External Controller? (ie iCade?)

[stubee]

I have an iCade which bluetooth pairs to my Android tablet.

Does ZenPinball have any non-touch controls that I can map my icade buttons to?
Or better yet....can you make it support the iCade. heck, I'd probably buy almost all the tables if it could do that.

[BarbieBobomb]

I have an iCade which bluetooth pairs to my Android tablet.

Does ZenPinball have any non-touch controls that I can map my icade buttons to?
Or better yet....can you make it support the iCade. heck, I'd probably buy almost all the tables if it could do that.

No controller support as of now, but we have had some requests for it lately. I'll make sure the team sees this

[bobafeth]

Hi,

I'm guessing this means no official support for external controllers, because it seems to have to built-in support at least unofficially with a Tegra 3 chip. I paired my PS3 controller using the Sixaxis app in native mode (no touchscreen emulation) and it's working quite fine (L1/R1 for flippers, square for launch).

There are a few limitations:
- launch is not very precise (cause it's based on duration for holding the button down rather than sliding your finger)
- no nudge (but I'm very bad at nudging using the tablet anyway, so no change for me )

Overall, I find it quite enjoyable (I like the feel of the L1/R1 button buttons more than touching the screen) when I don't want to be holding the tablet directly.

[stubee]

No controller support as of now, but we have had some requests for it lately. I'll make sure the team sees this

If they do ever wish to implement icade support (unfortunately I'm a minority I'm sure)..then the code listed here might help:

http://blog.supergnes.com/?p=339

[stubee]

Great news.

a) Zen Pinball HD already supports controllers. L1 and R1 buttons are the flippers. (as stated by Bobafeth above)
The above doesn't work for the iCade however....

b) "Game Keyboard" (by Locnet) available on GooglePlay....allows my iCade to emulate a regular Controller. Using this app, I am now able to play ZenPinball on my iCade Cabinet. Awesome.

'Game Keyboard' is a bit confusing to configure the first time,so I am writing up some instructions.

[MarkItZeroSmoky]

+1 for external controller support

Yeah I would love to see this implemented...as im sure alot of others would also. Please add another request to the list Barbie. Android users of course

@ stubee hows that working out for you? Im really interested in something like this...my hands cramp up after awhile from holding mine and if I hold it too close in order to alleviate that my eyes get tired having to chase the ball up and down the screen at high speeds (tab owners know what im talking about lol) And something like that would obviously be awesome. However I might have to wait till one comes out with a more pinball friendly setup (buttons on side of cab-some sorta plunger device...an analog stick would work great...just like a dual shock, then it could also be used for nudgeing) and maybe settle for now on an app that works with my ps3 ds. Anyone out there able to do it yet without being rooted?

[dmaul3300]

I have an iCade which bluetooth pairs to my Android tablet.

Does ZenPinball have any non-touch controls that I can map my icade buttons to?
Or better yet....can you make it support the iCade. heck, I'd probably buy almost all the tables if it could do that.

Is there a trick to getting your icade paired with your android tablet? I have a nexus 10 tablet and purchased the icade and cant get the two to pair up. I turned the bluetooth on my tablet. I hit the bottom four buttons and the top white button and sees the icade. It gives me a 6 digit code. Looking on the instructions, it shows how things are numbered (the joystick up is 1, down is 2, left is 3, right is 4, buttons 5,6,7,8,9,0, the last 2 buttons are enter). I enter the code it tells me to and hit enter but nothing happens and eventually times out.

It is almost like when I hit the button on the icade, they are not hooked up. I tried entering the numbers on my nexus 10 tablet but when I opened the keyboard, and typed them, nothing happened.

I tried downloading bluez IME keyboard but had no luck.

[Nik Barbour]

Is there a trick to getting your icade paired with your android tablet? I have a nexus 10 tablet and purchased the icade and cant get the two to pair up. I turned the bluetooth on my tablet. I hit the bottom four buttons and the top white button and sees the icade. It gives me a 6 digit code. Looking on the instructions, it shows how things are numbered (the joystick up is 1, down is 2, left is 3, right is 4, buttons 5,6,7,8,9,0, the last 2 buttons are enter). I enter the code it tells me to and hit enter but nothing happens and eventually times out.

It is almost like when I hit the button on the icade, they are not hooked up. I tried entering the numbers on my nexus 10 tablet but when I opened the keyboard, and typed them, nothing happened.

I tried downloading bluez IME keyboard but had no luck.

It's your OS version causing the problem.
Ever since Jellybean 4.2.x there has been a problem connecting bluetooth controllers with the devices.

The only bluetooth controller app I know working with 4.2.1 or 4.2.2 is the 'Sixaxis' app by Dancing Pixel Studios for use with a PS3 pad...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dancingpixelstudios.sixaxiscontroller

This gets around the above problem because it installs its own bluetooth drivers temporarily while the app is running.
It does require root access, however it has a feature which is 'touch mapping' where controller button presses are mapped to be simulated touchscreen presses.

The last Zen Android update added touchscreen nudging (thank you Zen), so after a spot of control mapping, I've got flipper, nudge, camera, pause, some menu controls, and analogue plunging all mapped up in both Portrait and Landscape.

Button mapping configs......





Tricky to see clearly, but this shows what the controller presses do on the screen. The right analogue stick (plunger control) is huge as it simulates drawing your finger from half way to the bottom of the screen.

If you are rooted, get 'Full!screen' by Tsorn.....

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.tsorn.FullScreenPlus

This hides the Navbar to maximise screen size (awesome for Landscape) and in conjunction with Sixaxis, makes Zen an amazing experience on a fully portable device!

[dmaul3300]

Thanks. I will give this a try after I root my device.

It's your OS version causing the problem.
Ever since Jellybean 4.2.x there has been a problem connecting bluetooth controllers with the devices.

The only bluetooth controller app I know working with 4.2.1 or 4.2.2 is the 'Sixaxis' app by Dancing Pixel Studios...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dancingpixelstudios.sixaxiscontroller

This gets around the above problem because it installs its own bluetooth drivers temporarily while the app is running.
It does require root access, however it has a feature which is 'touch mapping' where controller button presses are mapped to be simulated touchscreen presses.

The last Zen Android update added touchscreen nudging (thank you Zen), so after a spot of control mapping, I've got flipper, nudge, camera, pause, some menu controls, and analogue plunging all mapped up in both Portrait and Landscape.

Button mapping configs......





Tricky to see clearly, but this shows what the controller presses do on the screen. The right analogue stick (plunger control) is huge as it simulates drawing your finger from half way to the bottom of the screen.

If you are rooted, get 'Full!screen' by Tsorn.....

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.tsorn.FullScreenPlus

This hides the Navbar to maximise screen size (awesome for Landscape) and in conjunction with Sixaxis, makes Zen an amazing experience on a fully portable device!

[OscarGungan]

I have the Moga controller and downloaded the Moga Universal Driver account. Strangely enough, the shoulder buttons are already configured for the and the "a" button works the plunger. I was quite surprised by this. Granted I haven't figured out how to nudge it yet. I discovered this on a non-rooted device.

[Nik Barbour]

Just got to try a Moga Pro with my SGS4 (unrooted) and whilst it pairs nicely, it only works for the flippers, plunger and menu ops with no support for Nudging.

Could you please add Moga Pro (& general native controller) Nudge support for Left, Up, Right Nudge on either the D-pad or the Left Stick.

Pretty please Barbie!

[jaredmorgs]

Just got to try a Moga Pro with my SGS4 (unrooted) and whilst it pairs nicely, it only works for the flippers, plunger and menu ops with no support for Nudging.

Could you please add Moga Pro (& general native controller) Nudge support for Left, Up, Right Nudge on either the D-pad or the Left Stick.

Pretty please Barbie!

I'm just waiting for the Moga Pro to be released here in Australia on August 19. Shipping from the manufacturer is rumored to be nothing less than extortion. More than the controller...