Question about general FFB devices and ASF2

  • Hey devs.

    I wanted to ask, how does your engine handle general FFB PID's. I know there is currently no support for force feedback devices however I noticed that AFS somehow takes total control of the PID, not allowing other programs to interfere.

    I need to elaborate a little to explain my self better. I've build a yoke based on microsoft sidewinder ffb stick. The yoke is generally recognised as microsoft ffb joystick.

    In games that don't support force feedback, stick behaves just like normal spring loaded mechanism. Well there's this small utility program that allows you to simulate dumping, friction and set up strength of the centring force. It was written for DCS and because DCS wants to "take over" joystick device when it's running, this small program has an option to re-initialize the joystick with key command, regaining it's control over FFB forces.

    It is little tricky but it gives of great result for non FFB sims like DCS.

    Finally, what I would like to know is why the same doesn't work with AFS?

    Re-initializing the joystick via this utility does not gain control over FFB and AFS won't let go although it can not provide any FFB feed it self..

    Regards

    Jay

    Over and Out

    Jay

  • We have many of the internal controller settings locked down due to the complex actions handled throughout all of the aircraft. The best way to put this is Aerofly is nothing like any of the other simulators out there. Aerofly will likely not work with any 3rd party application like this unless we literally code for communication between them.

    IPACS Development Team Member

    I'm just a cook, I don't own the restaurant.
    On behalf of Torsten, Marc, and the rest of the IPACS team, we would all like to thank you for your continued support.

    Regards,

    Jeff

  • so if I got it right, you'r saying that third party app can not conect to Aerofly unless IPACS will allow it?

    On the side note, I saw video with Brunner's FFB peripherals, running AFS2.

    Did you have to "unlock" anything for them to allow for this connection?

    Jay

    Over and Out

    Jay

  • so if I got it right, you'r saying that third party app can not connect to Aerofly unless IPACS will allow it?

    He is saying that we're not programming like the other sims which gives us better control over performance so we aren't using out of the box libraries for these sort of things, so outside apps can't automatically connect. We can't unlock these features because they are just not implemented in our code. Its not a matter of just allowing it.

    Aerofly has such a great performance because we do things our own way, even if that means that we have to re-program features that are already present in other sims automatically.

  • Got it, thanks.

    BTW I din't mean "allowing" like "here is your password dude" ;) I thought it was more like adjusting the code towards specific third party app.

    Regarding Brunner's FFB video with AFS, do you think they just extracting flight data through you SDK, calculate FFB externally and then returning control inputs separately?

    Jay

    Over and Out

    Jay

  • Jay,

    we have spent quite some time 'adjusting' parameters to meet specific demands from the community regarding controller input, with the goal of getting Aerofly compatible with as many different controllers as possible. It appears that what you are asking here is to change code to allow for compatibility with a custom device. This is much different than getting a store bought device to work with Aerofly.

    In time there may be changes to how Aerofly sees input devices but for now time is better spent on getting some of these major features out to the public.

    IPACS Development Team Member

    I'm just a cook, I don't own the restaurant.
    On behalf of Torsten, Marc, and the rest of the IPACS team, we would all like to thank you for your continued support.

    Regards,

    Jeff

  • It appears that what you are asking here is to change code to allow for compatibility with a custom device.

    Not at all Jeff, I wouldn't dare man!! :P

    Seriously, I'm only asking how this stuff works because, as you may have noticed earlier, I'm determined to bring realistic FFB controls to Aerofly and need to know my options though.

    I don't expect IPACS to dedicate any time to this issue (we've had this discussion already and there is simply no demand, fair enough) but I'm really just trying to understand the mechanics here.

    Jay

    Over and Out

    Jay