Axis Settings

The Axis Settings generally control how and where the axis will be seen by Windows.

DX Device Box

The primary items that need to be set are the boxes labeled "DX Device" and "DX Axis". The DX Device box defines which of the Control Manager Devices that Windows sees will get the axis. The box is a "Drop-Down List" of the acceptable devices. you simply need to select the device you want to assign it to.

The list also includes "Mouse". If you want this axis to control a mouse axis rather than a joystick axis, you can set that here. You can program any axes on any of your controllers to act as the mouse. The procedure is exactly the same. Below "CM Device 16" in the DX Device box drop down is a selection for "Mouse". Set that and the axis involved will be seen as a Mouse Axis.

Assuming you are assigning the axis to one of the Control Manager Devices, the device that it will appear on is determined by which CM Device ID you select. Setting this to "CM Device 1", for example, will put it on the "Control Manager Device 1" that will appear in the Game Controllers applet when the map is active. Setting it to "CM Device 2" will assign it to "Control Manager Device 2", etc.

DX Axis box

The DX Axis box tells the Control Manager which axis it should be assigned to on the selected CM Device. If you were to assign the Throttle Wheel to "CM Device 1" and "X Axis", for example, then the wheel would end up controlling the X-Axis on Control Manager Device 1. Mouse Axes are assigned here, too. You can assign any axis to be the X, Y, or Z axis on the mouse. The Z axis acts as a "Mouse Wheel".

There are a total of 8 different axes listed in the DX Axis box that can be assigned to a Control Manager Device. Six of these are referenced using the older Direct X references (X, Y, Z, R, U, and V). Two additional axes are available that are referenced as Slider 0 and Slider 1.

The available CM Axes and their relationship to their HID names are as follows:

Notes on Axis Usage

In Windows 98, the axis names are generally just taken in order and you must fill in the first four axes (X, Y, Z, and R) before you can use the U and V axes. An exception to this rule occurs with the Z axis, usually seen as a throttle. In that case, a Slider axis will also work and the Z axis can be left unassigned. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the axes are reported by their HID names. For the most part, they can still be taken in order though anomalies do occur, so some trial and error may be required.

As a general rule, try using the X, Y, Z, R, U, and V axes first in that order. If you're trying to create an 8 axis device, add Slider 0 and Slider 1. If there are problems with activating perhaps a throttle axis, then try assigning it to the Slider 0 axis and see if that will get it working. This is especially true with some recent games where only a Slider will be recognized for the throttle axis. It may take a little experimentation as it depends on Windows Version, Direct X version, and the particular game that you're creating the map for. Also note that there are really not a Slider 0 and a Slider 1. There are just two "Sliders", the 0 and 1 designators only indicate their order of declaration.

Centered Checkbox

If this box is checked, then the axis is treated as one that has a natural centered position such as the joystick handle itself. If the box is unchecked then the axis is treated as if it does not have such a center position. A throttle wheel would be typical of this sort of axis. The box will be set automatically to match what the axis actually provides and does not normally need to be changed.

The main difference between a "Centered" and a "Non-Centered" axis here is that Centered axes are treated as having a central deadzone and can have a response curve assigned to them. Non-Centered axes do not have a central deadzone and always respond linearly.

There are circumstances when changing this characteristic is useful. If a game were to provide a throttle action where center was "OFF", pushing the throttle forward caused forward motion, and pulling the axis back caused reverse motion for example, then setting the axis as "Centered" would allow you to set a wide deadzone in the center of the throttle range allowing you to find the "OFF" position more easily.

Reversed

The "Reversed" checkbox reverses the direction for the axis as Windows sees it. If the axis normally provides its maximum value when the control is fully back and its minimum value when the control is fully forward for example, then checking the Reversed box will result in the minimum value being achieved at the full back position and the maximum value being achieved when the control is fully forward.

Gain and Response Settings

Below the Axis Settings is the section for "Gain and Response Settings". These control how the axis that Windows sees behaves relative to the actual control position. How these affect the response is dependent on whether the "Centered" box is checked.

The most prominent item in this section is the "Gain Panel". It's the small graphical box to the left of the dialog and is only active when the axis is marked as "Centered". The yellow line represents the way that the Windows axis responds to the control position. There are 11 curves that may be selected, the default it "linear" response and is indicated when the yellow line goes directly from the lower left to the upper right corner.

The other possible curves are selected using the two Up/Down buttons to the right of the graphical display. Clicking the upper buttons will result in the yellow curve changing to be more vertical near the center and more horizontal near the end points. This results in the control responding more quickly near center, i.e. the Windows axis will move more quickly than the control itself resulting in a more sensitive response near center. Each click of the Up button results in a curve with a steeper response near center.

Clicking the down button has the opposite effect. The curve becomes more horizontal near center and steeper at the endpoints. This results in finer control of the axis near center and faster response out near the endpoints. As with the Up button, each click results in a flatter center section and steeper end sections to the curve.

Sensitivity

The "Sensitivity" box is active for both Centered and Non-Centered axes. It basically controls how much the Control Manager Device axis will move when the control is moved through its full range. It can be set from 0% to 100%.

For Centered axes, the control essentially scales both ends back toward center, i.e. if it's set to 80% the Control Manager Device axis will come to 80% of what Windows considers full travel when the control itself is moved through its full range.

For Non-Centered axes it works much the same, but the scaling is taken from one end only. Setting the throttle wheel to 80%, for example, causes the Control Manager Device axis to move from its minimum value to 80% of its maximum value as the wheel is moved through its full range.

In some Non-Centered cases, it's necessary that the axis be scaled from the other end, i.e. you need it to go from 20% to 100% rather than from 0% to 80%. To accomplish this, the Non-Centered scaling can be set to a negative value. A setting of -80% will give the 20%-100% case where a setting of 80% gives the 0% to 80% case.

Deadzone

Deadzone is only applied to Centered axes and defines the area around the calibrated center position where the axis is to be considered as being at its center point. This allows the center to be stable even if there is a little play at the center position or where the calibrated center is off by a small amount. A setting of 2% or so is generally enough, but higher values may be necessary or desired depending on how the control is to be used.

Programmed Mode

Programmed Mode is selected when the "DirectX Mode" checkbox in the Settings Box is unchecked. In this mode, the axis will not become part of a Control Manager Device seen by Windows. Rather, it will send characters when moved.

There are two types of character programming available. One is termed "Up/Down" programming, the other is termed "Position" programming. Which mode is used depends on two "Radio Buttons" in the Control Settings section of the Dialog Pane.

Up/Down Mode

In Up/Down programming, the control sends one particular character when the control is moved in one direction, another character when the control is moved in the other direction. This mode of operation is used when you need to control a function that normally requires multiple presses of the same key to move in one direction or another. An example might be a throttle in the sim that increases a little each time the "+" key is pressed and decreases a little each time the "-" key is pressed.

When the "Up/Down" mode is selected, the Dialog Pane looks like this:

The programming is done in the Control Parameters section. That's where you define how the control is to work. There are four boxes that are used to set the various parameters for the Up/Down axis labeled "Steps", "Inc Key", "Dec Key", and "Ctr Key".

Steps

The "Steps" parameter is a numeric value that defines how many repetitions of the Up or Down keys are to be sent for full range movement of the control.

Inc Key

The "Inc Key" parameter defines which character is to be sent when the control is moved in the "Up" direction. It must be a single key, but the CTL, ALT, and SHF modifiers are allowed.

Dec Key

The "Dec Key" parameter works in the same way as the "Inc Key", but defines which character is to be sent when the control is moved in the "Down" direction. Again, it must be a single key with optional CTL, ALT, or SHF modifiers.

Ctr Key

The "Ctr Key" parameter is only active on axes that have a natural center position such as the X and Y axes.. It is sent one time when the control passes through its center position. It can be useful in synchronizing the control with whatever it's controlling in the game if the game provides for a key to force whatever is being controlled to its center position. The Ctr Key is inoperative when the axis is one that doesn't normally center, a throttle wheel for example.

Holding a Key Down

A special case occurs when the number of steps is set to one. For a centering axis, move the control off center will hold the Up or Down key down continuously rather than sending individual characters. For non-centering axes, the Up key will be held down when the control is moved from its minimum position. When the control returns to minimum, the Down key will be sent one time.

Position Mode

In Position programming, a number of different characters are sent. The character sent is determined by the actual position of the control and not the direction of movement. This sort of programming is useful in cases such as a throttle that's set using the keys "1" through "9" to set throttle values between minimum and maximum.

In Position mode, the Dialog Pane looks like this:

There is only one item that needs to be set, the "Position Keys" box.

Position Keys

This box holds the character that are to be sent as the control is moved through its range. The characters are entered in order and separated by spaces. For example, if the box held "a b c d e f g", rotating the control in one direction will produce "bcdefg" and "fedcba" will be produced when rotated in the other direction.

Axis Dialog Comment Box

At the bottom of the Axis Dialog is the Comment Box. This does not affect map operation, it just provides a place to make a note about what the axis is programmed to do.