Saab 340A v1.6 Issues/Questions

[kentwerickson]

Firstly, thanks very much for the update! A few things I've noticed immediately (tested with all third-party plugins disabled):

1.  It is possible to close the main cabin door with the stairs deployed (don't recall if this was possible in the XP10 version, or even whether this should not be possible in the real world - I'm guessing not). But either way, not a big deal -- just an FYI.

2.  More critically, I can no longer control either the power/thrust levers or the brakes (hold brakes regular effort) with my Xbox 360 controller. In XP10, I used the left and right triggers for power control (forward and back, both engines simultaneously), and pushed down on the left joystick to apply momentary braking. My 360 controller works fine for these purposes with other sophisticated XP11 aircraft; e.g., the AFL King Air, the Zibo 737, X-Crafts E Series, etc.

3.  All aircraft/systems sounds are often completely muted upon sim startup. My Gizmo sound settings/sliders are all maxed out (and I've reset the widget a few times), and nothing wrong with my XP system sounds -- when I load a different plane, the sounds work just fine again. This seems to be an intermittent problem, as on some loads the 340A sounds work, at least initially. For on one trial I paused the sim for a few minutes. But when I resumed the sounds were gone.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Goran_M]

 

On 2/22/2021 at 12:53 PM, kentwerickson said:

1.  It is possible to close the main cabin door with the stairs deployed (don't recall if this was possible in the XP10 version, or even whether this should not be possible in the real world - I'm guessing not). But either way, not a big deal -- just an FYI.

Door logic has been recoded.  But we'll look into it.

On 2/22/2021 at 12:53 PM, kentwerickson said:

2.  More critically, I can no longer control either the power/thrust levers or the brakes (hold brakes regular effort) with my Xbox 360 controller.

Braking is now down to just using datarefs, which means V key for Park brakes and B key for foot brakes.  We're looking into commands.  The Power levers should work with a regular axis.  Nothing was actually changed in that.  Have you tried re-assigning an axis?

On 2/22/2021 at 12:53 PM, kentwerickson said:

3.  All aircraft/systems sounds are often completely muted upon sim startup. My Gizmo sound settings/sliders are all maxed out (and I've reset the widget a few times), and nothing wrong with my XP system sounds -- when I load a different plane, the sounds work just fine again. This seems to be an intermittent problem, as on some loads the 340A sounds work, at least initially. For on one trial I paused the sim for a few minutes. But when I resumed the sounds were gone.

Not aware of this one, and no else has reported this.  I just double checked on my system, and sounds are working fine.  Perhaps try a reinstall?

Edited February 26, 2021 by Goran_M

[kentwerickson]

Thanks Goran, for your reply.

Quote

The Power levers should work with a regular axis. 

The triggers on my Xbox controller are treated by XP the same as (regular) joystick axes. They can be reversed, response curves set, etc. There are several throttle control options available from the pulldown menu, including "Backup Throttle," "Throttle Vertical," "Throttle Horizontal," and then individual controls for Throttles 1-8. I have tried each of these options with the 340A but no luck -- no throttle movement at all. As I recall from the XP10 version of the 340A, I had to first move the levers with my mouse just a bit forward of ground idle before the Xbox triggers would work (I think maybe to overcome a detent). But once I'd done this I could then control their full range of motion using the triggers. I've also tried this with the v1.61 update but still no joy.
Now, I am still relatively new to XP11 and do not fully understand the difference between the pulldown options mentioned above. But I have been using "Throttle Horizontal" for all of my other twin engine aircraft, which again works fine -- I use one trigger to simultaneously move both the left and right throttle/power levers forward, and the other trigger to move them both backward. And so it seems clear that the 340A is "unique" in this respect.
I can control the 340A levers with the mouse, and via keyboard mappings (using XP's default throttle commands). But both of these options are pretty awkward when trying to fly the plane by hand (e.g., during takeoff and landing, and even while taxiing). I also have a pair of spare joystick buttons that I can use to control the condition/fuel levers (forward and backward) -- these work fine with the 340A. But I don't have any spare buttons for the power levers; just the triggers which again until now I have been using without issues since XP10.

Quote

Braking is now down to just using datarefs, which means V key for Park brakes and B key for foot brakes.  We're looking into commands. 

It would be really nice if we could map the toe brake function (at least) to a joystick button (if this is possible via "commands"). Otherwise, it's again super awkward to apply brakes, say during taxi and upon landing, using the keyboard.

As for the sound issue, I plan to do some more testing because this could quite possibly be a problem on my end.

Thanks again for your help.

Edited February 26, 2021 by kentwerickson

[jgniewkowski]

@kentwerickson you can assign the toggle brake commands to a joystick button but can no longer assign the HOLD brake command. It is counterintuitive to have to hit the button twice to 'pump' the brakes - but it can be done.

Hope they find a way to bring the HOLD logic to a dataref assignable to a joystick key like in 1.5.

[kentwerickson]

4 hours ago, jgniewkowski said:

you can assign the toggle brake commands to a joystick button...

Thanks for the feedback. This I know, because the joystick button I have mapped for the parking brake (Toggle brakes max effort) still works with the newly updated 340A.

Quote

... but can no longer assign the HOLD brake command.

This is the unfortunate/unexpected news, especially for me also being unable to control the power levers with my joystick; e.g., I cannot conveniently control my speed during taxi by easing the power levers into the beta/reverser range. I can still perform this action with keyboard assignments, but then it becomes difficult to track the exact position of the levers without constantly watching them -- just not conducive to a sim environment.

But thanks for confirming.

[Ch.Cole]

2 hours ago, kentwerickson said:

Thanks for the feedback. This I know, because the joystick button I have mapped for the parking brake (Toggle brakes max effort) still works with the newly updated 340A.

This is the unfortunate/unexpected news, especially for me also being unable to control the power levers with my joystick; e.g., I cannot conveniently control my speed during taxi by easing the power levers into the beta/reverser range. I can still perform this action with keyboard assignments, but then it becomes difficult to track the exact position of the levers without constantly watching them -- just not conducive to a sim environment.

But thanks for confirming.

Would a lua-script help you, that holds the brakes while a button is pressed help you?

[kentwerickson]

1 hour ago, Ch.Cole said:

Would a lua-script help you, that holds the brakes while a button is pressed help you?

This would be the next best option if you know how (I lack such skills), and so long as it doesn't interfere with other functionality. Yet I'd much prefer to have this functionality native to the 340A logic -- doesn't seem to be problem for other aircraft developers. But maybe it's a Gizmo constraint introduced by changes in XP11?

Edited February 26, 2021 by kentwerickson

[Ch.Cole]

Try this. I assume you have flywithlua installed? The command is FlyWithLua/SF34/Hold_Brakes_reg .

 

SF34 Commands.lua

[JGregory]

17 hours ago, kentwerickson said:

This would be the next best option if you know how (I lack such skills), and so long as it doesn't interfere with other functionality. Yet I'd much prefer to have this functionality native to the 340A logic -- doesn't seem to be problem for other aircraft developers. But maybe it's a Gizmo constraint introduced by changes in XP11?

The "hold" brake issue has nothing to do with Gizmo.  We simply didn't include the commands in the 1.6.0 release.  This will be fixed for the next release.  The "v" and "b" keys (commands) work for braking in 1.6.0.

[jgniewkowski]

This might be similar to one of Kent's questions - but is there a key binding to bring the throttles past the flight idle stop? Now when landing I have to look down to "physically" (rather than using my joystick) and pull up on the throttles to get Tham past flight idle and into reverse mode.

This is actually a nice feature as I no longer have to watch the TQ popup while in flight when trying to bring the throttles down to flight idle and not past into reverse.

[kentwerickson]

On 2/27/2021 at 9:00 AM, JGregory said:

The "hold" brake issue has nothing to do with Gizmo.  We simply didn't include the commands in the 1.6.0 release.  This will be fixed for the next release.  The "v" and "b" keys (commands) work for braking in 1.6.0.

Got it, thanks for clarifying.

[kentwerickson]

On 2/27/2021 at 8:04 AM, Ch.Cole said:

Try this. I assume you have flywithlua installed? The command is FlyWithLua/SF34/Hold_Brakes_reg .

SF34 Commands.lua 589 B · 3 downloads

That did the trick; thanks very much!

EDIT: For others who may be interested, I just discovered that the plugin below also works (a bit better in my opinion because the brakes are applied more smoothly using the "gradual" option.

https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/9487-progressive-braking-plugin/

Edited February 28, 2021 by kentwerickson
Update

[nicotum]

You may want to have a look at my plugin for "differential and progressive brakes".

[kentwerickson]

2 hours ago, nicotum said:

You may want to have a look at my plugin for "differential and progressive brakes".

Oh my goodness this is even better! Thanks very much!

[captjames747]

Things Ive noticed,

Cargo version- Once stairs have been retracted, you are unable to stow them

Both versions- No Pain panel/glareshield lighting, and no overtemp light illumination.

Will post more as and when I find.

[captjames747]

7 minutes ago, captjames747 said:

Things Ive noticed,

Cargo version- Once stairs have been retracted, you are unable to stow them

Both versions- No Pain panel/glareshield lighting, and no overtemp light illumination.

Will post more as and when I find.

 

Also lets not forget the main altimeter

[captjames747]

16 hours ago, captjames747 said:

 

Also lets not forget the main altimeter

And You're able to open the cabin door despite it being "locked and secure" 

[kentwerickson]

 

On 2/25/2021 at 7:13 PM, Goran_M said:

On 2/21/2021 at 7:53 PM, kentwerickson said:

2.  More critically, I can no longer control either the power/thrust levers or the brakes (hold brakes regular effort) with my Xbox 360 controller.

The Power levers should work with a regular axis.  Nothing was actually changed in that.  Have you tried re-assigning an axis?

For the benefit of anyone else having the throttle control issue I reported above, I finally figured out a work-around by assigning custom commands to my trigger axes -- "throttle up a bit" and "throttle down a bit."

[mjrhealth]

On 3/1/2021 at 6:57 AM, captjames747 said:

Things Ive noticed,

Cargo version- Once stairs have been retracted, you are unable to stow them

Both versions- No Pain panel/glareshield lighting, and no overtemp light illumination.

Will post more as and when I find.

Actually they do if you switch it on left of glare shield and turn the knobs, but there is an xplane bug, I think caused by cloud shadows that makes the light go away, seeing it on a few planes.