Rude Rudder Behavior ...

[Team_P3DSpacePort 6]

... in SimConnect, that is ;)The following is a problem that I am struggling with. At first, it seems straightforward, but the behavior boggles me:First - we all know that, by default, INS and ENTER keys on the NumPad (rudder keys) do the same thing as a Z Axis on a joystick with a twisting handle (and the rudder pedals, if so equipped). When I press any of them, the rudder moves - no big whoop.Next - I have a simple SimConnect app that gets notified of the rudder event. I press the INS and ENTER, and the app gives me event notifications. I see rudder move on the aircraft, and the pedals are moving in the VC. However, using a joystick, I see rudder moving on the aircraft and VC, but NO EVENT NOTIFICATIONS happen. Why is that? As far as SimConnect is concerned, that should be the SAME event: RUDDER_RIGHT and RUDDER_LEFT. There are no other Rudder events that perform this function - except perhaps AXIS_RUDDER_SET. Can anyone shed some light on this?Misho

[Pete Dowson 558]

>However, using a joystick, I>see rudder moving on the aircraft and VC, but NO EVENT>NOTIFICATIONS happen. Why is that? As far as SimConnect is>concerned, that should be the SAME event: RUDDER_RIGHT and>RUDDER_LEFT. There are no other Rudder events that perform>this function - except perhaps AXIS_RUDDER_SET. Can anyone>shed some light on this?All joystick axis inputs provide AXIS values -- yes, in this case AXIS_RUDDER_SET. The parameter provides the value to be set, derived from the axis input.Keyboards and buttons cannot act like axes as they have no "value", they are just events, they occur or they don't. So the only way to control an axis with them is to use "INCs" and "DECs" -- that's all your "RUDDER LEFT" and "RIGHT" are, nudges. You don't want that with a joystick axis, otherwise you'd have to keep whacking it left to increment the rudder leftwards and so on. With an axis you want to move the axis to a position and the relevant control surface should move correspondingly.Therefore, all AXIS events have parameters providing their values. If fact all events ending in "_SET" have parameters and can be used with axes.Why not use FSUIPC to investigate these things? You don't need a Registration to use the logging. Install it, enable Event and/or Axis logging and you can see the results of every possible event in FS in the logs.RegardsPete

[Team_P3DSpacePort 6]

Thanks Pete! That makes sense!I will definitely use FSUIPC to investigate these, as we have tons of other potential pitfalls. We are actually working (and making a great progress) on orbital mechanics for FSX using FREEZE_..._TOGGLE events. The only thing we are kind of scratching our heads with is the case when an aircraft is very close to the ground, about to land. In this case, and especially when the terrain is uneven, the FREEZE functionality fails, because aircraft doesn't "sense" the ground and that it is supposed to react to it. For instance, if I freeze the sim control of the AC position and attitude, and write my own code to control it (basically, a custom flight model), there is no way I can get the AC to properly interact with the ground (especially if it is uneven as opposed to flat). I'm toying with a few options (for example, having an altitude threshold at which FREEZE is disabled and the FSX's engine takes over) but I'd love to hear your take on this...Misho

[Pete Dowson 558]

>... but I'd love to hear your take on>this...Sorry, AI aircraft and object control is one area I'm a complete dunce in!Pete

[Team_P3DSpacePort 6]

Thanks nonetheless, Pete! I'm sure the solution will present itself given a bit more experimentation.Misho