@@schoolio64D didn't think I was haha keep doing what you enjoy man, DCS has always been amazing. So many upcoming modules I can't choose which I'm waiting for the most, the chinook, typhoon, tornado... that's if we don't all get conscripted to fight an actual war LOL.
Hey Schoolio, Great informative video and demo. The 6 Aux buttons can be mapped just like any other controller in the DCS controls page. You will see a column for PointCTRL. Most guys use them for things like NVGs, Salute, visor, escape, label, etc. Reference using F10 menu when the right FCU is active (not timed out) and you are using the the mouse. You can just look up slightly so the FCU is not in the FOV of the sensor, or cover the sensor with your other hand for a few seconds until the FCU times out. I use the FCUs to point and select items on the F10 menu. Just look straight ahead when interacting with it. If you look up and to right at it, you will end like a cat chasing it's tail and will have to raise your FCU way up and to the right to select items. I also set my message font size to 1.5. You can also use the FCU closer to your headset when interacting with the F10 menu so you don't have to raise it so high. Again, great video, and thanks for explaining things much better then I can. Miles
Using VR (vive pro 2 & aero) with the headtracked mouse pointer - then you only need to assign buttons for left / rightclick on stick / throttle in the dcs keybindings general layer (even scrollwheel can be mapped) and you never need to touch the mouse again.
If that works for you, great. I tried that and it didn’t work for me because 1) I didn’t have enough buttons, and 2) unless I bound those on my stick (not enough buttons), they were useless because I switch between my collective for helos and the HOTAS throttle for planes. I’d have to move my hands to the throttle when I’m flying a helicopter, which didn’t work. I have the Apache collective, where every switch has a purpose - it was hard enough trying to find a hat to use for George!
Great video. Looks complex, works great. I get by with a Razer Tartarus and a mouse. The Tartarus makes it really easy to know which key you are pressing and can be assigned to anything and has macros. With alt keys you have 32 keys and a HAT switch. These are all within your hand due to the ergonomic shape. Initially designed to make ASWD gaming easier, it's awesome for VR flight sims.
Actually VR works on videos also. I streamed a few times and people that I was using TrackIR at first. I've been looking at these for about three years now. Looks a lot more advanced now.
It does. All of my live streams are in VR and some of the videos too. I use OpenXR Toolkit and have the head shake reduction turned up to make it not quite so bad for the viewer.
Neat stuff. I wonder if it would work in flat screen even. How do you scroll knobs? Click hold and drag ? Also I have great luck with the free voice attack, since I only use it for the F keys. But I highly suggest adding a second word to the command , I use “ radio f #”. To avoid accidentally changing view mid flight. So I still have to button key the comms menu then voice select the menu. Makes “ return pre contacts “ soo much easier 😂
It probably would, but you’d have to mount it to your headset, and it’s another wire, so it might not be desirable. For knobs, you click and drag just like you would with the mouse.
Hey, great video. I ordered mine in November last year so I guess I have to wait a while. How difficult is the setup and can you use PointCTRL in Microsoft Flight Sim as well? Again great video.
Setup is easy. Miles has some videos that show you how to mount it. He recommends going with the default calibration to start, but I found that I needed to do my own calibration based on my setup. I don’t know about MSFS.
Hey man, i have a beginner level question When flying irl how do you operate the instruments? Ive thought about this in DCS, I dont have trim settings and hover and things like it down yet so taking my had off the stick at any point will just send the bird spiraling. The only natural thing feels like doing everything with the left hand but since id have to use my non-dominant hand for the mouse it becomes pretty awkward. Id imagine that in a stable hover you can do it but is it more of an "never take your hand of the controls" kinda thing? cheers
IRL you use your left hand. You put enough friction on the collective so that it doesn’t move and you reach up with your left hand. The whole mouse thing is why I really love PointCTRL. I can just use my left hand and leave my right hand on the cyclic, and I don’t have to try to use the mouse with my left or take my hand off of the cyclic.
From what I understand, Leap motion does not work well at all, and PointCTRL emulates your mouse very well, but to be honest, I don't know much about Leap Motion.
I tried pointctrl for about a month and couldnt figure out what the big fuss was about. didnt really help I have arthritis in my thumbs, makes it really hard to use it half the time.
Yeah I’m sure that can make it difficult. If it’s hard to use, you won’t want to use it. Hopefully you have another solution that helps you enjoy DCS. 🙏
I have both. The trackball is great for menus and such but for interacting with buttons and switches I find the PC's far more intuitive and basically easier to 'just click stuff that I'm looking at'. I also have some physical button boxes and MFD's/UFC's and prefer interacting with them in some cases but the combination of all 3 is hard to beat.
@@schoolio64D what is that is well explained in this video. Anyway it’s a mouse pointer emulator via a finger unit, basically you point your finger and a mouse pointer will mimic your movements. You can then click and scroll whatever in the cockpit. Just Google “Point Control”. Delivery time well over 1 year.
Hey @school64D, really enjoyed your vid (as I do all of your content). Just thought I'd point out that the top buttons (the ones that sit on the headset) are actually auxiliary buttons as opposed to the controllers. Those are the little suckers known as FCU's (Finger Control Units) that you put on each index finger. The FCU's give you the mouse functions, whereas the aux buttons on the headset aren't required as such but if you order them, they give you 6 extra mappable buttons you can assign to things like 'salute', 'NVG's on/off/adjust and, well anything you like really, as they are just seen as other mappable devices.
Mine is on the mail truck for delivery, can't wait! I ordered May 2022 as well.
"Hey, Wags here to get you started on the (insert airframe here) tutorial...."
Anyone else? Good video man, smooth voice too.
You’re not the first to say that 😂
@@schoolio64D didn't think I was haha keep doing what you enjoy man, DCS has always been amazing. So many upcoming modules I can't choose which I'm waiting for the most, the chinook, typhoon, tornado... that's if we don't all get conscripted to fight an actual war LOL.
Wait is this really wags??
@@xxnositxxI wish I had the early access to all of the new modules! But no….
Hey Schoolio,
Great informative video and demo.
The 6 Aux buttons can be mapped just like any other controller in the DCS controls page. You will see a column for PointCTRL. Most guys use them for things like NVGs, Salute, visor, escape, label, etc.
Reference using F10 menu when the right FCU is active (not timed out) and you are using the the mouse. You can just look up slightly so the FCU is not in the FOV of the sensor, or cover the sensor with your other hand for a few seconds until the FCU times out.
I use the FCUs to point and select items on the F10 menu. Just look straight ahead when interacting with it. If you look up and to right at it, you will end like a cat chasing it's tail and will have to raise your FCU way up and to the right to select items. I also set my message font size to 1.5.
You can also use the FCU closer to your headset when interacting with the F10 menu so you don't have to raise it so high.
Again, great video, and thanks for explaining things much better then I can.
Miles
Thanks Miles! I appreciate the clarification and I love using PointCTRL!
Using VR (vive pro 2 & aero) with the headtracked mouse pointer - then you only need to assign buttons for left / rightclick on stick / throttle in the dcs keybindings general layer (even scrollwheel can be mapped) and you never need to touch the mouse again.
If that works for you, great. I tried that and it didn’t work for me because 1) I didn’t have enough buttons, and 2) unless I bound those on my stick (not enough buttons), they were useless because I switch between my collective for helos and the HOTAS throttle for planes. I’d have to move my hands to the throttle when I’m flying a helicopter, which didn’t work. I have the Apache collective, where every switch has a purpose - it was hard enough trying to find a hat to use for George!
Great video. Looks complex, works great. I get by with a Razer Tartarus and a mouse. The Tartarus makes it really easy to know which key you are pressing and can be assigned to anything and has macros. With alt keys you have 32 keys and a HAT switch. These are all within your hand due to the ergonomic shape. Initially designed to make ASWD gaming easier, it's awesome for VR flight sims.
That’s great. I was getting by with the mouse and keyboard, but this just makes the VR experience even more immersive for me.
@@schoolio64D Trying Quest 3 hand tracking is going to be a must for me once I get back onto DCS (been a while)...
Only a DCS fan would characterize two solid years as "a little bit of a wait" LOL
Two weeks, two years, same thing, right? 😂
Actually VR works on videos also. I streamed a few times and people that I was using TrackIR at first. I've been looking at these for about three years now. Looks a lot more advanced now.
It does. All of my live streams are in VR and some of the videos too. I use OpenXR Toolkit and have the head shake reduction turned up to make it not quite so bad for the viewer.
Neat stuff. I wonder if it would work in flat screen even. How do you scroll knobs? Click hold and drag ? Also I have great luck with the free voice attack, since I only use it for the F keys. But I highly suggest adding a second word to the command , I use “ radio f #”. To avoid accidentally changing view mid flight. So I still have to button key the comms menu then voice select the menu. Makes “ return pre contacts “ soo much easier 😂
It probably would, but you’d have to mount it to your headset, and it’s another wire, so it might not be desirable. For knobs, you click and drag just like you would with the mouse.
@@schoolio64D I have wired headset with TrackIR wire run with it to, wouldn’t be bad. I just wonder how it tracks. Interesting idea.
11:33 DCS added the possibility to map communication controls to your hotas without taking up extra buttons. So that would solve your issue I guess?
How would one do that? Please share for the group. Thanks.
@@schoolio64D
On the Controls page, select "Command Menu" from the same drop down box where you select aircraft.
Nice to see my 101 CAB skin!
My first job in the Army was the Scout Platoon Leader, A/1-101. I moved up to No Mercy staff after 2 years in that job.
@@schoolio64D hell yeah. I wear old Abe on my right sleeve.
@@DeltaGolfProductions I did too, until I retired.
Hey, great video. I ordered mine in November last year so I guess I have to wait a while.
How difficult is the setup and can you use PointCTRL in Microsoft Flight Sim as well? Again great video.
Setup is easy. Miles has some videos that show you how to mount it. He recommends going with the default calibration to start, but I found that I needed to do my own calibration based on my setup. I don’t know about MSFS.
I've watched the developer's videos on this. It seems great. How was the setup and price?..
Setup was super easy…nearly plug and play. Mine was ~$230 USD.
So is this a TrackIR for your fingers, that mounts on your VR headset?
That’s a good way to think about it. A TrackIR for your fingers that acts as your mouse.
Hey man, i have a beginner level question
When flying irl how do you operate the instruments? Ive thought about this in DCS, I dont have trim settings and hover and things like it down yet so taking my had off the stick at any point will just send the bird spiraling. The only natural thing feels like doing everything with the left hand but since id have to use my non-dominant hand for the mouse it becomes pretty awkward. Id imagine that in a stable hover you can do it but is it more of an "never take your hand of the controls" kinda thing?
cheers
IRL you use your left hand. You put enough friction on the collective so that it doesn’t move and you reach up with your left hand.
The whole mouse thing is why I really love PointCTRL. I can just use my left hand and leave my right hand on the cyclic, and I don’t have to try to use the mouse with my left or take my hand off of the cyclic.
@@schoolio64D ok, thanks man! Its not often you get the chance to ask an actual pilot
Pretty cool.
how is different from leap motion?¿
From what I understand, Leap motion does not work well at all, and PointCTRL emulates your mouse very well, but to be honest, I don't know much about Leap Motion.
I tried pointctrl for about a month and couldnt figure out what the big fuss was about. didnt really help I have arthritis in my thumbs, makes it really hard to use it half the time.
Yeah I’m sure that can make it difficult. If it’s hard to use, you won’t want to use it. Hopefully you have another solution that helps you enjoy DCS. 🙏
How do you click? I am confused. The buttons are on the back of the module
Never mind.. Your thumbs...
TrackBall takes care of what this does and more
How do you have it mounted? Do you use your left hand? I couldn’t find a trackball solution that worked for me. Glad it works for you.
@@schoolio64D I have a sim rig. The trackball rests on a profile next to the stick.
I have both. The trackball is great for menus and such but for interacting with buttons and switches I find the PC's far more intuitive and basically easier to 'just click stuff that I'm looking at'. I also have some physical button boxes and MFD's/UFC's and prefer interacting with them in some cases but the combination of all 3 is hard to beat.
Personally I just use the vr hand xontrollers and put them in my lap.
If that works for you, great! It’s all about enjoying what we do, right?
@@schoolio64D true.
does that still work with physical HOTAS? it's not janky at all?
Yeah it works I got hotas and pedals. Even when your dogfighting the don't fall out of your lap. Proived they got some friction with your pants
How do you click, though?
You use your thumb to roll across to your forefinger buttons on the finger unit.
@@PhantomMark oh nice! Thanks
Sounds good if you don't have hand/fingure tracking on your headset already though it seems clunky and un elgant.
What headset has hand tracking with that level of fidelity?
@@schoolio64D Quest 3 for sure but also just works and you don't need stuff on you headset and fingures.
@@GreenBlueWalkthrough It does? I've seen numerous people, even here in the comments, say that it's janky at best.
Just in case it was not mentioned, order takes more than a year to be fulfilled. Native hand tracking was the way to go
Yes it does. How’s that native hand tracking progressing? 😉
@@schoolio64D May I introduce HTCC?
@@griffincheng what is that?
@@griffincheng Hand Therapy Certification Commission?
or better yet, how about ED just add in decent hand tracking? SHouldnt have to wear 20KG of equipment to fly jets in a video game
That would be ideal. Until then…
New device?!?! Man you’re waaay late to the party 😄
New to me. I ordered two years ago, but most people I fly with don’t know anything about it or haven’t heard of it. 😊
@@schoolio64D seriously? Almost unbeliavable LOL. There is a guy building an alternative, possibly better, solution. No Sensor required.
@@krusty1974 What is that? Where can I get it?
@@schoolio64D what is that is well explained in this video. Anyway it’s a mouse pointer emulator via a finger unit, basically you point your finger and a mouse pointer will mimic your movements. You can then click and scroll whatever in the cockpit. Just Google “Point Control”. Delivery time well over 1 year.
"Brand new...?"
Brand new for me. 😝
I ordered my unit and I receive the invitation to buy it a year later....
Hey @school64D, really enjoyed your vid (as I do all of your content). Just thought I'd point out that the top buttons (the ones that sit on the headset) are actually auxiliary buttons as opposed to the controllers. Those are the little suckers known as FCU's (Finger Control Units) that you put on each index finger. The FCU's give you the mouse functions, whereas the aux buttons on the headset aren't required as such but if you order them, they give you 6 extra mappable buttons you can assign to things like 'salute', 'NVG's on/off/adjust and, well anything you like really, as they are just seen as other mappable devices.
I didn’t know that. Thanks!