Issues with Utility auto-firing

[BrocMcGregor]

Hey all,

okay, so I have no idea what's going on but since the beginning in the Eagle, I've had issues with the utilities going auto-off as soon as I drop into normal-space.

First off, my computer (until tonight anyway) at the lowest ran at 45fps. I have 24GB DDR5 RAM, i7 3.2ghz, and GTX 560Ti, and I usually get between 20-50Mbps download with 10Mbps upload on my internet connection according to speedtest. So the game itself seems to run quite well, and far as I can tell, this shouldn't be a "computer issue."

BUT

I also run a dual joystick setup with almost all of my functions mapped to the sticks. I use the 4-way hat on the left stick as a D-pad. If anyone has been in a real cockpit you'll know what I'm talking about. I can run through the menu UI, ships functions, different panels, etc without going near the keyboard. I only used the keyboard for typing in the comms channel.

I had the "silent running," "heatsinks," "chaff," and "shield booster" mapped to my Hat with a separate button required to activate it.

It's the oddest thing.
I would exit a starport - immediately it would dump at least one of each.
I would come out of SC - immediately it would dump at least one of each.

I thought it may have something to do with "fire groups" so I switched my firing groups of my utilities to a separate one than my weapons

Still happened.

now, at first, I thought it was because maybe I was touching something I shouldn't, or the sticks were weird, so I double checked their drivers were up to date, and then even re-mapped all four utilities to the keyboard.

It still happens!

now, the weirdest thing: "running silent" never switches over. It's only the utilities.

it got old so I ended up just selling my chaff and heat sink launchers on my Adder.

BUT I mean come on, they're there for a reason. And in PvP almost essential. And here in Mobius, let's just say I enjoy running routes that aren't exactly the most "legal."

so I'm wondering if it's something in-game? A bug? or is it something with my controls?

Honestly, long-term it's my goal to share my control map, but at the same time... there's alot on there! It'll take a while to get it all in a format that's easy to understand.

if anyone can help, it'd be greatly appreciated. Also UnmarkedBoxcar saw it happen a couple times. So I know I'm not going 'crazy'


ALSO,
I had the weirdest time flying tonight. My internet was still strong, over 20Mbps, and nothing has changed with the computer... and yet my average, average FPS was like 20. 20!?!?! I have no idea what happened. Anyone else experiencing this tonight? It's basically resigned me from flying right now and just having fun on forums and such.

[Loriath]

I had an issue with my Hotas that was similar. Are you by chance using a USB hub or extension cable? I had a bad cable, and the issue continued with the hub till I powered it.

[Feldspar]

Have you tried configuring them to something else, just to see if it still happens?

Also check if they have more than one thing assigned to them, you might have some daft conflict.

[Flip]

There's a know problem with the Saikek X-55 HOTAS that does that kind of things if the USB port to which it's connected doesn't provide quite enough power. People have worked around it by using a different port, or a self powered external USB hub.

[BrocMcGregor]

well

both of my joysticks are hooked to the computer via USB. They're both separate. Both have their appropriate drivers installed and updated.

I also double checked my controls map. As long as "JOY 2+ JOY 3" is in fact different than "JOY 2+ JOY 4" which in all other cases it seems to be so, then it's fine. Everything seems separate. I mean, when I select "next target" (Left JOY 6 + Right HAT4 UP) it's different than "power to engines" (Left JOY 4 + Right HAT4 UP)

Also, this still happens even when the utilities are mapped to the keyboard! It's the craziest thing.

I went from a full joystick map for them to the keyboard. "Tab," "A," "W," and "D" for all the utility functions. Still did it

also, when I created my controls mapping, I actually cleared the bindings. Started from scratch. So I'm pretty sure nothing should be in the background causing issues.

it is what it is I guess lol

I'm at wit's end on this little SNAFU so I just took them off. It's a shame. Flying an Eagle in a high-stress RES or CZ the shield boosters would certainly come in handy. But at least trading, in Mobius anyway, I only have to worry about NPC interdictions, and they're not so bad... now. But when I get to the big beasty T-6 or T-7 it's something I'm concerned about. At least I'm also always running shields.

So right now, I've basically just started to not install them.

Thanks everyone for the quick responses it's really appreciated!

1618 PST GMT-7
you know, I think it may have something wonky to do with either the bindings controls, or the bindings I chose. I'm thinking unfortunately it's game related though, not on my end. Here is my reasoning:
it's done this to:
chaff
heat sink
shield cell batteries

... but "one of these things is not like the other!"
shield cell batteries are in the "internal compartments" section of the ship. NOT the "utilities."

but they're very close to each other in the game-menu for the controls. I dunno, it's just a thought. I'll do some experiments tonight while running rares in my Cobra, see if mapping it to the keyboard helps, and putting different ones onto my ship. I haven't actually used the Kill Warrant Scanner or the Frame Shift Wake Scanners yet.