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Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:32 am
by tsgiannis
Hello to everybody and have a nice year.
I searched around and it seems is not viable but i thought i will give it a shot..
Is it possible to control OOlite only via joystick/gamepad...right now i have hooked up my HTPC to my TV and OOlite seems great...but the need for both gamepad & keyboard to say the least...so i was thinking if its viable to make a mapping of joystick to numeric pad mainly to access the options when docked....
Any thoughts...

Re: Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:44 am
by Cody
Welcome aboard, Commander!

Re: Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 12:15 pm
by tsgiannis
Cody wrote: Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:44 am
Welcome aboard, Commander!
Thanks a lot....its time to return to the roots...Amstrad 6128 ..Elite and countless hours battling Thargoids in the deep space...

Re: Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 12:19 pm
by spud42
possible but you need a joystick with a lot of buttons..lol
my logitech extreme 3D pro has 12 buttons as well as a 4 way pov hat and a throttle along with std forward/back,left/right joy stick controls and twist for "rudder".
and its not enough..... what you could also do is to add a USB numeric keypad for another 15 or so buttons.... that should do it. if you search the site there are examples of custom oolite flight controls .

Re: Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 12:29 pm
by tsgiannis
spud42 wrote: Sat Jan 06, 2018 12:19 pm
what you could also do is to add a USB numeric keypad for another 15 or so buttons.... that should do it. if you search the site there are examples of custom oolite flight controls .
my wireless keyboard is tiny ...no problem about that...but if everything could be controlled via my gamepad (PS3 clone) it would be most comfortable....

Re: Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:48 pm
by spud42
some PS3 controller links and joystick adjusting threads
https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=11987
https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16632

i found another that had controller layouts but cant find it now..

Re: Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 3:56 pm
by tsgiannis
using gamepad in flight works fine...i just want to eliminate the hassle of having 2 devices (gamepad/keyboard) for controlling the game...it would be great if a cycling routine would be available to cycle the 1-9 shortcuts...maybe i will try a gamepad to keyboard mapper.

Re: Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:06 am
by cag
2 days ago, I would have said it wasn't possible. I use a gamepad (Logitech Rumblepad2) that can have 22 buttons (the software lets you designate one to act as a Shift key), still not nearly enough. Then I followed spud42's link:
spud42 wrote: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:48 pm
some PS3 controller links and joystick adjusting threads
https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=11987
....
and discovered Xpadder. The help topic on "Advanced assignments: Combinations, sequences, timing and distance" starts:
Slots
Each button has an infinite number of slots. ..
It rated a closer look and, in a word, wow! :shock:

There's a bit of a learning curve but it's worth it. It supports upto 8 'sets', which are groups of button assignments. I only need 3 for oolite. One for flight, the 2nd is a 'shift' set like I had before and the third for use when docked. (It could possible be done in just 2 sets)

The real magic, though, is in those "infinite number of slots". You can program buttons to do almost anything you want. I've only just started but
  • a single button for cargo: I tap it to cycle thru my manifest, hold it down to dump that cargo
  • another I tap for ECM, hold to cycle weapons on/off
  • my pause button pulls up the comms log before pausing
  • my Shift button also has a sequence to execute when it's just tapped (the button had no other function in Logitech's profiler)
So, in just a single set, each button can have 2 uses: high priority ( tap it ) & low priority ( hold it ).

The joysticks/D-pad can be configured 6 different ways. Eg. on a secondary set, you could give a stick a 90% dead zone and gain 8 buttons (arrow keys, PgUp, PgDn, Space & Enter for use when docked).

I'm still learning what all it can do but why not check out:
https://xpadder.com/forum4/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2422

Spoiler: there is no demo/trial. It'll cost you $10 for a lifetime licence.

Re: Is it possible to control OOlite entirely with Joystick/Gamepad

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 12:12 pm
by Diziet Sma
cag wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:06 am
2 days ago, I would have said it wasn't possible. I use a gamepad (Logitech Rumblepad2) that can have 22 buttons (the software lets you designate one to act as a Shift key), still not nearly enough. Then I followed spud42's link:
...
and discovered Xpadder..
...
It rated a closer look and, in a word, wow! :shock:
...
Spoiler: there is no demo/trial. It'll cost you $10 for a lifetime licence.

Yup.. I'm a long-time fan of Xpadder. It's excellent value for money.