Homebrew USB Controllers

[seuden]

I couldn't find anywhere where this was specifically highlighted so I've created a new topic (hopefully in the right place?).

Is there any way we can use a pc USB controller eg. Saturn USB Controller on Snes9x GX? If there's not currently a work around is it something that could be done in the near future? Or due to the inner workings of the Wii it's impossible? Or no one with any know how actually gives a shite so it won't happen?

I kind of understand there may be a way but you would have to install drivers?

Thanks for your time.

 

[Wabsta]

Could be done, but you could also just buy a GC controller for 10$..

 

[seuden]

I don't particularly like the GC controller and it'd be great to be able to use joysticks for Amiga emulation and arcade sticks for Arcade emulation.

Also plenty of people have probably already got usb controllers sitting around, it would be great if these could be used.

It's obviously not a necessity but it'd be a great addition if it wasn't too much trouble.

EDIT: Did I mention it'd be great?

 

[Inferior_Design]

ZOMG

XBOX360 for windows controller ftw

 

[Jacobeian]

lot of stuff would be great but the wii isn't exactly plug'n play like your PC: you need someone to code an USB driver for that specific controller (or are there generic USB controller drivers ?) and this has not been done yet (maybe because it's more difficult than we can imagine ?)

 

[Maikel Steneker]

ZOMG

XBOX360 for windows controller ftw
I don't think that will ever happen. Microsoft makes sure their controllers will only work on 360 and Windows.
QUOTE(Jacobeian @ Sep 2 2009, 10:28 AM) lot of stuff would be great but the wii isn't exactly plug'n play like your PC: you need someone to code an USB driver for that specific controller (or are there generic USB controller drivers ?) and this has not been done yet (maybe because it's more difficult than we can imagine ?)

As far as I know pretty much every gamepad has the same basic drivers. These are for the buttons, D-pad, analog sticks, triggers etc. Most have some kind of seperate program to change the working of the buttons or use analog sticks as a mouse, but the Wii should be able to use them for playing games.

I think the PS3 does this out of the box.

 

[Fat D]

That is called USB HID protocol. Basically, the USB specification includes a standard for input devices that permits operating systems or other hardware interfaces to provide a single standardized driver for each input device of a certain type. This is why all USB keyboards work on all operating systems with USB support, why they can be used in the BIOS Setup, why most BIOSs can provide a USB Legacy Mode that permits usage of USB Keyboards for non-USB operating systems and why the Internet Channel and the Wii Message Board, along with other applications such as the GC-Linux homebrew, can access nearly every USB keyboard.
A similar standard exists for game controllers, although not every USB gamepad follows it, especially ones that were not designed to be used on a PC, such as the XBox 1 gamepad or the PlayStation 3 controllers SIXAXIS and DualShock 3. However, HID-compatible controllers might be implementable.
The 360 controller is a special case, as it technically uses the HID protocol, but includes slight means of obfuscation, such as not being declared an HID device and not including a descriptor. Both can be taken care of if an exception is added to the driver, as stated by the Free60 Project: http://www.free60.org/wiki/Gamepad
This is analogous to the Wii Remote, which works the other way around: It presents itself as a Bluetooth HID device, but without any kind of I/O. The actual communications do not follow the HID standard, but are included in an unmarked kind of report that had to be reverse-engineered.

 

[Jacobeian]

thanks for the explanation and the link.. so that means the USB keyboard driver in libogc could be slightly modified to create a USB gamepad driver as both use HID standard ?

 

[Inferior_Design]

That's what it sounds like to me. And with a little more modification one could theoretically write a
Wii driver for wired Xbox 360 controllers.

I'd ditch the Classic / GC controllers I currently have if I could play emus with a 360 controller.

Awesome link.

 

[seuden]

So technically it's quite possible to get USB controllers to work in emulators on the Wii? That is good news to me, anyone up to the challenge?

 

[seuden]

Am I allowed to bump this with a double post?