Custom HOTAS project: Throttle Ergonomics, Buttons

With the main mechanism of the throttle working (I won’t say complete, I’ll tweak some stuff) the next step is wrapping the mechanism in an ergonomic outer shell, with buttons, digital hats and an analog thumb-stick (or more than one, though probably only one) I’ll admit this is the part of the build I’ve been the least confident with, I have no experience designing things meant to fit in the human hand nicely, I got plenty of experience designing mechanisms in machinery, but here we need rounded shapes, the right angles and dimensions etc, as a bit of a cheat I’ve decided to at least start with the shape of the x55’s throttle, one aspect of the x55 I can’t fault, and here my main complaint about the x55 actually comes in handy:

The split, gives me easy access to the outline of the throttle, trying to model an organic shape by looking at it is something I haven’t figured out yet, but this way I can just trace the outline in illustrator, export as SVG and import in a 3d program to extrude into a 3d object, the real throttle has a tapered shape though, it’s wider and taller on the right side and narrower and lower on the left side, but this at least gives me something to work with some caliper measurements compared with measurements of the 3d model gives me the correct scale. And yes, I’ve looked high and low for 3d models of the x55, there are some but they’re made by third parties and they’re not very accurate, they’re meant for illustrative purposes etc not actual CAD use, Saitek uses 3d models of the x55 all over their marketing etc but I can’t find any public access to any of those, I assume because they’re Saitek’s IP etc.

Here is what that looks like:

Obviously needs work as said, will need to be rounded in various ways, a bit tear-drop shaped as said with the thumb side larger, and the x55 has a section for the thumb controls that is inset and angled:

Though I’m obviously not copying the x55 1:1, I’m using an analog thumb-stick for analog strafe input, will probably take up most of the space where Saitek put the red button, useless mouse nub (it doesn’t actually work as it’s intended to) and the 2 digital hats, with my x55 that’s where my thumb naturally rests and I use the upper hat for digital strafe input. I’m not using the rotaries on the throttle, those are for trimming controls in flight sims (change their “neutral position, ie you need to pitch up a tiny bit to fly level you do that with trim instead of holding the yoke/stick there for long periods of time) I don’t play flight sims, so pointless for me and I honestly can’t find a good use for them in SC, problem is that you have to let go of the strafe to use them, which is a no-no in combat.

Though that gets into territory I haven’t spent enough time on yet, what inputs do I need/want? And where should they be?

• Throttle handle: high value real-estate, within reach of your fingers in combat
• Throttle base: still within easy reach and I can use my x55’s inputs on the base without looking, but it does require letting go of the throttle which means it’s not ideal in a dogfight
• Joystick handle: high value real-estate, within reach of your fingers in combat
• Joystick base: probably won’t have anything on it, requires letting go of the stick to use.
• Button/switch clusters elsewhere than the joystick and throttle “simpit” style: Nice for less frequently used controls, gives you extra space to not have to crowd too many controls into a too small space on bases.

What form should they take?

• Analog stick: two axis analog input, like a joystick/thumbstick, useful for main ship rotation, strafing)
• Analog slider: one axis analog input, like a throttle or slider etc useful for throttle)
• Analog knob: one axis rotary input, like a volume knob not sure I can come up with any good uses in SC/E:D for a knob) except perhaps power management, except SC doesn’t accept axis for that (yet).
• Rotary encoder: one axis rotary input that ticks as you turn it, outputs digital “up/down” data useful for adjusting numbers in +1/-1 steps)
• Momentary button: most common button, useful for triggers, firing missiles etc)
• Latching button: a button that stays depressed until pushed again, not much use in SC/E:D)
• Momentary switch: a switch rocker/lever that only registers that you move it, doesn’t retain it’s state)
• Rocking switch: like an on/off switch, has 2 or more states that are maintained, would be really cool for switching modes but is prone to loosing sync with the game because sending a continuous button push event makes binding pretty much impossible and has other side effects)
• Tablet/Phone based MFDs: Very cool, but relatively expensive, you can get cheap android tablets from china that work fine for MFD duty but it’s still a lot more than buttons/switches/etc cost, main problem here is software, Roccat Powergrid is pretty nice but it’s showing it’s age and it’s not super customizable, main issue really is that most games don’t have APIs to make MFDs behave properly with remembered states, showing information from the game etc, they basically just work like a keyboard with customizable button appearance.
• VoiceAttack or other voice control: Neat for less frequently used binds but less so if you don’t live alone or in a sound insulated environment, not sure I want others hear me shout at my computer.

Those are non-trivial questions, best place to start answering that I think is to consider which games I’ll play (StarCitizen, Elite:Dangerous mostly) and what binds those games provide that I want to make use of and which way to bind it do I prefer if there are options? Also can I double-bind something not needed at the same time? And should I use MFDs/voice commands to do the less frequently done controls? MFDs or buttons elsewhere than the throttle/joystick handles requires letting go of one of them to operate which isn’t viable in dog fighting etc. Cramming too many controls in too little space means you’ll accidentally use the wrong one or it will get fiddly to use them, and you need some way to hold the throttle and joystick and move them around without inadvertently using something you don’t intend to.

As said earlier I want more interesting controls than a commercial offering has, since I’m making it and I’m making it for specific games I can do more interesting things like a locked/clear cage self destruct button, some custom control to adjust the power balance systems(shields), engines, weapons in ED and SC

Yes I’m probably over-thinking this as usual, but that’s what I do.