rec.autos.simulators

Is it possible to run another joystick/wheel off of the soundcard
midi/joystick port (Awe32) using a Y splitter AND still have FF effects?

Or can u simply add another joystick port to work in conjunction with
the soundcard port? although at the moment I have no spare slots :-(

or is it even possible to make up a lead to connect the pedals which use
analogue potentiometers directly to the MS FF wheel?

I'm very doubtful any of these work, especially also still using FF
effects, but any ideas or help from any1 would be greatly appreciated.
--
Vince Fisher

I believe this should be possible IF GPL can recognize more than one
adapter.

analogue potentiometers directly to the MS FF wheel?

I don't think this would work because the ms wheel is 100% digital and
probably wouldn't be able to talk to the analog pots.

I think if you can get two controller cards running, you should be able to
configure two devices on seperate axes. The wheel would be the only
FF-affected device unless you also had some FF pedals (hmmmmm). Just my
$0.02.

-/- Walk Walker

However, GPL's calibrate joystick window only supports 4 axis' and the MS FF
wheel uses first 3 (even with pedals unplugged).  The x-axis of the joystick
is seen as the 4th.  So if I wanted to use another set of pedals (plugged
into USB port) with the MS FF wheel, the gas and brake would have to share
the same axis.

Brian

When I tried installing an admittedly old and probably too slow
controller card I couldn't even get Win98 to recognise it, So IM not too
sure if it will recognise 2 ports. If any1 is running another joystick
port as well as there soundcard joystick port id be grateful to know if
it is indeed possible.
thnx in advance
Vince Fisher

Since almost all wheel/pedal units use both joystick ports (A & B), this
won't work.  Or I should say, shouldn't work.  However, if the "pedals"
are assigned to joystick B, it is possible to get this to work (in
theory).  Then again you may need to hack the registry entry for the
device you are trying to calibrate in Win95.

% Or can u simply add another joystick port to work in conjunction with
% the soundcard port? although at the moment I have no spare slots :-(

I don't see how this would work (other than USB), as almost all programs
expect to find the joystick port at I/O 201-201 and the two cards would
have to fight for the same I/O.

% or is it even possible to make up a lead to connect the pedals which use
% analogue potentiometers directly to the MS FF wheel?

What maybe possible is to hardwire the pedals to the pins associated to
the joystick axes the MS pedals are assigned to (and of course disable
the wires of the pins connected to the MS pedals).  Again may not work
because of the conflict with the drivers of the MS wheel and registry
entries for the device.

% I'm very doubtful any of these work, especially also still using FF
% effects, but any ideas or help from any1 would be greatly appreciated.

--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
     Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./.  [-  < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

So I guess I could have both wheels and all 4 pedals with separate axis
working together, making 6 axis.  Or are there some hidden problems in
this?

I wonder how  a game like GPL would detect the axis, it can detect 4 but
if there are more how would it decide which ones to use? And would it be
possible to override them to the ones u want?

I tried out a few hardwiring things including wiring the potentiometers
straight to the pins that the MS FF wheel doesn't use on the port,
because there are a couple of Y axis pins not used, but I could only get
either the pedals to work or the wheel not both :-( but I never tried
any registry hacks.

Thnx for the advice btw and any more would be very welcome
Vince Fisher

DirectInput
=========
Axis 1 - wheel (controller #1 plugged into USB)
Axis 2 - gas (controller #1 plugged into USB)
Axis 3 - brake (controller #1 plugged into USB)
Axis 4 - wheel (MS FF plugged into joystick port)
Axis 5 - gas (MSFF plugged into joystick port)
Axis 6 - brake (MSFF plugged into joystick port)

Since GPl can use the first 4 axis, you'd be able to use the MSFF wheel
(axis 4) with the gas and brake pedals from the other controller (axis 2 and
3).

However, try as I might, whenever I plugged my USB MS Precision Pro joystick
in, it ALWAYS ended up being the 2nd device after the MSFF wheel.  Even if I
had the Precision Pro plugged in (as device #1), when I plugged the wheel
into the joystick port, it would automatically become device #1 (pushing the
USB joystick to device #2).  I'm not sure why.  Perhaps the controller
plugged into the joystick port always gets priority over USB controllers?
Or maybe the controller devices get sorted alphabetically!?!

Brian

What?

The pedals are _wonderfull_!

Are you sure yours isn't broken?

-Larry