How should I manage cockpit controls with the mouse cursor, when the a/c is not in smooth flight?
atm as I try to turn a dial the small selection area means as the aircraft bounces so the cursor moves out of that area and selects something else!
So trying to set a heading means it keeps then setting the current heading and I get nowhere!
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Use your mouse and zoom in on the control, should relieve the bouncing around.
Map as many buttons and key binds as you can.
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Last resort: disable camera shake.
Hit Active Pause, then make changes, then unpause.
Try moving those buttons IRL in rough conditions.
It’s just about as hard.
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I like this zoom idea, but will it make a difference. Won’t the plane movements just be magnified too.
I wonder if they would be able to freeze the position of the cursor against the button/knob, for as long as the mouse button was pressed?
You can turn off camera shake. Makes operating panel controls a lot easier.
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In my case zooming up close totally freezes the cursor on the button, allowing me to select what I want to do, with no shaking. Now I wouldn’t do this off of autopilot and low altitude. Try it and see.
Wait for Simconnect to be fixed in order to allow full AP and GPS events to be picked up, get a touchscreen and install Air Manager, then have a panel in front of you at all times, then buy or build a Knobster. Also wait for full screen view without cockpit to be implemented. Been waiting for these for about a year, and still waiting. And waiting. And waiting. In the meantime, enjoying Mount Fuji and soon Mount Rushmore (looks like these and press any key to start are priorities for the developers) controlling the cockpit with my mouse and running into the same issues as you.
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Use the panel views. They do not move around. Change the default key(s) to something easy to toggle on/off.
Some very good suggestions here. I appreciate all your help!
Surprised though that it’s not been covered before.
Probably because it has been an issue in every sim. Hardcore guys map to external controllers.
I use stick, mouse, keyboard and map as many controls as possible so I can make adjustments with keyboard or mouse/stick buttons.
IRL you become so familiar with where all the buttons and knobs are you can operate everything blindfolded. In the sim, even when you know where the switch is, you can spend 30 secs moving your view to see it and get the mouse lined up. I use Trackir so I just need to look at the right part of the panel but then have to chase the switch around the display. It’s like Whack-A-Mole sometimes.
Much easier to just hit a button on the keyboard and be done.
Like others have said. Make custom camera keys that zoom in on what you want. In the steam gauge 172 I have the Garmin 540 / 430 zoomed in on when I hit the numeric keypad 0 key. That thing is a real bear to try to adjust when it’s at its regular distance. Zooming in on it makes it a breeze.
Here’s how I solved this problem.
First I use Opentrack and Voice Attack.
When I want to adjust a cockpit control I look at it and issue a voice command to Opentrack which locks the screen solid (flight sim still running) and I can then manipulate the control easily. Also I have taken the zoom function off the mouse wheel so even if the pointer wanders off the control whilst I’m turning a knob there is no annoying, accidental zoom.
I find switching to instrument view temporarily disable the camera shake so it’s easier for you to interact with them. When you switch back to the default cockpit view, the camera shake resumes.
This is the reason I got the Logitech flight panels. I got tired of the game of “bobbing for buttons and knobs”.
MS has now messed this sim up completely. Why do small aircraft bob around like thy are at sea? My real plane ( a light sports plane ) has never bobbed around like a @&*$ yoyo? Stop the damb thing swinging around and let it fly straight! I’ll not be flying this pathetic sim for awhile, hopefully they will eventually fix it!
Use the preset Ctrl-{number} cam view, seems to eliminate the shake.
This is why I map a button on my yoke/joystick in the TrackIR app to pause TrackIR. You look in the general direction you need, then pause TrackIR, then you can use the mouse without having to hold your head so still you get a stiff neck!
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