[simpits-tech] Flightdata F4 SPK3

[Mark Doran]

Hi Thomas:

The shared memory area does in fact have some input fields.  Nothing
terribly useful though (UR headsets not too common I suspect ;-).

Switch inputs work as well modeled as keyboard inputs compared to
anything else I would say.  Plus of course, to ask a sim developer to
support a direct control input channel like the shmem interface would
mean asking them to do the same work twice -- I can't imagine anyone
building a game *without* keyboard support since that's most of the
market.

The shared memory file was there in Falcon4 for debug really.  For any
other purpose, it's more of a "better than nothing hack" really.  It's
an awkward way to move data to controllers.  The shmem file
implementation has some serious holes -- light output bits only being
updated when their corresponding imagery is rendered on the screen (e.g.
Master Caution) or not at all (Test Mal/Ind doesn't affect shmem values
at all!).

I wish CFS3 would show up with a Viper model...say what you like about
M$, but that game family has the best-known-methods and tools for
hitching up controller gear.

With respect to your question about aligning the sim and the cockpit
automatically, I can tell you having written 11,000 lines of EPL code so
far that sync is the trickiest part.  To really solve this, I think you
need:

- A keymap for the game that includes a dedicated keystroke for each
"on" and "off" position that any switch can take in the game (or one per
position of a rotary switch for example; you could get by with "up one"
and "down one" if the rotary doesn't wrap at the end -- sadly a number
of the F4 ones wrap even though the real hardware doesn't --
GRRRRRRRRRRR).

- A way to query the game for the current position of any switch in its
virtual model of the cockpit.

Then you can write controller code that queries the switch state in the
game, queries the physical switch and if they don't match, send the game
the keystroke that sets the switch correctly.

Short of that, you have to make assumptions in the controller code
and/or checklists of switch positions that you physically have to set
before you fire up the game.

Cheers,

Mark.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: simpits-tech-admin@simpits.org [mailto:simpits-tech-
> admin@simpits.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Nepveu
> Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2002 3:25 PM
> To: simpits-tech@simpits.org
> Subject: Re: [simpits-tech] Flightdata F4 SPK3
> 
> hi all
> 
> about the shared virtual file of F4.0 i think that one feature I would
> like is the possibility of inputing data (all the current input that
> need currently a keyboard in fact)
> 
> With that it would be possible to interface various hardware such as
> GoFlight devices
> 
> Also it would be possible to put Falcon in the same state than your
> homebuilt cockpit
> 
> Regards
> Thomas
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