MIDI Control Surfaces and Setting Up Virtual Joysticks

[vncnt]

Hey,

thanks to your post I achieved the same kind of behaviour using the M-Audio XSession Pro. I must say that it improves the trimming a lot.

Here's the controller.
http://imgur.com/dnNtzhh

I use the 4 vertical slider to control:
- propeller
- mixture
- gaz
- radiator

I also use the 2 'Low' knobs for vertical and horizontal trim.

I didn't figured out how to use the buttons yet, as I cannot easily find the corresponding Midi codes. I satisfied so far and will improve it later.

Here's my glovepie code:

PPJoy2.Analog0 =((midi2.ByteControl12)*2) -1
PPJoy2.Analog1 =((midi2.ByteControl11)*2) -1
PPJoy2.Analog2 =((midi2.ByteControl15)*2) -1
PPJoy2.Analog3 =((midi2.ByteControl14)*2) -1
PPJoy2.Analog4 =((midi2.ByteControl26)*2) -1
PPJoy2.Analog5 =((midi2.ByteControl29)*2) -1
PPJoy2.Analog6 =((midi2.ByteControl36)*2) -1
PPJoy2.Analog7 =((midi2.ByteControl33)*2) -1

The midi key codes can be find in the manual here:
http://www.m-audio.ca/images/global/...ro_UG_EN01.pdf

Thanks so much for the tip, cause I wanted to do that for a while.

v.

[SFF_Esso]

Has any Win8.1 user tried this?

I have tried this with Win7, but there swere some driver signature problems, which made it not so userfrienly.

[Neuro]

Originally Posted by arketype

How to use MIDI control surfaces to control axes and buttons in games

Thanks a lot for finding the solution to this, and for doing such a clear write-up. It's so neat to use midi keyboards and get all those knobs and buttons as flight controls.

I've now got my kid's Novation Launchkey Mini working in Win 8.1 and don't see why it shouldn't work in Win 10 as well. (I just haven't upgraded because of lacking Win 10 audio card driver)

PPJoy is abandoned by the developer, and with no official download site it's a bit risky, but I've found version 0.8.4.2 from here to be safe and working perfectly. (Here's a backup location) The newer versions 0.8.4.6 and 0.8.4.5 around the net seem riddled with malware when tested at Virustotal https://www.virustotal.com so be very careful or stay away.

To install PPJoy, run Setup.exe as administrator. After installation, go to control panel and open 'Parallel Port Joysticks' there and the PPJoy configuration utility will come up. From there, add as many joysticks as you need. You can always start with one and add more later.
Now go to 'Game Controllers' in Windows control panel and you should find your Parallel Port joysticks (PPJoys) there.
From here, it's just a matter of starting GlovePie and load a script (a text file) there like Arketype described in the opening post and everything should work. The only thing to note is that compared to the opening post in this thread, there's an error where the midi device number is described as the midi channel. It should be like this: midi1.channel1.cc21 where midi1 is the midi device and channel1 is midi channel 1. See my script below for more.

You might have difficulty in determining your midi device number as that has to be correct in order to work, but try a lot of numbers from 0 to 16 and one of them will be the right one. Another way is to use the free MIDI-OX program and in the monitor window, the device number will show under the 'in' column.

If you don't have the Korg Nanokontrol or Novation Launchkey Mini that Arketype or I have made scripts for here, you will need to find what midi channel and control change (cc) / midi note the different knobs or buttons send out, and this can of course be done by reading the manuals, but I find the easiest is probably to use the free MIDI-OX program which will show the values when you turn/hit that knob/button.

If you really get stuck, and nothing seem to trigger the knobs/buttons on the PPJoystick, you might have run into the '10 Entry Limit in Windows' or even that your firewall or anti-virus are blocking stuff so check that. (there's even something to do with file permissions that can cause headaches sometimes, you'll have to search the net for how to sort that) A last resort could even be to try virtual midi ports like MIDI YOKE (Use the NT version) and then MIDI-OX to patch from your real midi port to the Midi Yoke port. (To install Midi Yoke, you will need to Disable UAC (User account Control)(The warning signs when a file needs to be run as administrator), and then when that is done, right click the installer file, click Properties and in the compatibility tab, tick the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" select "Previous Versions of windows" in the list. then click Apply, then close the window.)

For the Novation Launchkey Mini, below is the GlovePie script for all the knobs, buttons and keys. Since they are so many you will need to set up 3 joysticks to get them all working. If you just want the knobs and big pad buttons, only 1 joystick is needed. In case you want to change anything, here is a pic of the Launchkey Mini showing the MIDI mapping. (Note that the 'In Control' button and the Octave buttons are not sending out normal MIDI messages so can't be used)

// GlovePIE Script - MIDI to Joystick - using PPJoy driver and Novation Launchkey Mini MIDI keyboard. By Neuro, December 2015, copied from Korg Nano Kontrol script for GlovePIE by arketype May 2011


// To get all the knobs, buttons and keys working you need to set up 3 joysticks. If you just want the knobs and the square pad buttons, just 1 is needed

// Change the cc or note value to that of the slider/fader, potentiometer or button you wish to activate on your midi device.

// Change the midi number to the number of your midi device (if not sure what the number is, try them all one by one from 0 to 16).

// Change channel number to the midi channel number of the knob/button on your midi device (the freeware program MIDI-OX will show you what they are).

// Change Analog number to the axis number you wish to activate on the // virtual joystick.

// Change Digital number to the button number you wish to activate on // the virtual joystick.

// Change PPJoy number to create and add more new virtual joysticks, // if you have more hardware.

// Copy the entire document and paste into a fresh GlovePIE script and after adjustments for you hardware device click "Run"

// Test it all through "settings - joystick - properties" in GlovePIE to see the faders/buttons moving.



debug = [ PPJoy1.Analog0, PPJoy1.Analog1 ]     

// debug variable outputs of x and y axes on for reference only // can be deleted or modified to return different axes or button // values.

PPJoy1.Analog0 = ((midi1.channel1.cc21)*2) -1	// x axis
PPJoy1.Analog1 = ((midi1.channel1.cc22)*2) -1	// y axis
PPJoy1.Analog2 = ((midi1.channel1.cc23)*2) -1	// z axis
PPJoy1.Analog3 = ((midi1.channel1.cc24)*2) -1	// z rotation
PPJoy1.Analog4 = ((midi1.channel1.cc25)*2) -1	// slider
PPJoy1.Analog5 = ((midi1.channel1.cc26)*2) -1	// slider
PPJoy1.Analog6 = ((midi1.channel1.cc27)*2) -1	// x rotation
PPJoy1.Analog7 = ((midi1.channel1.cc28)*2) -1	// y rotation

PPJoy1.Digital0 = midi1.channel10.e3		// pad button 1
PPJoy1.Digital1 = midi1.channel10.f3		// pad button 2
PPJoy1.Digital2 = midi1.channel10.fsharp3	// pad button 3
PPJoy1.Digital3 = midi1.channel10.g3		// pad button 4
PPJoy1.Digital4 = midi1.channel10.c4		// pad button 5
PPJoy1.Digital5 = midi1.channel10.csharp4	// pad button 6
PPJoy1.Digital6 = midi1.channel10.d4		// pad button 7
PPJoy1.Digital7 = midi1.channel10.dsharp4	// pad button 8
PPJoy1.Digital8 = midi1.channel10.c3		// pad button 9
PPJoy1.Digital9 = midi1.channel10.csharp3	// pad button 10
PPJoy1.Digital10 = midi1.channel10.d3		// pad button 11
PPJoy1.Digital11 = midi1.channel10.dsharp3	// pad button 12
PPJoy1.Digital12 = midi1.channel10.gsharp3	// pad button 13
PPJoy1.Digital13 = midi1.channel10.a3		// pad button 14
PPJoy1.Digital14 = midi1.channel10.asharp3	// pad button 15
PPJoy1.Digital15 = midi1.channel10.b3		// pad button 16

PPJoy2.Digital0 = midi1.channel1.cc106		// track left button
PPJoy2.Digital1 = midi1.channel1.cc107		// track right button
PPJoy2.Digital2 = midi1.channel1.cc108		// round up button
PPJoy2.Digital3 = midi1.channel1.cc109		// round down button
PPJoy2.Digital4 = midi1.channel1.cc104		// up button
PPJoy2.Digital5 = midi1.channel1.cc105		// down button
PPJoy2.Digital6 = midi1.channel1.c4		// key 1
PPJoy2.Digital7 = midi1.channel1.csharp4	// key 2
PPJoy2.Digital8 = midi1.channel1.d4		// key 3
PPJoy2.Digital9 = midi1.channel1.dsharp4	// key 4
PPJoy2.Digital10 = midi1.channel1.e4		// key 5
PPJoy2.Digital11 = midi1.channel1.f4		// key 6
PPJoy2.Digital12 = midi1.channel1.fsharp4	// key 7
PPJoy2.Digital13 = midi1.channel1.g4		// key 8
PPJoy2.Digital14 = midi1.channel1.gsharp4	// key 9
PPJoy2.Digital15 = midi1.channel1.a4		// key 10

PPJoy3.Digital0 = midi1.channel1.asharp4	// key 11
PPJoy3.Digital1 = midi1.channel1.b4		// key 12
PPJoy3.Digital2 = midi1.channel1.c5		// key 13
PPJoy3.Digital3 = midi1.channel1.csharp5	// key 14
PPJoy3.Digital4 = midi1.channel1.d5		// key 15
PPJoy3.Digital5 = midi1.channel1.dsharp5	// key 16
PPJoy3.Digital6 = midi1.channel1.e5		// key 17
PPJoy3.Digital7 = midi1.channel1.f5		// key 18
PPJoy3.Digital8 = midi1.channel1.fsharp5	// key 19
PPJoy3.Digital9 = midi1.channel1.g5		// key 20
PPJoy3.Digital10 = midi1.channel1.gsharp5	// key 21
PPJoy3.Digital11 = midi1.channel1.a5		// key 22
PPJoy3.Digital12 = midi1.channel1.asharp5	// key 23
PPJoy3.Digital13 = midi1.channel1.b5		// key 24
PPJoy3.Digital14 = midi1.channel1.c6		// key 25

Keywords: Midi to joystick midi2joystick midi controller as joystick buttons knobs keyboard virtual joystick flight simulator