FS2002's Dirty Little Secret...

[Guest LeoL]

I've been working for some time now on developing various USB interfaces and interfacing these with MSFS. As my project grows so has my interface needs. As I look for ways to avoid using 6 separate Joysticks or writing custom interface software to speak with FSUIPC I discovered to my surprise a limitation with MSFS that stunned me!Most of you know that MS has developed DirectX for the purpose of standardizing how software interfaces with the PC hardware. Despite being touted as the "next best thing since sliced bread", you may all be surprised to discover that MS has chosen NOT to use Direct Input (a subset of DirectX) with FS2002!? :( The irony must be lost on them...Instead, they use the good ol

[PeterR 9]

Hehe, after being in the software industry for almost two decades, these discoveries become quite humorous. I agree that FS2k2's not using DirectInput is quite the oversight, management decision, lack of resources, order of priorities, or any combination of these. But, alas, there isn't much competition in the GA sim market these days so there isn't a whole lot of choice. All we can do is hope that improvements are made (but remember that we're the minority of the market) or that someone finds ways to hack what's available.Keep an eye on the FlightGear Flight Sim (http://www.flightgear.org) because once they've caught up, that'll be the way to go for simpit building. What better platform for getting stuff done than an open source one?Peter http://bfu.avsim.net/sigpics/PeterR.gifBFU Forums ModeratorRenegade/Seawolf Design Group (RSDG)[table border=2 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=1][tr][td][table border=0 cellpadding=8 cellspacing=0][tr][td bgcolor=#540000]http://bfu.avsim.net/sigpics/logo75t.gif[/td][td align="center" bgcolor=#FFFFF6]Bush Flying Unlimited"At home in the wild"Looking for adventure? Come join us! * [link:bfu.avsim.net|Web Site] * [link:www.cafepress.com/bfu,bfu2,bfu3,bfu4|BFU Store] * [link:bfu.avsim.net/join.htm]Join!][/td][/tr][/table][/td][/tr][/table