Weird Problem - PGP Not Detecting Controller

[rennervision]

I'm having a very strange problem with PGP and one of my controllers. Pinnacle is detecting it OK when I plug it into my USB port. Windows even sees it in Game Controller Properties, and correctly shows responses when I move the stick or press buttons. (It shows up as a 14-button joystick with a throttle.) I can also edit a configuration in Pinnacle and it correctly shows the controller and responds to whenever I press buttons.

However, I absolutely cannot get it to work once I activate a profile. It doesn't matter which game I'm playing or which profile I'm using. I can even be not playing a game - it won't work in notepad either. And the problem is just for this controller. (I can, for example, plug in my Xbox controller and it will work fine with my profiles.)

If there's anything I can do, or anything I can send you that might help, I would be most grateful! I'm on Windows 7 64-bit and have updated to the latest version of PGP, if that helps.

Thanks.

[rennervision]

OK - just to add one more thing. I figured out I didn't have "Launch as persistent profile" checked on the profile I was testing in notepad.

So I can now say it works - just not all the time. I would say at least 1 out of 3 times I start Pinnacle, my controller doesn't send keystrokes in my games or notepad. In which case I just need to restart, and then there's no problem. But again, there's no issues detected with my Xbox controller - just this fairly generic 14-button joystick.

It's not a big deal if I have to sometimes restart PGP to get it to work, but if anyone has any suggestions on why it's doing this, I would appreciate the help. Again, the joystick is seen in Windows - and even in Pinnacle, so that's why it seems so strange to me. Thanks!

[Pinnacle [Errol]]

So far you are only telling us its a 14 button joystick...but could you gives us the name of that particular device because PGP can read almost any gaming devices.

[rennervision]

Well technically it's a MadCatz Panther XL. (A joystick with a built-in trackball for first person shooters.) But it's been heavily modified with a new circuit board inside so its USB-compatible. It requires no drivers, because it's recognized in any Windows environment as a 14-button joystick with throttle.

I've built up quite a collection of controllers over the years, and this one seems to be the only one with sporadic issues when first starting up PGP. To me, it would make more sense if it never worked. But since it's intermittent and is obviously showing as connected according to everything I check, it's one big mystery to me.

[Pinnacle [Rob]]

When the problem occurs, does it still show the device in the dropdown box on the main window? Or does it disappear from that box?

[rennervision]

Rob - it absolutely always shows in the dropdown box. You can start it and it will show [stop profile] like it's running, but there will be no keystrokes registered when you press the buttons. It will also show up just fine in Device Manager, and as a connected controller in the Windows Game Controller screen. (All button presses, etc. will show on that screen even if it's not working in Pinnacle.)

In fact, with any profile I try to edit when this joystick is attached, PGP will properly reflect in the ImageGuide any button I press. Only when I'm actually starting the profiler to play a game is when it sometimes stops working (even though PGP still shows it's connected). It randomly happens for any of my profiles - but if it works fine when I start one, it never stops working in the middle of a session. Only if I restart the profile will it potentially not work, in which case I stop the profile and restart an additional time to try again.

Hope that helps.

[Pinnacle [Rob]]

Well that is a good detailed description but I can't imagine what would cause that... Please go to PREFERENCES > DEVICE SETTINGS > ADVANCED and select the controller and click the paperclip icon to display the device properties and then copy and paste them back here...

[rennervision]

Here you go.

Just so you know, when I initially connected this controller, Pinnacle detected some axis movement that really wasn't there. So I disabled every axis but the Joystick 1 vertical/horizontal axis and the Joystick 2 Z axis (for the throttle). Before I disabled them, PGP was going crazy in the Device Wizard thinking I was constantly moving an imaginary axis around.

Windows game controller properties also shows an additional X, Y & Z Rotation Axis, but it does not show them to be moving back and forth like PGP was detecting. They must be a part of the circuit board used to mod the controller, but they aren't used or actually controlled by anything.

I left them disabled since it didn't seem to affect anything (when the profile works that is).

Thanks!



Device Name: AKI3 ID01 Joystick
Device Alias: Panther XL
Device ID: VID_16C0&PID_07B3

Digital Buttons: 14
Analog Joysticks: 2
Individual Axes: 2
Direction Pads: 0
Axis Assignments: 1H=X AXIS;1V=Y AXIS;2H=DISABLED (NO FUNCTION);2V=Z AXIS;1A=DISABLED (NO FUNCTION);2A=DISABLED (NO FUNCTION)
Calibration: H=32767:32767:32767 V=32767:32767:32767
ImageGuide: YES
Force Feedback: NO
Device Flags: 0

[Pinnacle [Rob]]

Have you tried using a different USB port? I wonder if that could make a difference...

[rennervision]

Well I've played around with it quite a bit on different USB ports and they all have the same issue. Sometimes Pinnacle works right, and other times there's no keyboard emulation. It's completely random, so I may start a profile as many as 4 different times or more until it starts working.

Every time I restart, I never unplug/replug the controller. I don't completely shut down PGP. I just restart the same profile that 1 second ago was giving me trouble, and then at some point when I repeat this process it starts working fine - that is, until I stop the profile and then I may possibly have trouble starting it up again.

It's definitely related to this one controller. And I've looked up and down in Device Manager for some clue as to something that I can possibly disable so Pinnacle will start perfectly every time on the first try. I just can't figure this out!