Using PSX Controllers under Win2k w/ DirectPad Pro?

Lleutierpe asks: "If you have built your own Playstation controller interface (using the DirectPad Pro interface) and have also upgraded to Windows 2000 for a measure of stability (i.e. you prefer crashes twice a month rather than once a day), you may have noticed that the drivers that supplied you with so much gaming pleasure no longer work. I myslf ran across the problem this weekend, as I gained enough spare parts to put together a dual-processor server (two 333 Mhz. P-IIs with 9 gigs and a Voodoo3) that I intended to use as a gaming server. As it is currently my best working computer, I was rather irritated to discover that not only would it not install my Analog PSX controller, but my computer had the gall to pretend like it was installing my controller. Needless to say, I was incensed. I set about in search of Win2k drivers, or even NT drivers in a pinch, but I found nothing after a full day of searching." So much for the "improved" driver support of Win2k. I remember trying to use Windows 2000 over a year ago, and I still remember having trouble getting drivers for hardware that worked just fine under NT4 or 98. Has this situation improved by now, or are there still drivers, like this one, that Windows 2000 still won't support?

"Seeing as my expertise lies in making things work that intend, but fail, to function rather than making things work that haven't the least dream of cooperating, I decided to put a query to the Slashdot users. Has anyone had any experience with porting Windows 95/98/SE joystick drivers to Windows 2000? I still haven't emailed the authors yet (who emphatically deny the existence of any NT-based drivers) because I would hate to bother people who had already provided me (free of charge) with schematics and drivers unless absolutely necessary. Anyone who could lend a hand in this matter would be profusely thanked. Let me know if I've overlooked anything, obvious or not.

For those of you who haven't run across the DirectPad Pro site yet, you should visit it. They have schematics to build interfaces for almost all consoles except for the Dreamcast, PS2, and the upcoming generation of consoles. The PSX dual-shock controller is excellent for playing games with complicated controls like Mechwarrior, since it has 12 buttons and 3 sets of axes."

Comments

I was about to... (slightly OT)

[cr0sh]

...post the following question:

"How do you read the PC joystick port for joysticks with more than four buttons?"

I then gave it a little thought, and realized it was possible to go up to 15 buttons by interpreting the buttons as four bits (value of 0 meaning "no buttons pressed") - but what about other sticks and controllers where things become even more complex? I had always wondered "Does force feedback and similar sticks use MIDI?"...

I decided to do a little searching (via Google), and came across the motherlode of sites to answer my question:

Tomi Engdahl's Joystick Interfacing FAQ

It honestly covers it all - and I thought other /. readers might like to know more. I especially liked the writeup regarding how the MS Sidewinder 3D Pro communicates (in digital mode) by clocking the data out to the PC via the buttons, and relying on a trigger via the write to the joystick port (which resets the multivibrators in the interface, but also causes a current flow which can be detected - see this (under the question "Is there any way to get any output from joystick port?" for an explanation) to determine when to start clocking the data. I am already getting ideas on how I could apply a similar scheme for various uses...

I hope this helps anyone who may have been wondering about all of that - it seems like PC joystick interfacing and programming is still a very interesting, yet obscure art...

Side note: In all fairness, Tomi Engdahl's site is arguably one the best sites on the net for all electronics related information - visit the link if you don't believe me...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

pnp for your joystick under w2k

[compwizrd]

you missed a part of your PNP under w2k.

up up down down left right left right b a start.

then type ".seineew era sreenigne epacsten"

your drivers will self-install.