Microsoft KB Archive/243984

Knowledge Base

Flight Simulator: Rudder Pedals Do Not Work Correctly

Article ID: 243984

Article Last Modified on 1/25/2007

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APPLIES TO

• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Professional Edition
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: Century of Flight

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This article was previously published under Q243984

SYMPTOMS

When you try to use the rudder control for your game controller in Flight Simulator 2000, Flight Simulator 2002, or Flight Simulator 2004, it may not function properly.

CAUSE

This issue may occur even if the rudder control functions properly when you calibrate and test your game controller in the Game Controllers tool in Control Panel.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use the following troubleshooting methods in the order in which they are presented.

Disable Auto-Coordination

The Auto-Coordination feature disables the rudder controller. If the game does not respond when you use the rudder controls for your game controller, Auto-Coordination may be enabled. To disable Auto-Coordination:

1. Start a new flight in Flight Simulator.
2. On the Aircraft menu, click Realism Settings.
3. Under Flight controls, click to clear the Auto-rudder check box.
4. Click the green check mark.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Reset the Default Game Controller Actions

To reset the default actions assigned to the game controller:

1. Start a new flight in Flight Simulator.
2. On the Options menu, point to Controls, and then click Assignments.
3. In the Joystick type box on the Buttons/Keys tab, click the game controller you want to use, and then click Reset defaults.
4. Click the Joystick axes tab.
5. In the Joystick type box, click the game controller you want to use, and then click Reset defaults.
6. To check if the default events are selected for your 4-axis game controller, verify that the Axis settings for each Event match the settings in the following table:

   Event	Axis
   Elevator axis	Axis 02
   Ailerons axis	Axis 01
   Rudder axis (FS2000)	Axis 04
   Rudder axis (FS2002)	Z-Rotation
   Throttle axis (FS2000)	Axis 03
   Throttle axis (FS2002)	Slider

If the default actions are not selected, assign the default actions manually. To do this:

1. To assign events to the buttons on your game controller, click the Buttons/Keys tab.
   

To assign events to the axes on your game controller, click the Joystick axes tab.

1. In the Joystick type box, click the game controller you want to use.
2. In the Event column, click an event you want to assign to a button or an axis on your game controller, and then click Change assignment.
3. On the game controller, press the button or move the axis you want to use for the selected action.
   

If you receive a warning message that a different action is already assigned to the game controller button or axis, click the green check mark to accept the new assignment, or click Clear to assign the event to a different button.

1. When you finish manually assigning events to the buttons and axes on your game controller, click the green check mark, and then click OK.

Note If an event is assigned to an axis on your game controller, but the event behaves in reverse (for example, up instead of down, or right instead of left), click to select or clear the check box in the Reverse column for that axis.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Calibrate the Joystick in Flight Simulator

To calibrate your game controller:

1. Start a new flight in Flight Simulator.
2. On the Options menu, point to Controls, and then click Calibrate Joystick.
   

Note If Calibrate Joystick is unavailable, click Enable Joystick, and then repeat this step.

1. In the Game Controllers box on the General tab, click the game controller you want to use, and then click Properties.
2. On the Settings tab, move the sliders to the settings you want.
3. Click OK, and then click OK again.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Disable Sound

Note Only for gameport devices.

To determine if there is a problem with the sound card or sound card driver, disable the sound in Flight Simulator. To do this, press the Q key.

If the issue is resolved when you disable sound in the game, contact your sound card manufacturer for information about how to obtain and install an updated driver for your sound card.

For information about how to contact your sound card manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Reduce Sound Playback Quality

If the issue is resolved when you disable sound in the game, your sound card may be unable to properly process game port signals and high quality game sounds at the same time. If so, you may be able to work around the issue by reducing the sound playback quality in the game. To do this:

1. Note The following steps will only work in Flight Simulator 2000. They are not intended and will not work in Flight Simulator 2002.
   
   
2. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
3. In the Named box, type fs2000.cfg.
4. In the Look in box, click My Computer, and then click Find Now.
5. In the list of found files, double-click the Fs2000.cfg file.
6. If you are prompted to select the program you want to use to open the file, click Notepad in the Choose the program you want to use box, and then click OK.

7. Scroll to the end of the file, press ENTER two times, and then type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:

   [SOUND]
   Channels=1
   SamplesPerSec=11025

   
   

8. On the File menu, click Exit.
   
   When you are prompted to save the changes, click Yes.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Configure the Game Controller As a Different Device

Note Only for analog devices. Not for USB devices.

Use the Game Controllers tool in Control Panel to configure your game controller as a different device.

Note You cannot configure any Microsoft SideWinder game controller except the SideWinder Standard or the SideWinder 3D Pro as a different device.

For example, to configure a SideWinder 3D Pro joystick as a 3-axis 4-button joystick with Rudder/Pedals:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Game Controllers, and then click Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro.
3. Click Remove, and then click Yes.
4. Click Add, click 3-Axis, 4-Button Joystick, and then click OK.
5. Click Properties.
6. On the Settings tab, click to select the Rudder/Pedals check box.
7. Click Calibrate, and then follow the instructions on the screen to calibrate the game controller.
   

Note Axis 3 is the throttle control, and axis 4 is the rudder control.

1. Click Test to verify that the game controller functions properly.
2. When you finish calibrating and testing the game controller, click OK, and then click OK again.

Additional query words: fs2000 fs2k flightsim fsim fltsim gaming gamepad wheel sw force feedback ff game controller device

Keywords: kbhardware kbprb kbtshoot kbui KB243984

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