Easier-to-use instrument and avionics knobs when the aircraft is moving

In a real aircraft the knobs and switches are fairly stationary relative to a pilot’s hand during use. However, in the Simulator the airplane moves while the users mouse-pointer (representing a Pilot’s hand) remains stationary. This creates a relative motion between the knobs & switches and the mouse-pointer which is unrealistic. Having flown 1100+ hours on VATSIM (my ID 1009883), I routinely experience high workload situations where this relative motion makes it difficult, time consuming and error-prone (=frustrating) to manage everything. Near the end of a great enjoyable flight on MSFS, the positive experience gets severely effected by this issue.

Desired feature: Consider adding a child window (like VFR map or ATC window) with NAV radio inputs (frequency, NAV1<->2, CRS, Stby<->Active) and G1000 flightplan related inputs (zoom, direct-to a waypoint).

Thanks

Maybe another idea:
When hovering over the knob, an overlaying static knob image opens, which doesn’t follow the virtual cockpit moves and shakes. That would be just an configuration option to set that new feature on/off.

Alternatively, make the mouse pointer move with the cockpit. So it is fixed relative to the instrument panel, not the screen.

Would be nice if I could continue to raise the altitude on the autopilot while the plane bucks around in the turbulence! Great idea.
Thanks
PaulyFSPauly

this is really a pain right now, it’s almost impossible to use with weather

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It would help if there was a way to toggle lock the mouse to its current position. Basically allowing it to move around with the aircraft, similar to grabbing. Zooming the view would then also be disabled.

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One of the problems I find with most sims is that the mouse cursor changes appearance when you hover over a control that you can interact with. While this is helpful in showing you how the control will move (up arrow/down arrow on a switch, circular arrow on a rotary control), it means you lose the precision as to where exactly your mouse pointer is pointing! This aspect alone makes it harder to keep the mouse over the 3D knob during any camera movement or aircraft movement.

So far, out of all sims, I have found DCS to be the easiest to interact with in terms of the 3D cockpit. In that, the cursor is always precise as shown by the ‘+’ symbol, and it’s always clear exactly where the pointer is (centre of the cross). It’s not perfect and I do have difficult moments, but on the whole I find it’s much easier to operate those cockpits than any of FSX, X-Plane or MSFS.

As soon as we get a mappable axis for the zoom, I will remove the zoom control from the mouse wheel which will help save some frustration.

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Lots of good workaround solutions being posted here but I agree with the original poster, it would be great if the knobs weren’t so fiddly to use with a mouse. Larger click-spots would be a good place to begin.

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I use the small thumb stick on top of the Logitech Extreme 3D to control increase / decrease, Plus and Minus mapped to up and down, left and right mapped to the heading bug.

Then I mapped ctrl, shift, w to set vs mode and select it for Plus, Minus
ctrl, shift, s to set flc mode and select it for Plus, Minus
ctrl, shift, a to select altitude for Plus, Minus

However to actually select the next airport the infernal knob needs to be clicked. It would help a lot if you could turn the tool tips off, or the name tags which only obscure the view. Response from the knob also depends of frame rate and stutters. I have the instruments set to high refresh rate, why is it still limited by the overall frame rate. Often I have to click 3 times before it registers my click.

It’s a choice between two bad situations. Use it on the ground while the plane isn’t moving, low fps. Use it in the air where fps is stable, plane jostles around. It’s a build in mini game, pin the tail on the donkey.

Larger click spots would indeed be a plus.
Also the tags that pop up when you hover over any knob or button need to be much smaller.

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Using the mouse wheel to turn knobs, flip switches or change levers can be useful, but there are a few issues with it:

  • Using freelook (e.g. by holding right-click) and scrolling to zoom in/out can sometimes inadvertently trigger plane controls if you’re pointing the center of the screen at a control (but you don’t even know where exactly you would trigger something, since there is no cursor or crosshair or anything)
  • Trying to scroll a control, but missing it, will zoom the camera, which is technicially correct, but a bit annoying, since you then have to zoom in again to re-aim for the control

The most important improvement:

  • Never trigger plane controls when mouse wheel scrolling while the cursor is not visible (freelook)

Other things that could be useful, probably optional as a setting:

  • Never zoom when mouse wheel scrolling while the cursor is visible (definitely only optional for this one)
  • Add a bit of a zone around controls, where scrolling will not zoom
  • Add some kind of crosshair when in freelook, so you know what you’re pointing at for changing controls (could also help for clicking to change controls)

As someone else suggested, add the centre click in control settings to the mouse wheel for zooming. Then the zoom won’t activate when scrolling knobs with the wheel.

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+1, scrolling to zoom and inadvertently triggering various controls is annoying.

Similarly, scrolling to twist a knob (such as a heading knob) and inadvertently wildly zooming out is really annoying.

I think there’s room for improvement with this interface to be honest.

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I unmapped my mouse wheel from the cockpit camera zoom and unzoom, and that stops it happening. Instead, I mapped those to right-hand rocker switch on my CH Eclipse yoke. :small_airplane: :smiley_cat:

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I propose when changing a frequency or autopilot knob, that zoom be inhibited whilst continuous mouse wheel scroll inputs are made. This could be implemented in a few different ways:

This could be time based approach (Zoom is inhibited whilst the mouse cursor a control as it is now, but requires 1 or 2 seconds of no mouse wheel movement to unlock the zoom, or another control again)

Or perhaps a requirement to right click the mouse to unlock zoom again after a knob is turned. Mouse wheel movements would change only that control until the right mouse button was pressed to unlock it again.

Another way to do this would be a requirement to hold down the right mouse ‘cockpit look’ button whilst zooming - although this may be difficult for some.

Another would be a modifier key to be pressed to lock the mouse selection onto a control whilst it is pressed, regardless where the mouse moves to. This has the downside of requiring a key or button or mouse button to be pressed and would need careful consideration so that a control could be changed whilst still flying with a joystick.

Personally I like a time based approach.

What are your thoughts?

That kind of wish comes up from time to time. In one instance as: If the mouse is positioned over an input like a button or a knob and is not moved again, then the input should continue to receive mouse events regardless of the camera movement. That is a solution I would and have voted for.

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What I did was to unmap the cockpit camera UNZOOM and ZOOM from the mouse wheel. :small_airplane: :smiley_cat:

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Yeah but I still want that XD

Just do it as it usually is. Zoom with mousewheel only when RMB is pressed, free look + zoom on RMB pressed.

Simple as that.

Or at least give us the option to bind the controls. When I try to rebind zoom to RMB + wheel, it unfortunately break RMB freelook. So, not possible to remap now.

This has bothered me now and even back in my FSX days. The way your mouse can drift off of a knob, while you are trying to adjust it…say like the altitude or heading knobs. This happens because the target areas for the knobs are small so any mouse movement, either by you or plane movement, causes you to drift off the knob, then you either start zooming in our out, depending on how you are rotating the mouse wheel a the time…

A possible solution…Once you move your mouse on to a knob, it’s “locked” on that knob and would require more force to move it off the knob than usual. This replicates what happens in the real world…you grab a knob with two or three fingers and rotate it…No matter what the plane does, you fingers remain on the knob the whole time…

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