CFS3 & Saitek Throttle

[JohnCT-4]

Just upgraded my desktop computer, and found I can't dual boot XP to run CFS3. Apparently no XP drivers for Asrock Z87 Extreme 4& Haswell i5 4670. (Aside, A bit grumpy with my supplier who didn't tell me that before he cashed the cheque.)

So "per adua" and all that, I attacked installing CFS3 on Win7. I spent a week years back, and couldn't make it work, which is why I resorted to dual boot. But now there is lots of good advice round, which I followed carefully. After all the usual mishaps I have CFS3 up and running. BUT while my Wingman Force 3D stick, and Saitek rudder pedals work OK, the Engine controls are playing hard to get. I've set them up for FSX as X=Mixture, Y=Throttle, Z=Pitch, so I'd like to be consistent in CFS3.

The assignment process in CFS3 does not recognise the control lever assignment, so I cant assign X or Y axis. I select assign, waggle the control, and it isn't recognised. Z axis is automatically assigned to throttle. And I think I know the levers & buttons are talking to the PC, because they work OK in FSX.

I've also looked at Saiteks separate set up software to see if I could work around using that, but it assigns controls stepwise, and I'd like more sensitivity than its 10% steps if I can get it.

So I searched and found the file "CFS3<myname>.aca" which is the file that Saitek uses to add its instructions to (I think) created by my CFS3 control setup. Near the end of that file I find

<Device Type="Saitek Pro Flight Quadrant">
<GameMode Name="Player">
<Axis ID="Throttle" Action="AXIS_THROTTLE_SET" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Button ID="1" Action="GEAR_TOGGLE"/>
<Button ID="5" Action="FLAPS_INCR"/>
<Button ID="6" Action="FLAPS_DECR"/>
<Pov ID="1" Action="HeadPov"/>
</GameMode>
<GameMode Name="M3DViewer">
<Pov ID="1" Action="HeadPov"/>
<Button ID="3" Action="ZoomIn" RepCnt="1"/>
<Button ID="4" Action="ZoomOut" RepCnt="1"/>
</GameMode>
<GameMode Name="Gunner">
<Axis ID="X" Action="TraverseGun" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="Y" Action="ElevateGun" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
</GameMode>
</Device>

My question is can I edit this to add the axes I want, and if so will it work? I presume I can delete the M3DViewer segment,, and the Gunner section, and replicate the Mixture & Propellor axes before the Throttle axis.

I'm NOT a programmer, so any advice, and awful warnings, gratefully received.

John

[ndicki]

Regularly occurring problem which you can fix very easily with notepad, as you're finding. The Saitek software just gets in the way, so I don't even use it, in XP at least.

If it's any help, here are my settings for my X52 and rudder pedals - this will not give you the attributions you want, but will at least give you the right names to assign manually!

</Device>
<Device Type="Saitek X52 Flight Control System">
<GameMode Name="Player">
<Axis ID="X" Action="Set_Bank" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="Y" Action="Set_Pitch" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="Throttle" Action="AXIS_THROTTLE_SET" Scale="127" Nullzone="1"/>
<Button ID="1" Action="FireGunsOnly"/>
<Button ID="15" Action="Fire_Guns"/>
<Button ID="2" Action="FireCannonsOnly"/>
<Button ID="5" Action="TogglePadlock"/>
<Button ID="6" Action="FireGunsOnly"/>
<Button ID="7" Action="WAR_EMERGENCY_POWER"/>
<Pov ID="1" Action="HeadPov"/>
<Button ID="10" Action="NextTarget"/>
<Button ID="9" Action="PrevTarget"/>
<Button ID="20" Action="SelectNextWeapon"/>
<Button ID="22" Action="ReleaseFireWeapon"/>
<Button ID="27" Action="TOGGLE_AIRCRAFT_EXIT"/>
<Button ID="28" Action="GEAR_TOGGLE"/>
<Button ID="4" Action="CycleTactical"/>
<Axis ID="Slider" Action="AXIS_MIXTURE_SET" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="RY" Action="AXIS_PROPELLER_SET" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="RX" Action="AXIS_ELEV_TRIM_SET" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Button ID="17" Action="HeadRight"/>
<Button ID="19" Action="HeadLeft"/>
<Button ID="18" Action="HeadDown"/>
<Button ID="16" Action="HeadUp"/>
<Button ID="3" Action="HeadReset"/>
<Button ID="29" Action="ToggleCockpit"/>
<Button ID="14" Action="HeadBackward"/>
<Button ID="13" Action="HeadForward"/>
<Button ID="12" Action="DEC_COWL_FLAPS"/>
<Button ID="11" Action="INC_COWL_FLAPS"/>
</GameMode>
<GameMode Name="M3DViewer">
<Pov ID="1" Action="HeadPov"/>
<Button ID="3" Action="ZoomIn" RepCnt="1"/>
<Button ID="4" Action="ZoomOut" RepCnt="1"/>
</GameMode>
<GameMode Name="Gunner">
<Axis ID="X" Action="TraverseGun" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
<Axis ID="Y" Action="ElevateGun" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
</GameMode>
</Device>
<Device Type="Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals">
<GameMode Name="Player">
<Axis ID="X" Action="AXIS_LEFT_BRAKE_SET" Scale="65518" Nullzone="82"/>
<Axis ID="Y" Action="AXIS_RIGHT_BRAKE_SET" Scale="65518" Nullzone="82"/>
<Axis ID="Rudder" Action="Set_Yaw" Scale="64" Nullzone="36"/>
</GameMode>
</Device>
</Mappings>

There is a problem with the weapons selection in the CFS3 internal attributions manager; if you use the terms I've used here, it'll work whatever buttons you decide to use - RAF practice for single seaters, for example, was to have the bomb/RP release on the throttle lever...

Hope this helps!

[JohnCT-4]

Thankyou Sir, A gentleman & a Scholar. Cheers John

[JohnCT-4]

Well, I took advice, and edited the .xca file, and recalibrated, and in CFS3 the only thing that worked was the Z axis which worked the throttle. I have been trying to set all this up cleanly; but in desperation sought out my old XP installation .xca file, ( which worked OK) and copied that across to my new Win 7 (C: drive ) installation, and eventually got the Mixture & throttle to work on X & Y, respectively, but the Propeller on Z doesn't function correctly.

( On FSX the X, Y, Z correctly control Mixture, Throttle & pitch respectively.)

BUT in both cases opening ( and closing ) the throttle goes from zero, to 50% in an instant, then proportionally from 50% to 100%. So I figure its in the Saitek, not the flight programmes.

Read lots of Forums. First mistake. I used Wordpad, not Notepad. ( And the good advice above said NOTEPAD.) So now I'm reediting all the .xca files as Notepad docs.

Two questions
1. Should I re-save them as Unicode, ANSI, or what format? The default it shows is ANSI

2. What does Scale="64" Nullzone="36" tell me. Sometimes I see quite different numbers. Can any one explain in simple terms pease?

Thanks to all the wise men John

[ndicki]

Two questions
1. Should I re-save them as Unicode, ANSI, or what format? The default it shows is ANSI

Never looked at this. If you just click on 'Save,' it'll save them into the same format as the original, which in any case is actually a txt-style xml file.

2. What does Scale="64" Nullzone="36" tell me. Sometimes I see quite different numbers. Can any one explain in simple terms pease?

Thanks to all the wise men John

Again, never looked at this either. If you stick to what it says for each attribution, but just change the button/slider number, it should work anyway. I hope...

[Daiwilletti]

2. What does Scale="64" Nullzone="36" tell me. Sometimes I see quite different numbers. Can any one explain in simple terms pease?

Thanks to all the wise men John

At a guess, I'd say that the nullzone sets the sensitivity to movement. A nullzone of 36 would make the particular widget/lever not very sensitive, which is no doubt useful. A smaller nullzone would make that parameter twitchy. Just a guess.