Using Quark's Game Control Plus on Linux Lite

harrzack

Processing 3 seems to be running just fine on a Lenovo IdeaCenter which is running an Intel Atom CPU. I have a project which uses a joystick via GCP+. This project has been developed on a Win 7 box, and uses the Logitech 3D Extreme joystick which GCP seems to like.

Now trying to move the project to the IdeaCenter - and it runs - but I don't have the joystick working yet. My question here is - should GCP be able to access a joystick in Linux? Assuming I can figure out how get it to work?!

quark

My question here is - should GCP be able to access a joystick in Linux?

The answer is yes, although I don't have a Linux machine to test it I have been contacted people that have used GCP on Linux.

It is the hardware interface libraries which are probably causing the problem, these are OS dependent.

I suggest that you watch this tutorial video guide which gives an idea how GCP works with control devices.

harrzack

quark - thanks for the quick reply! I went on to discover that i was able to add the joystick drivers and js utilities. They found the Logitech very nicely - and when I used your script - it opened up the your config program and all seems well. other issues have kept me from actually running my sketch, but I'm sure it will be fine.

Exiting your joystick config sketch seems to be a bit bumpy.... I can't always seem to do a clean exit. Other than that it is all awesome stuff!

quark

Exiting your joystick config sketch seems to be a bit bumpy.... I can't always seem to do a clean exit.

Which example is that?

What error messages did you get?

Does this occur intermittently?

I will see if I can reproduce these and get a fix for the next release.

I you haven't done so already the tutorial videos are well worth watching (obviously I am biased but then I wouldn't have made them if I didn't think they would be useful)

Glad you like the library.

harrzack

Back for a confirmation that GCP is running just fine in Linux Lite 2.6. There are, however, a few issues with the joystick configure script. I got it to run once, and had difficulties exiting it - but was able to make a setup. I brought in a different version of the same Radar sketch which had the config file (named 'joystick') brought over from windows. Naturally GCP didn't like this and kicked in the configurator. This time the window opened but only into a blank pane with no options or graphics. By stopping the sketch I could get the config to close. Just to facilitate the test - I copied the config file from the version that did work to this new variation (just some serial stuff commented out), and IT DOES WORK!

So far, the only issues with GCP in this version of Linux have been with the config utility... But once up - the joystick responded just as it does in Win7.

Now I just have to figure out how to use a USB port as a COM port... fun for another day!

harrzack

Looks like we were posting at the same time!

On the config sketch (I have run it successfully in Win7) - an as I said, it ran once in Linux. There were no error messages on the 'bad run' - 'it' just didn't work! By this lame remark (don't you love it when they refer to 'it'?) I mean - the panel opened and the control box in the right column was there, but no graphics in the large center area to show the joystick options.

In the interest of sanity - I just went back in to your library and ran the configurator example. This runs fine and is reading the Logitech as it should. I was able to connect two items, verify and it exited cleanly by clicking the 'x'. So something must be going on in the way I'm accessing the Lib in my sketch.

It would be nice to have a Cancel button in config so you could easily get out if you get a little confused. There is a large blank green area beneath the status report text pane where you might include some basic use info/reminders. Also the 3 buttons above the report window could be sized down enough to include a CANCEL button.

I'll have to dig in my stuff further to see why it made the config unhappy.