The Gametel controller is now available on Amazon.com. I got mine in the mail today. Here's a quick review.
It came with no battery charge, so I had to plug it in to test it out. I was using a USB cable plugged into my computer. At first it only showed a red light to indicate charging, but then a green light came on shortly afterward. This is supposed to indicate that it's on but not paired. I tried pairing with the device using the Gametel software from the market, but it would not work. Turns out you can't use the controller while it's plugged into a computer. As soon as I unplugged it it turned off, and when I turned it back on it paired fine. I tested it again while plugged in and it still wouldn't connect to the phone. No big deal, but it's a minor hassle. It might work fine when plugged into an outlet. It supposedly has a 9 hour battery life, so just keep it charged and this issue should never bother you.
Despite the One X's huge size it fits fine, even with a TPU case. The TPU case has the added benefit of keeping the controller arm from pressing the down volume button. The software has a feature to disable the volume keys because of this potential issue, but it's nice that I didn't need to use it. It says it can provide volume control using the device itself, but I'm not sure how that would work, since all the physical buttons are mapped to SNES buttons for my purposes. You could always slide the phone a little bit to the left and it wouldn't hit the volume key. The phone would be off center, but it wouldn't be too bad.
The controller acts as a virtual keyboard. As part of the software setup it installs an input method in your keyboard settings. As soon as you launch the software it prompts you to change to its input method, which is handy. Then you can launch your favorite emulator and map the keys is uses to the emulator's buttons.
I initially had problems with the default keys that the controller was emitting. I'm used to an SNES button layout, so I will call the buttons X (top), Y (left), B (bottom), A (right). For some crazy reason the A button was emitting the Android "Back" button by default. This was mappable in Snes9x EX, but pressing it still performed the "Back" action which prompted you to quit the game. The B button was emitting the "DPAD Center", which worked, but was an odd choice. It's even stranger because none of the preset key configs in the Gametel software's Advanced Settings have this setup. If this happens to anyone else, just load the Android Gamepad preset and it will work fine. However, it reverses X & Y and A & B from what I'm used to, so I made my own preset named SNES. That way when I configure Snes9x the purpose of the button matches up with the key being emitted.
As for the controller's buttons and D-pad, they are OK. The buttons are great, but the D-pad makes you move diagonally a little too easily. If anyone is familiar with the Xbox 360 D-pad, it's the same sort of problem, but not as bad. Maybe with more time I'll get used to the feel of exactly where to press to avoid moving diagonally. Part of the problem is the D-pad is circular instead of cross-shaped. It's hard for your thumb to feel exactly where the cardinal directions are. This isn't the entire problem, though, because the 360 controller has clearly raised cardinal directions and it still sucks really bad. Thankfully it's not nearly that bad with this D-pad. Pretty much anything is better than on-screen controls.
That actually looks pretty cool.
I don't game enough to need this and touchscreen controls don't bother me enough, but thanks for the review!
As it turns out, the D-pad is really ****ty. This is most noticeable in games with movement in both directions, like Secret of Mana. Zelda wasn't so bad because you move kind of slow and you can adjust your thumb position if you notice yourself moving diagonally by accident. However, in Secret of Mana you fly across the screen, and moving diagonally by accident for a second can really put you off course. In a game like Super Mario World you don't really notice the problem.
I might have to try an iControlPad. I just really liked the Gametel's single-piece design and spring-loaded arm.
Sixaxis controller app and ps3 controller.. All you'll ever need
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app
Related
Hello guys. I've just released my app's source code as well as a short video at:
http://androidcontroller.googlecode.com/
--necessary improvements list--
on the Android side:
* service discovery so that the client and the server can find each other on the local network (it's very annoying having to manualy enter an IP address in a textfield that's why I change the source code every time and compile with the new ip )
* kalman (or some other kind of) filtering to smooth the sensor output
* improve menus/configuration/interface
* look for a marker and calibrate automaticaly
on the windows side:
* switch model you're rotating somehow (ability to load models via xaml files?)
* interact with the object (I'm already transmitting the touch screen's x/y event)
* smooth the sensor data on the windows side to take the load off the android app
* sounds
* transmit images to display on android or sounds?
I would appreciate VERY much ANY help that anybody could provide. If you are interested in contributing code please contact me and I will add you to the project members list.
Well Done !
congrats
HES A JUBEH IMPOSTER
Just kidding, awesome app btw
wow...this is pretty cool. I would love to help but due to my lack of knowledge in this. Keep up the good work!!
Great work, I'd love to see how this develops.
Starred in google code.
Everybody thanks for the encouraging remarks
re
Génial___$$$$$$$$
Draw custom buttons to the touch screen which send keyboard commands to windows, and implement gamepad support for the sensors? Then this could be used as an input device for a computer.
bjehsus said:
Draw custom buttons to the touch screen which send keyboard commands to windows, and implement gamepad support for the sensors? Then this could be used as an input device for a computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if I do that then the touch screen becomes just another gamepad, and a bad one for that matter since touch screens have no tactile feedback (i.e. the finger is not aware of wether it has pushed the button or not). Tactile feedback could be implemented via vibration or perhaps even audio feedback with sound for button press but both those scenarios are impractical for a gaming situation where buttons are being pressed at a frantic pace.
Besides I wanna do more than just pushing buttons. Something with touching/swiping gestures etc. Transmitting data from the pc to the mobile device, or sounds? ooor.. dunno^^
I need some good ideas on what more one could do with this ^_^
I'd be more than happy to help, unfortunately the most I can do for you is clean up images and menu buttons. If you need any of that done feel free to hit me up.
woah
This is really cool. Are there any real apps available yet?
henrynhl said:
This is really cool. Are there any real apps available yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plx define 'real' apps.
Actually this is a great idea, I'm surprised no one had thought of it yet.
Blender (open source 3d suite) supports NDOF devices nowadays - I'll see about giving this a try when I get a chance, and perhaps contribute some code (and we'd need a linux server as well, which shouldn't be too big of a deal)
Jubei said:
But if I do that then the touch screen becomes just another gamepad, and a bad one for that matter since touch screens have no tactile feedback (i.e. the finger is not aware of wether it has pushed the button or not). Tactile feedback could be implemented via vibration or perhaps even audio feedback with sound for button press but both those scenarios are impractical for a gaming situation where buttons are being pressed at a frantic pace.
Besides I wanna do more than just pushing buttons. Something with touching/swiping gestures etc. Transmitting data from the pc to the mobile device, or sounds? ooor.. dunno^^
I need some good ideas on what more one could do with this ^_^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an idea, heh...use it to control the mouse on a PC.
There are remotes that work using accelerometers and such...by tilting the remote up, it moves the mouse arrow on the screen up, left goes left, etc. Then simply have the screen react to a short tap(which would be a single click), double tap (which would be a double click), and a long press (for right click).
That is certainly something that I would use on a daily basis.
jmhecker said:
I have an idea, heh...use it to control the mouse on a PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback jmhecker! Do you mean like a wiimote? If so then unfortunately that's not possible with the HTC Dream unless the user performs some kind of calibration process first (because the device has no way of knowing where the monitor is). So first some sort of calibration would be necessary, which could be done by placing a marker/qr code on the monitor then pointing the camera OR just pointing the device to the middle of the screen and pressing a button (which is what i"m doing now to calibrate).
Jubei
Jubei said:
Thanks for your feedback jmhecker! Do you mean like a wiimote? If so then unfortunately that's not possible with the HTC Dream unless the user performs some kind of calibration process first (because the device has no way of knowing where the monitor is). So first some sort of calibration would be necessary, which could be done by placing a marker/qr code on the monitor then pointing the camera OR just pointing the device to the middle of the screen and pressing a button (which is what i"m doing now to calibrate).
Jubei
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kind of like that, yes. But, not exactly.
Basically, the phone knows when it is in 'zero' position. IE: lying flat on its back.
Now, I tilt the phone (rotate) to the left a smidge, so it look like / (when looking at it if it were in front of you...what oyu see is the bottom (where the plug is) of the phone. Now, when you tilt it like that, the mouse cursor moves left. Then when you turn it like \, it moves right...tilt the phone forward, it moves down, and tilt it backwards, and it moves up.
Kind of what you have being done already with the video and the plane in it...but, rather than move the plane, move the mouse cursor.
Does that make sense?
This with remote droid...
jmhecker said:
Kind of like that, yes. But, not exactly.
Basically, the phone knows when it is in 'zero' position. IE: lying flat on its back.
Now, I tilt the phone (rotate) to the left a smidge, so it look like / (when looking at it if it were in front of you...what oyu see is the bottom (where the plug is) of the phone. Now, when you tilt it like that, the mouse cursor moves left. Then when you turn it like \, it moves right...tilt the phone forward, it moves down, and tilt it backwards, and it moves up.
Kind of what you have being done already with the video and the plane in it...but, rather than move the plane, move the mouse cursor.
Does that make sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could see this working with RemoteDroid, or something of that nature. Make the tilt like a joystick, and the screen with a touch pad and buttons. That would make a killer game controller
jmhecker said:
Kind of what you have being done already with the video and the plane in it...but, rather than move the plane, move the mouse cursor.
Does that make sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does yes. But i think it would require a lot of work to be usable because isometric or isotonic (speed of cursor relative to tilt angle) devices are not nearly as usable as mice. So in the end you'd spend so much hours coding just to have another mouse, whereas I think this device can be more.
it has a speaker, a display, vibration, buttons, keyboard, a trackball, sound. It has a lot of potential to be used just as a simple mouse.
I have the classic controller hooked up to my G2 and am trying to use it to play Quake 3. While I've been able to remap all the buttons to get a decent FPS experience, the problem is that Quake, of course, has left/right turn as keyboard buttons by default, so even with the thumbstick left/right options on the CC being programmed to them, they are too slow to really use and make the game borderline impossible to play. There is the mouselook/freelook option, but that doesn't seem to want to work with the thumbstick on the controller--only with the phone itself. The movement and looking up/down works fine, but I need to make the right thumbstick into mouselook if I want to ever play Q3 again, and I don't know how. Do you guys have any ideas?
-Rocky
Did you try raising the sensitivity? If not link me to the controller you have and I'll buy it and see what I can implement into quake3droid.
I guess I should clarify, I meant the "Kwaak3" port specifically (which I installed as per random googled instructions); I haven't tried "quake3droid" itself. But I assume it's a general limitation of anything based off of Quake 3 (unless quake3droid changes it somehow) that being able to turn left and right is either keyboard-based or requires mouselook, and my problem is getting the program to recognize moving the thumbstick around as a mouse (it didn't work as "Joystick" when I enabled that, unless I was seriously confusing things), so if I set turn left/right as the keys associated with left/right on the CC, then it's godawfully slow to turn and mouse sensitivity has no impact. It seemed like less of a problem looking up and down than turning, but that may just be due to the fact that that I was fighting a bot in a mostly horizontal level so it was much less essential to look up/down than to be able to turn quickly to shoot him.
Hey everyone. I just wanted to follow up with the several questions about using your G2x phone as a PC. Pretty simple really. Here are the required items (obviously)
Code:
G2x!
CM7 (tested on #70 but most should work)
Bluetooth Keyboard
Bluetooth Mouse
Micro HDMI Cable
Root Explorer
I am using a Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 v1.0 and a Mini Bluetooth Keyboard I bought off ebay for $7.
Go into [Settings>Wireless Settings>Bluetooth Settings] Turn on Bluetooth and Pair your devices according to their instructions. My Mouse paired using the passkey "0000" and my keyboard gave me fits and forced me to read the directions. It required you type in a passcode into Bluetooth Settings popup box, THEN enter the SAME password on the KEYBOARD + ENTER.
Anyway, after you pair up, both devices will say "Paired, but not connected". So tap on each one until they both connect. You should get a MOUSE CURSOR once the mouse connects.
Mouse Controls:
Left Click = Normal Select
Right Click = Back (Handy!)
Wheel Click = Menu (Genius)
Scroll Wheel = Scroll
You can also click and drag using the mouse.
The keyboard works as a normal keyboard. Mine has all kinds of FN key functions. Mine also lacks dedicated arrow buttons so I have to press FN+ to get to my Arrow Keys which these scroll in the OS.
At this point you could plug the phone into a HDMI Television or Monitor and use the mouse and keyboard to navigate around. Everything is kinda HUGE but works.
To fix the HUGE problem we need to edit the [u]/system/build.prop[/u] file and adjust the screen density. So use Root Explorer and go to "system" and tap on the "Mount R/W" button at the top. This enables Read/Write so we can save our changes. Next press and hold on the "build.prop" file and select "Open in Text Editor" from the pop up window.
Now viewing the contents of "build.prop" lets be very careful we don't change anything accept what we need. This could cause problems forcing you to reload the OS.
Scroll down several lines until you see [b]ro.sf.lcd_density=240[/b]. This is the only thing we want to change. Set this according to your preferences. "180" seems good. Others use "190".
Make your changes and hit the back button. Select the option to SAVE and exit. Now restart your phone.
Now everything appears smaller. Sync up your devices and have yourself an instant PC!
[UPDATE]
After a while the mouse really feels good. I can really scoot around with this setup. The G2x powerhouse keeps on chugging too. Also the stock apps don't really show off the larger screen. Probably need some tablet aware apps.
This is pretty cool but would you mind posting some pics of your setup. Id like to see what it looks like using the phone on a monitor.
Ha it looks like CM7 in landscape mode and bigger. 240 is too cramped this mode. Changing the density is a big help.
I don't have a decent camera other my phone but I have a camcorder that I could make a video to upload.
The mouse and keyboard work really well. I just need some better apps to show it off but this is mostly just a test for others since I had the Bluetooth equipment.
It would be perfect if you could change the density on the fly without a reboot or an app that would do it automatically when it detects the HDMI cable.
LG G2x - CM7.1 RC1 2.3.4
www.CincyAdmins.com
www.MiiWiiChat.com
Nice guide, we just need linux
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1151931
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
Thanks for sharing the info mate. Will surely try that mode.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
hey everyone. i got this to work this weekend as well. I used a logitech IPAD bt keyboard and an apple magic mouse. also paired with the apple bt keyboard in the store but they were out so i didnt grab one. for lcd density i just use the lcd density changer app in the market. works for me. I would not reccomend the apple magic mouse. while it is super smooth and great at navigating, there is no wheel so you loose out on the option to bring up the menu. having to reach and touch the menu button on the phone is a drag. also, the logitech keyboard was mapped for ipad. had the square ipad menu button, but that didnt work to bring me to my home screen or bring up my menu. so definitely if you are doing this make sure the keyboard you choose has buttons mapped to specific functions, i.e. "home" dont want to be in a browser and have to click back 30 times to get to your home screen. just my two sense. as far as HDMI out, my display's margins were cut off a bit which was kinda annoying. and everything looked a bit pixelated even with the LCD density switch although after the switch you will find much more home screen real estate which is bomb. well, let me know your thoughts on the hdmi margin cut. would love to get it super clear.
chillwill11 said:
Nice guide, we just need linux
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1151931
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is up with this linux stuff?! I actually just started running ubuntu on my netbook. Would love to do that on my android when im home just for the simple fact that it is more powerful than my asus aspire one from three years ago lol.
So I found out that my new Galaxy S3 supports USB-OTG, and gamepads. Well I just so happened to have an old Xbox (original, not 360) controller lying around, so I cut off the xbox connector off the end of the cable, and replaced it with a USB cable (so very easy). It works, sort of. The buttons and dpad all work fine, but getting the analog sticks and triggers needs help from 3rd-party drivers/software.
Specifically, the issues I'm having are:
- There is absolutely no deadzone whatsoever in the Android OS gamepad drivers, so unless the game itself implements a dead zone, this makes mapping axes to functions very difficult. For example, the game Shadowgun: Deadzone, has gamepad support built in, but it requires that you map each individual button and axis; there are no premade configurations. So this means I have to manually map the left analog stick to move, and the right one to look, by tapping on the function, and then moving the appropriate stick. But the problem is that the moment I tap on a function to map it, it is instantly mapped to the trigger axis, because of how noisy/sensitive the trigger axis is, and the fact that there is no deadzone. There is no way around this. It is simply impossible to map any of the axes/buttons because of the lack of a deadzone.
- Some games, however, do come with premade gamepad configurations, so that I don't have to map each function individually. The problem is, these games usually don't allow any custom mapping, and they almost always get the axes wrong. For example, the game Dead Trigger will let you use your gamepad right away, without any options or configuration required. The game maps the left analog stick to move, just fine, but it maps up/down look to up/down on the right stick, and left/right look to the triggers?! And worse yet, the triggers are one combined axis, so this means that I am constantly spinning around in circles like a retarded chicken on a merry-go-round, unless I press and hold both triggers.
So what I need is an app that can A) Force a dead zone on the gamepad, and B) Re-map one axis to another axis.
Anyone know of any Android apps that can do this?
Oh, and they have to work on a non-rooted device, because my S3 is still under warranty, and even though I know I can just unroot it if I need to send it back, I'm still afraid that I might break it while rooted and be unable to unroot it because it is broken.
Thanks for any help!
Did you find a solution to this Problem? I'm having the same issue when using the Ouya Controller with another Android Device.
I tried talking a screenshot but the game space settings slide out doesn't appear in the screenshots. Anyways, when I enter game mode and go into a game, I need to remap the buttons for the controller but I can't anymore. When I slide out the side settings, controller is grayed out. The controllers are on, charged, and connected. I've remapped them a thousand times in the past but now I can't. It's always grayed out. Any tips?
Been trying to fix this issue for a week. I post the problem on here today and if course, I solve it afterwards. If this happens to anyone else, go into the gamespace, not into a game or emulator, into the gamespace and press the little d-pad button. It'll reconnect with the controllers and start recognizing them again.
Also, bonus tip for using 2 e-sports controllers, (or whatever they're called), emulators and other games seem to register the left one as the master one. To keep from the right one doing the same exact controls as the left controller, only upside down; when you map your left and map your right buttons, be sure to switch back to the left controller, the master controller before closing the mapping settings. When you close the map settings with the left selected, both controllers will function as you expect, but if you close the map settings with the right selected, it will mimic the left but upside down.