rec.autos.simulators

I have messed a lot with the Microsoft Game Controller Panel, and I have
seen so many perilous attempts of configuring non-standard
joystick/wheel/pedals with the standard Microsoft thing.

It is almost like Microsoft intentinally tried to make life difficult
for us, and we have to make all kind of adjustments in order to get our
gear working. And there are things that simply don't work at all. Those
of us who have tried configuring and using several joysticks at the same
time know what I am talking about.

When I tell the Game Control Panel that my joystick has three axis', why
the hell should the panel show me "not connected" because I am using
axis 2,3 and 4, and NOT 1? And why is it that Thrustmaster needs its own
calibration panel? Why can't we use big pots with the
GameControllerPanel? How come we can't switch joysticks without going
through a whole series of configuration steps?

Well, you get the idea, the standard Game Control Panel sucks big time,
and I'd love to do something about it!

I am prepared to spend a lot of time on making a new panel. I'd like to
program it with Visual C++, so that the configuration part can be made
user friendly.

However this is a job that I cannot do entirely on my own. And I'd like
to know if there is any interest in this subject at all. I have a web
based program project in mind...

1) Are there anyone out there who consider themselves as possible
participants in such a project?

2) Are there anyone out there who have already sorted out programming
problems with joysticks?

3) Is there general interest in seing such a project proceeding? I think
the racing simulation and flight simulation communities are the
communities benefitting from such a project...

Or is it just me who am not satisfied with the Game Control Panel?

---Asgeir---

It's not too easy to work with if you want to customize the wiring of a
controller.
It took me some time to understand that BOTH the X and Y-axis loop has to be
"CLOSED" electrically to get the "connected" status. But now I have my
pedals
on Y1 and Y2-axis together with the LWFF on it's USB driver.
The LWFF seems to have 4K pots on the pedals so I don't know if it's
possible to
use standard 100K-150K pots wired to that system. I'm thinking of connecting
some other
pedals directly to the LWFF.

Regards,
Hans-Otto

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

I agree, the Game Controller Applet sucks bigtime!  However, I ain't got
the knowledge/expertise to be off any help.  I presume though, that
before you can start on such a project, you would need to have a look at
the original Windows code that handles this panel in order to figure out
how to improve/override it.  The Twine project - The Windows Emulator
Library - goes into a lot of detail with the Windows code though I have
no idea whether it contained any details of the Controller code.

However, if you're interested try http://www.winehq.com or possibly
http://www.codeweavers.com/twine/index.shtml

HTH
--
Peter Ives - (AKA Ivington)

No person's opinions can be said to be
more correct than another's, because each is
the sole judge of his or her own experience.

Cya,
Hans-Otto

As far as replacing the standard Microsoft DirectX Game Controllers applet
is concerned, this is a relatively straight forward excercise, as all the
functions available are accessible through the DirectInput and/or Win32
Multimedia API's. I suggest you get a copy of the Windows 98 DDK if you want
to delve into this area.

Les.