Touch Portal

[Mausnoab Williamston]

There are other apps like Touch Portal that can be used with Oolite. For exampel Matric that works like Touch Portal.

https://matricapp.com/

Good thing is: It is easy to use. And you can make your special design for your special needs.
Bad thing: Like Touch Portal you will need a pro version.

Another big thing I like is the bigger brother of these Apps "Helios" a program that works with a touch monitor or you can steering it with a mouse.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/ ... id=9577686

download: https://github.com/HeliosVirtualCockpit/Helios/releases

Good Thing: It´s free. It´s programable. You can make your own bottons, your own design, etc.
If you have a second touch screen it´s a big thing!

Yes, yes I know. In modern airplanes like the F-35 the cockpit is a touchscreen and really has no bottons. But I like the feeling of bottons. Touch them is sexy! And I preferred to built a botton box with an arduino. It´s easy to do and I used the micro pro (6$) some Button (2$) and a little additional screen (8$). So check with is your favorite cockpit for you. Everybody is different....

If you need help with the arduino, Feel free to ask me.

[Cholmondely]

There are other apps like Touch Portal that can be used with Oolite. For example Matric that works like Touch Portal.

https://matricapp.com/

Good thing is: It is easy to use. And you can make your special design for your special needs.
Bad thing: Like Touch Portal you will need a pro version.

Another big thing I like is the bigger brother of these Apps "Helios" a program that works with a touch monitor or you can steering it with a mouse.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/ ... id=9577686

download: https://github.com/HeliosVirtualCockpit/Helios/releases

Good Thing: It's free. It´s programmable. You can make your own buttons, your own design, etc.
If you have a second touch screen it's a big thing!

Yes, yes I know. In modern airplanes like the F-35 the cockpit is a touchscreen and really has no buttons. But I like the feeling of buttons. Touch them is sexy! And I preferred to build a button box with an arduino. It´s easy to do and I used the micro pro (6$) some Button (2$) and a little additional screen (8$). So check with is your favorite cockpit for you. Everybody is different....

If you need help with the arduino, Feel free to ask me.

Mausnoab: if you have any pictures/screenshots, I'd like to put them up on the buttonboxes wiki page...

[Old Murgh]

Thrustmaster HOTAS 4 works on Mac. (See our wiki for details as to how, which are not obvious and take lots of searching to discover). It feels very good to me (the shape, etc). Not very many buttons and things, but it does feel good.
I supplement it with Elgato's Streamdeck, but Arquebus prefers Touch Portal and has set up a profile for it.

So I bought myself a Thrustmaster HOTAS 4. I guess I'll have a go at making it all work tomorrow. So what you said before, can I interpret this as I could get this Touch Portal to work in tandem with my HOTAS? I must ask, will my side device then, whether I use an iPhone or i can get my slightly too old iPad to do it, need to be bluetooth connected?

[Mausnoab Williamston]

Hello!

Here are the wish of somebody who doesn´t know google.


Helios Pictures:
=============

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/ ... 0_main.jpg
https://forums.eagle.ru/uploads/monthly ... 3659ae.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Zl6tuUg.jpg

Helios Videos:
https://youtu.be/8n1cL1Szgmg
https://youtu.be/OjlfZ1P-VQk

Helio is free!

Matric App:
=========

https://api.matricapp.com/storage/decks/144/ss1.png
https://community.matricapp.com/deck/16 ... otkeys-set
https://api.matricapp.com/storage/decks/140/ss1.png

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTT-7-XtKf8&t=51s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES4cfw9rDuM

Making botton boxes with an arduino:
================================

Hardest thing soldering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dop0SoD2XL8&t=592s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_T4G0vHmWo

The technic is simple and the fun is, make really your own thing.

[Cholmondely]

Hello!

Here are the wish of somebody who doesn´t know google.


Helios Pictures:
=============

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/ ... 0_main.jpg
https://forums.eagle.ru/uploads/monthly ... 3659ae.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Zl6tuUg.jpg

Helios Videos:
https://youtu.be/8n1cL1Szgmg
https://youtu.be/OjlfZ1P-VQk

Helio is free!

Matric App:
=========

https://api.matricapp.com/storage/decks/144/ss1.png
https://community.matricapp.com/deck/16 ... otkeys-set
https://api.matricapp.com/storage/decks/140/ss1.png

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTT-7-XtKf8&t=51s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES4cfw9rDuM

Making botton boxes with an arduino:
================================

Hardest thing soldering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dop0SoD2XL8&t=592s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_T4G0vHmWo

The technic is simple and the fun is, make really your own thing.

Sorry, I was not clear enough. I'm after screen shots of Oolite-configured stuff. I'd googled and found nothing and was hoping that you would have something instead...

Again, these are jolly impressive, especially with one getting dials & gauges, not just the buttons/switches...

The only attempt to do the equivalent in Oolite that I've come across is this: Maik's External Dashboards

[Mausnoab Williamston]

Hello

Sorry, I was not clear enough. I'm after screen shots of Oolite-configured stuff. I'd googled and found nothing and was hoping that you would have something instead...

Doesn´t matter.

Today
I hope to finish my first arduino-Staff. I doesn´t look now not very great but I will change this, when it works.

The only attempt to do the equivalent in Oolite that I've come across is this: Maik's External Dashboards

Yes. I like this. Great thing. I must check this out. With an Arduino you can use a CRT-Monitor and make a very good looking steampunk, dieselpunk and atomicpunk like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5OVLwRa7nc

Guess You can make with an old CRT-Televisionsome, bottons and switches a punky looking OOlite Boardcomputer. I like this more like this VR in other space games. Easy to realize, not much costs and very funny.

[Cholmondely]

Guess you can make with an old CRT-Television, with some buttons and switches, a punky looking OOlite Boardcomputer. I like this more like this VR in other space games. Easy to realize, not much cost and very funny.

Can't quite make out what is on your two screens... can you give me any clues?

[Mausnoab Williamston]

Yes, of sure...

This is what I really love in OOlite: It isn´t perfect. I don´t want to change this came with Elite Dangerous or Starcitizen because i can escape myself in my childhoods dreams of science fiction. Elite Dangerous is great. A great story. A story for all. Oolite is an individual story. This is my story of the universe. It´s not science it´s fiction. So in my spacecraft I don´t want reality. I have a good reality to live. I play now Elite and co. more than 30 years.

So this generally. The special point is. If You know how to construct a bottonbox, it is very easy and You can make it in Your style. But You can only put informatíon in the game but not out of the game. So if you want to built a little cockpit, displays work only with Your buttons but not with the program. This is very limitated. Airplane simulators have interfaces so You can bring out the information to your cockpit. The most, who built such a simulator cockpit, make great things. But this are copies.

Helios for exampel works very good, if You want to make a glas cockpit o with buyable MFDs like this one:



(MFD Cugar Thrustmaster)
There are other buyable things for special aircrafts. But If You make Your own buttonbox you have some really some advantages. It´s much cheaper and you can create your own stuff. My first MFD cost me roundabout 20 Dollar. I made some mistakes, but this is expierence.

This point brimgs the "Maik's External Dashboards" in the game. I have to check it out the next days. If You bring out the information of the HUD, you have the posibility to show the information in all types of displays your want. I think, the most ones here have the knowledge to understand what advantage is such a thing. All Devices for showing information are posible. Old Televisions, old tachometers out of cars, tubes like the shown ones. And, and, and...

Airplane Simulations have the CDU-Device to make this things posible....

[Cody]

This is what I really love in OOlite: It isn´t perfect. I don´t want to change this came with Elite Dangerous or Starcitizen because i can escape myself in my childhoods dreams of science fiction. [...] Oolite is an individual story. This is my story of the universe. It´s not science it´s fiction. So in my spacecraft I don´t want reality.

Well said!

[hiran]

So this generally. The special point is. If You know how to construct a bottonbox, it is very easy and You can make it in Your style. But You can only put informatíon in the game but not out of the game. So if you want to built a little cockpit, displays work only with Your buttons but not with the program. This is very limitated. Airplane simulators have interfaces so You can bring out the information to your cockpit. The most, who built such a simulator cockpit, make great things. But this are copies.

I started using the Oolite Debug protocol to get information out of the game. It is somewhat clumsy but works, and the more I experience it the more power I get from it.

Maybe let's talk what information you'd like to see and how we can get it?

[Mausnoab Williamston]

Maybe let's talk what information you'd like to see and how we can get it?

I am just constructing in this moment a button box, that is easy and cheap to realize. But I am looking further to make other devices. I calculate now for a professional looking Button Box between 15 ans 20 Dollars. That means, it costs with an Arduino about 30 Dollars. I started some projects with monitors and they are nice working. But I want to give the things more professional touch.

So, I am new in the serial protocoll. Only what I know now there ist this "Maike thing" and that zou can send out the debug file with the serial protocoll. I want to check this out next week. But if anybody can help here with more information?

[hiran]

I am just constructing in this moment a button box, that is easy and cheap to realize. But I am looking further to make other devices. I calculate now for a professional looking Button Box between 15 ans 20 Dollars. That means, it costs with an Arduino about 30 Dollars. I started some projects with monitors and they are nice working. But I want to give the things more professional touch.

So, I am new in the serial protocoll. Only what I know now there ist this "Maike thing" and that zou can send out the debug file with the serial protocoll. I want to check this out next week. But if anybody can help here with more information?

Seems like you are focusing currently on the hardware side.
Have you thought about how to connect to the computer (I take it that serial protocol means also serial port, mapped to USB)? You will need to have a process on the computer that mimicks an Oolite Debug Console and allows Oolite to connect via TCP while it still will talk your serial port protocol on the other side.

Oolite Communicator can talk the Oolite Debug protocol already, and I intend to make it extensible via plugins. So if you are interested, we could add the required functionality together. Then all we need to learn is the javascript commands to actually pull the data we need from Oolite.

[Cholmondely]

I am just constructing in this moment a button box, that is easy and cheap to realize. But I am looking further to make other devices. I calculate now for a professional looking Button Box between 15 ans 20 Dollars. That means, it costs with an Arduino about 30 Dollars. I started some projects with monitors and they are nice working. But I want to give the things more professional touch.

So, I am new in the serial protocoll. Only what I know now there ist this "Maike thing" and that zou can send out the debug file with the serial protocoll. I want to check this out next week. But if anybody can help here with more information?

Seems like you are focusing currently on the hardware side.
Have you thought about how to connect to the computer (I take it that serial protocol means also serial port, mapped to USB)? You will need to have a process on the computer that mimicks an Oolite Debug Console and allows Oolite to connect via TCP while it still will talk your serial port protocol on the other side.

Oolite Communicator can talk the Oolite Debug protocol already, and I intend to make it extensible via plugins. So if you are interested, we could add the required functionality together. Then all we need to learn is the javascript commands to actually pull the data we need from Oolite.

Not a programmer. Don't understand this stuff.

But just found this on GitHub: An implementation of Oolite's debug console protocol to interface to MQTT (March 2021)

[hiran]

Seems like you are focusing currently on the hardware side.
Have you thought about how to connect to the computer (I take it that serial protocol means also serial port, mapped to USB)? You will need to have a process on the computer that mimicks an Oolite Debug Console and allows Oolite to connect via TCP while it still will talk your serial port protocol on the other side.

Oolite Communicator can talk the Oolite Debug protocol already, and I intend to make it extensible via plugins. So if you are interested, we could add the required functionality together. Then all we need to learn is the javascript commands to actually pull the data we need from Oolite.

Not a programmer. Don't understand this stuff.

But just found this on GitHub: An implementation of Oolite's debug console protocol to interface to MQTT (March 2021)

You do understand more than you think! I thought of MQTT too but did not even dream of searching something that would exist already. You really found a gem there!

MQTT is an ideal protocol - however as far as I know the common transport is TCP/IP rather than serial port. We need to hear whether Mausnoab has capacity on his microcontroller for this...

Oh, look at the Limitations:
Currently does not work with Oolite on MacOS due to a bug in its debug protocol implementation.

Does that ring a bell?

[Mausnoab Williamston]

Yes, I checked this out.

MQTT is an ideal protocol - however as far as I know the common transport is TCP/IP rather than serial port. We need to hear whether Mausnoab has capacity on his micro controller for this...

It is very interesting.

Seems like you are focusing currently on the hardware side.

Yes an no. I think in such project you have to keep a eye on the both sides. I learned programming in the times of magnetic core memory ( ) and the "Wang 2000". So I keep every time an eye of the capacity of the hardware. And so I asked myself which capacity abuse the detour if you can´t make the thing direct. In the side of programming the detour is very much easier. Perhaps. But for an Arduino it´s very easy take out the serial information directly. Okay let´s see:
Oolite - MQTT - MQTT - Raspberry - (Arduino) - display
This - in my perhaps false opinion - costs capacity cause of the detour.

The capacity of Mousenoabs-Micro controllers. It is economical thinking. If you have a big realistic project with realistic landscape and more. You will need a second computer to make it. So I think with a game like OOlite and some funny looking displays depends what do you want but one or two Arduinos are mostly enough. This is the combination of an Mega and a Leonardo/Micro(Pro). If you have a typical project one display and a button box mostly the Arduino pro micro seems the best. (It is to build a Joystick with 56 buttons).(And this are not the costs, calculate one button with 50 cents (50 x 56 buttons (28$), the Arduino Pro I bought for 5 Dollars!)



My concrete questions:
1) How many capacity costs the detour with using the debug-file and MTT in the computer? (I have two Raspberrys here.)
2) Is there a way with f.e. javascript and OXP to write the variables I need directly to the serial port (like to the monitor)?

Happy New Year!