DCS Settings

2. Controls

In the Control tab you have the option of setting the assignment of buttons and axes for all installed modules.

On the far left you will find a drop-down field for selecting the module (e.g. Fw 190 D-9 Sim).
Caution: Many modules have an arcade and a sim key assignment. We do not use the arcade mode, so please assign your keys in the sim section of your module!
The General and GUI Layer sections contain settings that do not belong to a specific aircraft.

To the right you can limit the range of actions displayed. This shows you how many actions there are and it is often an indicator where the respective switch is located in the cockpit, at the weapon system, at the control lever, etc. The button All shows all actions/switches again. With All, all actions/switches are displayed again.

The search function (Search...) makes it much easier to find certain functions.
Axis commands are used to assign and adjust your joystick, thrust controller and pedal axes. These are handled separately from the buttons.

Steuerung, Bild von kaltokri, Gemeinfrei

In the standard assignment for a module, however, DCS assigns certain default buttons and axes for each recognised device. This is often more of a hindrance than a help. This is especially true for the axis assignments.

Most experienced DCS players assign everything according to their own scheme. However, this can be difficult and very tedious, especially for a beginner. Therefore, first use the default assignment for your Hotas.

For all additional devices (e.g. rudder pedals, joypad etc.) you should delete the keys. Click on a field in the column of a joystick and select Delete Category. This will remove the useless default assignments and you can start assigning your own.

Especially check the axes! Sometimes there are strange double assignments that have driven many a beginner to despair. With the axles it is worth deleting everything and reassigning only what is needed.

With the A-10C & A-10C II, the Thrustmaster Warthog is already very well assigned. If you delete all the buttons and reassign them, it's not only a lot of work, some things don't work properly anymore. For example, the pusher IDLE/OFF position. Nevertheless, some things are unfortunately assigned incorrectly and have to be changed. This is described in the corresponding course.

Attention: However, you should not delete the original keys for the keyboard!

If you press a key combination or a joystick button here in the settings, DCS jumps directly to the corresponding position. This is very practical and is a feature that does not exist in IL-2, for example.

With Reset Category you restore the default settings.

It is not really necessary to save the assignment via the save profile function. Unless you want to create several profiles or make a backup copy that can be read in again via Load profile.

To assign a button, select the desired function (row) and then the device whose button (or axis) you want to assign (column). Double-click on the cell in the intersection. Now press the button and it is entered.

You can assign a button more than once via MODIFIC. However, we will not look at this in detail here.

With ADD you can even assign several buttons to a function. DELETE removes the selected assignment. STANDARD resets the default value. This is useful if you have accidentally deleted an assignment.

The button AXIS switches to the assignment of the axes. You can also do this via the dropdown at the top.

With AXIS SETTINGS you can make the settings for the assigned axes. See below for details.

FF SETTING is used to set force feedback devices.

HTML Create is very handy. It creates a file of the selected mapping that you can open with a browser and print out..

Axis Settings

Most important is the curvature, as this makes the aircraft react more smoothly to control movements.

Whether and how high you set the curvature is a matter of taste and also depends on the aircraft itself. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

The dead zone can help with joysticks that have a nervous zero position.

Achseneinstellungen, Bild von kaltokri, Gemeinfrei

The remaining options explain themselves by changing the axis line.