4 replies to this topic

[Texugo87]

Hi All,

I play around with DIY electronics a bit, and for my next project I'm thinking of making a controller tailored to MWO. I'm unhappy with commercial offerings, and would only use it for this game. Plus I have fun building and designing things like this.

Before I say anything else I want to stress that I do this as a hobby, and if I build one it would likely be couple months until I'm done and happy with it.

That said, I was thinking I'd ask for community input, and if I come up with something i'm happy with and others were interested in, I would put together a group buy on components to save people a bit of money, write up a construction guide, and include any code I write to make the thing work. I wouldn't make any money on such an endeavor, that isn't my goal here.

Anyway, down to specs.

The biggest problem I have in game is not having a throttle slider, I find it a constant source of frustration. So much so I use my mouse wheel as a throttle, but it's slow as hell (PS, if anyone has found a line in one of the config files that changes how much a key press advance throttle I would love to hear about it).

My goal is to move all left hand mobility controls off the keyboard and onto the controller, and having a slide throttle that holds it's position when let go of (main reason I'm not using a joystick for throttle currently as they auto center). Obviously interface would be USB.

So far what i've come up with is an analog slide throttle, and a 2-axis analog stick, game controller sized, for turning when analog turning is supported. I haven't been able to to think of what to use the additional axis for, so i'd probably physically limit it to on axis on the prototype unless anyone has a good idea? Cheap plastic enclosure, and a selection of momentary switches for various functions. I thought some rockers for things like ECM mode would be cool, but at present I don't think that could be done with the way most functions are toggle, not separate on and off commands.

The list I've come up with so far would have enough bindable keys for:

-target
-jumpjets
-night vision
-thermal vision
-zoom mode
-advanced zoom
-ecm mode
-bay doors

plus a couple for weapons groups and misc. functions.

Throttle could either be configured as forward, neutral, reverse, or forward and neutral only with a reversing key.

The biggest challenge is layout, ensuring that throttle and steering can be worked single handed and at the same time, and that most or all buttons can be pressed without letting go of the steering.

Having had a VERY cursory look at component costs I think I can build a prototype for under $50, maybe less. Depending on numbers a group buy could come in under $40.

Prototype will be built point to point on perf board, if adequate interest PCB's could be made, however there would be very little soldering involved so it likely wouldn't be worth it.

Skills required to build a kit would be rudimentary soldering skills, and basic literacy based on the components I'm looking at. My goal is to make this a reasonably easy project for someone who has never assembled something like this before.

Thoughts?

[evilC]

I wouldn't bother building your own.
I have a Thrustmaster Top Gun Afterburner II:



I paid about £15 for it, and the throttle part has a rocker on the front that can be used to control turning, plus the throttle detaches from the stick, so you can tuck the stick out of the way and just use a throttle in the left hand and mouse in the right.

[Loc Nar]

Your shortest path to victory is to hack (take apart and rebuild in a form factor that pleases you) an existing stick. The best candidate would be the Thrustmaster T16000 since it runs TARGET, Thrustmaster's software to run it, which really makes up for the lack of real MWO support and allows you about as fine of degree of control over all parameters of axis and button mapping. Don't reinvent the wheel, just rebuild one to suit the task at hand!

I am all about making better peripherals, and have already done so. My HOTAS build is documented here, and is part of the larger project of my mechpit. I place the upmost importance on having controls that can fluidly control all aspects of any simulator (I'm an airplane dork and make my own peripherals for those sims too), and that they also feel believable, which is why I started with a full metal joystick like the Cougar as the basis of my HOTAS. I picked it before I understood how important TARGET is to this equation. So far, it seems to be the only software that can make up for MWO's lack of support at this current phase, at least the only one that can do it without major work on your .cfg/.xml and as far as I've seen so far seems much more capable of higher functions, like assigning complex digital events to analog axes.

If you go the route of gutting a T16000 (or Warthog or *Cougar if you can afford them), you will have a huge head start on having a fine tuned control scheme once you finally get through the building-the-hardware part. If you go the Teensy/Leo Bodinar board route, your hardware building process will be equally hard (likely much harder since starting from scratch) but once it comes time to make it work with MWO your job is just beginning!

*Cougars can be found pretty cheap with worn out gimbals on the stick, which makes them excellent candidates for donor parts.

[Gremlich Johns]

I use a JS and the Nostromo n52. I use the D-pad for my throttle/forward/backward/stop control..

[Taijiya]

I would love to see a slide throttle attached to a barrel axis for turning. Basically what a lefty joystick does right now in a joystick + mouse combo, but substituting a throttle in for one of the axis.