[TUTORIAL-ISH] *ThrustMaster* HOTAS/Joystick With No Man's Sky

[Orgleborgler]

So to start this off I'd like to say that there probably are better ways to do this. But through experimentation and combination of various sources this is the best way I've found that works for me. It's a tad bit finnicky but has resulted in some pretty solid gameplay. This combination allows seamless mouse and keyboard use for land controls, in addition to a HOTAS flight controller system.

For starters it's worth noting that it is probably possible to use a similar technique to get this functioning with another brand, however I used the TARGET Software specifically supporting my T16000m HOTAS, *IN COMBINATION* with JoyStick Gremlin Software. You probably could get it to work with any setup using Joystick Gremlin, but I didn't have the energy to figure out binding the X-Axis to A/D. I could get it to press, but not hold.

The main issues I encountered was in TARGET I could not get proper mouse function to work with the joystick. As you're aware, NMS uses mouse controls in flight to point the camera (Y Axis control as well as Rudder/X Axis), and A,D for controlling Roll. I was easily able to bind most KEYBOARD bindings to the joystick through TARGET. [It's worth mentioning here that TARGET emulates mouse and keyboard inputs by using your inputs on the HOTAS].

A basic summary of my Flight control TARGET Bindings: Within TARGET I assigned misc functions to Misc. Buttons on the HOTAS i.e, my swap weapons button, is my top thumb hat emulating the G key on press. I made these bindings while looking at the basic NMS flight bindings menu. The pain point in TARGET was binding the mouse controls to the joystick Y Axis and Z Rotation. For whatever reason it wanted to fight, not go up and down and gain weird velocities the more I used it.

To solve this issue I bring into play, Joystick Gremlin. A project I came across through researching how to get this working. I figured this was gonna work perfectly and it nearly does for mouse controls. I couldn't for the life of me get the Roll (A, D) keys to work properly with my stick. While trying to sort this out I asked myself if I could just run both of these softwares together in order to cover mouse controls through Gremlin and button presses through TARGET. Turns out you can! :D

To summarize, I use TARGET to create a virtual human interface device using my T16km HOTAS for key-based inputs and Axis to Key inputs (Roll). Then I use Joystick Gremlin to take that Virtual Devices inputs from TARGET, and simulate once again but for exclusively the Y-Axis, and Rudder Z-Rotation, simulating mouse motion. From there VJoy (needed for Joystick Gremlin) broadcasts the final combination device to NMS directly. allowing almost full functionality of a HOTAS in No Man's Sky.

**IMPORTANT: Be sure to run the TARGET config profile FIRST. Then run the JSG profile afterwards. This may not be 100% necessary but that's the exact order I run this in.**

This is by no means a complete beginning to end tutorial, but the concepts are explained with how I progressed through to get it working. I might in the future make a video tutorial on how it all functions if there's enough demand as it really should be update proof but for now hopefully I introduced you to enough information to get it running on your setup.

KNOWN ISSUES:

1. I can't seem to get a Y Axis Deadzone set up for mouse emulation on JSG. This being the case attempting to roll left or right can result in some funky combo control issues as there's near instant response to even the slightest tilt forward or back. To compensate I have JSGs mouse sensitivity set 1-700 to help slow down small movements near the center of the stick.

2. On occasion the Y Axis input (Pitch up and down) will stick weirdly and continue to front or backflip without input. To correct you can usually just quickly compensate in the opposite direction and it unlocks itself.

3. This might just be me being terrible at ship combat, but i find it pretty lackluster. I find it a little hard to aim with Pitch/Roll controls that can be pretty finnicky. I am new to HOTAS usage so it might just be my lack of experience and might be fine for someone more skilled.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to get to them quickly, as I understand how sparse information on this specific topic can be.

[Orgleborgler]

I have since messed with my JSG settings. Y Axis Sensitivity form 1-500 seems to make a massive difference in the controllability.

[Ponamacha]

Joystick Gremlin setup X-axis for roll (A/D). It's tricky, but possible :)
=========
Roll Left
=========
Macro 1
-------
"Action" tab
Action Settings
[Keyboard]
Key [A] (record Press/Release 1 time)

Macro Settings
[x] Exclusive
[Hold]
Delay [0.10]

"Virtual Button" tab
Activate when axis is between: [-0.65] and [-0.10] when entering range from [Above]

Macro 2
-------
"Action" tab
Action Settings
[Keyboard]
Key [A] (record Press/Release 1 time)

Macro Settings
[x] Exclusive
[Hold]
Delay [0.00]

"Virtual Button" tab
Activate when axis is between: [-1.00] and [-0.65] when entering range from [Above]

Macro 3
-------
"Action" tab
Action Settings
[Keyboard]
Key [D] (record Press/Release 1 time)

Macro Settings
[x] Exclusive
[Hold]
Delay [0.00]

"Virtual Button" tab
Activate when axis is between: [-0.90] and [-0.20] when entering range from [Below]

==========
Roll Right
==========
Macro 1
-------
"Action" tab
Action Settings
[Keyboard]
Key [D] (record Press/Release 1 time)

Macro Settings
[x] Exclusive
[Hold]
Delay [0.10]

"Virtual Button" tab
Activate when axis is between: [0.10] and [0.65] when entering range from [Below]

Macro 2
-------
"Action" tab
Action Settings
[Keyboard]
Key [D] (record Press/Release 1 time)

Macro Settings
[x] Exclusive
[Hold]
Delay [0.00]

"Virtual Button" tab
Activate when axis is between: [0.65] and [1.00] when entering range from [Below]

Macro 3
-------
"Action" tab
Action Settings
[Keyboard]
Key [A] (record Press/Release 1 time)

Macro Settings
[x] Exclusive
[Hold]
Delay [0.00]

"Virtual Button" tab
Activate when axis is between: [0.20] and [0.90] when entering range from [Above]

With my TM1600 it works pretty smooth.

[FrostyxPT]

can you share the profiles for your configuration please? i have 2 T16000m and i would like to try to play with the joysticks ant least when flying.

[MarStrMind]

Instead of this complicated stuff, I used to use XOutput. Mapped my HOTAS to the virtual XBox Controllers, done.