I'm a linux/Ubuntu user, and I just started playing... Great game! I love that there is so much cross-platform support!

I have an old SpaceOrb 360, that I've had laying around for some time waiting for a great game like this to use with it. I have it working in all axis, buttons, etc. However, the calibration for the joysticks is weird.

In VO, the range of movement in the calibration window is tiny-- one or two pixels in each direction. It is very difficult to calibrate the joystick with the current calibration controls, because they don't scale to the joysticks range limits, and trying to drag those little triangle sliders around in the calibration windows in-game, is well, a pain in the ass.

I'm wondering if there is a way to do the calibration elsewhere, perhaps using the results of the 'jscalibration' tool, or perhaps a config file or something?

Ultimately, it would be nice if the in-game calibration screen had a way to define the range limits on each axis. Something like an "auto-range" button, which, once clicked, the bottom triangles center on the "center", as long as its enabled, the triangles move outward as the player moves the joystick on that axis. When you're done, you click it again to disable the "auto-range". Once disable, the game would rescale the axis range rendered on-screen to fit the current range across the entire control (ie, the bottom triangles would be rendered at the far left/right ends of the widgit).

Kyle

Welcome to VO. Joystick calibrations are kept in the config.ini file (../Vendetta/config.ini). You can manually set deadzones and centers for all recognized axes there.

Perhaps this thread should be moved to Linux, or Bugs, or something, but...

I modified my config.ini to values which represent the range of the device, however, that range is floating point value normalized between 0 and 1. Saving the file, and starting VO, the new values take affect. Because the values are normalized with saturation at 1.0, I set the deadzone to +/-0.15. The deadzone, at this value however, is apparently ignored. When I exit VO, and double check the config file, the values are written as integers, which means 0.15 is now 0, and thus no deadzone (and wildly sensitive controls).

Is there any way to overcome this?

I'd really like to use this controller, as it was *really* made for games like this.

Just signed up for a 3-month period. I considered a 12-month sub, but I figured I'd take it slow. After all, this is the first game that I've really gotten into since Quake 2 and FreeSpace

once you find good values you can simply prevent the program from writing new values to the file by changing the permissions to read only.

Thank Pa, but it appears as though the game is *reading* the values from the config file as integer values, since regardless of the value for the deadzone, I have no deadzone.

I either need to find a way to get the linux kernel to apply a scaling factor (ie, x255 from 0-1.0 to 0-255.0), or VO needs a way to handle normalized joystick values.

Have you tried jscal to calibrate your thingy? That's what I use.

I also just use jscal, its in Ubuntu for sure, cos heres a page http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/intrepid/man1/jscal.html

I find many "ported" applications in Linux act weird with some sticks if they aint calibrated with jscal

[edit]

You may need to install the joystick package. Do sudo apt-get joystick in a console

I used the jscalibrate (X) utility to initially calibrate the device, but I haven't tried jscal. I'll give it a try shortly, and let you know what I find.

Thanks!

Kyle

Thanks guys! Jscal did the trick!

My only last issue: The SpaceOrb has all 6 axis "spring loaded", so when the stick is idle, i have 50% forward thrust, and I can't get negative thrust.

Is there any way to configure joystick throttle so that the mid-point is no throttle, and that below the mid-point, you are thrusting backwards?

Kyle

Try mapping "Accelerate" to that axis instead of "Throttle" and switch to physics mode. I think that's how that is supposed to work.

Throttle only works in flight assist mode and that doesn't allow flying backwards.

Irony or Karma... Accelerate did just the trick! Of course, feeling all empowered, I head out to do battle with the forces of Evil, and what happens? I break my SpaceOrb. I guess sitting i the closet for the better part of 10 years made the plastic brittle or something? Sigh... Oh well, I can still fly with it, just occasionally, I get stuck in a crazy roll or something. I'll just refer to it as "Defensive Maneuver Delta-Four" and convince myself its all part of the game.

Thanks for all the help from everyone. For the 5 minutes before it broke, it flew and performed like a dream!

That's the most optimistic thing I've heard all day.