Modders: is differential braking impossible or improbable?
#1

I know assume= Ass U Me, but...

I assume someone would have already created a Mod for differential braking if it was possible. If not impossible, I assume the work needed to create a differential braking mod would be incredibly difficult.

Has any brave soul made an attempt, successful or not, to create a differential braking mod that allows users to apply brakes to one wheel but not the other?

Thanks!
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#2

Z-Town Pirate Wrote:I know assume= Ass U Me, but...

I assume someone would have already created a Mod for differential braking if it was possible. If not impossible, I assume the work needed to create a differential braking mod would be incredibly difficult.

Has any brave soul made an attempt, successful or not, to create a differential braking mod that allows users to apply brakes to one wheel but not the other?

Thanks!

Hi - you already have that in the game. Apply brakes simultaneously with full rudder, and only the wheel in the direction you are turning will brake.

--viking
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#3

Let me rephrase the question with a scenario for you:

I have rudder pedals with left toe brake and right toe brake. I'd like to be able to assign one button to left brakes (and map that to my rudder pedals' left toe brake) and another command to right brakes (and assign that to rudder pedals' right toe brake). I'd like to be able to pivot using brakes instead of depending on the rudder.

Make sense?
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#4

Z-Town Pirate Wrote:Let me rephrase the question with a scenario for you:

I have rudder pedals with left toe brake and right toe brake. I'd like to be able to assign one button to left brakes (and map that to my rudder pedals' left toe brake) and another command to right brakes (and assign that to rudder pedals' right toe brake). I'd like to be able to pivot using brakes instead of depending on the rudder.

Make sense?

yes makes perfect sense,I have CH Rudder pedals and it would to me at least...
be a great as an addition while on the ground to IL2 as TrackIR has been for me in the sky.

Differential braking would be a great thing on the ground Taxiing,
such as in a real aircraft,the rudder doesn't work untill there is a certain amount of airflow over it.
so a differntial braking Mod to me would be as welcomed as TrackIr was to me.

Nice for very low speed turns andtight places,aligning for formation take-off ete

I'm sure there's a lot on everyone's plate around here,
(THANKS ALL to the ,Modders ,Mappers,SkinnerMakers and the WebMasters of this wonderfull site).

It seems to me everyone has been pretty busy this year and from the looks of things that ain't going to slow down for awhile.

But it's good food for thought ,I've wanted differential braking since I started flying IL2 ,Back before Ace expansion and Pacific fighters.All the Microsick series had and have diff. braking so I was dissapointed when there was no Diff. braking in IL2.

I would like to know if it is at all do-able maybe though?

Big Grin
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#5

Can't you do it as a macro in the CH setup? (L Rudder+brake/R Rudder+ brake)
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#6

edit: sorry I misunderstood what you want - disregard my post

Guys,

I have my CH Pro Pedals hooked up with my Saitek Cyborg Evo Force stick.

Rudder pedals work fine - even for braking.

Just push either pedal (left or right) and make sure to push down on the toe brake for that pedal.

Push "down" according to how much you want that brake to work.

Don't overdo it ! Confusedhock:

It works for me.

Here's my controls setup

[Image: chpedalssetupwithstickrc4.jpg]

Be careful on takeoff lest you accidently push down on the toe brakes = nose-over Big Grin
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#7

There is a way to better simulate differential braking in this sim without mods. You will still have to apply rudder to turn .. but with this method you can have the brakes in both pedals, so basically it will be right rudder right brakes.. left rudder left brakes.. still not true DB.. but much more immersive since you will have it assigned to each pedal. .

First off set your brakes to one or the other pedals in the Controls>HOTAS>Brakes section of the sim. Now, by default in the sim you can only use one pedal of your rudder pedals for brakes.. because in the HOTAS section there is only one line for brakes.... When you set brakes using the HOTAS screen it will take either your left or right brake pedal.. Which ever one you press when you go to load the HOTAS>Brakes section and it will be either Y axis or X axis.. depending on which rudder pedal you press. On your pedals you will still have another axis... and you can fool the sim into reading the same command for both axii, the X & the Y. Here is how...

After you set one pedal in the HOTAS section go to:

C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\IL-2 Sturmovik 1946\Users\Doe

With Doe being whatever name you have for your default pilot.. I did this on all the pilots in my users folder (I only have 2 & the default) since I am the only one who flies the sim and I want them all to be the same..

You may see 2 config files in there depending on whether or not you started a camapign. The settings file is the one you want to edit. That is where your stick settings are found.. that is the folder with your stick settings you want to back up so that in case you accidentally load the default stick settings, or if you have a HD crash... you can get whatever settings you had back without having to reprogram everything from scratch. Just drop your backed up copy of that file where t needs to go. First off make sure that that folder is NOT set to Read Only, it shouldnt be until AFTER you are done with this.

Once in the settings folder scroll down to the section that says:

[HotKey move]
JoystickDevice0 AXE_Y=elevator
AXE_RX JoystickDevice1=-trimrudder
AXE_RZ JoystickDevice2=rudder
AXE_U JoystickDevice1=-power
AXE_U JoystickDevice0=-pitch
AXE_V JoystickDevice1=trimelevator
AXE_X JoystickDevice0=aileron
AXE_Y JoystickDevice2=brakes


This is for whatever you have setup in your HOTAS section. The line in bold orange is for the brakes on your pedals... and it will say AXE_Y or AXE_X, depending on which brake pedal you pressed to set the brakes in the HOTAS section. Copy that line exactly as it is written on the line below it... and then change the line to reflect the other axis for that controller (In other words if yours says X then add Y , if Y then add X) .

[HotKey move]
JoystickDevice0 AXE_Y=elevator
AXE_RX JoystickDevice1=-trimrudder
AXE_RZ JoystickDevice2=rudder
AXE_U JoystickDevice1=-power
AXE_U JoystickDevice0=-pitch
AXE_V JoystickDevice1=trimelevator
AXE_X JoystickDevice0=aileron
AXE_Y JoystickDevice2=brakes
AXE_X JoystickDevice2=brakes


Then close the config file. Before you exit the users folder right click on the settings config file, select Properties and then select Read Only and then Apply. This will keep the settings you just made. If you DO NOT do this then the next time you open the controls menu it will revert back to the default settings as far as the brake axis goes and the axis you added will not be there (remember the sim is only designed tio see one axis for brakes). Be advised that if you want to make any chages to your controls by adding or removing keystrokes or axii, say for a new stick setup or whatevr, you will first have to unselect Read Only from the properties menu of that folder, otherwise as soon as you exit the sim whatever changes you made will not be saved and it will go back to the setup[ you initially created when you made the file Read Only. This is also a good way to insure that you never accidentally reconfigure your controls once you get a setup that works, which sometimes takes time.

All this does is tell the sim to use either pedal (read axis of your rudder pedals (there are 3 X,Y & Z with Z being the rudder rotation) for brakes.. The sim doesn't know or care which one you use.. it will just use one at a time, either one, so if you just hit your rudder to turn and then press the right or left brake brake with this setup you will have more realistic differential braking. Is it true differential braking? No.. but it is close enough to make it work, and some planes did in fact have brakes that worked that way.

This is not a mod.

Lastly if you go to M4T and downlooad IL2 Joy.. a joystick editor for the sim, you can adjust dead zones etc.. for any axis in the sim from trim axii to pitch & yaw etc... including brakes. IMO with your brakes on a slider you can apply a little or a lot of pressure... depending on how far down you press the pedal so it is by far more immersive, more practical, and more functional.
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#8

Bearcat,

I've seen that post from you before in my search for true DB. Smile As you pointed out, pushing the left or right toe brake does the same thing. Still, it is definitely an improvement to be able to use either toe brake to perform the function.

Here's a scenario true DB would improve:
You're in a P-38 and only have one engine... left engine on, right engine out. Good luck turning left. Smile

So I guess my question remains:

Is true differential braking impossible or improbable in this game? The modders here are incredibly talented, so I get the feeling if they can't do it, nobody can.
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#9

Tailwheel aircraft don't require differential brakes and the convenient toe-brakes of modern cessnas aren't applicable (at least, not for the majority of types). To turn tightly in single engined aircraft -

Slow right down. Hold the brakes. Hold the stick right back. Tailwheel lock off. Apply power. Apply rudder in the desired direction.

Works a treat and is actually close to normal practice for such aircraft. For twins, use differential power to assist you. If you have one engine out, perhaps you could wait for a tow truck? Shame the game engine doesn't simulate that! Smile
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#10

I am interested in a program that duplicates real spitfire brakes. English airplanes of the WWII period did not have toe activated brakes as did te US and LW planes, but had a bicycle like lever on the control column that released compressed air into the main wheel brakes proportionally to the amount of rudder input to one side or the other.
In other words, to activate the left brake, the left rudder was pushed, then the lever on the joystick sqeezed, and the air flowed to the left brake, giving braking action. If the rudder was centered air flowed equally to each wheel brake and onehad a parking brake so to speak.
I had the opportunity to fly a spitfire simulator on a trip to England. It had been flown earlier by two spitfire pilots from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

http://www.simcontrol.co.uk/offboard.htm

It took some tweaking--read the Review--but the two pilots said, "If you can fly this, you can fly the real thing".
But, they said, the braking was very unrealistic, compared to an actual spitfire. The problem is, they said, that the rudder on a spit is totally ineffectual for steering on the ground until a speed of 40 knots or so is reached. Up to that point, all steering is done with the brakes. So far as I know, no program yet exists in any Flight Simulator program that realistically simulates real spitfire braking.
So it seems to me that there is a crying need for an accurate spitfire (Hurricane, etc, which is the same) braking program, for all of us who desire ultimate realism in our flight sims.
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#11

Just to be clear:

I already know how to steer aircraft on the ground in this game, be it with brakes, rudder, differential power in multi-aircraft engines, etc. I'm not a know-it-all, because most of that knowledge came from squadmates on everything from how rudder affects brakes and steering with multi-engine, single-engine, tail-draggers, or those with tricycle landing gear (like the P-39's front wheel steering in conjunction with rudder movement).

I appreciate all of the solid advice on how to navigate the terrain of my friendly airfield. Unfortunately, it doesn't really address the primary question about whether "true" differential braking could ever be considered a possible mod for this game.

If it is a possibility, then we can get into a discussion about which aircraft should have that option... because not all aircraft had that capability. But if it is impossible to begin with, the topic is moot.

Again, thanks for all of the replies. Hopefully, someone out there knows the answer to the original question.
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#12

Well, this was pulled up a while go, probably a good 6-8 months ago. From memory one of the engine guys were going to have a look-see, but I'm unsure what (if any) outcome there was from that...

Perhaps, you would get more of a response if you took your quest up via PM to Fireball.
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#13

caldrail Wrote:Tailwheel aircraft don't require differential brakes and the convenient toe-brakes of modern cessnas aren't applicable (at least, not for the majority of types). To turn tightly in single engined aircraft -

Slow right down. Hold the brakes. Hold the stick right back. Tailwheel lock off. Apply power. Apply rudder in the desired direction.

Works a treat and is actually close to normal practice for such aircraft. For twins, use differential power to assist you. If you have one engine out, perhaps you could wait for a tow truck? Shame the game engine doesn't simulate that! Smile

My 1950 170 Taildragger has toe brakes?
they are essential at taxiing,
without them it would be very hard to try and taxi around with just the rudder lol
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#14

Toe braking in Il2 would be great! Many years ago, Oleg said that toe braking in Il2 was not possible, of course he said a lot of things were not possible, but here we are today with a lot of impossibilities ready to be downloaded. Big Grin
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#15

Well that didn't work for me. I have Saitek Rudder Pedals. They are supposed to work right out of the box. I made the line in the Doe/ config.ini and saved and made read only. I had already set the brakes up in the game. of course only one side works. It's still that way..LOL :roll:
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