[APP] BrickController2

[imurvai]

23 hours ago, PKW said:

"skid steering" is not proportional so while moving slowly even a small tilt of the joystick on the left/right result in a turn, there is no way to make it feel like a real controller? this is what i use on my arduino,

Hi, what you could do is to reduce the max level on the horizontal direction. I haven't tried if it's working because there is no similar vehicle built here at the moment, so that's just a guess :)
BTW I'm currently redesigning the whole app.

[bj51]

Hello imurvai,

I wanted to test your app with a MOC of mine, very straightforward : 2 sbricks, 1 RC motor on each for propulsion and a servo on one for direction. Works great with the official app on my phone (Galaxy S5 mini) or tablet (Galaxy Tab S).

I downloaded your app but can't seem to make it work with the assortment of controllers that I have : Wiimote, WiiU Pro Controller, xbox 360 wired controller and a cheap USB snes controller.

Is there a step that i'm missing ? How do I know if the controller is recognized by my phone ? Is there a way to test the inputs of the controller ?

[AVCampos]

1 hour ago, bj51 said:

How do I know if the controller is recognized by my phone ? Is there a way to test the inputs of the controller ?

On the Play Store there are several gamepad tester apps you can try, like this one.

[Oldlegonerd]

On 2017-5-13 at 0:48 AM, imurvai said:

Hi,

well, once I have the buwizz protocol I'll see. I was thinking of the same though, maybe it would make the app a little bit complicated but theoretically it's feasible.

Thanks, I just followed up with Buwizz and they are still working on it.

[imurvai]

1 hour ago, Oldlegonerd said:

Thanks, I just followed up with Buwizz and they are still working on it.

Cool, then I keep waiting.

Anyway I also tried to get in contact with the Buwizz team but noone answered to me :(

[Romas]

Many thanks for app to TS Murvai! 

One little question, my setup Sbrick + Galaxy Tab + PS4 game pad via BT all with latest firmware 

Seems Ok but there are only 2 Sbrick's ports for configuring A & B. Where I've lost the C & D? :) 

thanks in advance 

[imurvai]

Just now, Romas said:

Many thanks for app to TS Murvai! 

One little question, my setup Sbrick + Galaxy Tab + PS4 game pad via BT all with latest firmware 

Seems Ok but there are only 2 Sbrick's ports for configuring A & B. Where I've lost the C & D? :) 

thanks in advance 

Ups, it seems to be a bug in the app. There are other missing settings as well. I'll check it today...

[imurvai]

Hi,
New version (0.92) of the app is available here: SBrickController 0.92
It contains two fixes:
- Controller action setup screen for 4:3 screen aspect ratio (eg. Galaxy Tab).
- Preserving SBrick name.
Please let me know if you face any more issues.
Happy playing! ;)

[Romas]

Thank you! 

You our hero!  I think you should make your site with donate button - i'll support you!

 

[Itspieman82]

Hi there. I have a version of this off the app store. (Android) tried to search for it and its no longer there. Is it renamed. Awesome program btw. Use it alot on my mocs. Joe

[imurvai]

1 hour ago, Itspieman82 said:

Hi there. I have a version of this off the app store. (Android) tried to search for it and its no longer there. Is it renamed. Awesome program btw. Use it alot on my mocs. Joe

Hi,

The app has never been in the play store, I only share it on Dropbox. Please try this link: SBrickController.apk

Happy playing! :)

[Itspieman82]

1 hour ago, imurvai said:

Hi,

The app has never been in the play store, I only share it on Dropbox. Please try this link: SBrickController.apk

Happy playing! :)

Thanks imurval. Awesome program anyway. 

 

1 hour ago, imurvai said:

Hi,

The app has never been in the play store, I only share it on Dropbox. Please try this link: SBrickController.apk

Happy playing! :)

 

[PKW]

Hi! I finally own a ps4 and was curious to test the controller with my android (and It works) but  I can't figure out how to properly set up the controller profile, first of all the triggers seems to be swapped (trigger (R2) activates the trigger button imput(R1) ) and the real trigger button doesn't work, this also happens in a game pad tester app, also it is really difficult to understand which one of the "button 1...2...3..." correspond to the triggers 

 

Is there any way to have a live control profile setting? Like if I press a button/trigger the profile will mark that section so I can individuate where I need to put the link to the sbrick channel

Example:

I open the app  and start editing a profile, then I press a random button (I.e the one that correspond to button 7 on the app) and scrolling al button list I can see the "button 7" highlighted 

 

Thanks for your attention and for the time you are investing  in this useful app!

[imurvai]

6 minutes ago, PKW said:

Hi! I finally own a ps4 and was curious to test the controller with my android (and It works) but  I can't figure out how to properly set up the controller profile, first of all the triggers seems to be swapped (trigger (R2) activates the trigger button imput(R1) ) and the real trigger button doesn't work, this also happens in a game pad tester app, also it is really difficult to understand which one of the "button 1...2...3..." correspond to the triggers 

 

Is there any way to have a live control profile setting? Like if I press a button/trigger the profile will mark that section so I can individuate where I need to put the link to the sbrick channel

Example:

I open the app  and start editing a profile, then I press a random button (I.e the one that correspond to button 7 on the app) and scrolling al button list I can see the "button 7" highlighted 

 

Thanks for your attention and for the time you are investing  in this useful app!

Hi,

Earlier someone also reported the same issue with swapped triggers, so I added a common app setting for it. You can find it on the main screen by pressing the three dots, then select the settings menu. In the settings you can find a switch for swapping the triggers.

The reason why your trigger buttons don't work is a good question. :(

I was also thinking of some controller configuration page but could not figure out a simple way to do it :)

Also there are configs for Button 1 to 10 because some other controllers were able to work only that way. Unfortunately handling game controllers in Android is not an exact science :)

[PKW]

4 hours ago, imurvai said:

Hi,

Earlier someone also reported the same issue with swapped triggers, so I added a common app setting for it. You can find it on the main screen by pressing the three dots, then select the settings menu. In the settings you can find a switch for swapping the triggers.

The reason why your trigger buttons don't work is a good question. :(

I was also thinking of some controller configuration page but could not figure out a simple way to do it :)

Also there are configs for Button 1 to 10 because some other controllers were able to work only that way. Unfortunately handling game controllers in Android is not an exact science :)

i think the best way is the old and good "press a button to rebind" function, so whle editing control profiles we can both add channel to an input source that rebind it (like if i press "..." near right trigger a greyed out screen with a writing "press a button on the controller to bind it to this input method" appears and if i press my right trigger now i'll be sure that it is linked correctly)

here are the values i found in a gamepad controller program:

button  |  number

R1     | 101
R2     | 103
R3     | 108
L1     | 100
L2     | 102
L3     |109
X       |97
square |96
triangle  |99
O       |98
touchpad press |106

[imurvai]

Just now, PKW said:

i think the best way is the old and good "press a button to rebind" function, so whle editing control profiles we can both add channel to an input source that rebind it (like if i press "..." near right trigger a greyed out screen with a writing "press a button on the controller to bind it to this input method" appears and if i press my right trigger now i'll be sure that it is linked correctly)

here are the values i found in a gamepad controller program:

button  |  number

R1     | 101
R2     | 103
R3     | 108
L1     | 100
L2     | 102
L3     |109
X       |97
square |96
triangle  |99
O       |98
touchpad press |106

hmm, that sounds to be a good solution. At the moment I'm rewriting the whole app and I'll consider applying this rebind feature.

[nbTMM]

Pretty effective app, thanks! There are two issues I've come across, maybe they are related.

The first is that I lose connectivity within 15 seconds to a minute when using the app on an LG Nexus 5X (Stock rom Android 8.0.0). The disconnection message I get is "Failed to connect to Sbricks.". Somewhat worryingly the Sbrick seems to still be connected as it continues to power the motors in whatever the last state was until I press the 'OK' button on the disconnection message box, then the Sbrick immediately stops what it was doing. The disconnection seems to happen only when i'm pressing buttons - if I just don't press any buttons on the gamepad (or just press a button once in a while) then it stays connected indefinitely. The faster I press buttons, the more frequent the disconnection happens. Spamming joysticks or triggers seems like a sure fire way to cause the issue. The problem occurs when using an I-pega PG-9021 gamepad (Bluetooth) or Xbox360 wireless controller (USBOTG), with Sbrick firmware versions 18 and 20. However I haven't experienced any disconnections when using the Ipega and Sbrick with firmware 20 on a Samsung Galaxy S2 (Cyanogen mod Android 4.4.4), so maybe its a problem related to Android 8, not having root, or the bluetooth hardware in the Nexus 5X.

The second issue also concerns pressing a lot of buttons or moving the joysticks back and forth many times. It seems like this generates a lot of commands to be sent to the Sbrick and they start to queue up, leading to severe lag as the Sbrick slowly works it's way through the queue of commands. I'm not sure if this is an issue with the app or the Sbrick hardware but it doesn't seem to happen when spamming sliders on the official Sbrick app. If it is the hardware then maybe the solution is to only issue commands as fast as the Sbrick can process them. 

Here's a video that shows both issues happening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si9zcAiBh1I

Edited November 2, 2017 by nbTMM

[imurvai]

Little teaser of my next app:

BrickController

Of course it's going to be working with game controllers, it's just an early demo.

[kbalage]

That's a very promising video! :) What is the controller for the ones with the Lego logo? The BuWizz connection fails only in this test video or you did not manage to solve the connection yet? I would literally kill for an app which gives game controller ability to BuWizz...

[imurvai]

Just now, kbalage said:

That's a very promising video! :) What is the controller for the ones with the Lego logo? The BuWizz connection fails only in this test video or you did not manage to solve the connection yet? I would literally kill for an app which gives game controller ability to BuWizz...

The Lego ones are for the original Lego infra receivers. My new phone has an infra emitter so why not to utilize it :)

The BuWizz is not operating at the moment. The app can connect to it but I still don't know how to control the outputs. I'm really hoping the protocol will be published soon.

[kbalage]

Wow, IR control with an app! Very cool :) Fingers crossed for the BuWizz protocol release...

[AVCampos]

Cool, great job! You might just want to change the icon for the PF receivers, TLG's legal department might not like the current incarnation.

Regarding the current SBrickController app, is it possible to put it on the Play Store? That way, it'd be a lot easier to know of and install any updates you make.

[Limga]

Wow, nice work!

Have you written to BuWizz team? I hope they will share protocols with you.

[imurvai]

8 hours ago, AVCampos said:

Cool, great job! You might just want to change the icon for the PF receivers, TLG's legal department might not like the current incarnation.

Regarding the current SBrickController app, is it possible to put it on the Play Store? That way, it'd be a lot easier to know of and install any updates you make.

Hi, hmm I didn't know I can't use the Lego logo. What is your suggestion then? Or should I draw my own logo in Paint - haha?

Yes, uploading the app into play store would be much easier but I need to prepare it a bit better. I'll reconsider publishing it in the store...

6 hours ago, Limga said:

Wow, nice work!

Have you written to BuWizz team? I hope they will share protocols with you.

Yes, I've already got in contact with them and they promised to publish the protocol as soon as it's production ready.

[legolijntje]

11 hours ago, imurvai said:

Little teaser of my next app:

BrickController

Of course it's going to be working with game controllers, it's just an early demo.

That's pretty cool! My phone also has IR 
I imagine that in the final version a user can create a controller layout like in the sbrick app with a combination of sbricks and lego IR receivers?