Oolite Bulletins

Hi everyone.

Just recently started playing, used to play elite on the BBC back when I was young.

Is there any way to set the deadzone on the gamepad analogue sticks on oolite?
I'm using an Xbox wired controller. XBCD seems to not work in win 7.

!m!

From reading the change notes on previous versions, I see that a deadzone was put back in.
Is that only for certain controllers?

Typically the deadzone seems to be configurable in the Linux version of the xbox controller driver but not in the windows one.

Typical.

!m!

I'm afraid this is a driver related thing. As for the deadzone that was put back in, it is a generic setting for all joysticks that the game can see.

Welcome maaarcooose!

Any possibility of a moddable parameter in the configuration file to set the deadzone on individual axies?

I'm feeling either a source code hack or a hardware hack coming on.
Looking at the source might help me get my ObjC head on for a bit of iPhone programming.

Loving this game by the way. It seems like I've been searching for that elusive Elite replacement for years. I think Tacheyon the fringe came close in some ways and X3 had possibilities but nothing really did it for me.

!m!

maaarcooose wrote:

Any possibility of a moddable parameter in the configuration file to set the deadzone on individual axies?

I'm feeling either a source code hack or a hardware hack coming on.
Looking at the source might help me get my ObjC head on for a bit of iPhone programming.

It would be pretty easy making the deadzone setting a configuration file parameter instead of a constant. Not so sure how easy it would be doing it on individual axes, though. This could be a feature request for post-1.76.

another_commander wrote:

I'm afraid this is a driver related thing. As for the deadzone that was put back in, it is a generic setting for all joysticks that the game can see.

I presume this is hardcoded in the program or is it changeable somewhere already?

!m!

It is hardcoded.

Fair enough. Once I get my dev environment working I'll try a hack.

!m!

Looks like a setting of 0.13 is about perfect for the xbox controller.
Just manages to get past the problem without sacrificing fine control.

I can see this being a bit of a pig for these controllers though. There's quite a bit of play in the sticks at rest that give changes in position. When I find my other cheap controller, I'll give it a try with that and see if the problem is worse/better/same.

!m!

Man, it's been a while since I was last here. Good to hear that a deadzone's been implemented in the game, I tried using my joystick drivers and setting a deadzone on the axis that was giving me trouble, but I still kept drifting to the left as always. (I like to think it's a technical malfunction with my Cobra Mk III :p)

That said, I'm still getting leftward drift even after installing the latest version of the game. D: it's a mild annoyance but I'd still rather be able to cruise on without needing to constantly hold my joystick just a little bit left.

Exactly what my xbox controller did.
This is now a moot point for me as I decided to invest in a decent joystick.

Still I think the deadzone slider in the settings would be nice or even a configuration file setting.

!m!

After experimenting some more, it seems to primarily be an issue with my joystick right now. As I said before, it's a few years old, and there was a period of a few months where I didn't even use it, so its spring is a little looser than it should be. If I wiggle it about a fair bit and hold it to the right, I can get it to stay mostly straight until I nudge it again, then I start veering left as always.

For a while I was considering investing in a whole HOTAS setup, but those seem pretty expensive, so even just a normal joystick would probably be an improvement.

That said, a deadzone setting would still most definitely be appreciated, since joysticks are gonna wear down sooner or later, and it'd be annoying having to buy a new one every time just so you can play Oolite without veering off to the sides. :p

ChazFox wrote:

After experimenting some more, it seems to primarily be an issue with my joystick right now. As I said before, it's a few years old, and there was a period of a few months where I didn't even use it, so its spring is a little looser than it should be. If I wiggle it about a fair bit and hold it to the right, I can get it to stay mostly straight until I nudge it again, then I start veering left as always.

For a while I was considering investing in a whole HOTAS setup, but those seem pretty expensive, so even just a normal joystick would probably be an improvement.

That said, a deadzone setting would still most definitely be appreciated, since joysticks are gonna wear down sooner or later, and it'd be annoying having to buy a new one every time just so you can play Oolite without veering off to the sides. :p

Somebody posted elsewhere a £30 HOTAS system from Thrustmaster...

DaddyHoggy wrote:

ChazFox wrote:

After experimenting some more, it seems to primarily be an issue with my joystick right now. As I said before, it's a few years old, and there was a period of a few months where I didn't even use it, so its spring is a little looser than it should be. If I wiggle it about a fair bit and hold it to the right, I can get it to stay mostly straight until I nudge it again, then I start veering left as always.

For a while I was considering investing in a whole HOTAS setup, but those seem pretty expensive, so even just a normal joystick would probably be an improvement.

That said, a deadzone setting would still most definitely be appreciated, since joysticks are gonna wear down sooner or later, and it'd be annoying having to buy a new one every time just so you can play Oolite without veering off to the sides. :p

Somebody posted elsewhere a £30 HOTAS system from Thrustmaster...

The Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS system, right? Round about £30 to £40 on Amazon UK (Depending on what shipping option you choose, at least). Ordered it just now!