4 joystick (6-axis 6-dof) game controller

Description

https://youtu.be/nidjVPqeTGg
4 joystick game controller made with arduino, programmed with code and driver taken from Cleric-K's github page. The controller is designed to be used for space games, particularly space games that are simple enough that they could be enjoyed from a casual posture (simple navigation and shooting). The game controller allows for all 6 axis of control to be on joysticks. To make the coordination of your pointer fingers easier to learn, simply use each front stick to control one axis. My config is:
- left thumb: strafe updownleftright
- left pointer: pull trigger for throttle, push trigger for reverse thrust
- right thumb: pitch/yaw
- right pointer: roll

here's a simple game to play with it :: https://tsmspace.itch.io/ace-racers-sp

or

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2685150/Ace_Racers_SP/

Details

the joystick breakout board files are for the thb series thumbsticks available at digikey, unfortunately I can't seem to save descriptions under those files, but they were created by 07_sev under public commons license.

to program the controller, just go to cleric-k's vjoyserialfeeder page.

I have my sketch pasted below, and config available for download, if you would like to use those, although the setup from vjoyserial is very easy.

my arduino page is here.

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/tsmspace/4-joystick-game-controller-a3c47e

I will later include a discussion and theory about using 4 joysticks, and ideal configuration, however my recommendations are in the above description!

My favorite games that currently work well with the controller are : Orbital Racer, Starmade, Absolute Territory (excellent for low performance budget computers), and Infinity Battlescape. I also like Astrokill. More recently I now enjoy Flight of Nova. I highly recommend my Starmade world download for navigation challenges, and Starmade has a demo-version on steam which is the full version of the game. Also there is a game below, called MicroGravityDreams which is just a little minigame.

Files

aceracerssp1.1.zip

latest game based on MCD

x-zip-compressed - 31.78 MB - 07/01/2023 at 21:33

Download

fly dangerous custom levels.zip

json files for fly dangerous custom levels and dev options (my preferred dev options at present)

application/x-zip-compressed - 6.67 MB - 10/30/2022 at 08:02

Download

MicroGravityDreams3.3.zip

MicroGravityDreams is originally created by Why485 with some modifications, mostly to the scene, by me. The game now supports control mapping (by rewired!) and hopefully is Hotas Friendly. (to exit the game, press the windows key and close the window in the taskbar)

x-zip-compressed - 31.09 MB - 10/11/2022 at 03:51

Download

microgravitydreams2.4.zip

credit for game goes to "Why485" with colored gates added by me. This game works with keyboard, xbox gamepad, or my 4joystick controller. unzip the file and make sure all of the contents of the file are in the same file folder when you run the game. Just double click the application! To exit the game, press the windows key and close the window. If you are just excited to try a full manual thrust bit of trying to go through some hoops, it will get you started!! to use the 4 joystick controller, please see logs or the readme for setup: xbox controller controls and keyboard controls: forward: left thumbstick press OR right shoulder or W - reverse: right thumbstick press OR left shoulder or S - yaw: right thumbstick left-right or J / L - pitch: right thumbstick up-down or I / K - roll: left and right triggers or U / O - strafe up, down, left, right: left thumbstick. or up : E , down : Q , left : A , right : D

x-zip-compressed - 28.67 MB - 10/09/2022 at 02:29

Download

LICENSE

license - 234.00 bytes - 02/13/2022 at 22:34

Download

Project Logs

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Separate story project related to space drone racing
tsmspace • 02/06/2023 at 04:56 • 0 comments

https://github.com/tsmspace/ACE-RACERS-SP
Action Shot 1
tsmspace • 02/06/2023 at 00:22 • 0 comments
Stick Cam 4-joy in Fly Dangerous
tsmspace • 12/04/2022 at 02:27 • 0 comments
Next stage multi-sim controller
tsmspace • 11/21/2022 at 19:16 • 0 comments

These are some images of a sort of "next abstraction" for an "all sim capable" controller. It has lots of axis, while windows only accepts 8, but in vjoyserialfeeder, it is possible to set up a joystick as a 4-way button (like a hat switch) so that pushing each of the 4 directions counts as a button press. That way depending on the axis you need for a particular sim, you can set the others up as buttons. This is useful for complex camera controls and also results in up to 31 buttons on this particular build, although using multiplexers or arduino versions with more io it can be expanded. I hear that using linux it is possible to accept more axis if desired, although I personally feel that windows should expand it's allowance. I do like having so many extra buttons, but sometimes want more axis live simultaneously in a profile. I also imagine a quadruped robot simulator would require at least 9 simultaneous to walk one 3dof foot at a time (while having 6dof on the body to balance) , and although such a simulator does not to my knowledge exist I imagine it would be quite entertaining, and should be playable on this gamepad also.
Fly Dangerous
tsmspace • 10/09/2022 at 07:55 • 0 comments

I've discovered another game (recently released) that offers the desired flight characteristics and navigational challenges, and it is free to play on steam. It is called Fly Dangerous and can be found here. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1781750/Fly_Dangerous/

It is an excellent game, however the full inertial/newtonian physics model is only available by adjusting the settings in the "dev tools" options menu. My preferred dev tools settings are included in the zip file of my custom level downloads. . Also, it's against the rules to use Flight Assist for vector and rotation , so make sure they are both off. The tunes are amazing and don't worry that there's no gravity on the planets, it's just a good way to have more scenery to keep you oriented.
MicroGravityDreams inside the ISS!!
tsmspace • 10/07/2022 at 03:56 • 0 comments

here is the present version of MicroGravityDreams but,,, INSIDE the ISS,, now you can pretend you are flying drones in the space station! The readme in the zip file has instructions! (but the most important thing to know if you are not familiar, is that to play the game, all of the files need to be in the same folder,, so just unzip to any location, and double-click the application to play, no installation is necessary. If you want a desktop
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PG5Vsp622yuAwX_pTvA2O8IyJhIeWe8c/view?usp=sharing
A fun little browser game by why485
tsmspace • 10/01/2022 at 20:53 • 0 comments

https://why485.itch.io/micro-gravity
This game does not use the 4-joystick game controller, it is instead presently built on the xbox controller.
why485 was discussing games with me and threw this together while we chatted in discord. He asked me what my preferred xbox config was and made the linked game work to those settings. This config is what I settled on when I was playing shooting games that required gun buttons to be easily available as well. The shoulder buttons would not be used for thrust in my original config, as the weapons would be on those buttons, but why485 included them as due to their own preference. I did use them a bit, but am accustomed to the thumbstick press.
forward: left thumbstick press OR right shoulder
reverse: right thumbstick press OR left shoulder
yaw: right thumbstick left-right
pitch: right thumbstick up-down
roll: left and right triggers
strafe up, down, left, right: left thumbstick.
Linkstack for HawaiiGeekMeet
tsmspace • 09/24/2022 at 05:30 • 0 comments

https://hackaday.io/project/180884-4-joystick-6-axis-6-dof-game-controller
https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/tsmspace/4-joystick-game-controller-a3c47e
https://www.slideshare.net/troyschmidt31/geekmeetgamesnotpopular-1pptx
https://www.slideshare.net/troyschmidt31/space-fpv-racing
https://www.slideshare.net/troyschmidt31/theres-no-space-drone-racing-simulator
https://www.slideshare.net/troyschmidt31/faqdocx
https://www.slideshare.net/troyschmidt31/mariospacedronefpvdocx
ad
tsmspace • 09/05/2022 at 01:32 • 0 comments
Kerbal Space Program (skiff simulator)
tsmspace • 01/07/2022 at 04:23 • 0 comments

View all 13 project logs

Build Instructions

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specific build decisions

There is a simple "picture schematic" in the images for the page. I used an arduino nano v3. It doesn't matter which axis go to which analog pins or which buttons go to which digital pins, you can manage which channel is which axis in vjoyserialfeeder and each game will need to be set up with customized config anyway.

The pulldown resistors are 10k, the joysticks are 10k. The joystick tactile buttons are not included in the build. 5v runs from the arduino to the rails on the breadboard, so does ground. The joysticks just plug directly to the analog pins. The power runs from the rails to the tactile buttons on the breadboards, and from the buttons the wire runs to the pins on the arduino. A pulldown resistor is placed between the arduino pins and ground. This means that the sketch will read high as press.

I have found that the small buttons are difficult to press in the trigger positions, because your fingers pull at a different angle. Your thumb will easily interact with the buttons, but you are only holding the board with your fingers and palms, so in order to make it easy and smooth to press the buttons on the bottom (your triggers!) I mounted a small block between the buttons and mounted some broken propellers to suspend over the buttons. Then you have a nice surface area to interact with and can easily pull in any direction to press the buttons. If you don't have propellers then you can use plastic knives, or some other flexible yet stable plastic.

vjoyserialfeeder setup

The setup for vjoyserialfeeder is pretty easy. I have also uploaded my configuration json, but if your pins are not in the same order as mine, then your axis and buttons will not have the same number order. This doesn't matter though, because you will need to map all of the controls in each game anyway, and mostly you just select the control and press the button or deflect the stick you want, so it's really fine. You will need to calibrate each of your axis, and while using a breadboard you may need to calibrate frequently. If it is soldered together, calibration should be very stable. Don't forget to hit save after you calibrate.

Some troubleshooting tips

make sure the correct drivers for the specific arduino you have are installed, most of the arduino boards I have use the "ch340" , there is a sparkfun tutorial for the driver installation. You will need these drivers if the arduino appears on device manager as a serial usb device instead of in the com-ports as "ch340 device". -- run the "configure vjoy" app and ensure you have 8 axis and 12 buttons in the profile you set up, none of the other settings should be changed. -- make sure you have the correct comport selected in vjoyserialfeeder, you can check in device manager to see which one the gamepad is. -- once vjoyserialfeeder shows the controller and all of the controls respond, you can verify in "set up usb game controllers" that everything is feeding through vjoy correctly, just check the properties of the vjoy device. -- you should not need to restart your computer after a basic setup, but if you just installed vjoy, or the ch340 drivers, or you just reconfigured vjoy, you may need to. -- presently the Starmade joystick configuration is whacky, you will need to reset your configuration every time you go to the menu, as well as every time you load the game. This can be frustrating as if you need to simply invert an axis, you may need to reset all of your controls to do so, however starmade is very worth the effort, as my courses are just so darn well made.!

Discussions

4 joystick (6-axis 6-dof) game controller

Description

Details