Odd behavior: WASD and configuration hotswapping

[Zapakh]

While trying to build a profile using hotswapping to emulate extra shift modes, I ran into some weird stuff that would happen when I mixed the pseudo-shift button with use of the WASD stick. Since "weird stuff" doesn't constitute a helpful bug report, I put together this minimal demonstration.

I am running PGP v6.4.1 on Windows 7 64-bit.

The profile (xbox controller)
I'm attaching it below, but in case that doesn't work, here's a description

• Configuration "main" has L JOYSTICK mapped to W,A,S,D keys (in "joystick mapping"). The A,B,X,Y buttons are mapped to numbers 1-4 for the heck of it.
• Configuration "rb" likewise has L JOYSTICK mapped to W,A,S,D keys, but its A,B,X,Y are mapped to 5-8 so you know if the hotswap worked.
• Configuration "main" has R SHOULDER assigned a command with "config HOT-SWAP rb" on activation.
• Configuration "rb" has R SHOULDER assigned a command with "config HOT-SWAP main" on deactivation.

The intention is that R SHOULDER acts as a shift key, except swapping profiles, in case no more shift modes are available.

Steps to produce weirdness

1. Import attached profile "Hotswap freakout test"
2. Open Notepad, and wait on the keyboard to make a few lines of text (the effect is easier to see that way)
3. Activate the "Hotswap freakout test" profile and give focus to Notepad
4. Depress right-shoulder, hold left-stick left, release right-shoulder, release left-stick.
5. The cursor in notepad keeps going left.
6. Repeat for the other directions
7. The cursor in notepad is really freaking out.

It's as though this sequence of steps causes arrow keys to be sent repeatedly. The effect on the game I was trying to profile was an increase in control lag, presumably as it tried to keep up with the spurious input.

I have no idea whether this behavior is specific to the Xbox controller or not. Using "map to arrow keys" instead of "map to w,a,s,d keys" does not appear to produce the freakout.

[Pinnacle [Errol]]

Yep thats normal when its showing the commands in Notepad. What actually happens in Notepad when it fires the commands...its actually showing you that the commands are continually active until you release that event.

I also downloaded your profile and its working really good. I don't see any problem with it. The Hot Swap works excellent and am getting all the commands to fire both ways normal.

[Zapakh]

Does the cursor keep moving for you when you unshift in mid-fire? That's what's happening for me. I would understand if I just kept getting "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" from a keydown with no corresponding keyup, but at step 5 it is as though Pinnacle is sending left-arrow, and there's nothing in the profile that even touches the cursor keys! Furthermore, re-triggering the joystick doesn't stop it, as would work in the no-keyup case.

It even behaves a little differently then I'd expect a no-keyup to behave, in that when I proceed to step 7 and get the rest of the directions stuck, the cursor moves very fast in a little rectangle, as if you were rapidly pressing up-left-down-right-etc.

[Pinnacle [Errol]]

If you're doing it in Notepad you'll obviously see a continuous "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
That would be normal under the circumstance, but when you're actually playing the game using the commands as you have then lets say if it was for movement...instead of it going repeatedly you'll see...side, forward or backward movement in the game as a continuous movement.

the cursor moves very fast in a little rectangle, as if you were rapidly pressing up-left-down-right-etc.

Yes that would also be normal when you set the command "mapped to mouse spring" instead of "mapped to mouse" which you actually did.

[Zapakh]

"mapped to mouse spring"

I meant the text cursor in Notepad, not the mouse cursor.

I made a screencap to show what happens for me, because I'm not sure I'm describing it well. I'm interested to know if other users can duplicate this behavior; if not, there's something wrong with my setup in particular (though I can't imagine what).

0:06 - viewing the profile and unmapping the "Mouse spring" joystick (just to rule it out as a consideration; it was only there because the profile I was working on used it.)

0:18 - showing the hotswap commands; these are part of the profile.

0:27 - starting the profile.

0:30 - testing left stick. It works correctly.

0:33 - This is where I do the hold-RB -> stick-left -> release-RB -> release-stick. Suddenly, instead of just getting a held or repeated "a" as is expected, the application is getting the left arrow key.

0:38 - Here I do the same thing with the stick-right. You can see the text cursor oscillating left and right.

0:44 - The same again, with up and down. The "w" and "s" commands get through, but when they get "stuck", they too get stuck on the arrow keys and not on those letters.

0:46 - grabbing the title bar of Notepad. The window is shifting in response to the arrow keys.

0:50 - Oops, Windows 7 does a "show desktop" if you shake a window at it for too long.

0:53 - stopping the profile to get the arrow keys to stop.

1:10 - restarting the profile and repeating the experiment, this time on a keyboard test app I found. By fiddling with the hotswap command assigned to RB, the WASD mapping somehow activates the arrow keys.

It's not for me to diagnose because I don't know how the software is organized internally, but it feels very much like there is a special case in WASD-mapping that is getting confused with a special case in Arrow-key-mapping.

And because I neglected to say this earlier: thank you for your attention.

[Pinnacle [Errol]]

0:06 - viewing the profile and unmapping the "Mouse spring" joystick (just to rule it out as a consideration; it was only there because the profile I was working on used it.)

That is not a bug in PGP. Thats you experimenting with the commands by setting no mapping and thats not what its intended for. What you're doing by removing and checking the radio button "No Mapping" on each joystick is actually letting the joystick have no control of itself. Thats why you have the arrow keys and everything else out of control. You need to leave that alone and make your commands in a normal way.

That is why you're seeing that erratic behavior in Notepad and the trembling (if I may call it that) while trying to grasp Notepad from the top part of its window.

That "No Mapping" is for special situation, but for what you want to do, I don't think you need to un-map anything.

[insomniac_gamer]

I see this identical error behavior for a profile I'm using to play an MMO (TSW). My joysticks are mapped to the WASD and the mouse. When using the hotswap functionality (mapped to my d-pad) simultaneously using the joysticks the application will hold down one of the arrow keys. It basically puts me in auto run in one direction. I've tested it by putting focus in the chat window when I'm stuck going forward, it will scroll through my previously inputted text commands (which is what the up arrow does). I don't use the arrow keys for anything in my profile.

I'm not sure this error case should be so quickly dismissed as user error.

[Pinnacle [Errol]]

insomniac_gamer with the greatest, humblest and most polite respect, please make another post with your problem and post your problem profile for me to see it. Don't use someone else's thread to display your problem. Did you look at his video? And did you look at his profile and analyzed it? I'm certain its no. I know what I'm dealing with concerning his situation and I'm pretty certain yours is quite different.

[insomniac_gamer]

OK, sorry if I'm muddying the issue by responding here.

[Zapakh]

I only unmapped the right stick because you suggested mouse-spring as a possible cause. If I carry out the rest of the steps in the video without making that change to the profile I uploaded, the result is the same.

You are correct that I didn't need to unmap anything, but that's not the bug. The bug is that there is a profile that makes no mention of the arrow keys, directly or indirectly, and Pinnacle nonetheless generates arrow keypresses under the specific conditions I've described.