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HOTAS Throttles and Rudder Pedals (possibly other controllers) cause serious control issues and conflicts in ARMA Reforger
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Description

Having a HOTAS throttle and/or a rudder pedals connected to your computer presents with serious issues in ARMA Reforger. Reforger automatically remaps those controllers to existing bindings and makes controlling vehicles (possibly more) in game nearly difficult to impossible until those controllers are removed.

I've read others have seen issues in other parts of the game (Game Master for example) when such controllers are present.

Once these controllers are disabled in Windows or physically disconnected the issue will go away and standard input works.

Note: I have mostly run into this with vehicles. I have not noticed issues related to the fact that my “standard” Joystick (a Thrustmaster T1600.M) is plugged

I use these additional controllers for ARMA, DCS, and Flight Simulator so having to disable/disconnect those every time I play Reforger is extremely annoying. Especially doing so physically since I've incorporated my HOTAS Throttle into my cable management which makes physical disconnection very difficult given the connection is under my desk.

This needs to be fixed.

On my PC specifically I have:
MFG Crosswind V3 Rudder Pedals
Thrustmaster T1600.M Joystick
Thrustmaster TWCS Throttle controller (part of HOTAS)

--Finally, Windows recognizes my Razer Huntsman V2 Analog as a controller because it's optical switches can be used to emulate one. That being said, I’ve replicated all these issues using a standard keyboard so the V2 Analog has no impact that I can ascertain at this time.

Details

Severity
Block
Resolution
Open
Reproducibility
Always
Operating System
Windows 10 x64
Operating System Version
21H2 (19044.1706)
Category
General
Steps To Reproduce
  • Many are reporting this across brands/models of hardware so this does not seem to be limited to a specific brand/model of controller but to the type of controller. Namely HOTAS style Throttle as well as Rudder pedals. I sold my old rudders and only have the MFG Crosswinds to test.
  • Plain joysticks have so far not appeared to cause a problem for me. Same for my Razer Huntsman V2 Analog keyboard which has optical switches that can spoof/emulate a controller.
  • I've only seen this when my HOTAS Throttle (Thrustmaster TWCS) and/or Rudder pedals (MFG Crosswind) are connected in any combination (i.e. both together or on their own).
  • I've found that these devices are plug-and-play with Reforger so they can be connected/enabled disconnected/disabled before launching the game or during gameplay.

Throttle controller Repro stes:

  1. Plug in a HOTAS Throttle (eg Thrustmaster TWCS Throttle or Thrustmaster Warthog Throttle, etc)
  2. Ensure the throttle controller is set to the lowest setting (0%) (this step is important as it relates to the issue and step (6) shows it can be changed to facilitate a workaround.
  3. Attempt to drive a vehicle (the Jeep in the tutorial or any other vehicle in any other game mode will do).
  4. Until the HOTAS is unplugged/disabled the keyboard's 'W' key will not work even though it is bound. The 'S', 'D', and 'A' keys still work as do other vehicle controls.
  5. The vehicle can still be started for first person mode using the 'F' key and driven in reverse.
  6. **//Workaround://** Using my TWCS throttle I have found that if I nudge the throttle axis such that it is not completely off (i.e. not 0%) the 'W' key will start to work. Any throttle setting above 0% will allow you to at least start the car, however, below about 5-10% the car will only crawl. In short it appears that between 0% and about 20% the throttle acts like a gradient on the physical 'W' key. Anything above 23-30% seems to make no difference on power but starts to impact being able to go in reverse. Furthermore, any setting above about 60%, and the throttle will push the car forward even if the ‘W’ key is not depressed which makes using the keyboard binding pointless. In short, placing the throttle between 20-30% allows the car to be operated. While a definite workaround it should certainly be fixed.

Rudders:

  1. Plug in a set of Rudder pedals. This may require pedals with a toe-break option as all axes get bound (eg MFG Crosswinds V1 or V2) In my case, the Crosswinds have 3 axes.
  2. As soon as the Crosswinds are recognized by the game the wheel turns a sharp left. It appears that by default, each and every time, the left toe break on the MFG Crosswinds V2 gets assigned to the steering. While ‘A’ and ‘D’ still function I am unable to turn the wheel to the right at all. Only from extreme left to center. Meanwhile the yaw axis on the rudder gets mapped to a gradient for going reverse with full left rudder going full speed and right rudder doing nothng. The right toe break does nothing.
  3. Unlike with the throttle there is no workaround that I can tell. I have to unplug the controller to get full control on turns so while forward reverse still works you can only drive straight or in right hand circles.
Additional Information

**I highly suggest an ARMA 3 like feature to enable/disable/manage each peripheral (Joystick, HOTAS, Rudder, TrackIR, etc).
Furthermore, while I understand the desire to have seamless integration with consoles, I'd also suggest a way to disable the generic XBOX controller schemes for PC players so they can focus strictly on the basic controls of a PC (mouse, keyboard, HOTAS, rudders, TrackIR, etc). A simple setting to toggle XBOX/console controllers on/off would be preferable for hardcore PC users.

Event Timeline

DaGreekGeek edited Steps To Reproduce. (Show Details)
DaGreekGeek edited Steps To Reproduce. (Show Details)
Geez changed the task status from New to Assigned.Jun 8 2022, 4:25 PM
Geez added a subscriber: Geez.

Thank you for the report DaGreekGeek.
The issue is currently being looked into.
Regards,
Geez

Jedra added a subscriber: Jedra.Jun 20 2022, 6:28 PM