Starting to make little progress

[mxmadman]

Its been days! You must have the best controller configuration around by now!

I command you to get in a plane and start having fun! Your setup must be quite different from mine if writing an entirely new macro file was necessary, but I really hope you don't get burned out before ever actually flying.

Let us know if you run into anymore snags.

Edit: perhaps I misunderstand this specific application, but generally I think of a macro as one button that performs several actions, ie button 1 would switch fuel cock, then open cockpit, then fire ignition (all examples), all from one button press. Is this not what you're referring to? It seems a little unnecessary but I'm sure could end up a lot more fluid than what I currently have - which is just 1 button for each action.

[d.burnette]

Originally Posted by mxmadman

Its been days! You must have the best controller configuration around by now!

I command you to get in a plane and start having fun! Your setup must be quite different from mine if writing an entirely new macro file was necessary, but I really hope you don't get burned out before ever actually flying.

Let us know if you run into anymore snags.

Edit: perhaps I misunderstand this specific application, but generally I think of a macro as one button that performs several actions, ie button 1 would switch fuel cock, then open cockpit, then fire ignition (all examples), all from one button press. Is this not what you're referring to? It seems a little unnecessary but I'm sure could end up a lot more fluid than what I currently have - which is just 1 button for each action.

No for writing a joystick file for my Cougar, it contains two seperate files - a macro file, and a joystick file. The macro file is just a list of commands, for instance a macro may be: Toggle Selected Engine = I.
OK? So a macro file for my Cougar, will have all the commands that the game offers, that I choose to assign, a key command for - or whatever the sim happens to have already assigned as default. So as you can see, my macro file for my joystick for this sim, can be quite long!
The joystick file, then all I do with it is designate a button - and whether it is toggled with another switch ( 3 way ), and I then insert the above command into that button.
IE - button S2 on my Joystick, I will enter " Toggle Selected Engine" - so in my joystick layout, that is what it will show. So when I actually press button S2 on my joystick with this profile loaded, it will then generate the letter I.

Anyways a little comlex, but once one gets the hang of writing the files for the Cougar HOTAS, it offers a whole bunch of options/flexibility. One hat switch can actually hold up to 24 key commands, or one button 6 commands, depending on my toggles used. I won't use near that many per button for the most part, but they are available. I created a lot more macros in the macro file for my stick than I will proably use, especially in the early going, but they will already be there and available should I want to add extra commands to my buttons as time goes on.

Enough bout that - hope it was not too confusing - well I am not this slow, I am home recovering from surgery and the last several days have been tough, did not feel up to doing a lot - but last 2-3 days have been improvements, so now I got back into it, thankfully!

But you are right, I need to fly now! Hope to get the button assignments, at least the ones I really need, done and some flying this weekend! Also have a new GTX 560 Ti 2gb vid card I want to get put in in the meantime as well.

Thanks again,

[mxmadman]

Oh man sorry to hear that. Get well soon and try not to get bogged down! It sounds like from what you said above, as long as you won't need multiple assignments for one button that you could just leave the default assignment in the macro file and just assign it inside clod. Obviously when toggled it will need to be defined somewhere that there is another key meant for that button press but it sounds like you've got that down pat.

Good luck man and feel better.

Edit: and congrats on the new hardware! All the more reason to fire up the game and see the new eye candy you can enable.

[d.burnette]

Thanks, but best to go ahead and assign within the software versus mapping directly from the sim, that way the options are there down the road should I want to take advantage, ie using one button for more than one command.

Thank you!

[SlipBall]

Originally Posted by d.burnette

Thanks, but best to go ahead and assign within the software versus mapping directly from the sim, that way the options are there down the road should I want to take advantage, ie using one button for more than one command.

Thank you!

What you are attempting takes one hell of a good memory in actual use...

[d.burnette]

Originally Posted by SlipBall

What you are attempting takes one hell of a good memory in actual use...

Lol, my memory ain't that good, especially at my age! I do end up remembering the basic commands, actually I end up remembering more than I think I will - but I always have a printout of my joytick file for the sim I am currently flying on my desk , it contains a nice graphic represention of what each button does regarding the command it generates.

[d.burnette]

I am please to report I got it finished, and just completed successfully my first solo training.
Well I say I was successful - never could quite seem to figure out where exactly the instructor wanting me to take off from. I followed the visual guide that I thought would take me to some runway - I ended up just giving up, in a fairly smooth area of the grass, and took the plane off. Flew around freestyle I guess, kept getting message to join formation but never new where it really wanted me to go.

So I ended up just flying for a bit then set her down successfully in an open field - I figure that was a success for me anyway.

Now to see about doing some actual fighting...