Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

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stylo
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Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby stylo » Fri Jan 08, 2021 21:46

Hello all, I have a Gladiator NXT Right Premium and have been unable to get the rotary encoders En1 and En2 working as they should in IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad.

GOAL: What I want is for the rotary encoders to act like a simple mouse scroll wheel, to control mixture and propeller RPM, etc. Each click should represent x% of the total - e.g. if it's 2% per click, then moving the encoder 4 clicks from 40% should give me 48% mixture. I don't mind if the mixture doesn't go instantly from 100 to 40, obviously this is unrealistic, but I want it to move at a usable and predictable speed compared to how fast I am scrolling. And when I stop scrolling, the % should stop changing.

PROBLEM: I have to scroll the wheel 1000x to get it to register a slight change in game. For example, I have to rotate let's say 30+ clicks for the game to register 1% change in mixture. This is unusable.

THINGS I HAVE TRIED:
  • I tried adjusting the number of detents from 2/4 to 1/4, but this barely made a dent in the issue. It is still suuuuper slow, just maybe half as slow. It just prolongs the 'lag' effect of each click of the encoder. It has double the effect, but the rate of the mixture change is the same.
  • I also tried adjusting T_Enc Global variable from 50ms to 100ms. This also just increased the 'lag' of the encoder. Even after I stop scrolling, the mixture % keeps changing.
  • I have tried following the instructions on IL-2 forums hereto set up the encoders as Virtual Axes 7 and 8, Slider and Dial. But this did not seem to register as an axis either in VKBDevCfg or in game.

Should I just accept that these encoders do not work well for mixture? Is it better suited to use En1 and En2 for other commands, e.g. pitch trim or radiators? Or would those commands have the same problem? I'm not sure.

I feel like I've tried all kinds of solutions so appreciate your help.

EDIT:
VKB Gladiator NXT Right Premium v2.010
2x #10 springs, default cams etc
VKBDevCfg v0.91.54 (NJoy32 firmware v2.00.7)
I have attached screenshots.
Attachments
enphys.png
enlog.png
enaxes1.png
Last edited by stylo on Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:31, edited 2 times in total.

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VKB-NA-Engineer
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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby VKB-NA-Engineer » Fri Jan 08, 2021 22:40

I can't test right now my sim rig is buried in a basement remodel, but personally, I wouldn't use an encoder for mixture control in IL2, maybe if any others have had any success they can chime in?

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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby thememorableusername » Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:54

If you change the encoder type to "Trimmer" (and bind it to an axis) you multiply the speed of rotation (next to the axis box)from 1x to "8k"x (probably 8192x) by powers of two.
So if you to scale your input to be twice as much, you just go one up on the multiplier.

That said, I'm having a heck of a time binding axis to mice actions, so if you figure that out let me know!

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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby Victorus » Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:09

First of ALL - show screenshots of your settings. Phys. Buttons tab, axes tabs, etc.
http://forum.vkb-sim.pro/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2762
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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby thememorableusername » Sun Jan 10, 2021 1:28

I think I just figured this out.
In the physical layer have my encoders set as 4/4 Discrete, and then the in the logical layer, I have the mouse wheel multiplier set to 1x.

I bet that if this is too slow, you can change the multiplier.

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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby stylo » Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:32

Victorus wrote:First of ALL - show screenshots of your settings. Phys. Buttons tab, axes tabs, etc.
http://forum.vkb-sim.pro/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2762

I have added the requested details to the first post. It only allows maximum three screenshots so I am attaching more here.
Attachments
enaxes2.png
englobal.png
enjoy.jpg

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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby Victorus » Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:34

It is preferred to set encoders as virtual axes. Mouse wheel is single but you can set up 8 axes.
Do not forget to enable virtual axis trimming (red line).
Select axis type - having center (for main axis trimmer (cheat!!!))) or not (RPM, mixture etc).
trim+.jpg

Set encoder as trimmer. Select existing axis number (#1 for roll trimming, do not forget to enable trimming for this axis) or new one, #7 as you want.
Entrimmer.jpg

Advice. Set button to reset virtual axis (to 32767 (centered) or 0 without center). For example buttons above encoders.
trrreset.jpg

Responses for both axes types.
response.jpg

My DIY Throttle panel has 8 encoders. 3 for trimming main axes (including pedals), 2 for radiators, 2 for cowls, inlet and outlet (La-5). 1 for mouse wheel (zoom control). And all of them work in Great battles.
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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby stylo » Sun Jan 17, 2021 0:16

Victorus wrote:It is preferred to set encoders as virtual axes. Mouse wheel is single but you can set up 8 axes.

Thank you! This solution worked for me. Thanks for the clear explanation with screenshots.

I set up the encoders as virtual axes "having centers" because it is makes more sense for me to reset to 50% than 0% -- my F3 button on the base is set to reset both encoders. I have En1 for mixture and En2 for RPM, 256x multiplier on the encoders, they are working as expected and allow fine control of %. Thank you for the help :mrgreen:
Attachments
enfix1.png
enfix2.png

Hypertexthero
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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby Hypertexthero » Thu May 13, 2021 7:36

I found this while trying to do the same thing: Assigning Prop Pitch and Mixture controls in IL-2 to rotary sliders En1 and En2 on the Gladiator NXT.

The problem I am having is that IL-2 doesn’t recognize the sliders any longer after making the above changes in the VKG Device Config software. It was detecting them previously when they were set to buttons, but after changing them to trimmers IL-2 doesn't detect them any longer.

Did you need to enter the slider names manually in the IL-2 data/input/current.map file, or did the in-game Key Mapping interface detect them?

Thank you for any help, I am loving this stick so far despite this problem!

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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby Victorus » Fri May 14, 2021 10:52

Please follow recomendations.
http://forum.vkb-sim.pro/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2762
Show your settings screenshots.
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Re: Gladiator NXT Rotary Encoder Issue [IL-2]

Postby Hypertexthero » Sat May 15, 2021 6:05

I worked around the problem by using hat switches for the prop pitch and mixture and am satisfied for now.

I think it is a problem specific to IL-2 as in MSFS2020 the changes are detected and it works.

If I decide to try it again I will be sure to follow the steps in the tech support link, thank you.


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