Posted 18 July 2013 - 07:05 PM
The interface is actually the easiest part of this equation, and there are cheaper alternatives and many other ways to go than using the Leo Bodnar board, but it's a good option too with a solid support community around it, somewhat offsetting it's high price and long waits on deliveries. There is Teensy, Arduino, and on the list goes, and then you can also hack other controllers for their input boards and such, sometimes exceeding the capacity of what you can accomplish with normal project boards, like using TARGT enabled gear for hacking for isntance.
Like I said though, that part is easy peasy. Making something that actually mechanically moves/feels right is a whole nother sport altogether, but one I encourage highly. So far the shortest path to victory for a proper MWO stick that I have identified would be to take a Steel Battallion controller and use a Thrustmaster T16000M (not only works with Hall sensors, comes with a 14bit dual axis one that would be easy to hack onto the SB's gimbal) board to bring it out of the stone age. The T16000M is $20-$40 and TARGT capable. All 16 buttons on it are discretely wired so it's a matter of connect the dots just like the Leo board above. It has 2 other axes that would be used for turning/throttle. A T16000M can control every function of MWO, but since it's running TARGET doesn't even count as a controller so you can still plug in other controllers too or add more function with other guts.
Why the SB controller? Turns out that SB controls were coded in zero-order (like MWO reticule aim), but they were awesome enough to optimize a zero-order joystick just to use with that game. As such, it has no centering spring, and instead has smooth damped friction and the stick stays in whatever position you leave it in, like my stick. It moved in pitch/roll like a normal stick, but would still be a great conversion. As a builder of custom peripherals, all I can say is that the interface is the only easy part of this process.
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