Joystick Support ?

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

Been ages but the train itch has been growing lately and needed to be scratched... I downloaded the latest experimental release of OR and - Wow - I am definitely impressed... The graphics - shadows - and - smoke - all look fantastic... Well done guys...

Just a question - has there ever been any talk about incorporating true joystick support to leverage the generic joystick market out there ? For years - I've been using CH Products "Pro Throttle" and "Quad Throttle" that provides me with (7) levers to control various functions such as throttle - reverser - train brakes - loco brakes - etc etc etc... The only issue is I have to take them out of true joystick mode and have them emulate key strokes - which is somewhat problematic... As each locomotive has a different number of key strokes to move the control to it's maximum extents... This results in a massive amount of individual profiles - or - modifying every engine file to have the same number of keystrokes... Even with the mods - once in a while the joystick misses a count and you have to take some time to get in synch again...

With true joystick support - the sim would be aware of the position of the lever and match the setting of the control accordingly - which is how MS Flight Simulator works... I don't see myself ever buying a "Rail Driver" - for one I prefer steam locomotives - and - you do lose a lot when you have to resort to a keyboard... It's sooo much more satisfying using a lever for a control and much closer to real life...

Anyway - I know you guys are working hard - and - we are all benefiting from your hard work... Just wondering if this have ever been considered ???

Thanks !!!

Regards,
Scott

[Coonskin]

SCOTT!!!

Good to see you're gettin' an itch to play trains again! You're input and conversation has been sorely missed by this old simmer.

Drop me a line and let me know how you're doing! My email's the same.

[hminky]

I have been using a gamepad and the Pinnacle Game Profiler:

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/

Great for just leaning back and running trains. I use the Railworks profile modified.

Harold

[scottb613]

Hi Harold,

Hmm - I'm definitely intrigued - I downloaded the software last night and while I'm an IT guy by trade - getting the software to work has me baffled... I'm sure the canned profiles won't work for me in OR - so I tried to create my own from scratch... The interface is less than intuitive but if I can get it figured out and it works well - it's good enough for me... I couldn't even get it to send basic throttle increase command to work... It does recognize my joystick... Thanks for the tip - I'll play with it some more when I get some time...

Regards,
Scott

[hminky]

I modified the Railworks profile. It is similar to the keyboard of OpenRails.

Harold