Oolite and the Joy of Joysticks

FlyingBlind · Post by **FlyingBlind** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:02 pm

This Christmas saw a new Logitech Attack 3 joystick under the tree for Yours Truly. Thanks to the sage advice of fellow captains here, I downloaded USB Overdrive X and soon had the stick's buttons all programmed and working perfectly.

With this fearsome new tool I set out, ready to make the jump from "Dangerous" to "Deadly," knowing full well that the superior performance gripped in my right hand would have me there in no time. With a grin, I launched...

....and damned near flew into the station's buoy. I was all over the sky.
My Cobra had transformed from a smoothly performing killing machine into a wildly bucking brama bull, with me transformed from my lone gunslinger/trader persona into that of a rodeo clown, barely hanging on and looking darned foolish in the process. My misgivings seemed confirmed when I crashed while docking with the station. Shamefaced, I was forced to follow the prompt to "Press Space, Commander."

After a beverage to soothe my jangled nerves, I contemplated the new beastie sitting upon my desk. This was a gift from my daughter, and she was very proud to have gotten it for me. She'd notice if the thing acquired a layer of dust. What to do? While on the horns of this moral dilemma, I took her out for a spin around the system. After an hour of playing with the joystick's sensitivity and just generally trying to fly, I had begun to make some improvements. My docking, though still not as graceful and effortless as my many hundreds of times before, nonetheless got me into the station with little more than a couple of scratches and a frown from the harbor master.

And so, my new joystick has once again expanded the Oolite experience for me. I am now a trainee pilot, taking my first few wobbling runs around Leesti and Riedquat. My stick work is becoming more refined, but still very rough. I tend to shy away from scrapes with more than 1 or 2 pirates at a time, as I am again reduced to the pop gun laser and minimal shielding one begins the game with. And my dockings have taken on a whole new significance.

Happy Landings (and New Year)

Dan

Cmdr Wyvern · Post by **Cmdr Wyvern** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:11 pm

Not having a Mac, I'm not familiar with USB Overdrive X. I'll assume it's a kind of joystick profiler for Macs.

For Windows, joystick profiler software comes a dime a dozen, most of which allow tweaking of the joystick's axis as well as emulating keyboard presses to the buttons.

Oolite's joystick axis responce tends to be a bit oversensetive IMHO, but I compensate by setting a dead zone on the X and Y axis via the profiler; that tames a tendancy to drift and an otherwise much too twitchy responce. The profiler lets me use the hat for switching gun views, too.

Hope this helps...
Happy piloting, Commander.

Website · Post by **DaddyHoggy** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:15 pm

Isn't there a "joystick sensitivity" option in the joystick setup screen once the game is paused? For me I've got it set (or it may have come set) as Button 4 on my Thrustmaster Dual Power. Without it I'm all over the sky - with it and full lock to the right almost exactly matches the rotation of the stations and docking is a breeze. (not that I'm playing at the mo' I spend most of my time 'playing' on these BBs).

In fact the only time I'm not 'damped' is when I'm fighting very close in with sneaky things like Asps, Sidewinders and FdLs

Good luck and Good Hunting Commander.

HTH,

DaddyH

GoreLeech · Post by **GoreLeech** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 2:46 pm

lol.....i tend to have mine wired so that (i have no clue how but it just does it) it can switch back and forth between the arrows and the joy stick, as im still a noobie with the 'stick....come in handy when uve got an asp breathing down ur neck

grouchy · Post by **grouchy** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 2:48 pm

I tried using my Saitek X45 flightstuck and rudder to control oolite. It was amusing in a laugh off frustration way. Zero wouldn't hold for any axis.

Pulled out my old ms sidewinder stick and that has been working fine.

Wolfwood · Post by **Wolfwood** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 6:12 am

I haven't owned a joystick since Amiga and TAC-2, so I'm using this opportunity to ask which joystick I should get for PC to play Oolite and some flight simulators with? Also, they seem darn expensive at a first look to me...

Dr. Nil · Post by **Dr. Nil** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:55 am

At my 3rd controller ever

87-87 Quickshot II

87-(retired ~97) Wico Redball - industrial strength I'd say since it still works after being my joystick for both Amstrad and Amiga.

For Oolite I use a 2-3 year old Logitech Wingman (USB). It gives me buttons enough for controlling roll, pitch, accelerate, decelerate, laser, witch fuel injection, arm missile and fire missile.

I'd really like to be able to play without keyboard at all, but it would at least need the game to recognize keys for scrolling up back and forth from F1-F8.

Like this guy did:

I'm considering getting a console controller. Any suggestions?

I'm also a bit puzzled. Sometimes Oolite seem extremely sensitive to movement, at others it's completely damped only moving exactly when I'm pressing a button. Could it have anything to do with the keymapper I use? (JoyToKey)

Post by **winston** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:31 pm

If you're using the SDL versions of Oolite (mainly Linux/Windows) you can assign a button on the joystick as a sensitivity modifier for "precision joystick" mode. There are 10 mappable joystick functions - mostly combat controls.

Website · Post by **DaddyHoggy** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:41 pm

@Winston - yeh, that's what I was trying to say but you put it better!

Dr. Nil · Post by **Dr. Nil** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:26 pm

winston wrote:
If you're using the SDL versions of Oolite (mainly Linux/Windows) you can assign a button on the joystick as a sensitivity modifier for "precision joystick" mode. There are 10 mappable joystick functions - mostly combat controls.

I play the Windows version. I'll have to check out which controls are already implemented by the game. I might not even have to use the separate app I'm using for mapping my current controller (there must have been some reason for me to install it though

).

It still could be nice to have the game recognize 2 buttons for cycling back and forth through F1-F8, since it would be the first step in enabling control of the entire game with something like a PS2 controller. I think the rest could easily be done with an external keymapper.

AndySlater · Post by **AndySlater** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:57 pm

Dr.-SPACE-Nil wrote:
Like this guy did:

I so want one of those but alas I cannot afford a divorce.

Dr. Nil · Post by **Dr. Nil** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:58 pm

All it needs is plumbing and an electric water boiler.