This isn't new, matter of fact I have been doing this since I first realized my Cougar could be used as a DX device, and not just in programmed mode. A good stick/throttle has lots of buttons, rotaries, four-ways, hats, sliders and mini-sticks. But in many flight sims, and space sims, there are enough possible commands to easily run out, and long before you are done assigning them.

The results is a less-than-satisfactory mix of keyboard and stick/throttle commands. You bought this thing so you could fly heads up dammit. But with too few buttons, what is one to do?

Shift

That's shifted commands. Maybe not everyone is aware you can do this, so I thought I'd write up a quick thread in case it could help someone get more commands under their fingertips, and less heads-down play.

The idea is you designate one easy to reach and hold button as a shift button. Assign nothing to it. Now map out your stick and throttle as normal, skipping the shift button. Once done you are free to assign a second command to each of those, but you do so while holding down the shift button. For example on my Cougar I use S3, which is the pinky button near the base of the stick, on the back side, away from me. Not the paddle switch (which I used for FA-off), but the little red round pinky button. Elite sees this as Joy-3

So to map the new shifted layer of commands I just go through the Elite controls section and put a second command on everything, combined with Joy-3.

An example is the TMS four-way which, as the acronym implies, I use as the Target Management Switch. In unshifted mode (no Joy-3 held) it has

Up: Target Ahead
Down: Cancel target
Left: Target Previous
Right: target Next

The second layer (with Joy-3 held)

Up: Previous Subsystem (I thought this was target biggest threat, but nothing ever seems to happen when I hit that, so I changed it along the way I guess)
Down: Next subsystem
Left: Target Previous Hostile
Right: target Next Hostile


Anyway, as you can see, using a shift button nearly doubles the number of commands you can have under your fingertips. PSA FYI

That ole rusty Cougar..................

I fly with an XBOX controller!! LOL

Good job DBond. I use that method for DCS flying. Even with a Warthog I find I favor certain easy to reach buttons and I too use S3 as my primary shift. Similar to programing with FOXY software.

This Cougar is old, no doubt about it!!

I use a X Box controller too, but only for FSS + DSS. If it were my primary controller I would have three shift layers, using the shoulder buttons for each. This would allow you to put 12 commands on A/B/X/Y for example. You lose two buttons, but gain eight (not to mentioned the triggers, D-pad and so on.)

Thanks Wingnuts, you don't do it with Elite? I think you've more buttons anyway than a Cougar? The only time I touch the keyboard is to navigate the HUD panels (like making a landing request or selecting a destination), and space to select both Continue and to go in to experimentals at the engineer. Sometimes if I use a mouse click it seems to register as a double click, taking me either straight in to Open, or applying an experimental I don't want lol. I wasted quite a few mats this way before I changed my methods.