Hi,

this is possibly going to sound a bit pathetic, but, whatever.

I saw a couple of articles about the Streamdeck, and thought it looked like a good idea, so have bought the XL version. I can see the basics of how it works but haven't played in depth with it yet. I have downloaded a bunch of basic profiles for the default MSFS aircraft (via FlightDeck) and I can see how that hangs together.

I also saw lots of stuff about using AAO, both as a separate package for MSFS control and in conjunction with the Streamdeck. So I got a copy of this as well. I have watched a few videos but have not actually set up anything with AAO on the sim yet.

My confusion is surrounding the relationship between the two products. How do they fit together? Do I have to have functions (buttons etc) assigned via AAO before I can use them in the SD? (I assume not but . . .). Perhaps if I state what I'd like to do, and it may be that I'm completely off-track anyway, in which case I'm happy to be told so.

I'm not a complex (procedural) flyer. Very much a "ctrl-e"/give it some throttle/get in the air/fly around a bit as the mood takes me" kind of simmer. One of the reasons I never was attracted to all the button pressing and gauge wathing in the sim was the sheer awkwardness of finding all the right buttons and moving around in the cockpit, trying to get the mouse to work on the dials etc. So my first thoughts about the SD was that if I had a bunch of profiles with all the major buttons and functions set up I might be more inclined to learn how to actually fly some of these aircraft a bit more realistically. So, do I need AAO to be able to do this?

My second thought, as I see that I can assign multiple functions to the SD buttons, is that it might be possible, and a good learning exercise for the aircraft concerned, to create a "start from cold" sequence for an aircraft by hooking together the correct set of functions, with appropriate pauses. Once done, I could then either use my customary ctrl-e quickstart or fire off the cold start macro and watch the whole process take place without having to remember the specific sequence for each aircraft (once I've set up the macro/SD button). And again, do I need AAO to do this (if it's even feasible) or if it's not actually necessary, would it improve the process for doing this?

I've looked at a lot of videos, and they all seem to be about the mechanics of things like assigning a particular function to a particular controller axis, or assigning a function to a standard keypress or controller button, and I don't have any issues about how to do any of that stuff. I just don't really get the bigger picture of how it all hangs together.

I'm more than happy to RTFM - I just can't find the RFM (right FM)!

One final question re AAO. The info I have seen implies that I should remove the default MSFS settings for my controllers (CH Pro set, in my case), and use AAO to assign settings for my different aircraft. But like I said, I'm not a procedural flyer and I have dozens of aircraft addons that I'm only ever going to want to just ctrl-e and fly away in. Presumably I could just keep a default set of MSFS profiles and only switch in any AAO profiles on demand? Or will AAO drop back to an MSFS default if the current aircraft is not know to it? And if that's not even a realistic question, I apologise. That's the level of confusion I'm stuck at right now.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions of appropriate reading.

cheers,

Andy

29 minutes ago, andy1252 said:

My confusion is surrounding the relationship between the two products. How do they fit together?

Initially not at all. There is a freeware plugin for the StreamDeck available on the AxisAndOhs website that includes special StreamDeck actions that can be used as "actuators" or gauges. That plugin talks to the WebAPI of AAO, and AAO then gathers the data from the sim or triggers events that you send from the SD. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the native SD functionality as a button box. There are a few simmers who already made StreamDeck profiles for this combo and they share them on flightsim.to.

29 minutes ago, andy1252 said:

My second thought, as I see that I can assign multiple functions to the SD buttons, is that it might be possible, and a good learning exercise for the aircraft concerned, to create a "start from cold" sequence for an aircraft by hooking together the correct set of functions, with appropriate pauses. Once done, I could then either use my customary ctrl-e quickstart or fire off the cold start macro and watch the whole process take place without having to remember the specific sequence for each aircraft (once I've set up the macro/SD button). And again, do I need AAO to do this (if it's even feasible) or if it's not actually necessary, would it improve the process for doing this?

If you have the required knowledge, you can write RPN scripts that AAO will run for you. Those can be as complex as you want them to be. That can also include voice control and voice output (in case you want a fictional FO telling you what is happening). Again, this has zero to do with the keyboard commands etc. RPN scripts operate on a lower level and utilize the methods from the simulators SDK directly. Some (actually a lot of) assembly is requried.

 

29 minutes ago, andy1252 said:

The info I have seen implies that I should remove the default MSFS settings for my controllers (CH Pro set, in my case),

AAO does not override the sim. If you assign the same axis or button in AAO and in the sim, they will fight each other. As long as you keep assignments separate, nothing bad happens. AAO knows what aircraft you are flying, and all controller assignments are saved specific for each aircraft. So you can assign them differently for every plane that you fly, with different sensitivites etc. - in AAO, this doesn't concern the sim.
Botton line, if you really use AAO, it is better to remove the conflicting assignments from the sim entirely, they would only get in the way.

 

Edited April 10, 20224 yr by Lorby_SI

26 minutes ago, andy1252 said:

I just can't find the RFM (right FM)!

Go to the AxisAndOhs Weebly website, on the Downloads page you will find the manual and the demo version. Make sure to try the demo version first - as it says in the product description in the shop (!)

Edit: oh, right, you already bought it anyway. The link to the manual is in the Windows Start menu, section "Lorby-SI"

 

 

Edited April 10, 20224 yr by Lorby_SI

Thanks for the replies. I hadn't actually installed AAO yet (I'd watched a few youtubes and read a few articles but hadn't installed it as I wasn't sure how to proceed) so I did that and found the manual. That should keep me quiet for a bit.

Looks like I've got some fun ahead of me.

(and thanks for all the various tweaks and products you've put out. I've got a lot of them and they've all been really useful/fun)

 

There are a lot of great profiles done for the stream deck and axis and ohs.   Guenseli has done some very good ones for the Kodiak, DC6, CJ4 and others.   You can install those and figure out how its done.   For me the stream deck with AAO has been a total game changer.  Makes sim flying a lot more immersive without having to build a hardware interface.  

https://flightsim.to/profile/Guenseli

Just to add, I find it so much easier to just use a basic, barebones controller profile in MSFS, then do customized setup in AAO for each aircraft

19 minutes ago, mrm0508 said:

Just to add, I find it so much easier to just use a basic, barebones controller profile in MSFS, then do customized setup in AAO for each aircraft

You do know that you can just copy an existing configuration to a new aircraft with a couple of mouse clicks? "Templates -> Apply other config to this aircraft"

As written above, trying the demo version first is mandatory. Make sure that you really need an app like this before you buy it.

Edited May 9, 20224 yr by Lorby_SI

1 hour ago, Lorby_SI said:

You do know that you can just copy an existing configuration to a new aircraft with a couple of mouse clicks? "Templates -> Apply other config to this aircraft"

Yes, I do that regularly....the MSFS profile management in the sim is a PITA and I am happy AAO freed me from that nonsense.