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This… I say we get cracking on building you a mini style custom fight stick like rtdzign’s since this is SRK after all and fight games is where it’s at. In the mean time if you have a PC and your interested I’ll donate a belkin n52te to you to try out and get the ball rolling. See if you like it and worry about modding it to a PS3 once you determine if you like it or not. Let me know. = ]
This is getting interesting… I can donate to help…you have a lot of support from serious folk in this thread…
This is what tech talk is all about. I don’t do well with custom setups, but I may be able to contribute a few ideas. It is amazing that all these people are coming together to build something for you. It is nice to know you still have a way to enjoy yourself despite your disabilities. I wish you luck on your quest for the perfect controller.
I’ve sent a few PMs to see if some people are into doing some things for the fight stick.
Move the stick over to the right a bit so the black just misses the vertical lines, and I say
My only concern with the n52te right now is that I play with just my right-hand, and it’s for lefties, so I’m not sure I can even use it without it being modded to a right-hand version.
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of support.
My bad, I kept reading things that said right handed so I thought the pics were flipped. Hmmm… ok, so still a small possibility if someone thinks it can be modded and flipped? I’m just a baby modder. = [ However, since I failed (or partially at least) how bout some more ideas.
Also if you have a PC, have you ever tried a Razer or other mouse made for WOW? It’s like a normal mouse, but they add like an extra 9 buttons. That could work for FPS. I know the PS2 you could use a mouse on a lot of the FPS shooters. Anyone know if you could do that with the PS3? Or if a mouse can be modded to make it work on a PS3 as a controller?
I used to play WoW ironically, but to do so, I used an USB controller and Xpadder, which mapped keyboard presses and mouse to the controller.
A mouse wouldn’t work because when I get excited, I tense up, and my thumb doesn’t have that much dexterity as it is, which is why I use it for the dpad and left stick
I have an idea for how a fight stick should look for you, and this can probably be extend to controllers meant for other games.
All of the buttons should be mounted onto a pad, and that pad should be the actual joystick. Think of the way the analog sticks work on the PSP and 3DS, they slide around on a flat plane to give 360 degrees of motion and have a center. Relative to your hand, the buttons would never move, which would allow you to use them better.
If this description is confusing, I can whip something up in Pro/E later.
I really do not understand that o_O Sorry
Just to update the people following the thread, Project Giant Sword have graciously offered to help create a custom layout and artwork on one of their sticks for Giniro.
They’re working together to make sure it’s the best for him.
Now we need to figure out the “FPS/action” controller.
If there is anything I can do to help, let me know. I’ve been known for doing some of these experimental niche things.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww301/rtdzign/Dpad_Hybrid/th_b28ecd29.jpg
I think this an example mini stick case that other people where talking about. Of course the layout would have to be changed.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww301/rtdzign/MiniStick/Serial_001-11/th_06_Back_FBCurlM_SBeye.jpg
All I can say is thank you for all the support SRK Tech Talk has shown this kid.
Giniro, really work hard with these people. I know you have spent a lot of time thinking about what would be best for you and you really need to keep meting out details with everyone. It will be a lot of posting, revising and changing, so spare no snippet of knowledge. Make sure it’s appropriate size, weight, angle and configuration and if someone has a good idea, just keep whittling away at changes to make it right for you. Don’t worry about it being a hassle to anyone and just stay focused on what you truly need.
Whoever ends up starting the base design/working the materials just post here when you are ready and we’ll hammer out the monetary side of this project and gather resources together.
thanks everyone who has commented, this is truly touching to see.
You mention having tried several different controllers - at minimum, the MadCatz Fightpad, and the default PS3 controller. Can you briefly discuss things (other than the face buttons) that you like about how the controllers work for you? For example, the different controllers have different weights and shapes, and sizes. The button action and shape is different on each controller. The layout varies a bit, and the analog sticks are all subtly different are there layouts that are better or worse.
I agree, and the whole LA Noir example seems to illustrate that genre specific controllers are likely to be inadequate.
Do you have any thoughts on games that may require the use of more than one analog stick and triggers or buttons at the same time like God of War or Batman: Arkham Asylum? IIRC the XBLA game Shadow Complex requires moving (L analog stick) jumping (face button), aiming (R analog stick), and firing the grapnel or the gun (shoulder triggers) in some areas.
SpaghettiAmazing, I’m confused about the stick. Is it underneath or something?
Yeah, that development truly surprised and touched me.
Cha, yeah, I know man. We talked about this earlier.
For the most part, the shapes are very similar if not the same as a standard PS3 controller.
As long as they don’t crush my leg, I’m fine with weighted controllers lol
Size… I prefer regular controllers, not mini.
Sticks, I prefer concaved, unlike the standard PS3 ones.
As long as they don’t stick or clik and are easy to press, buttons are buttons.
For the longest time, I couldn’t play Arkham Asylum because of that, or any shooters. But once I got the adapter I mentioned in this thread (I’m waiting on word from Kyle or d3v as to whether or not I can link to the review I wrote), I could play. I mapped crouch to the left mouse button. I just had to put something over the left mouse button to keep Batman crouching. This is my reasoning for
That is why I prefer third-person/cover-based shooters. With the adapter I can map aim and fire to the left and right mouse buttons respectively. I take cover, hold aim, use the trackball to move the right stick, and fire. It is a little tough when you’re being rushed by Husks in ME2, but…
I came out and hung with the Buffalo scene today and Cha and I shot a video of me playing with my FightPad, so you guys can see what I can and cannot do:
Camera and commentary: Akazukin ChaCha
Player: Giniro Shourai
EDIT: The strap around my leg is an old iPod armband. I put a piece of velcro on the back of the FightPad and put it on the strap to keep it still. Without that, the controller slides all over
The joystick is what is connected to the upper part that has the buttons and the palm rest. That upper part rests on the trackballs, which allows you 360 degrees of movement. As a result, you move your entire hand to move the character, but the buttons are ALWAYS at your fingertips.
If I can help clarify, it would be a button panel that floats on a few trackballs, and moving it translates to movement of the analog stick. The only issue there would be autocentering. I bet a few weak springs could provide for that(we don’t want a strong and fast return to center, it could cause a lot of issues for the wiring).
Toodles, this is your expertise, but I figured you may be able to help figure out our analog slide panel. The first thing that came to my mind was optical sensors at various intervals to translate to certain coordinates on the Axis. I was thinking of a sensor 1 being something small like 10%, sensor 2 being around 30%, sensor 3 at 50%, and sensor 4 at 100% engagement. Could this be done?
Here was the image I hastily put together:
Sensors like that are a good idea. I also had the idea of putting the microswitches at North, South, East, and West, with contacts on the side of the floating button panel. When the panel is pushed forward, it contacts the switch at North and would perform a jump. If the pad were pushed forward and to the right (the NorthEast direction), it would perform a forward jump. If pushed forward and down (SouthEast direction), it would perform an offensive crouch. Etc. Etc. However, this would only work for fighting games and arcade style games because it is purely digital.
Not necessarily, but it would depend highly upon what inputs you used for it.
Also, I didn’t label it on the drawing, but that middle box should house the PCB and buttons, but the actual panel should extend a fair bit past the outer edges of the box. I also think the right thumbstick should be mounted on the top of the panel as seen in muffman’s example:
Oh, in my drawing, I also forgot to label, those hollow circles were to represent the balls the panel would roll on(I don’t expect springs to be able to support that much weight). Because this is also a sliding panel, it would require a fair amount of weight to keep steady. This would probably be heavy enough as is, but if not there is some room for a few weights.
The springs would have to sit on a rack against the edge of the box so they could be freely slid as we need the springs to always apply pressure where needed and they will slip and move around otherwise. If my scanner worked I could get a much more detailed drawing of what I am trying to explain.
You’ve explained it rather well, so I understand. I think a better idea would be to put the springs underneath the floating panel. One end of the spring would be attached to a side of the floating panel, and the other end would be attached to the center of the support panel, forming diagonals. This would be autocentering, and would apply equal pressure in all directions.