DCS FFB Telemetry Effects (for VPforce FFB)

This Python application takes input from DCS telemetry via UDP and generates augmented force feedback (FFB) effects for various aircrafts in DCS World, including jets, helicopters and warbirds.

Please note that while some effects may not be fully realistic, the main goal is to make the stick more lively and increase immersion during gameplay. Also this early version is very bare-bones and community-driven development is very welcome!

Features

Turbulence effects that mimic the shaking and vibrations of flying through rough air
Weapon release effects
Engine rumble effects (If actual RPM is available)
Countermeasure release effects
Rolling and touchdown effects that simulate the sensation of the wheels touching the ground
Angle of attack buffeting, which simulates the shaking and vibrations felt when an aircraft approaches its critical angle of attack.
Helicopter effective translational lift (ETL) effects.
Shows a debug window that displays the received telemetry data.

Development

This framework is made to be very easy to manage FFB effect lifecycles and develop additional effects or specialize specific aircraft effects. Main action is going on in aircrafts.py. For example to create an effect that plays a "bump" when a gun round is fired:

        if self.has_changed("Gun") or self.has_changed("CannonShells"): 
            effects["cm"].stop() # stop if effect was previously running
            #start Sine effect with frequency 10Hz, preconfigured intensity, 45 deg angle and total duration of 50ms
            effects["cm"].periodic(10, self.gun_vibration_intensity, 45, duration=50).start()

There is no need to create and manage the effect objects. All is done automatically when accessing the effects[] object.

Caveats

The initial version of this framework has a very general implementation for all DCS aircrafts. Each aircraft would need to have it's own tailored FFB effect settings and aircraft specific features.
When initially developing this framework with SDL2 Haptic API, I've quickly encountered a problem that two DirectInput apps cannot manage effects at the same time. So a raw solution using hidapi was developed. It talks directly to the VPforce Rhino FFB device via HID commands and manages effects without interfering with DCSs own FFB effects.

Requirements

Python 3
Git (https://git-scm.com/) to download the source from Github
DCS World and a VPforce Rhino FFB Joystick/kit

Installation

Go to releases page and download the latest precompiled version
To make some changes in the scripts, you can download the repository and play around with the sources:
1. Open a power shell/CMD window where you want to download the TelemFFB source
2. Clone the repository to your local machine, this will create a directory VPforce-TelemFFB
  
  git clone https://github.com/walmis/VPforce-TelemFFB.git
3. Install the required Python packages pip install -r requirements.txt
4. When running the program for the first time, it will prompt you to install the export.lua script in your user/Saved Games/DCS folder. This script is necessary for the program to receive telemetry data from DCS World.

Updating

git pull - pulls the latest revision

If local changes conflict with remote, you can reset to the latest version:

git reset --hard origin/master
git pull

Usage

Run the application

python main.py

optional arguments:

--help show the available parameters
--teleplot is the destination IP:port address for teleplot.fr telemetry plotting service (default is "127.0.0.1:47269"). This service allows you to plot telemetry data over time.
-p or --plot is used to specify telemetry item names to send to teleplot, separated by spaces
-D or --device is used to specify the Rhino device USB VID:PID (default is "ffff:2055")

Telemetry effects mainly uses Constant Force and Periodic effects. On the Rhino it was tested with 50% Periodic effect slider, and 100% CF effect slider setting.
Run DCS World
Enjoy enhanced FFB effects while flying various aircrafts in DCS World!

Contributing

If you're interested in contributing to the project, feel free to submit pull requests or open issues on the Github page. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome!

amadeus / VPforce-TelemFFB