Over the spectrum of sims that you fly - do you try to keep your HOTAS or controller standardized with regards to button functions? I only just realized I subconsciously have been doing that. For DCS, EECH, and Arma - I try to have the same buttons function as auto-hover and trim reset. Same with speedbrakes in FSX, DCS, X-Plane… Do you prefer standardization over realism - ie - would you change the Warthog HOTAS default bindings to match the other sims you typically fly…or do you fly with historically correct assignments?
I use what is realistic if I can and if it is something I am willing to put some time into. Otherwise I have a standardized set of buttons based on whatever is active in DCS.
Or, in some games where a bunch of aircraft use the same set of controls (I’m looking at you Arma), it is obviously a standard set.
I try to standardize as much as possible because I have issues with memory. If I take too much time away from a sim, I literally have to relearn my configurations. Standardizing helps…
historically correct for me.
I am flying mostly the WWII planes and I like to use the same amout of buttons on the stick&throttle as in the real plane.
like in the IL2 BOS I have mapped flaps, trims etc. to the keyboard so I have to reach out to handle them even in the heat of combat. it can be handicap copmared to the HOTAS guys but I like the added immersion
Back in the IL-2, Lomac and FC days I did. I still do it for FC3 planes in DCSW.
As for the other planes: I try to put things into roughly the same position. My Falcon BMS profile for my G940 is based on the one I have for the A-10C, which in turn is based on where the buttons are in the real plane.
In FSX I have a completely different profile. Dunno why. Perhaps because most buttons from my layouts don’t apply to FSX anyway.
In general I try not to put stuff on the stick or throttle that are not there in the real plane. I occasionally deviate from that though, I sometimes put stuff on a throttle button that are not on the throttle in the real plane, but can easily be reached by the pilot without looking. An example is the trim in the BF-109, and the tail wheel unlock. I don’t click those.
But I do click the gear handle for example.
That is also a thing that makes me not fly planes with non-clickable cockpits. I hate it when a button or lever is in front of my eyes but I have to remember which button on the stick it was. Arrgh…
EDIT: I wonder what I will do when DCS:F/A-18C is released. I think I will do the same approach as for BMS, trying to fit it to the A-10C profile as well as possible.
My Arma profile messes me up sometimes because once in awhile I forget which button is the auto-hover on/off toggle and which is the sling load release button. Confusing that can be disastrous sometimes…
As a general rule, I’ll try to map to the “real” aircraft controller’s layout, at least as close as I can. The thought here is that somebody already went through all the human factors engineering to figure out what controls were important enough to put on the HOTAS.
Of course, rarely do I have a 1-for-1 match (Warthog HOTAS is the only one I own), so I have to get creative with mismatches/left-over buttons. Then there are sim-unique controls, like zoom view and Track-IR reset. For both of these I tend to use a standard convention, but not something I’ve consciously defined.
it can be handicap copmared to the HOTAS guys but I like the added immersion 
