custom game controller, need advise

[Collective_8472]

I'm in the process of designing a customized game controller, one the can be used with one hard (left) in FPS games.
I know that's not exactly your territory, but since you guys seem to be the experts on building stuff with Hagstrom encoders, spinners, etc.

my idea involves (at the moment) ataching a CLAW to a optical mouse that can only move on the Y axis (for up/down control). the only trouble is i have no idea how to get the X axis (left/right view) to work, a spinner is an option, perhaps even foot controls. i know the HE-72 can emulate a mouse, all i'd need is a spinner for the X axis (or similar device), but am not sure how to put it together for cheap.

in addition, a shift lever of sorts is planned, again interfacing with the HE-72, i'll get back to you on that one, this whole rig is gonna be very portable (LAN party goer am i)

thanks for your help in advance.

[Xiaou2]

  The idea seems silly to me.  

   Im not big on FPS games, but when I actually tried one, I recall the amount of controll needed to fair well.

  To try to control everything with a single hand in ridiculus.   Why walk when you can tie your feet together and hop?  Why dont cars have gas and brakes integrated into the steering wheels?   !!!

  If you only have one hand, then this would be a good device - and may actully give you better speed...  BUT, if you have a perfectly capable hand- doing nothing,...its wastefull.

  Also, the more you do with a single hand... the less accurate you will be, as well as being slower at execution/reaction times.

[u_rebelscum]

I'm in the process of designing a customized game controller, one the can be used with one hard (left) in FPS games.
I know that's not exactly your territory, but since you guys seem to be the experts on building stuff with Hagstrom encoders, spinners, etc.

Can you discribe what you want the controller to control?  Like Xiaou2 says, what's your right hand doing?

One thing you might be talking about is using your right hand like normal, on a normal mouse, and having your controller, instead of the keyboard, augment it?

Let me tell you, won't work as you discribe your controller.  Problem is that in windows, it's very hard to get different mice to control different stuff, and the software must be programmed to do so.  AFAIK, no game is setup for multiple mouse inputs controlling different functions (ie: quake is not programmed so mouse 1 controls movement, while mouse 2 controls direction looking; both mice control the same thing at the same time).

Better to have the claw hooked to a joystick if I'm guessing right.  You might be able to set up some games so the joystick controlls something different than the (right hand) mouse.

[CthulhuLuke]

One thing you might want to try to get yourself started on mapping out a customized FPS controller is go out and buy a Raider Pro Joystick, they're about 9.99 I believe, have analog controls (which work in Half Life oddly enough), and are so cheap you can take em apart, do whatever you want to em, 10 bucks is just a meal at mcdonalds now a days anyways.
   What I found was pretty fun to do was to hook up my trackball when I had it in a proto-type cardboard box, and hook up the joystick for movement, then use the buttons that were next to the trackball for shooting, and the buttons on the joystick for jumping and action.  You could try something portable-ish off of this idea, having a joystick/keyboard/mouse-trackball all in one, but personally I am fine using a mouse and a keyboard when I play FPS games.  Having any other controls just doesn't feel as quick to me, (although playing Doom on a controller can be fun since you don't have to aim.)
   Also, they do sell controllers with foot controls for Mechwarrior games, I've never used one but I've seen em before, so you might want to just go down to like Circuit City or Best Buy and check out all their selection, then take down notes of the designs you like, maybe even just pick up one of those if you see one for cheap, since that's always the easy way out.
    -Good Luck though, keep us posted on progress if you get this thing cranked out
       -CthulhuLuke

[Collective_8472]

UPDATE:
after examining the options further (and ripping apart and old PC Commander analog stick), i've figured out that the best thing to do is take a CLAW (left-hand keyboard replacement for FPS games) and mod it with an optical mouse sensor attached somehow, since the CLAW can emulate mouse clicks, i essentially am left with a 10 button, 5 fingered left handed programmable mouse.

i also plan to have a panel of levers (about the only thing my right hand can do is work levers) rigged to a hagstroms encoder for verious selection purposes, and a few foot pedals (momentary switches). i'm just working on this in my spare time (of which i have little of at the moment). any ideas on how to pull off the lever assembly would be nice.

One idea is to have the shift lever linked to a pedal, so one pedal switch can work many different buttons (depensing on the state of the lever switch (fire control, throttle, chat, weap. select, etc.)

I'm a sysadmin, not an electronics engineer, though i think such an assembly would work as the hangstrom's switches are off a common ground. (just use a multi-pole switch for each hot lead).

attached to the lever setup will be a keyboard-esqe panel, push buttons and the like for various things (function keys, etc).

I'm on a shoestring budget, here, so no Happ's stuff for me, heh.

[neuromancer]

Why one hand?

Wingman Warrior is ok for FPS.

Spinner, stick with 4 buttons, throttle, and hatswitch. No really good vertical axis control though. It was really excellent for Doom.

On Ret to Wolf I like a trackball on the right hand and movement on the left with a keyboard.

bob

[Collective_8472]

why one hand? simple: i have hemiparisis (right side (leg and arm) is 60% useless, can't write, cut, type, game, etc with it, though i can type 60WPM with just my left hand on a normal keyboard  
gaming's a different story, i kick butt in flight sims, mech games and (sorta) RTs's but FPS gaming i really stink at...

[twist]

I think i I may have an idea for your perdicament.

A glove that is made from a 5 button optical mouse.




obviously, strafing would be out, because you only have 5 fingers, but it wont kill you not to have it.

I hope this helps

[Collective_8472]

cool idea, but no go.

currently, i use a 2 handed system, left hand on the mouse, right on the joystick, as you can imagine, the right hand is movement (fwd, bak, strafe) but is insanly slow. previously, i used only a stick (no looking and 3 fingers useless). didn't work.

i don't see a reason why a rudder pedal setup couldn't be used for strafing.

[Jakobud]

Hmm interesting idea.  Why were you wanting your claw/mouse thing to move only in the yaxis?

Jakobud

[Collective_8472]

random thought...

now i need it to work like a regular mouse.
i'll be needing to pick the device up (to reset the mouse axis) occasionally, the design of the claw has the hand resting on the device, so a strap around the wrist to hold the hand to the device would be nice.

the trouble: the claw has a weighted base, it would be nessesary to remove the weights when the mouse is added.

i want to add a logitech optical sensor (reliable, accurate and small to boot), the big question is HOW?

i just need to get my hands on this thing...

[hyiu]

just thinking out loud.....

I once saw a microsoft mouse like thing...

its like a trackball... but then the thing is kinda like a
joystick.... (or should I say palm stick...)

you kinda rest your palm on it and you can move it like a joystick... but then the top part is also a trackball (kind of thing...) and it has like trackball buttons....

that thing has quite a lot of buttons and can be pgrmmable...

its like one of those microsoft mouse like tools but never become popular....  I read a review once, but have never tried it....

could that be of any help ?? then you can use your palm to control joystick and maybe thumb for trackball and fingers for buttons.....

again... I'm just thinking out loud here.... I'm sure I've seen the review.... but I don't remember the details.... just remembered its a 1 hand thing... (probably...) and sort of combined joystick mouse as 1......

did I trigger anyone's memory

[Collective_8472]

that would limit turning and looking to a joystick-like axis (MS Strategic Commander).
i.e. unlimited movement but constant speed and must return to center to stop.
won't work, i tried that, crashed and burned (along with my scores)

[Jakobud]

I have this old mouse thing called the Logitech Cyberman (not the cyberman2).  It looks really really cool but I have never really found a good use for it! I don't know why I still have it.  Sounds like sort of up this alley.

Regarding adding an optical sensor to the claw, this would be quite difficult.  I have attempted to remove optical sensors from mice and put them in more comfortable mice and never had good results.  Optical lasers are designed very specifically to be a certain distance from the table surface and recreating that exactly is NOT easy...

jakobud

[Collective_8472]

i'm talking taking a dremel to the mouse casing, leaving the bottom section intact, that being the actual bottom piece.