Just a pretty minor problem with axis assignments for Live Camera Control. I have previously used an Xbox 360 controller for Windows, but I recently got a Xbox One controller (as it has finally, after an inexplicably long time, got a wireless adapter for Windows, but that's beside the point).

 

With the Xbox One controller I can't properly bind the trigger axes for up/down camera control, like I'm used to. Unlike the 360 controller, the Xbox One controller has each trigger on a separate axis, but the Opus control assignment interface will only let you bind one axis for both up and down.

 

The Xbox 360 windows driver just shared the z-axis on both triggers, with one trigger controlling the upper half of the axis, and the other trigger the lower half. But the Xbox One driver has the z-axis on the left trigger, and the z-rotation-axis on the right trigger, but I can only bind one of the two for up/down control in the Opus interface.

 

As a workaround I'm using the bumper buttons for up/down instead, but it would be great if it was possible to use both the trigger axes instead.

It's all down to the driver and nothing we can do. For button use the controller has to be enabled in the sim so Opus receives button events from it. For LCC axis assignment the controller has to be seen through the DirectX interface.

 

Stephen :-)

My problem is not that Opus cannot see my controller or its specific axes. It can - no issues there. The issue is with the LCC axis assignment interface, which automatically assigns the same axis to both up and down. When I click in the assignment box for "Up" and move the axis I want to use *only* for up, then the axis gets assigned to *both* up and down.

 

What I would like to be able to do, is to assign the "Controller Z Axis" to "Up", and the "Controller Rz Axis" to "Down". The LCC controls assignment interface can see both of those axes on my controller, so surely it's not a driver issue that they can't be assigned separately to up and down, but just the way the LCC logic is designed?

By definition axis are bi-directional so you cannot assign them separately.

Isn't an axis just a range of numbers that the driver provides? Whatever the lowest and highest number mean is surely not something set in stone by some objective definition, but it is up to the software application to apply those numbers in whatever way is meaningful to the particular application. You could have an "Upwards motion" method that is controlled by an assigned axis, where the method implements one end of the axis scale as meaning "No upwards motion", the opposite end of the scale means "Full upwards motion", and the middle of the scale means "Half upwards motion". And similarly with another axis controlling downwards motion? 

 

I understand if it is not something you want to implement in LCC, and it is really just a minor issue for me, but I can't see how there is some definition or driver logic that makes it technically impossible.

Since an axis is bi-directional the values from the controller go both positive and negative. Two axis would simply be in conflict and no software is designed for that.

I'm a software developer myself, and I don't agree with that. One controller axis can control the upwards motion vector, while another controls the downward vector, and the resulting direction of motion is just the two vectors added together. If the user applies full upwards control while applying full down control, it would just be a zero vector and no motion. Full up and half down would be half up, etc. 

 

It's just a matter of software logic and design, but that's a more general discussion that isn't really in its place here. So thanks for your time to and for replying swiftly to me on a Sunday  

Just like all other similar software we treat bi-direction axes in the conventional manner, each axis defining bi-directional motion just like a joystick axis. If we provided an option to combine dual axes to one function there would have to be many variations to cater for, many possible interpretations to cater for due to the bi-directional nature (+/- range) of each axis movement with options to invert axes to cater for all types of controller.

 

DirectX has no such feature or support, your driver obviously does not cater for combining axes in this manner within its set up or configuration, nor do we.

 

If the controller is not suited for LCC or general eye point control its best to use a different controller.

 

Stephen :-)

The Xbox one controller looks fine to me. It has two XY axis thumb joystick controls, each thumb axis operating as standard bi-directional axis control. Ideal for assigning to LCC functions. They can be assigned similar to our own Sony DualSkock3 shown in the manual.

 

Stephen :-)

The Xbox one controller looks fine to me. It has two XY axis thumb joystick controls, each thumb axis operating as standard bi-directional axis control. Ideal for assigning to LCC functions. 

 

I am unsure exactly what you mean by this. Do you mean that both triggers on your Xbox One controller share the same axis? If that is the case, then you are most likely using earlier Microsoft drivers from 2014. The current Microsoft drivers for the Xbox One controller has two separate axes mapped independently on the two triggers, as I've described earlier. And as you said, that kind of axis mapping is not supported by the Opus software.

I don't have an Xbox one I use a Sony dualshock3. I was just saying the Xbox one appears to have two standard thumb sticks, giving four available bi-directional controllable axes, so there should be no problem using it for LCC control. Just like other controllers there appears to be plenty of thumb stick axes to assign to the LCC controls.

 

Stephen :-)

Thanks for your suggestion, but I have already assigned the four available thumbstick axes, to forward/backward, left/right, pitch, and yaw. And that's actually the reason I would like to use my trigger axes to control up and down...

 

It is really just a minor issue that it is not possible to use the trigger axes in Opus, and I am just using the bumper buttons instead to control up and down.

 

Again, thanks for taking time to reply to me.

If they are buttons and you enable the controller in the sims settings (delete all sim auto assignments) then the button events can be assigned for LCC up/down use via the OpusFSI Shortcuts -> LCC dialog. To use the axes the controller does not need to be assigned but to get button events via SimConnect it does. No need to assign any axes or buttons from the controller in the sim though, just enable it so the FSISERVER can see the buttons.

 

Stephen :-)

A quick question on the game controller. I'd love to use it for external walkarounds. Reading your instructions in the manual, it says you need to enable the controller in FSX/P3D (I use P3D), but to delete any functions assigned to it. I use FSUIPC to assign axes to my controllers - which requires controllers to DISABLED in the P3D controller menus.

 

Will this not cause a conflict in the ability to use it, or will FSUIPC allow the assignment? I mostly fly PMDG aircraft.

OpusFSI acts on button events issued by the sim so the controller must be enabled in the sim for it to detect and issue the button events. For LCC axes control Opus reads the axes directly through DirectX. So you really need to follow our advice if you want to assign and use button presses on the controller in OpusFSI. This should not cause any problems as the controller can be dedicated to LCC use (so you can walk and fly around the aircraft, enter quick camera offsets etc..) so you have no need of fsuipc4 in this case.

 

Stephen :-)