Control Manager features you'd like to see

[Revvin]

As the title says..what features would you like to see added to the next version of Control Manager?

For me it would be an addition to the way the list of commands from the CMC file is shown. What I'd like is to see a tick or the command coloured differently when I've already used it in a profile, this would help for profile that have many commands so you could quickly see what commands you've already assigned.

Another feature I'd like is an extra tab after the controller tabs to enter a 'readme' text that could be either created as a standalone file to zip up with the .map, .cms and .cmc files or just keep the text viewable within Control Manager which might be better as then you would only need to open one application to read up on any special commands or mapping within the profile, for instance if you used a .cmc script and wanted to explain what you've done. If it was to be kept within the Control Manager software perhaps it could be in rich text format so you could add bullet points and have bold text titles?

[Twilight]

I would like it to create backups of the .map .cms, etc files automatically _before_ saving any change. The best way, in my opinion would be to add the current date to the filename. For example:

Original filename: F4.map
Backup name: F4_2003_12_31.map
Edited filename: F4.map


More ideas coming... :idea:


Twilight

[Bluenose69]

Without a doubt - a graphical printout (resembling the CH BMP files that you can fill in yourself) of your template. Spending an hour or two in Paint Shop after programming your template is a pain but necessary to get a good quick reference visual chart.

I think the new CMPrint program is great but not very user friendly for use "in game"

:thumbsup:

[Ding]

It'd be nice to see some command-line utlities for checking the syntax of CMS scripts and pushing them to the stick. I don't particularly like using the CM editor (I know; I'm sorry), and a few simple CLI programs would make working with external editors simpler.

[Typhoontony]

You know what I'd like to see is better (clearer) documentation. This may be somewhat off topic but I can't for the life of me figure CM 3 out. I'm not an imbecile as in my day job I run the electrical distribution for a large city. Some examples would have been helpful. CH Gear is top notch but the instructions leave a little (lot) to be desired. There I feel better now. BTW Rev this is a great site

Typhoon

[Ark]

The ability to program my wife to stop yelling at me.

:P


Ark

[Revvin]

That's the problem associated with upgrading Girlfriend V1.00 to Fiance v1.1 and then doing the upgrade to wife v1.2 :)

[Typhoontony]

The absolute worst scenario is allowing Wife V1.2 to come into contact with Girlfriend V2.00 . :w00t:

[Revvin]

LOL yup that really does'nt result in a fatal error and often results in 'Wife v2.00' uninstalling the 'bedroom entertainment pack v1.00' or sometimes even uninstalling you completely from 'Wife v2.00'

[mbeaver]

Originally posted by Typhoontony@Jan 22 2004, 05:45 PM
You know what I'd like to see is better (clearer) documentation. This may be somewhat off topic but I can't for the life of me figure CM 3 out. I'm not an imbecile as in my day job I run the electrical distribution for a large city. Some examples would have been helpful. CH Gear is top notch but the instructions leave a little (lot) to be desired. There I feel better now. BTW Rev this is a great site

Typhoon
I agree. Some type of "Idiots Guide" would be great.

[MichaelCHProd]

I am looking into a cliff notes version of the Users guide but it is hard to tell where to stop and what to assume the end user knows.

[Twilight]

Originally posted by Bluenose69@Jan 9 2004, 10:02 PM
Without a doubt - a graphical printout (resembling the CH BMP files that you can fill in yourself) of your template. Spending an hour or two in Paint Shop after programming your template is a pain but necessary to get a good quick reference visual chart.

I think the new CMPrint program is great but not very user friendly for use "in game"

:thumbsup:
Second that!!!

Color coded too. For example Blue text for mode 1, Red text for mode 2, etc...

Something similar (color code) for shift states.

Maybe color codes for modes and uppercase/lowercase or superscrit/subscript for shift states??


Twilight

[MichaelCHProd]

Already under way for the next Control Manager rev. :D

[Twilight]

Whoohooo!!! :thumbsup:

Looking forward to it!


Twilight

[Twilight]

I've come up with another feature I would like to see, this time in the installation program:

It SHOULD let you choose where to install it. I hate programs that install themselves wherever they please. I normally have a folder called MyInstalls or something like it where I like my personal programs to reside. This way I eliminate multiple directories at root or at program files, etc...


Another $0.02


Twilight

[MichaelCHProd]

Noted ;)

[Revvin]

Could we have some additions to the GUI to replace or at least make it easier for new CH users to add such things as commands on an analogue axis and toggle buttons. For instance in another thread a user asked how to add WEP (War Emergency Power or Boost) to the end of the throttle travel. OK so this may be easy enough for the reasonably experienced but I thought it might make a good addition to have a bar on the GUI so that when you selected the throttle Axis you could click on this bar and have a sliding marker (perhaps a button to add more markers) so that you could move this marker shown as a percentage so that after that mark it would execute a command, such as in the example below WEP could be switched on after 95%. Also how about making toggled buttons easier so you don't need CMS. Maybe add a TOGGLE command (like the HOLD command) and then you could input characters or macro's from a .cmc file separated by a semicolon or slash per command so pressing a button once would perhaps give you Air to Air radar mode, a second press Air to Ground mode, a third Navigation mode etc

[SmuvMoney]

Would it be possible to allow CMStart to download any map? Since I tend to have one map per game, it would be nice if I could just run a batch file like this before starting any game:

"C:\Program Files\CH Products\Control Manager\CMStart.exe" fs-ut2k3.map

It would load the map of choice as CMStart loads the last loaded one now. If the map does load correctly, then it turns green as it does now. The taskbar icon could flash red if the map doesn't download correctly. At that point, maybe it could ask you to open Control Manager to fix the script.

This feature would make my life a lot easier. If there is already a way to do this, please educate me and eradicate my ignorance. :D

[Beercamel]

I would REALLY like to see the ability to add a generic rudder pedal set that Control Manager would ‘SEE’ in order to be combined into a CM MAP. That way old gameport rudder pedals can be used through a ‘Radio Shack’ style gameport to USB converter… I personally know several people that want to transition to CH USB HOTAS but can’t afford all 3 CH units at once.. Or don’t want to throw out their old rudder pedals…


Vince P

[MichaelCHProd]

Revvin,
The WEP and Toggle stuff is a good idea and I will see if we can work it in with the other cool swag we have in mind.


SmuvMoney
I have seen this request here, SimHQ (hi Beercamel B) ), Tech Support E-mails, and Tech Support phone calls. It is a good idea and like Revvin's I am trying to get it in the "dude we really need x" list.


Beercamel
Nice to see you. <s> Hope to see you at AirVenture this year, again B) I will have more than one Sim up and running in the booth so stop by and have a cold one. B)

About the adapter...the killer there is that I would need to have all of the VID/PID registry numbers for ALL of the various converters. Not to mention some people get those converters to work and others don't. Hence the CH policy of "adapters are neither recommended nor supported".

Now let’s say I get all of these VID/PIDs and the permission of the individual manufactures to play around with them. Any body who what’s to can connect ANYTHING to this adapter and then they can use the Control Manager for their controller.

Sure the Control Manager may say that they are Pro Pedals but with scripting you could do anything with the input coming from this "unknown” controller behind the adapter.

Sorry brother. :(

[spelchek]

Mac compatibility

[MichaelCHProd]

Sorry but the Mac Control Manager is not coming. :(

[Bodhammer]

I would like to see an automatic graphical printout in color. James really had it down pretty well in Foxy for the Cougar.


I would also like to see a profile/game launcher option such as what the Logitech Wingman software has where it sets up the profile, downloads, then launches the game.


Thanks,
Bod


p.s. It's really good to see Michael from CH and Bob Church here - CH Products is a class act!!!

[MichaelCHProd]

Thank you :cheers:

[Revvin]

Seeing as you've created those base profiles Michael would it be a good idea to add an extra option when you set up a profile using the control wizard to ask you if you'd like to use DX mode or mapped mode so that when you go into the profile either all the buttons are ticked as DX buttons as they are now by default or all unchecked if you chose to start the profile in mapped mode?

[Bob Church]

>> Seeing as you've created those base profiles Michael would it be a good idea to add an extra option when you set up a profile using the control wizard to ask you if you'd like to use DX mode or mapped mode so that when you go into the profile either all the buttons are ticked as DX buttons as they are now by default or all unchecked if you chose to start the profile in mapped mode? <<

I've thought a few times that would be handy thing to have, or maybe just some way to clear a controller back to the Programmed Mode state. There is a way to do most of it now, though it's not really obvious. Add the controllers that you want to use as seperate devices using the "Add" button, then use the Control Wizard (not the Map Wizard) and tell it you want to create a 4-Axis/4-Button map. It will assign your X/Y to the FighterStick, Throttle to the ProThrottle, and Rudder to the ProPedals - all of which you probably wanted to do anyway - and it will assign buttons 1 through 4 on the FighterSitck to Windows button 1 through 4. Everything else will be cleared and tagged for Programmed Mode. Generally you won't have to do anything with the assignments it made unless you don't want 4 Windows buttons, and it saves all the "DirectX unchecking" that you normally need to do. It does produce a combined map for the axes, but generally what you wanted anyway.

- Bob

The StickWorks
http://www.stickworks.com

[MichaelCHProd]

That's how I made most of these maps B)

[Revvin]

Perhaps a button in the menu that clear DX mapping?

[JNOV]

I'd like the ability to bypass the GUI, at least for CMS outputs. For example, it would be really convenient to be able to script

<cms button> = <logical expression> #<output string>;

where <output string> would be what one would normally type in the cms button GUI box or something like "CMD1.26" to indicate a DirectX output (e.g., in this case, CM Device 1, button 26). In case a CMS button is an "l-value" multiple times in a script, you could impose a restriction that the script define the output string only once or make an artibrary decision to use the first or last one specified.

As a (less attractive) alternative, you could recognize a block of

<cms button> <output string>

entries, either in the script file or in a separate file.

It would work in the same way for the CMS axes, except that the "output string" would be limited to specifying a DirectX axis.

I understand the appeal of the GUI when you're mapping the physical buttons and axes (although personally, I would not use the GUI given a text option), but it seems to break down a bit when you're talking about the CMS outputs. The "blue screen of buttons" seems a less intuitive and less convenient place for the mapping than the script where one actually defines the logic that generates the CMS outputs.

Just my $0.02,

JNOV

[Sledge]

While we are on wish lists...a touch screen style ICP/DED...wishful thinking I know..cant imagine the dollars that it would cost to buy :blink:

[Spidey]

I like JNOV's suggestion. It's what the cougar programming currently allows to do...where you can send the output directly without the CMS button.

I would leave the cms button programming as it is. It's easy to see.

Howeverm, some scripts i would like to have it bypass CMS.B# alltogether.

[Spidey]

P.S.

I would also like to see Delay function built into the GUI interface and also in CMS sending keys

So i can write for example

f DELAY(5) f DELAY(5)

in the GUI.

[Ghost Rider]

Maybe had the possibility to scroll down with the mouse wheel in the CMC editor and also CMprint !

Also the possibility to print a Key map with the picture of the joystick, throttle will all the commands fill in the box.

Also when we use a CMC file and we select a command from the list we only see the name on the list. Maybe it will be nice to also see the key command too !

Another, all key commands use the color of the mode their are assign to.
Green for mode 1, red Mode 2, yellow Mode 3

I just have it yesterday so i'l maybe have more features suggestion in the days to come. :)

Thanks

[MichaelCHProd]

Keep them coming brothers B)

[JNOV]

This is not a big deal, but I just noticed that CMS apparently does not allow nested definitions. For example, the following definitions yield a compilation error:

%define msx js2.a1 // assuming that pro throttle is joystick 2
%define msy js2.a2
%define db 40 // deadband

%define up [msy < 128 - db]
%define down [msy > 128 + db]
%define left [msx < 128 - db]
%define right [msx > 128 + db]

The script works fine when msy, msx, and db in the second block of definitions are replaced by js2.a2, js1.a2, and 40, respectively. It's be useful if CMS were changed to resolve these sorts of dependencies, but I appreciate the complexity it adds.

- JNOV

[Bob Church]

>> This is not a big deal, but I just noticed that CMS apparently does not allow nested definitions. <<

No, not at the moment. Neither the CMC definitions nor the %defines can reference other definitions.

- Bob

The StickWorks
http://www.stickworks.com

[Ghastly]

I think a good feature to consider might be a check box for a "repeat" key (or sequence) function, that automatically adds a timer function to the current script (tied to the next unused CMS button control) to repeat the key (or sequence) while held down, for those who are either not experienced at programming and/or are just starting out and haven't yet gotten up to speed on it.

<S>

Ghastly (-Ghost)

[Ghost Rider]

Also why not having the possibility to make a macro program with several keystroke and the macro will calculate the time between each keystroke as we press it !

The Saitek X-45 program is doing that and it is very easy to make a macro with time between each keystroke.

So lets say I press the B wait about 5 sec and then press the G and 2 sec after the F

The program will make a macro like this:
B
wait 5 sec
G
wait 2 sec
F

All this without having to make CMS scripting

[Seawolf]

Originally posted by MichaelCHProd@Jan 26 2004, 10:29 PM
I am looking into a cliff notes version of the Users guide but it is hard to tell where to stop and what to assume the end user knows.
Assume the end user knows nothing.lol That's the group I'm in. ;)

[MichaelCHProd]

That is going to be a LARGE users guide

[abe_beson]

Hi everyone,
I use the microstick on the ch throttle for view control. In order to do this I program it as a mouse and the game (mostly IL2Sturmovik, forgotten battles) takes care of the rest. I think this works very good, but I miss the ability to return to certain view positions by a simple button press.

The simplest way to implement this perhaps would be to emulate a trackIR device and use their software for view control. At least I think trackIR has the desired ability to store views.

That is, it would be nice to be able to select TrackIR instead of mouse as the DX-device in the control manager.

I do not think it is possible to implement view-positions in a cms by recording and remembering mouse movements/positions?

Best Regards,
Abe

[Bob Church]

Hi Abe,

Good to see you over here!

WRT the mouse and views, it's mainly a matter of not really being able to find out where the view/mouse is "now", which then makes it more or less impossible to figure out how many mouse counts you need to generate to get to where you want to go. We have talked about an absolute mouse in the past, though I'm not sure even that would get around the problem.

One thing that might work would be to use keys to get to a particular fixed view to use as a reference position, then use the mouse to work away from that to the view position you actually want. You can feed the mouse with values in CMS, you don't really need an axis, so, for example, you might write a sequence to first send a keystroke to get you to the fixed view nearest the view you actually wanted , then let the CMS generate a fixed fixed set of X and Y mouse counts to get you from there to the viewpoint that you actually want to use. It would take some experimentation to figure out what the X and Y mouse counts would need to be, but you could probably get pretty close.

- Bob

The StickWorks
http://www.stickworks.com