Author Topic: GP-Wiz49 Software finally ready (link & screenshot) (Read 13552 times)

RandyT · « **on:** April 18, 2005, 04:23:00 pm »

I just finished the first release of this one. Sorry it took so long.

You can download the program by clicking on the screen shot. The instructions are in the archive. You can play around with it even if you don't have a GP-Wiz49, just to see how it operates. Requires v1.2 firmware to function (currently shipping.)

Sorry about making a new thread for this, but I wanted make sure that those who were interested would see it.

Thanks,
RandyT

MrSaLTy · « **Reply #1 on:** April 18, 2005, 06:25:10 pm »

Thanks Randy!

IntruderAlert · « **Reply #2 on:** April 18, 2005, 06:35:12 pm »

Thanks Randy!
I'm planning to order my 4 later tonight.
Now if someone can just figure out an easy way to have automatic switching...

RandyT · « **Reply #3 on:** April 18, 2005, 06:58:50 pm »

Quote from: MrSaLTy on April 18, 2005, 06:25:10 pm

Randy, when you use the software in the non-interactive mode and you have 2 gpwiz49's will it just change both automatically? I figure it does but just checking.

You figured right. All sticks are kicked into the same DRS mode.

This can be changed in a future version, but at the moment, I can't think of a compelling reason to do them differently.

RandyT

MrSaLTy · « **Reply #4 on:** April 18, 2005, 07:02:15 pm »

sweet, thanks. Its fine for me that way.

dabone · « **Reply #5 on:** April 18, 2005, 07:14:54 pm »

Cool, just got my interfaces today also.

Gotta build a new control panel for the new sticks.

Later,
dabone

(Now we just need miniwah to come back from holiday and intergrate support for the program)

Toonces · « **Reply #6 on:** April 18, 2005, 07:42:13 pm »

Quote from: IntruderAlert on April 18, 2005, 06:35:12 pm

Thanks Randy!
I'm planning to order my 4 later tonight.
Now if someone can just figure out an easy way to have automatic switching...

Check out GameEx. http://www.gameex.net/ it already supports automatic mode switching based on controls.ini. Since Randy's app uses the same conventions for modes as the batch files I did, there's no reason it shouldn't work just as easily.

Toonces

ddockery · « **Reply #7 on:** April 18, 2005, 07:55:24 pm »

Wow, looks slick Randy. My 49-way and encoder showed up today, so this weekend I'll be making my first ever CP to check it out. From messing around with it just out of the box, I love the feel of the stick and will probably be ordering another shortly. Now I need to figure out where to get some screws and read up on how to mount the stick.

MrSaLTy · « **Reply #8 on:** April 18, 2005, 09:09:18 pm »

Quote from: dabone on April 18, 2005, 07:14:54 pm

(Now we just need miniwah to come back from holiday and intergrate support for the program)

I was thinking about this earlier... it should be fairly straight forward to get this working for the vast number of games now without really doing anything to mamewah. I think that you can use the control type from mame as a commandline arg. I know this is not as accurate as controls.ini but will do for now. Then build a .bat file that can call the gpwiz utility with the correct number. Then call this before mame is called for each game. I'm going to take a look at doing this but don't know how soon I will get to it as I have not hooked up the sticks yet.

In the future it would be great if minwah can parse out the control.ini file for a more accurate version of this but I think this will be a decent stop gap for mamewah users.

Troz · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2005, 10:04:40 pm »

Randy,

I hooked one of the MAX's I received today up and it won't change modes through the software switching. It always stays in 49-way mode. I haven't tried the button way yet...

Any suggestions? Any data I need to give you? I'm running Windows XP SP2 and checking the joystick through the Windows 'Game Controllers' properties. Software loads up, detects Device 1 as yellow light, Midway joystick selected. Click on any of the modes and press Go, light for Device 1 turns green and the program closes. I go to verify the mode in 'Game Controllers' and it remains in 49-way mode.

MrSaLTy · « **Reply #10 on:** April 18, 2005, 10:59:44 pm »

Troz, do you know if gpwiz49 you have has the new firmware on it? It has to have the new firmware for it to work I think.

Toonces · « **Reply #11 on:** April 18, 2005, 11:09:19 pm »

Quote from: MrSaLTy on April 18, 2005, 09:09:18 pm

Quote from: dabone on April 18, 2005, 07:14:54 pm

(Now we just need miniwah to come back from holiday and intergrate support for the program)

I was thinking about this earlier... it should be fairly straight forward to get this working for the vast number of games now without really doing anything to mamewah. I think that you can use the control type from mame as a commandline arg. I know this is not as accurate as controls.ini but will do for now. Then build a .bat file that can call the gpwiz utility with the correct number. Then call this before mame is called for each game. I'm going to take a look at doing this but don't know how soon I will get to it as I have not hooked up the sticks yet.

In the future it would be great if minwah can parse out the control.ini file for a more accurate version of this but I think this will be a decent stop gap for mamewah users.

That will work as long as you don't try any 2 way games or 4 way diagonals. You'll also have to map controls like stick, buttons only, etc to some sort or control. Usually 8 way.

MrSaLTy · « **Reply #12 on:** April 18, 2005, 11:12:22 pm »

Yeah I was looking thru the list of what mame has... and I noticed what you said. For the few games that I need that are differnt I can add the rom name to what is passed and check for it and then make the correct choice accordingly. I have not tried it yet but it should work in theory.

Troz · « **Reply #13 on:** April 18, 2005, 11:48:15 pm »

Quote from: MrSaLTy on April 18, 2005, 10:59:44 pm

Troz, do you know if gpwiz49 you have has the new firmware on it? It has to have the new firmware for it to work I think.

I ordered them (4!) once v1.2 was available from Randy's site. Maybe I'll try hooking up one of the other 3...

Troz · « **Reply #14 on:** April 19, 2005, 12:01:41 am »

Ok, I wired up my device #3 and had it running. Ran the software and it crashed during the detection phase, so I plugged my #1 device back in. Once I did that the software didn't crash on me and I was able to update the joysticks. The 49-way plugged into Device #3 then responded to the software programming! Yay!

I only have 1 floppy cable at the moment so I can't hook any additional joysticks up. I'll get some more tomorrow and do more testing...

Randy, is it possible to find out what firmwire revision is on each of the devices? Could my Device #1 have the old firmware on it?

RandyT · « **Reply #15 on:** April 19, 2005, 08:23:00 am »

Quote from: Troz on April 19, 2005, 12:01:41 am

Randy, is it possible to find out what firmwire revision is on each of the devices? Could my Device #1 have the old firmware on it?

Hmmmm.....it really shouldn't....

No, there's no way to tell other than what you just mentioned. Try the other units, then go back to #1 with all the same setup and cablling. If it still isn't responding, I'll shoot out a replacement chip for you, just in case.

RandyT

SirPoonga · « **Reply #16 on:** April 19, 2005, 01:26:31 pm »

I must have missed something in one of the other threads.

MrSaLTy · « **Reply #17 on:** April 19, 2005, 01:41:12 pm »

Quote from: SirPoonga on April 19, 2005, 01:26:31 pm

I must have missed something in one of the other threads.

Flinkly · « **Reply #18 on:** April 19, 2005, 01:55:13 pm »

just for clarification, 16 way was created entirely for 720. it kinda works...but you'd have to make a special restrictor for it.

RandyT · « **Reply #19 on:** April 19, 2005, 02:02:19 pm »

It was added at Kremmit's request. He later said that it didn't do as well as he had hoped, but it was already there and there was nothing else waiting for the slot so it stayed.

Maybe there will be an analog game that works better with it somewhere, and if so, then that's great. It cost nothing to leave it in, so consider it a "freebie"

RandyT

brandon · « **Reply #20 on:** April 19, 2005, 02:42:33 pm »

Quote from: RandyT on April 19, 2005, 02:02:19 pm

It was added at Kremmit's request.

screaming · « **Reply #21 on:** April 19, 2005, 02:59:56 pm »

Hey, I just had a thought.. This isn't a requirement, but since it's all software based, would it be possible to handle the "up-is-up" vs. "up-is-towards-the-monitor" dilemma some people face? Can you switch between the two via software?

If so, I can see this appealing to people who are initially building their cabs and are debating how to mount their joysticks...

*shrug*

-sab

whammoed · « **Reply #22 on:** April 19, 2005, 05:19:03 pm »

Randy,
nice interface, but I assume there is nothing like this for us linux users?

ddockery · « **Reply #23 on:** April 19, 2005, 11:13:36 pm »

Quote from: screaming on April 19, 2005, 02:59:56 pm

Hey, I just had a thought.. This isn't a requirement, but since it's all software based, would it be possible to handle the "up-is-up" vs. "up-is-towards-the-monitor" dilemma some people face? Can you switch between the two via software?

Can't this be solved by mounting the stick the way you really want it? Or do you mean some people prefer both in different situations?

Troz · « **Reply #24 on:** April 19, 2005, 11:35:56 pm »

All is working for me now. I hooked up a second joystick and the programming worked on my Device #1 as well as the second device. Now to re-design my panels and get all 4 hooked up...

RandyT · « **Reply #25 on:** April 19, 2005, 11:56:16 pm »

Quote from: Troz on April 19, 2005, 11:35:56 pm

All is working for me now. I hooked up a second joystick and the programming worked on my Device #1 as well as the second device. Now to re-design my panels and get all 4 hooked up...

Great to hear! You had me worried there for a moment (well, a little confused at least

)

RandyT

screaming · « **Reply #26 on:** April 20, 2005, 07:50:31 am »

Quote from: ddockery on April 19, 2005, 11:13:36 pm

Quote from: screaming on April 19, 2005, 02:59:56 pm
Hey, I just had a thought.. This isn't a requirement, but since it's all software based, would it be possible to handle the "up-is-up" vs. "up-is-towards-the-monitor" dilemma some people face? Can you switch between the two via software?

Can't this be solved by mounting the stick the way you really want it? Or do you mean some people prefer both in different situations?

Yeah it can, but I was talking about the people that weren't sure which way to mount it, you know, first timers

-sab

JoeB · « **Reply #27 on:** April 20, 2005, 08:48:19 am »

Hi Randy,

here's an interesting idea (if possible):

- give the user the ability to create their own grid map.

This will allow many to tweak their config to the way they like it/feel comfortable. It can either be a new "user select" config, or even with the capability to overwrite the default settings. The software will then need to have a "restore defaults" option (but at no time will it show your IP - the default).

RandyT · « **Reply #28 on:** April 20, 2005, 09:01:14 am »

Quote from: JoeB on April 20, 2005, 08:48:19 am

Hi Randy,

here's an interesting idea (if possible):

- give the user the ability to create their own grid map.

While this is possible, and was considered, it's unlikely anyone would bother after they see how well the defaults work. Deviating from the included DRS modes would also most likely just cause a degradation in performance.

Thanks for the suggestion.

RandyT

SirPoonga · « **Reply #29 on:** April 20, 2005, 11:40:56 am »

Why not allow for one custom mapping? If most people will like the defaults, they just might want one custom mapping for something.

RandyT · « **Reply #30 on:** April 20, 2005, 12:02:50 pm »

Quote from: SirPoonga on April 20, 2005, 11:40:56 am

Why not allow for one custom mapping? If most people will like the defaults, they just might want one custom mapping for something.

Like I said. No real value there and a LOT of work and delays to implement Bang for buck, IMHO, is zero.

Besides, didn't we have this discussion already?

RandyT

SirPoonga · « **Reply #31 on:** April 20, 2005, 12:51:58 pm »

Quote from: RandyT on April 20, 2005, 12:02:50 pm

Besides, didn't we have this discussion already?

If it keeps coming up, as a seller that should tell you something...

RandyT · « **Reply #32 on:** April 20, 2005, 01:09:08 pm »

Quote from: SirPoonga on April 20, 2005, 12:51:58 pm

Quote from: RandyT on April 20, 2005, 12:02:50 pm
Besides, didn't we have this discussion already?
If it keeps coming up, as a seller that should tell you something...

If it comes up from a customer who has already purchased and is using the product, it carries far more weight than someone on the sidelines, who may be well-intentioned, but doesn't understand the first thing about how it works or why.

Unless you use the product, you can't possibly know what is needed or even beneficial. So far, I haven't received one complaint from users, in fact all of them are about as tickled as can be with the performance of the unit.

You should really buy one and check it out. You might just find it harder to find fault with that way.

But let me put ot to you another way:

Look at the screenshot at the top of this thread. If 3 people said that the software would be better if there was a big yellow button in the middle that made belching noises, do you think that it should be added, even though it does nothing for the product?

A user definable grid in addition to the ones already present on the product IS that "big yellow button"

RandyT

SirPoonga · « **Reply #33 on:** April 20, 2005, 01:20:41 pm »

How do I know JoeB is or isn't a customer?

Hoagie_one · « **Reply #34 on:** April 20, 2005, 01:25:06 pm »

big yellow buttons are cool

SirPoonga · « **Reply #35 on:** April 20, 2005, 01:28:05 pm »

Quote from: Hoagie_one on April 20, 2005, 01:25:06 pm

big yellow buttons are cool

I prefer big red ones that say start, when pressed a vroom sound occurs

RandyT · « **Reply #36 on:** April 20, 2005, 01:49:56 pm »

Quote from: SirPoonga on April 20, 2005, 01:20:41 pm

How do I know JoeB is or isn't a customer? He's the one who brought it up. So maybe a customer did bring up suggestion? How would I know.

Well, the "not a user" thing was mostly for you, as you didn't seem to want to accept my answer to the gentleman and seemed to have your own view.

Quote

Ok, is there only one way to do the task? Usually there is more than one solution. Just a suggestion man. With how defensive you get it seems like you don't even want to bother with it instead of seeing if there is an elegant solution.

This has been beaten to death in that other 14 page thread (or is it 15 now). I have said on a number of occasions that there IS ONLY ONE WAY THAT THIS WORKS WELL and I believe (I could be wrong) that at least once it was in direct response to you.

RandyT

dema · « **Reply #37 on:** April 20, 2005, 01:54:04 pm »

Quote from: RandyT on April 20, 2005, 12:02:50 pm

Quote from: SirPoonga on April 20, 2005, 11:40:56 am
Why not allow for one custom mapping?

millercentral · « **Reply #38 on:** April 20, 2005, 02:05:33 pm »

Following up on the Linux support question, Randy can you provide the lowlevel API (IOCTL commands I'm assuming) documentation to how the app works so that FE authors wanting a built in solution, or other platform users can implement this as well?

Thanks so much!
-james

SirPoonga · « **Reply #39 on:** April 20, 2005, 02:11:39 pm »

Quote from: RandyT on April 20, 2005, 01:49:56 pm

so it's basically adding a function for the hard core users as opposed to the real target for this product

Not true, he added the 16way which was based of one person's opinion.

That's why I brought it up again since I figured he's still open on new ideas.


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