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controller for quadriplegic

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Tiger-Heli:

Just some random thoughts here:

PS2 - Expanding on Skallagrigg's thoughts - I'm not real familiar with it, but it might be possible to come up with some type of 10-position four pole switch which Sean could activate, which would change which input the buttons activate, thereby remapping the controller.  Problems -

There are basically 14 buttons to re-map so the number of permutations to hit any possible combination is pretty unfeasible.

I have only played 7 or 8 PS2 games, but the most used controls overall are probably (in order):

Left Analog Stick
X Button
Circle Button
Triangle Button
L1 Button
R1 Button
Start Button
Square Button
D-pad
Right Analog Stick
L2 Button
R2 Button
L3 Button
R3 Button

And sadly, while the first buttons are the most common ones, many games use all the buttons (or even combinations) for SOME functions.

For PC games, the lack of inputs with a PS2 hack and lack of buttons may be a problem.  I have successfully integrated two Train Simulators with arcade controls (MSTS and TRS2004) and both used every bit of the 32 KeyWiz inputs and all but maybe 10 of the shifted inputs.  Games like Falcon 3.0 use about 40 input keys EACH with Shift, Alt, and Ctrl modifiers, so a total of around 100 inputs.

These are all older or simpler games, so the trend could be worse with newer games.

Counter-point: many of the newer games - like TRS2004 - also make extensive use of mouse controls, so I could get by with less inputs and use the mouse, but it might be difficult for Sean to navigate to the specific point on the screen and click and drag the mouse in a timely manner . . .

RetroJames:

Minor update:

Wife absconded with digital camera today, no pics 'till  tonight. 

Got the joysticks in postion and at the correct height based on Happs and RandyT's input (2.50" from cp to joystick top(s)). 

I had to move the sticks about 1" apart and 1" forward (away from Sean) in order to compensate for the Prodigy 5" square and Happs 6" square mounting plates.  It looks good and feels ok though, hopefully it will not cause any issues.





Stingray:


--- Quote from: rerstad on January 26, 2005, 02:32:33 pm ---You could also turn the Prodigy 90 degrees one way or another so the switch is more out of the way of Sean's hands and/or the switch is more accessible.

--- End quote ---

That's a very good point.

-S

versapak:

I dunno if this would be helpful in the ability to remap controls, but there is a controller called Gamester FPS Master.

It has a little LCD screen, and allows you to remap any of its buttons to a different one, and it has storage for 3 preset configurations.

I dunno how hard it would be to hack this for arcade controller use. I have an Xbox version in which the right trigger physically broke. I can take it apart, and snap some pictures of its internals if there is some interest. The customization options it offers are pretty excellent.





Hiub1:

Tiger-Heli: It seems that Sean is able to use a computer to some extent from his posts on here. If you think about it, all the games you mentioned are either turn based or strategy games, and they do not require very fast actions or movements. Obviously they do require a good number of buttons or keys, so that would most likely not work with the controller we are designing. I am not entirely sure since I have never met Sean, but it seems that he would be more interested in using this controller to play action or sports games, where quick button presses and movements are needed. It would seem pointless to use this controller with a game that requires key presses and the use of a mouse. Building on your theory, it would be possible to use a 4 port DB25 switch to switch between 4 key configurations. This wouldn't be the best way to go about doing this, but at least it would allow us to have 4 custom maps for the buttons. It would not be too hard to implement either, but it does have its limitations.

Thank you all for the input, it is really helping this project materialize.

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