SF2 profile issue with TARGET and T.16000M Hotas

[AxtonJT 1]

Greetings everyone. I've returned back to Strike Fighters 2 after having decided to purchase a Hotas, so I can fly in this game properly, however it seems the Hotas I've purchased is not that great. And by that I mean the software used is kind of ... crap. I've purchased the Thrustmaster t16000m, pretty solid Hotas, but the TARGET software is just terrible. I didn't know that, otherwise I could have avoided purchasing this device, but now I have it and I cannot return it back unfortunately.

By navigating the config file included in this site, I've found the TARGET profile for T.16000M joystick and TWCS Throttle to use with SF2 series 1.0, so I've said "cool, a config is ready to be used for my Hotas", but what seemed to be an easy solution it became a very frustrating experience, and I am not sure if the script that is broken or instead is TARGET (which I suspect it is, considering the amount of complains on internet). When I plug both my Hotas and TWCS on the USB, everything works smoothly, both the USB ports are set not to be disabled for power management purposes, but when I start TARGET and loading the above mentioned script, after a while I've got the device disconnected. Also it seems to be a very random issue, because sometimes the Hotas disconnects, or sometimes the TWCS disconnects, or sometimes even both disconnects.

Here is the error from TARGET:

Physical USB HID devices managed by script!
Currently plugged USB HID devices[2]:
1: "T.16000M Joystick" - "USB\VID_044F&PID_B10A&REV_0500"
2: "TWCS Throttle" - "USB\VID_044F&PID_B687&REV_0110"
Installing filter driver to VID_044F&PID_B10A. Please Wait...Done!
USB HID device "T.16000M Joystick"(USB\VID_044F&PID_B10A\6&304D54F2&0&13) selected
USB HID device "TWCS Throttle"(USB\VID_044F&PID_B687\6&304D54F2&0&12) selected
USB HID device with hardware id "VID_044F&PID_0405" cannot be found
USB HID device with hardware id "VID_044F&PID_0406" cannot be found
USB HID device with hardware id "VID_044F&PID_0407" cannot be found
USB HID device with hardware id "VID_044F&PID_0408" cannot be found
USB HID device with hardware id "VID_044F&PID_040A" cannot be found
USB HID device with hardware id "VID_044F&PID_040B" cannot be found
USB HID device with hardware id "VID_044F&PID_0409" cannot be found
Virtual HID devices managed by script!
Connecting virtual joystick...Done
Device name set to Thrustmaster Combined
Connecting virtual keyboard...Done
Connecting virtual mouse (absolute axes)...Done

main returned 0
Error: One of the selected USB devices (0) has been unplugged. Aborting script!
Aborting script (check output above for reason)...
Script stopped!

Have you ever had any issue with TARGET? A similar situation as the above one? I've read that is better to use an alternative to TARGET, such as Joystick Gremlin for instance, but I am not able to find any Strike Fighter 2 profile for that specific software so I am not sure how to make it works.

Somebody can help me with this issue? Thanks

[+DoctorQuest 120]

Is there a Thrustmaster forum you can query?  I'm a CH Products guy so I don't have a lot of experience with TM.

I googled that message and got a lot of hits. You might try that and work your way through those.

If you go into Windows settings search for Joystick and bring up that dialog do the devices show up?

 

[AxtonJT 1]

Yes, both the devices (Hotas and TWCS) are being recognized and all the tests works perfectly (axis, buttons, etc.) is just when I open TARGET and then I load up the script downloaded here that I'm getting the issue mentioned in this thread.
As I've said I am not sure if it is TARGET or the script to be faulty, because I've tried already to google the issue, and lot's of users mentioned that TARGET is a terrible software. It could also be that the script is not working properly, but what is the reason to upload something that is not working properly here? I mean, if it was broken or partially working I don't believe it would get approved to be published here (but I can be wrong).

The solution for me would be finding somebody that uses the same device and also the same script in TARGET, or somebody that uses the same device but instead has a script for a different software rather than TARGET.

[+DoctorQuest 120]

The readme mentions mucking about with the SF2 INI that defines the controls.

2) Copy the TARGET.INI file to the Controls folder inside your Strike Fighters 2 MOD folder

and

5) Start Strike Fighers 2, go to the Controller settings inside the Options, and select the TARGET.INI file instead of
   the Default.INI.

Not sure if you did that. Just checking. Sorry I can't be more help.

 

 

[AxtonJT 1]

Sorry if I took time to reply here but I had to do some tests to be sure that the issue was resolved and, for now, it seems resolved. I am to going to post here the solution I've found (extreme tedious and difficult research) in case somebody is going to have the same issue as I've got.

First of all, when you purchase this Hotas + TWCS, make sure to download only the TARGET software but not the Drivers, Windows 10 (possibly even Windows 11) has got already some Drivers for these devices, so if you install the dedicated Drivers as well they will create conflicts.

After that, make sure to follow these instructions I've found on a forum:

Quote

Windows 10's power management features are needlessly aggressive for a desktop gaming machine. They work well for tablets and laptops, no doubt, but they're meant for people lying on a sofa reading news websites or messing around on Facebook, not gamers. If you run a TARGET script, the joystick will be replaced with a Thrustmaster Virtual Game Controller (Root). You can check whether this is active by hitting the Super key, typing "joy.cpl" and running that program (it's the Game Controllers applet). It will list all the attached joystick devices in a human-readable format. If you see "Thrustmaster Virtual Game Controller (Root)," then Windows will actually shut off the power to the USB port that the stick is connected to because it believes that the device "T16000.M" has been disconnected.

To fix this, there's a really useful program called USBDeview (search it on Google).

    - With the joystick connected and TARGET not running, run USBDeview as Admin.
    - Find the T16000.M entry.
    - Right click and select "Open in RegEdit".
    - Regedit will open with the device ID highlighted.
    - Expand the registry entry (click on the arrow.)
    - Click the "Device Parameters" folder (don't expand the entry; you don't need to.)
    - There is an entry for "EnhancedPowerManagementEnabled". Double click on it.
    - Change the DWORD value from 1 to 0.
    - Restart your computer. Windows should no longer send the device to sleep. (it should work even without Restarting the PC)

This change is often reverted automatically by Windows on an update, so you'll need to change it back from time to time.

Also, if you are connecting the two Devices (Hotas and TWCS) on a front USB panel, make sure to plug them on a different set. For example, on front of my case there are 2 USB-3 ports and 2 USB-standard ports, and if you connect both the devices on the 2 USB-3 ports, one of them will got disconnected, recreating the above issue, but if you connect (for instance) the Hotas on the USB-3 port and the TWCS on the USB-standard port, everything works like a charm.

It was a pain in the - - - to make everything working, thanks to the poor Driver management of Thrustmaster but also the invasive Power management of Windows, but if you follow all the above instructions, you will get it sorted!

Thanks for your support anyway, really appreciated. And thanks for all your hard work to create all these mods for this great game!

Edited March 19, 2023 by AxtonJT