Joystick commands to MSFS

[Will]

After 10 years of reliable use, I just retired my Thrustmaster Warthog joystick, and replaced it with the VIRPIL Constellation Alpha Prime. I like it; it's metal, like the Warthog was, and works well with PSX. It has a few more buttons than the Warthog did.

As you all probably know, MSFS reads the joystick no matter what program has the focus. That means you can have PSX keep the focus, so keyboard commands (etc.) are sent to PSX, while the joystick is monitored by PSX, MSFS, and whatever other programs are busy reading it.

How this has recently been a game changer for me is that the VIRPIL stick has an extra X and Y axis, controlled by a thumb button. These can be mapped onto cockpit view commands in MSFS (e.g. Cockpit View Yaw and Cockpit View Pitch), and that same thumb button can be pressed as well, which can be mapped in MSFS to the Cockpit View Reset feature.

What this means in practice is that you can use the joystick buttons to pan around the view in MSFS (and reset it to straight out the windshield with another button) while using the joystick to fly the aircraft with PSX. It's much more convenient than clicking into MSFS to send keypresses (or other commands) to pan the view, and then clicking back into PSX.

In sum, the buttons and axes on the joystick can be shared between the apps. Half the buttons can be configured in MSFS, and the other half within PSX. Multiple apps simultaneously from one joystick.

Of course, this isn't unique to the VIRPIL; you can do it with any joystick. Previously it wasn't a priority for me, because I had all the Warthog joystick buttons mapped to PSX commands. The VIRPIL has this extra set of axes though, and controlling the views in MSFS seemed like the logical mapping.

Just thought I'd share, in case this helps anyone get more creative with their controllers.