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Thrustmaster Hotas 4 - Throttle Rocker Axis Not Recognized

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Thrustmaster Hotas 4 - Throttle Rocker Axis Not Recognized

Postby Ocrock » Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:44 pm

Hello all,

I have just picked up a Thrustmaster Hotas 4 to use on my PC for FlightGear. I have been trying to get all the settings done, but have a problem with recognizing twist and rocker axis.

There are two "modes" for the unit, which either uses just twist as an axis, or also turns on the rocker.

In mode 1, the rocker is disabled, and axis 3 is controlled by twisting the joystick. This works as expected, but I wish to use the rocker for rudder controls.

In mode 2, what is SUPPOSED to happen, is the rocker is enabled, and is added as axis 4. However, for me, when I enable this mode, Flightgear recognizes BOTH the twist and rocker as axis 3, controlling the same inputs. I can never in any configuration get Flightgear to recognize the 4th axis to be used for rudder control.

I have gone into Windows to calibrate the unit, and in there, all the controls and respective axis are working properly. It differentiates axis 3 and axis 4 while in "mode 2".

I am not sure how to proceed at this point, but I deeply wish to use the rocker as an axis for either rudder or left/right brake control.

Also, does anyone have a binding/XML file for the Hotas 4 for Flightgear (2018.3.1) ?

Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you very much!

Operating System: Windows 10
FG Version: 2018.3.1
GTX 1070 GPU
Connected via USB 3.0 port
Ocrock
 
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Re: Thrustmaster Hotas 4 - Throttle Rocker Axis Not Recogniz

Postby tdammers » Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:41 am

I'm using a Hotas X, which from what I gather is almost the same device; the input config for this one assigns the rocker axis to glancing left / right, and the twist axis to rudder; I found this useful enough to keep it that way.

The configuration file should be in `$FGROOT/Input/Joysticks/$JOYSTICK_NAME.xml`, where `$FGROOT` is the root directory where your FlightGear data is stored, and `$JOYSTICK_NAME` is the name of the device (should be something like `Thrustmaster-TFlight-Hotas-4.xml`. FlightGear should create that file automatically if it doesn't exist, after which you can edit to your desires. (Disclaimer: I'm on Linux, so I'm not 100% sure where to find that file on Windows).

The relevant sections in this case are the `<axis>` ones. The ones for the rocker and the twist axis look like this for me:

Code: Select all
  <axis n="3">
    <desc type="string">Rudder</desc>
    <binding>
      <command type="string">property-scale</command>
      <property type="string">/controls/flight/rudder</property>
      <factor type="double">1</factor>
      <offset type="double">0</offset>
    </binding>
  </axis>
  <axis n="4">
    <desc type="string">Throttle rocker switch: View Left/Right</desc>
    <dead-band type="double">0.05</dead-band>
    <binding>
      <command type="string">property-scale</command>
      <property type="string">/sim/current-view/heading-offset-deg</property>
      <factor type="double">-180</factor>
      <power type="double">1.2</power>
      <setting type="double">0</setting>
    </binding>
    <low>
      <binding n="0" type="string">
      </binding>
      <binding n="0">
        <offset type="double">1</offset>
      </binding>
    </low>
  </axis>


The "n" parameter determines which physical joystick axis to use, and the contents of the element say what to map it to. It's a bit overwhelming maybe, but the system is extremely flexible.

Anyway, this file would be the first starting point for troubleshooting - if you have different bindings for those two axes, and it still doesn't work, then I'm out of ideas.
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