Throttle & Afterburner control in planes

As most joystick users know the throttle control in planes was changed from OFP to ArmA giving joystick users with a analogue throttle far less control which is one of the main controls used for fixed wing aircraft.

There's also a thread about it here in ArmA troubleshooting - http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....74;st=0

I'd really like to see full analogue throttle control from OFP come back to ArmA/ArmA2 as it makes flying planes so much more realistic and enjoyable to fly, not only that but it makes flying easier in different situations to maintain proper speed unlike the current way ArmA controls throttle which is not very user friendly at all.

Now for keyboard and button users this can simply be fixed by adding a throttle slider to the UI which shows the current throttle position, throttle can be controlled by holding the up or down throttle buttons, the longer you hold the up/down button the more it will move on the throttle slider giving the user full control.

Afterburner - For planes that have afterburning engines the afterburner should automatically be enabled when 95%+ throttle input is used instead of using annoying action menu's to enable afterburner on addon aircraft. The reason why such afterburner control is needed is because ArmA and ArmA 2 include planes that have afterburning engines which is one of the main features for such planes during take off and combat.

It was not a problem with OFP until addon aircraft were made that had afterburning engines, so I really think this problem should be fixed for ArmA 2 because of the above.

Edit:

I made a video showing the use of analogue throttle in OFP shown here

YouTube HD -

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I completely 100% agree with this!

Thumbs up for this one! Easily implemented, and wonderful effect!

I concur, a rather simple solution visually and gives tons more control when doing things like formation flying, etc etc, just small things and removes some of the guessing when flying the aircraft.

+1

Oh yes!

Someone wrote it down.

So important this feature is.

My vote for it!

Definitly! I agree with this at 100%!

The throttle in ArmA2 should be tottally analoge and/or at least provide the following throttle positions:

0% (Idle)

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110% (Afterburner - Only available for aircraft that have it - For aircraft that don't have afterburner this position should be equal to 100%)

Yea! I always thought the throttle setup needed tweaking. This a great suggestion. I agree 100%.

This would really be an important improvement.

Agree, though I'm not so sure if I want the afterburner to be initiated by the throttle. Just make the afterburner mappable (why not use the B key ?).

That's how it works in real jets I think. You push the throttle over the detent and that activates the AB.

Besides, B key is for binoculars.

Agree, though I'm not so sure if I want the afterburner to be initiated by the throttle. Just make the afterburner mappable (why not use the B key ?).

That really makes no sense to me, every jet simulator has the afterburner on the throttle, why because AB is not just 1 setting of power (If you use a button for AB then you cant control it, it's either on or off), there's different levels of AB and the only way to control that is with the throttle.

Having another key to press is pointless when you can perfectly control throttle and afterburner with 1 control like pretty much every plane simulator has it.

Besides, B key is for binoculars.

That's not really an argument given that lots of controls override other controls given the context. I agree with the rest of it, though.

Yeah, I suppose fighter jet pilots don't often carry binocs in real life, or a sniper rifle and 3 AT launchers and a backpack

Would be cool if you could use binoculars from inside vehicles though. Like being unbuttoned from a tank, APC or HMMWV, or looking out a plane or chopper window.

That really makes no sense to me, every jet simulator has the afterburner on the throttle, why because AB is not just 1 setting of power (If you use a button for AB then you cant control it, it's either on or off), there's different levels of AB and the only way to control that is with the throttle.

You could still control the AB with the throttle even if you have to press a key. This way you could even have 20-30% of the throttle range used for the reheat stages.

In some real jets you have to push the throttle to the side and then forward for the AB.

Anyway, I really hope they fix the analogue throttle range issue.

You could still control the AB with the throttle even if you have to press a key. This way you could even have 20-30% of the throttle range used for the reheat stages.

In some real jets you have to push the throttle to the side and then forward for the AB.

Anyway, I really hope they fix the analogue throttle range issue.

Yeah I understand what you mean, but I dont see the point in having a button to enable AB, that just adds a extra key to the game which is not needed.

I made a sketch, so something like this:

the throttle slider UI

this is only a sketch, don't take this for granted.

afterburner extension - above 100% where afterburner goes on.

input throttle - the throttle which you set with keyboard commands.

actual throttle level - the level that engine is at the moment, this is because engine can't set itself inmediatelly on, after you put it to max speed. (especially with big planes, with big engines).

min inertion throttle - it is throttle level at which your plane starts moving on the ground. Apply lower and your plane doesn't move. This is usefull for big planes. Although it doesn't exist in real life (as far as I know). It depends on the takeoff weight.

yea i think this would be a good idea for folks that like flying alot

I made a sketch, so something like this:

the throttle slider UI

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm163/nothke/throttle.jpg

this is only a sketch, don't take this for granted.

afterburner extension - above 100% where afterburner goes on.

input throttle - the throttle which you set with keyboard commands.

actual throttle level - the level that engine is at the moment, this is because engine can't set itself inmediatelly on, after you put it to max speed. (especially with big planes, with big engines).

min inertion throttle - it is throttle level at which your plane starts moving on the ground. Apply lower and your plane doesn't move. This is usefull for big planes. Although it doesn't exist in real life (as far as I know). It depends on the takeoff weight.

Yeah that pic is what we need on the far left or right side of the screen along with full analogue control which would make flying planes in ArmA 2 far more enjoyable.

That's how it works in real jets I think. You push the throttle over the detent and that activates the AB.

Besides, B key is for binoculars.

This is true, but when do you ever pull out your binoculars while piloting an aircraft? On the other hand... how often does one engage the afterburner when on foot?

They could coexist perfectly...

On the other hand... how often does one engage the afterburner when on foot?

Afterburner on foot would be the light your fart on fire animation but I somehow dont think BIS would add such a animation :D

Small thing, but makes people happy.

In controls area I can mention also awful non-linear turning in vehicles while using PC Wheel. Introduction of gears could be fun (especially reverse).

Speaking of reverse it reminded me about one "must change".

My PC Wheel, just like almost any other on market, comes wich pedals. These pedals got separate analog axes. In Arma, It's cool to let APC advance slowly with slightly pressed gas pedal, but whenever I left foot off the pedal, the controlled vehicle stops, and goes full speed reverse. I cannot assign separate axis for breaking. Or maybe I've missed something?

btw. ForceFeedback is not meant to generate vibrations.

I'm bumping this thread as this has been tested by myself and others that ArmA2 does not have analogue throttle for planes :(

signed! It would really improve the gameplay if we got a proper throttle.

yes it needsd to be analogue. There is just too much throttle work for taxiing, landing and flying - it's either full thottle or drop out the sky.

100%

plz give us the choice to map the throttle to a joystick axis!

the auto throttle is the reason y i don't use planes in arma atm.