VRPN

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DGM1
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2022 1:54 pm

VRPN

Post by DGM1 »

VRPN is capable of reading data from a large variety of hardware input devices, which are then translated into output data reports categorized by the device type. As far as I can tell, no one has yet built an app which uses a local (or remote) VRPN server/client to provide a virtualized HID joystick. If you do this, you would be the first.

VRPN also features the ability to transmit certain devices across a distance. You could, for example, have a joystick plugged into one PC ... control a game running on a different PC. This would be a game changer for flight simulator setups which are starved of USB ports.

Adding VRPN would also make old "dead" devices usable again. For example - the Novint Falcon, the reason why I wrote any of this to you. I am desperate to get it working as a joystick again:

For space games, a 3D throttle is a godsend. One particular type is known as a "Delta Throttle" - searching the Internet for it will bring up various tri-armatures which allow a handle to be positioned in a cubic space, thus providing 6DOF strafing/translational control. Way back in 2008, the now-defunct Novint Technologies took a similar design used in robotics for things like tele-surgery and manufacturing -- and turned it into a video gaming peripheral, focused on haptic feedback (touch simulation).

Unlike the 3DConnexion products, the Falcon has three independent motors that allow it to be auto-recentered with varying degrees of stiffness. Valve supported the Falcon in games such as Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead 1, and Team Fortress 2. Unfortunately, Novint pushed the Falcon as a mouse replacement, utterly failing to recognize its potential as a 3D throttle. Falcon drivers provide no native HID Joystick support.

Up to this point, the only method to use the Falcon as a 3D throttle was to use a combination of two dead projects: GlovePIE and ppJoy. However, this is no longer viable. ppJoy requires disabling Driver Signature Enforcement, a tedious task which does not work on Secure Boot systems and more importantly causes modern Anti-Cheat engines (most modern space games) to refuse to launch. FreePIE and vJoy are not a solution, as FreePIE does not recognize the Falcon.

Thank you for reading. I have to say, this is an impressive piece of software you have created, and it's even more powerful when paired with other macro apps and virtualizers such as Logitech Gaming Software, Joystick Gremlin, vJoy, etc. I think VRPN could be an incredibly powerful addition to your kit.
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