[simpits-tech] F4 Allied Force data extraction

[David Lazar]

Falcon's shared memory gives you the status of many of the cockpit lights, as well as basic flight data such as airspeed/position, etc.  Also you get the raw values presented on the instrumentation (excluding MFD graphics and button labels, in F4:AF).  
 
As for HOTAS control actions and button presses, etc., you can't capture those directly from Falcon's shared memory flight data -- but there are other ways of doing that.  
 
One way is to actually read the keyboard layout file programmatically and then watch for those specific keystrokes and/or DirectX button presses (the ones that are actually configured in the key file); correlating these inputs via the keyboard layout file will tell you which actions are being triggered in Falcon based on user inputs on the HOTAS or keyboard (i.e. which callbacks in Falcon are being activated).  Falcon does not acquire the keyboard or joystick exclusively, so it is possible to register with DirectX alongside of Falcon, for receiving updates when keyboard, mouse, and joystick events occur.  When an event occurs, you just look through your key map (in memory) to determine the callback in Falcon that would have been activated due to that event.
 
Source code and binaries for an F4 keyboard layout reader, compatible with all Falcon releases (accessible programmatically via COM, or .NET) can be found on my Assembla project site at www.assembla.com/spaces/lightningstools. 
 
You can also find source code and binaries there for a Falcon shared memory reader (again, accessible programmatically via COM or .NET).  
 



From: E.Rajabally at lboro.ac.ukTo: simpits-tech at simpits.orgDate: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 14:14:28 +0100Subject: Re: [simpits-tech] F4 Allied Force data extraction



Hey Ido
I'd really like to extract positional data such as that listed at http://www.eagle9.nl/redirtest.asp?lokatie=/main/Programming/F4%20Data%20Extraction/default.asp (which is the main info source I've found, but is sketchy on implementation details for a novice like myself) but also cockpit interaction (i.e. button presses) and HOTAS control actions.
Thanks
Eshan
 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ido Dekkers 
To: Simulator Cockpit tech list 
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: [simpits-tech] F4 Allied Force data extraction

Hey Eshanwelcome to the mad housethe most info in the subject you can find at http://www.viperpit.organd http://www.frugalsworld.com in the forumsbut mainly the first - it's all about the viper and F4what exactly do you want to extract ?Ido
On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 11:33 AM, E.Rajabally <E.Rajabally at lboro.ac.uk> wrote:
HiI'm a novice programmer but very interested in building a cockpit simulatorusing F4 Allied Force. I'm guessing this  topic has come up before but I'mlooking for information and sample code on data extraction, particularlyusing Java or C++? I would be most grateful for any helpMany thanksEshan_______________________________________________Simpits-tech mailing listSimpits-tech at simpits.orghttp://www.simpits.org/mailman/listinfo/simpits-techTo unsubscribe, please see the instructions at the bottom of the above page.  Thanks!



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