Button and Keyboard Mapping

When you first install the Targetware system, all important game functions are already mapped to various keyboard keys and joystick buttons, as detailed in the Default Controls page. You are not limited to these settings, however. You can assign any game function to just about any key on your keyboard, or any button on your joystick, throttle, or game pad. This section will explain how to edit the input.txt text file that contains the control key mapping data use by the game.

Note: 
You do not have to edit key/button mappings by hand. You can use the Settings section of Targetware to change stick settings and key assignments in a point-and-click environment. See Keys, Controls, and Calibration for more information. This reference is to assist those who wish to edit their input.txt files by hand.

See the Default Controls page to see how the keyboard and joystick buttons are mapped by default. Anything you see on that list, you can customize.

The Input File

The Input file governs the use of all the hardware that interacts with the game: keyboard, mouse, joysticks, etc.  It is a simple text file that can be modified with any text editor.  The Input file is divided into several sections based on function. Each line contains a description on the left, and a code describing the button or key it is mapped to, on the right. To change a setting, simply edit the key or button assignment, then save the changes to the file. The changes you made will take effect the next time you start up the Targetware application.

Joystick Button Names

The input file uses the following format to refer to joystick buttons:

JS_[device #]_BUTTON_[button #]

So to map a function to a joystick button, you need to know the device number of your joystick and the button number that corresponds to the button on your joystick that you want to use. Unfortunately, since joystick manufacturers all use different schemes to report the names of their joystick buttons, you will probably have to find the names of your joystick buttons through trial and error.

MAC VERSION ONLY: The Mac version of the game will report the names of all input devices and their buttons on startup, if you have the log level set to 4. To find the available button "names" for your joystick, make sure it is plugged in, then start up the game and quit immediately. Open the log, and you should see something like this near the top of the file (it will differ for every stick):

4 Device "WingMan Extreme Digital 3D" stored as Device 1
<SNIP>
Name discovered as "Button #1" on Device 1 with usagePage 0x9, usage 0x1 stored as Button, index 0
Name discovered as "Button #2" on Device 1 with usagePage 0x9, usage 0x2 stored as Button, index 1
Name discovered as "Button #3" on Device 1 with usagePage 0x9, usage 0x3 stored as Button, index 2
Name discovered as "Button #4" on Device 1 with usagePage 0x9, usage 0x4 stored as Button, index 3

This tells you that if you wanted to program "Button #3" on your WingMan Extreme joystick to be the Fire button, you would need to use a joystick (DEVICE) ID of 1, and a button ID of 2, as follows:

Fire = JS_1_BUTTON_2

Special Key Names

Most keys can simply be entered as they appear on the keyboard. For example, the "A" key on your keyboard would simply be "A" in the input.txt file. But some keys, such as the Spacebar and the Enter key, have specific codes they should be referred to as:

Custom Mapping Examples

Changing key assignments is very simple with Targetware.  Simply open the Input file, find the function you wish to change, and just enter the key or button you want to use for that function.

Example 1: Mapping to a Single Key

To have the Chat console open when you press the Enter (Mac: Return) key, find the Chat line:

Chat = T

Edit it to read:

Chat = ENTER

Example 2: Using a Key Modifier

Say you have mapped everything, and now you are running out of keys on your keyboard. One solution is to use modifier keys like the Shift key, Control key, and Alt (Mac: Option) key. The format for this in the input.txt file is MODIFIER KEY + ACTIVATOR KEY NAME. In this example, we want to have the bomb bay doors open when we hold down the Control key and press "O":

Toggle Bays = CTRL+O

Example 3: Assigning a Function to a Joystick Button

We used the bomb bay door setting from example 2, but found it too complex to handle on our bomb run. Using our MegaStick 3000, we'll assign it one of our 124 buttons instead:

Toggle Bays = JS_1_BUTTON_14

This line can be interpreted as: "Map the bomb bay door switch to Button #14 on the first joystick."

Note: Be very careful when customizing your inputs that you do not map multiple functions to the same key.