| HELP - Glossary of Terms | |
| pinnaclegameprofiler.com |
Assignment Label - The assignment labels are found on the Controller Configurations window. These labels are used to assign commands to buttons, direction pads, or joysticks within a configuration. An assignment label will become bold when you move your mouse over it, and will open the assignment popup menu when you click on it.
Assignment Popup Menu - The assignment popup menu is displayed when an assignment label is clicked. The menu will contain a list of all the commands that can be assigned to that button, direction pad, or joystick. Simply find and click the command name in the menu to assign a command, or click 'Edit Commands...' to add or remove commands from this list.
Axis (Internal Axis) - An internal axis is used by your controller device to report joystick movements to your computer. There are 6 possible axes, these include the R-Axis, U-Axis, V-Axis, X-Axis, Y-Axis, and Z-Axis. Each analog joystick uses two axes, one axis for vertical movement and one axis for horizontal movement. Other controls on the device such as rutters, pedals, or analog triggers will use a single axis to report movement on these controls. Because a controller manufacturer can use any combination of these axes for any of the joysticks, rutters, pedals, or triggers on the device, it may sometimes be necessary to manually adjust the Axis Mappings using the Advanced Device Settings window. If these axis mappings are set incorrectly, you may find that your joystick will report left/right when you press up/down (or vice-versa), or the axis may not report any movements at all. For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions section of Pinnacle Help.
Axis (Individual Axis) - A controller device may use up to 6 internal axes. Analog joysticks use 2 internal axes (1 vertical and 1 horizontal); however, other controls such as rutters, pedals, and analog triggers only require 1 internal axis. A control that requires only 1 internal axis is referred to as an "individual axis." You can adjust the number of joysticks versus individual axes, using the Advanced Device Settings window.
Axis Command - Axis commands are generally used with rutters, pedals, or analog trigger buttons. An axis command consists of 2-8 axis zones which can be used to have different commands fire depending on the axis's current position (how much an analog trigger is squeezed or a pedal is pressed, etc). Each zone can be assigned a standard command or left empty to have no commands fire when the axis's position is in that zone. A joystick consists of 2 axis (1 vertical and 1 horizontal) which can be seperated using the Advanced Device Settings window, allowing you to perform more complex assignments on your joystick by using 2 axis commands instead of a single joystick command.
Axis Pointer - An internal axis returns a value of the current position of the axis, which Pinnacle refers to as the axis pointer. Usually the range for an axis is 0-65535, so the axis pointer returns a number in that range which tells the computer the axis's current position. This information is used to tell information such as how far a joystick is being push to the left or right, or how much a foot pedal has been pushed down.
Background Profile - The background profile is a profile that will always be running whenever there is no other profile to run. You can enable the background profile setting and choose the profile from the Preferences window. Other profiles can still be launched and auto-detected as usual, so the background profile will not interfere with other profile operations.
Built-In Gamepad Support - The term "built-in gamepad support" refers to a game's ability to read from the gamepad without using additional software. Although Pinnacle's main purpose is to bring gamepad support to games that do NOT already have built-in gamepad support, it can also be used in conjunction with or as a replacement of the game's built-in gamepad support as well.
Calibration - Joystick calibration is used to find the neutral (center) position of an analog joystick. In order for Pinnacle to accurately determine the direction a joystick is being pushed, it must know the internal values returned by the joystick's neutral position. Use the Joystick Calibration Settings window to adjust the calibration of your devices.
Command (Standard Command) - A standard command consists of 2 events, a pressed event and a released event. When a button on your controller is pressed down, each of the event steps in the assigned command's pressed event list will be fired. Likewise, when the button is released, the command's released event steps will be fired. Examples of some of the commands you might need would be 'Jump', 'Move Left', 'Fire Weapon', etc. Although most standard commands are assigned directly to buttons in your configurations, they can also be combined to create 'complex commands' (which are then assigned to the buttons/joysticks in your configurations instead).
Command Set - This is a collective term used to describe all of the standard commands, cycle commands, joystick commands, and axis commands used by a game profile.
Complex Command (Non-Standard Command) - A complex command is one of several types of special commands that are made up of standard commands. For example a 'joystick command' is a complex command that consists of 4 standard commands (one for each direction). Any command type that is not a standard command but is made up of standard commands is considered to be a complex command (such as a cycle commands, joystick commands, and axis commands).
Cycle Command - A cycle command consists of 2 or more standard commands. Each time the cycle command is triggered, the next command in the in cycle list will be fired. Cycle commands are particularly useful for creating "toggle" commands, such as 'Turbo ON/OFF', that consist of 2 commands ('Turbo ON' & 'Turbo OFF'). You can also create cycle commands that consists of 3 or more commands, such as 'Rotate Favorite Weapons'. When a cycle command has more than 2 commands in it's cycle list, a reverse version of the cycle command will also become available for use in your configurations.
Config (Configuration) - A controller configuration is a collection of commands that are assigned to the buttons, joysticks, and direction pad of your controller device. Each configuration also stores individual senstivity settings, deadzone settings, joystick mappings. etc. The Controller Configurations window can be used to view and modify the configurations for a profile. Before you start a game, you can select the configuration that you would like to use to play the game.
D-Pad Style - The following 3 styles can be applied to a direction pad:
Device (Controller Device) - A controller device is any peripheral device that you attach to you computer for use as a gaming controller.
Device Settings - The device settings store the defaut settings of your controller device. These settings include sensitivity, deadzone, range, axis mappings, and calibration. Axis mapping and calibration are global settings that will always be the same for every configuration. The sensitivity, deadzone, and range settings will default to the values stored in the device settings; however, these settings can be customized for each configuration.
Double Command - A double command consists of 2 standard commands. Each time the double command is triggered, it will fire one of the commands based on either a press/hold action or a single/double press action. Double commands are particularly useful for combining 2 commands, such as 'Reload' and 'Action' to make a 'Reload/Action' command, or you can create any other combination of commands you would like on a single button.
Event (Pressed Event/Released Event) - Whenever you press one of the buttons on your controller device, a 'Pressed Event' occurs for that button. If there is a command assigned to that button, then the event steps of that command's 'Pressed Event' will be fired. For example, if the pressed event of the command contained the step 'Key M Down', then Pinnacle would tell your computer that the M key on your keyboard is being held down. The 'Released Event' works in the same way, but fires after you've released the button on your controller. So if the released event of the command contained the step 'Key M Up', then Pinnacle would tell your computer that the M key has been released and is no longer being held down.
Event Step - An event step is any item in either the Pressed Event list or Released Event list of a standard command (such as 'Key A Press', 'Key ENTER Down', 'Key N Up', 'Mouse LEFT Press', etc). These steps tell Pinnacle what it should do when the command is fired. Although any number of events steps can be added to an event, typically a command will only use 1 or 2 event steps. For instance, many FPS games will fire your weapon using either 'Key CTRL Press' alone (in either event), or by using 'Key CTRL Down' (in pressed event) with 'Key CTRL Up' (in released event). For an explanation about the difference between using Key Press versus using a Key Down/Key Up combination, see the Frequently Asked Questions section of Pinnacle Help.
Executable File - The executable file of a game profile is the .EXE file that is used to launch the game in Windows. Pinnacle's reference to an executable file should be the same value as the 'Target' value of a game's shortcut on the Windows desktop or start menu.
Fired (Command Fired) - Whenever a button that is assigned a command is either pressed or released, the assigned command will be 'Fired'. It could be further explained to say that pressing the button "Fires the Pressed Event" of the command whereas releasing the button "Fires the Released Event".
FPS Game - FPS commonly stands for First Person Shooter. An FPS game is a good example of a game that would typically benefit from using Pinnacle Game Profiler; however, many non-FPS games can make use of Pinnacle as well.
Gamepad Support/Joystick Support - The terms 'gamepad support' and 'joystick support' both refer to the ability to use a controller device to play a particular game. Some games have their own 'built-in gamepad support' while other games may need to use Pinnacle to add gamepad/joystick support. Because in Pinnacle a 'joystick' refers to a particular part of a controller and not a controller itself, the term 'gamepad support' is usually used; however, that is to say that the game supports game controllers of any kind (usually a gamepad).
Hot Keys (Keyboard Hot Keys) - Hot Keys can be used along with your game controller to fire extra commands that may not fit on your gamepad. Besides creating hot keys with the keyboard, you can also create hot keys that correspond to the buttons on your mouse.
ImageGuide - An ImageGuide is an image of your controller, with a set of highlighting images that appear as you move your mouse over the command assignment labels. These optional guides can be helpful while creating controller configurations, but are not necessary. You can share your ImageGuide, or download guides created by other users, at the Pinnacle Forum.
Joystick - When Pinnacle refers to a joystick, it is not refering to a controller device itself, but it is actually refering to the "knob" or "stick" on a controller device that is generally used for character movement. Many controllers manufactured today have 2 or more small analog joysticks; older devices are likely to only have 1 large joystick.
Joystick Command - A joystick command consists of up to 4 standard commands, one for each direction (up, down, left, & right). When a joystick that is assigned a joystick command is tilted, it will fire the command that is assigned to the direction that the joystick is being pushed in. If a joystick is pushed between two directions, then both of the direction's assigned commands will be fired. For instance, if you push the joystick down and to the right, the command assigned to the down direction and the command assigned to the right direction will both be fired.
Persistent Profile - A persistent profile is a profile that will always send controller commands to your computer even if the active window does not belong to the executable file of the game profile. Some games may need to be run in persistent profile mode if they do not respond correctly in the standard profile mode.
Quick Assignment - Quick Assignments can be used instead of creating and assigning named commands. While assigning keyboard and mouse messages through quick assignments is very fast and easy, it does not offer all the advantages and features that Pinnacle's command system can provide. To make a quick assignment, simply right-click any assignment label (or select it from the menu with a left-click).
Range - Joystick range determines the maximum amount of movement reported for an analog joystick. This setting could be described as the opposite of the deadzone setting. Tilting the joystick beyond the maximum range will have the same effect as tilting it to the maximum range. For example, if the range is set to 80% then tilting the joystick beyond 80% will always return the same value as 80% would return.
Sensitivity - Joystick sensitivity determines the acceleration speed of an analog joystick. The greater the sensitivity value, the more speed variations can be achieved by tilting the joystick different amounts; therefore, a greater maximum speed can also be achieved with a higher sensitivity setting.
Sub-Command - A sub-command is a standard command that is assigned to a non-standard command. (such as a Joystick Command, Cycle Command, or Axis Command)..
Zone (Axis Zone) - An axis command consists of 2-8 zones. These zones can each be assigned a standard command, causing different commands to be fired as the "axis pointer" moves into different zones of the axis.