Ship Simulator
English forum => Ship Simulator 2008 => Topic started by: anniesboy68 on January 15, 2008, 18:23:37
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I note in the blurb for SS2008 use of a joystick is optional. I cannot find any information in the manual. Can a joystick be used and if so how can one set it up, please. I have a Microsoft force feedback!!!! Can anyone help on this please?
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Hi anniesboy68 and welcome to the forum!
Here you can find DJM's guide for using alternative control methods, that might help you out!
http://www.shipsim.com/ShipSimForum/index.php/topic,3472.0.html
Regards,
Fred
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Thanks for the prompt reply....however, I do not appear to have the primary input and Secondary input facility, only Action and Assigned Input. Clicking on an assigned input does give the facility to program a joystick button, but, unfortunately does not cater for the throttle and twist grip,[to use for engine and steering] so I shall have to use the keyboard inputs, unless you know something I don't.
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Hmm, so when you go to controls, you're menu does not look like the one posted below? With two columns for primairy and secondairy inputs?
I thought that was the standard menu, but I could be wrong. Does that joystick come with keymapping software? You could always try that too, if possible. I don't know that particular one so I can't really say much about it I'm afraid.
Maybe these options were introduced in a patch. What version are you running?
Regards,
Fred
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Try using a steering wheel. It's much better.
Cheers ... Captain Jack
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have you instaled the joystick on to the computer first?
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Thanks for the prompt reply....however, I do not appear to have the primary input and Secondary input facility, only Action and Assigned Input. Clicking on an assigned input does give the facility to program a joystick button, but, unfortunately does not cater for the throttle and twist grip,[to use for engine and steering] so I shall have to use the keyboard inputs, unless you know something I don't.
Hi.
i think you are referring to the Joystick's own program, aren't you? The menu that Mad_Fred is referring to is the one within Ship Simulator itself.
Start Ship Simulator, then go to the Options menu, then select Controls.
Let's say that you want to make the ship accelerate forwards when you push the joystick forwards. To do that:
Find the row for "engine 1 + 2 ahead", then double click on the "secondary input" column. Just push the joystick forwards and ShipSim will get the idea. (You'll see the secondary input entry change to show the relevant joystick control function)
Just repeat this for all of the movements you want the joystick to control.
It's as simple as that!
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Thanks all again for your input on this matter.
Mad Fred......No, the menu does not look like the one you posted, and I am using Ship Sim 2008 v1
Captain Jon..... I do not have a steering wheel
Carl...... The joystick is already loading and working [I use it for flight Sim 2004]
Terry......I did realize that Mad Fred was refering to the Ship Sim menu, and I have tried your suggestion re programming the joystick and it works other than the engine control [using the joystick throttle]. That remains on full all the time so I have programmed buttons for that purpose.
Thanks all once again, over and out unless of course someone knows how to programe the throttle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hiya anniesboy, it is quite easy to program your throttle,
Here is how I like it:
put your throttle in the halfway position, then doubleclick on Engines 1+2 forward in row 2
make sure the box turns lightgrey, move the throttle forward,
After this command is assigned, move the throttle back to the halfway position and repeat for Engines 1+2 reverse, only now move the throttle backwards (of course)
Good luck.. ;)
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Salty Dog...............Thanks for that,all systems go now.
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you're welcome, happy sailing.. ;)
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Thanks all again for your input on this matter.
Mad Fred......No, the menu does not look like the one you posted, and I am using Ship Sim 2008 v1
No problem!
Might I suggest upgrading your game? You'll get the same menu that way and thus you wont have to sacrifice any keystrokes for your joystick inputs. And of course, you get new content and a better game. Just a thought!
You can grab the updates here:
http://www.shipsim.com/downloads/patches.php
Regards,
Fred
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Try using a steering wheel. It's much better.
Cheers ... Captain Jack
I am not shure about that.
For the powerboat and watertaxi it will be better, but for the other ships?
I think a great joystick for shipsim is the saitek av8r.
Beceaus of the two throttles.
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Before I dowload the patch/update I must register my code with the technical support forum, and I cannot find the link for that, can someone put me in the right direction please.
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Regarding the Joystick, what joystick do you think is the best to play this game?
I would like to have one which includes a thrust...
Any suggestions?
Rgds, ;)
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Before I dowload the patch/update I must register my code with the technical support forum, and I cannot find the link for that, can someone put me in the right direction please.
Your license key is located on the CD-Rom case. It should be behind the manual, on a little white sticker. This is the code you need to enter. You both need it for your game, when you patch it, and to gain acces on the restricted boards on the forum. You enter this in your forum profile.
Regards,
Fred
* Edit * I see you found out! ;D
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Yes I scouted around a bit... Whilst your on is it possible to save a voyage [for example] ro run at a later time/date, please?
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Yes it is indeed.
When you are ingame, click the third button on the right, in the control panel on the lower right-hand side.
It will say "Save your game" when your mouse pointer is over it.
Note: You cannot save missions that involve container loading.
Regards,
Fred
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Thanks all again for your input on this matter.
Terry......I did realize that Mad Fred was refering to the Ship Sim menu, and I have tried your suggestion re programming the joystick and it works other than the engine control [using the joystick throttle]. That remains on full all the time so I have programmed buttons for that purpose.
Thanks all once again, over and out unless of course someone knows how to programe the throttle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One thing that makes a big difference. This affects many of the controls but I have found it most noticable on engine controls. In the options/controls menu, check the "Precision controls" setting. If it has a shaded box, try clicking it to turn it off. If it is off, try switching it on. This can make a big difference.
Personally, I like it switched off, but opinion is divided.
This can make your controls appear to not work, depending upon how well the joystick is calibrated.
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A matter of taste. I like "precision-steering" switched on for larger, slower ships.
For small and/or fast ships I prefer it switched off.. :)
As for the joystick/throttle combo, this is also a matter of taste.
Some would like dual-throttle controls, (such as the Saitek Aviator.) but I find a joystick with a single throttle more than adequate. I believe Logitech and Microsoft manufacture these for reasonable prices.. Also Saitek makes nice joysticks.. :)
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Yes precision steering is nice for the bigger ships indeed. Though I have it turned off. I just use the shift key to engage precision steering when I need it. If you press and hold shift, and then use the key you need and release that key again when the control is in the right setting, whilst still holding down shift, the control will stay in that position untill you press that particular control key again. just FYI, I reckon most people know this, though.
And any analog controller you might use is in presicion steering mode anyway AFAIK. I use an old logitech wheel (without the pedals) and the throttle quadrant from an X-45. I actually have 2 of those so I could basically use two throttles, but my desk isn't big enough, unfortunatly hehe.. so when I need seperate throttle control I use keys. I might cannibalise those two X-45's when I get a new HOTAS and make a nice custom controller for Shipsim out of them. ;D
Regards,
Fred
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Hi chaps.
The important thing is that I'd like Anniesboy to see the point I raised, as the setting of teh precision controls may be what is causing the joystick to not work for engine controls.
So, anniesboy, please see above (assuming this message doesn't have 20 more comments beneath it when you next read this thread....) ;)
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Well we didn't mean to get the attention away from your point, Terry. ;D
But he allready said he had it working after saltydog explained it, so I guess it was working after all. And so it was something he did, rather than an option that was turned off or on. :)
See above.. somewhere:
Salty Dog...............Thanks for that,all systems go now.
So sorry if it looked like we were changing the subject, I figured the issue was allread solved.
Back to precision steering though, having it checked (or not) seems to have no effect on an analog controller at all. As an analog controller (his throttle slider in this case) is allready a precision steering method. I would think a badly calibrated controller would give the same result wether the option is turned on or off. But I'm just spitballing here. As I had a slight problem with the X-45 throttle quadrant and having the box checked or unchecked changed nothing. (Ended up having to re-install the X-45's software as it wasnt recognising some of the knobs/sliders/axis.)
Regards.
Fred
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Hi Fred.
No probs, but I was taking this comment:
Thanks all once again, over and out unless of course someone knows how to programe the throttle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
to mean that the throttle still wasn't working as it should. What I did was to set up a similar joystick here and try to recreate the problem. I found that with Precision controls set to "ON", the throttle settings sometimes only worked in one direction, or the ship would "creep" in one direction or another even when the joystick was at rest. When the controls become "sticky", as with precision settings, this effect just adds up, and seemed to be a possible, if not likely, cause.
For that reason, I thought it might be helpful if anniesboy tried to toggle that setting. It's a 30 second waste of time at worst but at best might fix the problem with not getting the throttles working with that particular joystick.
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Hiya Terry,
Yep, that comment did mean just that, you were right.
But the one I posted, was 2 posts below that one, after it was fixed. ;D
Ah well, never mind that.
I didn't notice the things you noticed with the precision steering, so I stand corrected. ;)
Cheers
Fred
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Your remarks are well heard Terry, but I had a hunch the answer was much simpler than many thought..
(and for once, I was right.. :D
Actually, "drifting" controls was a thing that plagued my old joystick, but sadly, switching precision steering off didn't change matters, buying a better joystick did.. ;D
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That's the problem with going off and trying to recreate a tricky problem. Sometmes things get fixed in the meanwhile and then that fact gets snowed under all of the other to-ing and fro-ing. ::)
Still perhaps that bit of research and your answers will help whoever asks the question next time.
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Best thing to use is one of there: (http://forum.shipsim.com/Uploads/control11.JPG)
;D
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Hmm... did I mention it was my birthday soon? ;D
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Best thing to use is one of there: (http://forum.shipsim.com/Uploads/control11.JPG)
;D
is there a company that sell those boxes? with the trottle and everything on?
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Hmm... did I mention it was my birthday soon? ;D
Same here Fred ;D
We can hope eh ;)
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Nice monitor too, that's allmost bigger than my tv....! :D
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Best thing to use is one of these:
Actually, I think these are preferable (but not in today's weather):
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This is also on the market, but it seems a bit "plastic" for my taste.. ;)
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I think you forgot something.. ::)
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Kept getting the message I exceeded the 512 Mb .. ;)
If anyone's interested, here's the site..
http://www.raildriver.com/products/shipdriver.php
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Just thought I would let you all know I've updated to 1.3 via the download. Are there any more vessels to download, I see mentioned Ocean Star somewhere, I don't have that un.
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Hi.
Ocean Star (and 5 other vessels) are only available via the Add-on Pack, The two new vessels in V1.3 are the excellent Hovercraft and Jetski.
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Hi anniesboy68,
Well the Ocean Star is part of the Addon-pack (together with 5 more other vessels). This was originally an addon for SS2006 but is now being converted for SS2008.
The people who own the SS2006 Addon-pack, get this new updated version for free. And those people have been given a chance to allready download part of the Addon, namely the vessels themselves. So part of the community allready has these ships, and others do not.
Soon, the whole SS2008 pack will be completed and it'll then be available for purchase for everyone.
You can read the official announcement here :
http://www.shipsim.com/ShipSimForum/index.php/topic,3052.0.html
Regards,
Fred
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This is also on the market, but it seems a bit "plastic" for my taste.. ;)
When I saw that, I thought "looks a lot like the Trainsim Raildriver unit". Then I saw the link! If it is similar, it's made of metal! I have the Raildriver Train one (birthday pressie from my wife) and it's good. Very heavy duty and not at all plastic.
As my birthday REALLY is coming up soon, I will start dropping hints in a wife facing direction, I think.
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looks can deceive eh... ;)
if it is metal, I want one too... :D
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Yeah I would have thought it was plastic too, it looks a bit shoddy on those pictures, but that could just be a mockup for all we know.
I think the raildriver unit looks a bit better though. It says the unit is 34 cm's wide.. isn't that rather small? I would think the shipdriver unit will have the same basic shape and thus will be 34 cm's wide too. But then I would think the wheel would be tiny and not really anything to really grab on to..
I had thoughts about buying one, but maybe cannabalising my old steering wheel and hotas would be better. At least it'll be something to hang on to on those rough seas.. heh.. ;D
Fred
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The main thing is the quality of the controls.
They also say on the site that this product is still in development, and to be expected somewhere in 2008.
I'll be checking now and then.. :)
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If it ends up being the same quality as the train Sim unit, it will be excellent. Fingers crossed.
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So, with you having experience with the traindriver, is the size good enough to get a grip on things, so to say?
As I said, 34 cm's (13,5 inches I think it is) is not that wide. And the steering wheel on that things is not too big. Do you think it will be a bit tiny in ones (relatively large) hands? :)
So like, do you think that 'wheel' would actually just be a knob, really?
Cheers,
Fred
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I can't see that the wheel is going to be much bigger than 3 or 4 inches in diameter, maximum, if that unit is the same size as the "Cab Controller" (Trainsim version).
That said, if it the unit is built to the same standards as the Cab Controller, the box is metal and the controls are very sturdy.
But, a point to bear in mind: the Cab Controller that I have was bought in the ASA by my wife (She is American and travels back and forth to see friends and family). I don't know if the European version is identical or not. The weight of the version that I have must add a bit to shipping costs.
I have always found the folks who make the controller to be very approachable. The developers have always responded to any questions I had. They have given me technical advice when I was trying to develop an improved interface and have helped resolve some technical issues with graphics cards and so on, by return email.
The Raildriver folk are a fine example to many other sets of developers who hide away in darkened basements and refuse to speak to the Customers and who may come out at night to suck blood.
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Hmm... did I mention it was my birthday soon? ;D
Can't remember about that. Don't think VSTEP would like to miss it, it's the demo box ;)
is there a company that sell those boxes? with the trottle and everything on?
Sorry, custommade by moi. ;) There's a topic (http://www.shipsim.com/ShipSimForum/index.php/topic,4503.0.html)about how to create your own though.
Nice monitor too, that's allmost bigger than my tv....! :D
Too bad it's not mine... However, I should update that picture... That tv is small compared to what we have standing here now... :P
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Can't remember about that. Don't think VSTEP would like to miss it, it's the demo box ;)
Well, if the next one isn't exactly done on my birthday yet, I would be willing to wait a bit longer. ;) ;D
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But I did mention it's my birthday soon. My wife has promised to go and collect one for me, even if she has to get very friendly with one of their developers. I said she could marry one of them if need be. I think that's a good swap. ;D
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I found a simple and cheap solution some months ago. My 'main' stick for flightsims is the excellent Saitek Cyborg EVO (bolted down as a sidestick and modded by me with extension leads to a seperate throttle and a proper homemade rudder bar). Like most stick units it ain't really suitable for shipsim.
I then bought a 'game controller' style handset, mainly to use on R/C flight sims, until I discovered it is a good controller for Shipsim. Since it has a little stick for each thumb, a POV thing, and many other buttons it is easy to set up for everything (except maybe the Red Eagle). A proper USB R/C 'Transmitter' would also work i think. The sticks give easy Port/Starboard Rudder and Throttles.
What works for me is to use the mouse and onscreen controls most of the time, then I pick up the handset for docking etc. The best example of this is the mission to sail the 'Pride' up river to its berth (with the mouse), pick up the handset, then easily use differential steering/thrust and bowthrust to slow it and swing it parallell while slewing slowly and majestically into a perfect landin -er I mean docking.
If you have one, set it up and try it - if not you can get them for very little these days. Hope this helps.