AIRCRAFT CATEGORY INPUT PROFILES
The purpose of an aircraft category input profile, is to create input mappings for a specific device that permit that device to work with most aircraft of any given category.
To set up this kind of profile we recommend having the device itself at hand, and ensuring that it has a device profile already present in the simulation. This can be one already included by the simulation or one supplied by third parties. On the occaision where you have the device yourself but there is no profile for it, you can create your own device profile following the instructions here:
Setting Up The Category Input Profile Package
To set up your chosen aircraft category controls, we will be using the Input Profile Editor, which has a list of all the input actions used in the simulation, and permits you to bind the different controller inputs to them. However, first you will need to either:
- create a new package for the aircraft category profiles.
or, if you are adding a category profile to an existing device package:
- add a new package to the existing project for the input profiles.
or, if you have already created a transversal profile:
- add a new asset group to the existing input profile package.
Regardless of the which one of these requirements you have, the approach is the same and starts with adding an asset group specifically for the aircraft category profile - either as a new package, or as part of an existing package - using the Project Editor. For this example we'll be adding a new asset group to an existing Input package that already has a device profile and a transversal input profile:
Here you should select the Input Profile asset group type:
On clicking Next, you will be taken to the Input Profile Wizard where you can select the device to use for the profile, and set what kind of profile it's going to be. In this wizard you will want to select the platform for the profile, and then select the category that you want to make the profile for. The assumption here is that you will be creating custom controls for the device that are specific to the aircraft category. For this example, we'll be selecting Helicopter.
Having selected the platform and the device, you need to give the device details. This starts with the Product ID, and - if you have the device available - you can simply plug it into your PC then select Use A Device Connected To Your Computer to select the device from the drop-down list. If you don't have the device then you will have to supply the following:
- Product ID - This is the unique product ID, expressed as a hexadecimal value, format
0x0000. - Composite ID - The composite ID is an integer value used to link multiple parts of a single product to a unique product ID (e.g. HOTAS…)
- Hardware Version - Similar to the composite ID, the hardware ID is used to link multiple parts together when they do not all belong to a single product ID.
- Has Buttkicker: The device has Buttkicker haptics incorporated.
Once you have this information, you should give the profile an appropriate name, and then click the Validate button. This will save the profile XML to the package and open the Input Profile Editor.
Setting Up Category Bindings
The Input Profile Editor is what will be used for setting up the bindings between devices and the simulation, which - in this case - is the device you wish to use for the aircraft category controls (in this case, helicopters), and it should be plugged into the PC if possible. If you do not have the device present, you can still set up the profile, but it may feel a little more complicated. Having set up the package and asset group for the input profiles already, you should have the Input Editor open (but if not, you can open it from the Editors menu, or by right-clicking on the package asset group and selecting Load In Editor), and it will look like this:
In general, the bindings you will need to set up are only those that are specific to the aircraft category you selected (in this case, helicopters). All bindings that are not specific to the aircraft category - ie: UI, cameras, user avatar, etc... - should have been set up using a transversal profile, as explained here:
To set up these inputs, we recommend that start by checking the Show All Actions checkbox, and then in the filter type the category you require - in this example HELICOPTER - which will populate the action list with all actions associated with that category across the various category-specific contexts:
NOTE: It is also worth exploring the AIRCRAFT contexts, since there are some controls that will be applicable for multiple aircraft categories available under the contexts that show up when using that filter.
To add the bindings you have the following two methods:
- take the input directly from the device by clicking the Get Input button (
) and then moving the device joystick or pressing one of the device buttons.
Or:
- use the drop down list button (
) and select the input manually.
It should be noted that there are certain options available to you for each binding, and these can be accessed using the 
button, which will open the Action Options window:
From here you can choose to send a specific value when the input is recieved (in which case you must check the MOD VALUE flag), and various different flags to use to modify the input. These flags are all explained in detail here: Flags.
This process should be repeated for all the different inputs over all the contexts that are appropriate for the aircraft category being set up.
Saving And Exporting The Project
Once we have set up all the aircraft category bindings, you can save the Input Configuration XML to the package using the Save option from the File menu. Once you've saved the bindings you can go ahead and build the package (see Building A Package) and then test the bindings in the simulation (ie: select the controller in the simulation UI and then start a flight using an aircraft of the chosen category, testing the different inputs that you have defined).