution with a lot of space in order to make things more intuitve; Especialy for the keystrokes I do not use every day (like bombsight control).
This is where Nostromo dissapoints me (everything too crammed).
Something like this would have been marvelous
http://www.rogerdodger.net/images/012.jpg
http://www.rogerdodger.net/sitebuild...ard-349x97.jpg

As said earlier, HIDmacro is a wonderfull solution of additing a second keyboard and normally it intercepts the keystrokes of the second (or third, or fourth) keyboard so they are not forwarded to the game (WOW! :) ) but unfortunately it does not seem to apply in the case of CoD (DAMN! :( )
Oh well, one can not have everything I guess so, I will have to stick to my MSSWFF2, X45 and two ThrottleQuadrants for the time being ;)

~S~

GRAthos

I did some test with IL-2 1946 and all work good.

In HIDMacros "q" send the macro "+g" (Shift+g), in game I map Shift + g to toggle wingtip smoke.
And HIDMacros "e" send "^g" (Ctrl+g), in game Ctrl+g toggle navegation lights.

When I hit "q" smoke is toggle, but gear (in game mapped to"g") no, as expected.
Same for "e".

I configure HIDMacros accord this screen:

http://www.hidmacros.eu/buffersettings.gif

And minimize before start game.

In CloD

HIDMacros > q= "+g" (Shift+g) In game map Shift+g to toggle cockpit lights.
HIDMacros> e= "^g" (Ctrl+g) In game map Ctrl+g to show Map.
In game g=uc (landing gear).


"q" show two different behavior:

Inside cockpit "q" only toggle cockpit lights as expected.
In outside view "q" toggle Landing Gear!!!

With "e" all work OK. Inside cockpit or with outside view "e" show Map.

Sokol1

Hallo Sokol, thank you for the expanations!
I am afraid I need something else. Can you:
In CoD define "q"="uc" (landing gear)
In CoD define "Shift+g" to toggle cockpit lights.
In HIDMacros > Keyboard #2: q= "+g" (Shift+g)

This means that now I can press
Keyboard #1: "q"= "uc" (landing gear)
Keyboard #2: "q"= "+g" (cockpit lights)

If I can do this then, I have a full set of new keys (keyboard #2) to allocate single key commands for it.

Unfotunately, what I experienced is:
I press Keyboard #2: "q"= "+g" (cockpit lights), the cockpit lights go on BUT AT THE SAME TIME the landing gear goes down.

It seemsthat HIDmacro can do that with the Microsot fligt simulator (fantastic!, great software) but not with CoD :(

Adding another number pad?
 

Is this possible? Would CoD just see another number pad as another control device? I have a lot of buttons mapped already, but would like to use one as a dedicated bomb control panel. I already use a CH fighterstick, pedals and a Saitek throttle quad.

Uther - I think numpads are treated as keyboard devices. Certainly I have an extra one to get away from using the actual keyboard and all it does is duplicate the keyboard numpad.

56RAF_phoenix

Thanks phoenix, looks like that idea is a no go then! Thought it would be too easy.

I think you could use two if you were careful to not use the same key's (or combos) on two keypads for seperate commands. For instance, on one keypad you could map say "5" for bail out and on a second keypad you would bind a "6 & 5" press to open canopy. Probably help to look at this kit to get a better idea of what I'm driving at
http://www.rogerdodger.net/diyflight...board_mod.html

It seems at first to be based on keyboards but I did see a you tube video where a person more or less made a button box out of keypad.......nice solution to get around buying buttons, hardware and electronics and then wiring things up.

Wait for Sokol to post a solution.

In the meantime, Touchbuddy (and a second monitor) could be a solution.

~S~

Lol, subscribing...

Debating whether to get a Leo Bodnar card (expensive) or have a play around with stripping down an old Logitech joystick I have (free!)and making a button box.

I have done both. Want some pics?

All the help I can get jimbop! I already have a headache just thinking about it lol

If you just want a small, simple box then don't bother with Leo Bodnar's controller. The difference is only in the number of inputs you can have and I only needed the controller since I was also inputting my joystick and rudder pedals. You can even increase the number of inputs from a single controller by doubling up inputs (e.g. command 'O' is different to 'Ctrl+O', see here) if you are willing to do a bit of hard work double-wiring each input. You can do this with any controller.

If you want to do it the simple way then something like this will work. My control setup houses the BU0836X controller inside this little black box (and, yes, the cup of tea is obligatory):

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6...0fe54903_m.jpg

The advantage of the Bodnar controller is that you can have six axes (the sliders on this box and x/y-axes on the stick and z-axis on my pedals). If you already have a stick and pedals set up then you can just add more sliders or trim wheels.

A big advantage of the Bodnar controllers is that you can also have rotary encoders (the yellow knobs). These effectively convert rotation into button inputs, so each click as you turn equates to a single button press. Very good for trim control which is what my three are used for. One rotary encoder uses two controller inputs. The buttons are just one input each and the switches are one input each pole.

The slider on the side of the box is prop pitch and, working left to right, the others are throttle, mixture, radiator, and carb heater/supercharger/oil radiator depending on what I am flying. The rotary encoder on the side is elevator trim and the other two are rudder and aileron trim.

I have an old printer cable coming out of that control box and into the stick and rudder pedals but this could easily go to a second control box instead. The cables exit the bottom of the box through the desk and you can see where I have cut the desk up to allow the joystick to move forward without sitting too far back.

(See my sig for stick info)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7045/6...9fb974c4_m.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6...fd067b48_m.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6...1b9d0837_m.jpg

One thing I would comment is that after I spent a lot of effort making a larger control box I found that I was routinely only using about a dozen buttons. Out of 250 possible inputs... A smaller box was called for so I redesigned to the current one which just uses the standard inputs from the Bodnar controller. Perfect!

Thanks jimbop!

What about this:

http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPa...duct_Id=390404

Interesting, never seen it before so thanks.

I don't know if this is posted before but I think is what you need

http://www.hidmacros.eu/whatisit.php

My trials with HIDMACROS and a second USB keybord:

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpos...7&postcount=21

Work fine in IL-2 1946, but have a strange behavior in CloD.

Sokol1

Thanks Sokol, I missed this thread first time round so have merged them now! The HIDMACRO would be ideal, but seems to have issues with CoD.
The Nostromo looks like a 'lazy mans' way of doing what I want, or even the LOGITECH G13 as I mainly want to use it for bomb controls.

I use an earlier version of the Belkin keypad and quite like it. With 4 modes and using modifier keys you can get well over a hundred commands plus it dosen't feel as keyboardy as a keyboard. Because it generates keystrokes you can use it for TS and TrackIR as well as game controls.

You can buy a button box like I did last week. Derekspearsdesigns.com

It's designed for sim racing mainly but I'm finding it works even better for Clod with so many different buttons.

Check out mine in the "Throttle Quadrants" thread I posted a picture of my Obutto Cockpit.

I think CLoD has a problem with interpreting Keystrokes. It may be peculiar to Saiteks SST software but If I assign a button with M to toggle the Map and Shift + M to another button to toggle mirrors - CloD fails to differentiate and I get the Map and the Mirrors toggling when I press the Shift + M button on my X52 - sometimes the button assignments work but, after a short while in game, it starts to misbehave.

In the end I created keyboard game files to suit what type of ac I was flying and deleted every command that was unecessary. This allowed me to only assign single keystrokes without Ctrl or Shift , etc. So for multi engined ac I have a different file than for fighters. If I want to use FMB then I load the file for FMB shortcut commands.

I'm having the same problems. I don't think it's SST issue as this never happened to me in IL2 46 and my joystick profiles are very similar.

(correction, not saitek, but realistic sims in general, more realiastic, means more controls,,,), which makes adding more controls with sticks like Saitek has been going crazy with every flight sim that has more and more complicated controls... it seems that for simple flight sims,, it worls best, and as the complication of commands grow, Saitek gets screwy... with more problems..

A-10C was the straw that broke the back.. it relaly pushed Saitek SST programming over the edge with complication that the stick and software seem to lose the ability to finction properly..

My X52 Pro was uanble to handle A-10C, in game cotnrols... and so I had no choice but to go with the SST software commands.. I needed more controls, no matter what.. in IL-2 CLOD< I got away with in game controls and some SST controls..

IL-2 1946 is SST controls

note: I also fly Black Shark... and other flight sims..

The sticks from Saitek wear after about 3 years use and start having problems, with parts breaking easier, with cheap plastic..

I have been using Saitek for more than 10 years..

if Saitek had only put a little more quality in, a couple pennies more plastic for strength, a few more pennies for more quality parts..

They are good, but me, not a very strong person must still take care to avoid breaking Saitek sticks and pedals, as the plastic is on the cheap side, and the knobs, sliders, pots, etc, start spiking and breaking in only a few short years with average use..

Thye are not the best, but not the worse, but it just frustrates me, that they held back on qaulity, when just a few more pennies could have made them a whole bunch better.

IMHO

I had exactly the same requirement,

The complicated mini keyboard-joysticks from Logitek did not help me because I did not have enough space to write comments about the bombsight functions on the keys
...and I was too lazy to play engineer and create my own joystick button box :D
Besides, I did not want to spend too much effort to create one rigid setup (button box) which would have been diffcult to adapt for later requirements.

The solution that worked for me was touchbuddy.
http://www.touch-buddy.com/forums/

This is my basic setup for bomb controls:
http://grathos.de/temp/CoD/ENStouchbuddy.jpg

I use it, loaded with some more options, besides my CoD window because I have 3840x1024 desktop thus enough space as long as the 3Render view is not working in CoD :(
http://grathos.de/temp/CoD/Alambash.jpg

In your case I presume the best way is to connect a second monitor and place it there ;)
I do not think it will cause a drop in fps but would be keen to hear the result if you ever test it.
Remember: You need to change one line in conf.ini in order to allow the free flow of the mouse between the CoD window and the Touchbuddy window:
in the [rts] section. Change "mouseUse=2" to "mouseUse=1"

This is the cheapest way to make a versatile, easy to remember extra buttons setup.

You can also make extremely complicated touchscreens:
http://www.mikesteven.pwp.blueyonder...BSTB_2m_01.jpg


A higher investment would require to buy a touchscreen screen, you can then control the buttons with your fingers!
Excellent solution, very immersive and very flexible! :)


~S~

I think the timing sometimes, there is a timing issue, and maybe lag, and sometimes keystrokes get combines wrong, because they get hung up and they soemtimes get dumped itn eh wrong order, or too fast, too slow causing bad results when the keys get pressed.. amybe if there is not enough memory avaiblable, the computer gets laggy and the commands come out in one string intead of in a broken sequence of key presses...
I don't know, but just thinking... if this happens, one can get al kinds of bogus commands.. and even reboots ctd's, etc..

Will certainly consider trying that GRAthos, as I have a spare monitor doing nothing.

Just to maximize the use of this thread, have a look at the two things in front of the keyboard... ;)

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/6647/photorizy.jpg

which are these
http://www.chproducts.com/retail/mfp/mfp_photo.jpg

http://www.chproducts.com/retail/mfp.html

At 190USD the touchbuddy secondary screen is still a good deal but this product solves a major concern, you can re-configure the placing of the buttons as per your taste at any time. Great idea!

~S~