Fellas and Felines,
No matter how many buttons you have on your setup, there is a reason to use Modifiers.
Not long ago I was using Shift and Ctrl as well as Alt as modifiers to gain more usablitly on my controllers. The problem with this is that in VR or even without, you have to reach for the keys with one hand and press the button with the other. This created delays and we all know that delays during a critical moment like landing, takeoff or combat can mean the difference between feeling good or being sad.
DCS to the Rescue:
DCS provides the ability to assign any button on your controller to be a modifier. When I saw this I was over the moon. It took me some time but I replaced all my modifiers. I decided to use one mod on my Joystick and 2 mods on my Throttle. 2 modifiers on my throttle effectively triples the number of buttons on my joystick.
Examples:
So let’s say I have a four way on my throttle, and I want to use left and right for open and close Oil Cooler. But I also need to set the Oil Cooler to Manual first. So, I will program Fwd to Open, Aft to Close and Fwd + Modifier to Manual Ctrl then Aft to Auto Ctrl. I just saved me two buttons on that 4 way Sw. Now I can use Up/Dn to set maybe Radiator Controls in the same way.
One control that I find indispensable is the Head Position Up /Down. I use Seat Up down if available on the aircraft but if not, Head Position. I have a Modifier on my Throttle, and I use it with the Trim Switch to raise the view or lower it. Works great when landing and not just on the boat. The Hun and the Phantom land at high AOA. So now the trimmer is much more than just trim. Also, this way of setting controls seems intuitive… well at least to me.
I am hoping IL2 Korea has or will implement this feature.
Here is my F-100 Ctrls. TT95 and TB96 are Modifiers on my Throttle.
The button the DLC control on the F-18 stick is the Modifier on my Stick.
I have a treat for you fellas. IL2Korea has Modifiers. You will no longer have to reach for the keyboard for Ctrl, Shft and Alt.
Found it last night while programing my profile in IL2K. I will post in a couple of hours(when I get home) where exactly to find these. But the basics are, Pick Modifiers, Press the button you like to use as a Modifier and that is the end of it. Now you can add these to your commands.
This game is getting better and better.
In Key Mapping go to Service Commands. At the bottom you will see “Additional Modiffier Buttons(Shifts)”. Here you can enter your Modifiers.
Have Fun!