No Pinball Wizard Support

karl · Aug 16, 2013

Hi.

I am just back from a two week Holiday today, so I have not had the chance to go through all the posts so sorry if this has been said already, but the first thing I noticed when trying this baby out was that my Pinball Wizard controller does not work.

The Pinball Wizard registers in Windows as a Keyboard and not a game controller. If FS is watching this and are scratching their heads wondering what a Pinball Wizard is, here is a link

http://virtuapin.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=71

Edit: Is there a way to change the headline in this post?

Suppot???

Carl Spiby · Aug 16, 2013

Remap the keys in game.

karl · Aug 16, 2013

I tried that before posting of course, for both keyboard and controller. Are you saying you got it to work and I am missing something?

Edit: I also tried to unplug my regular keyboard but still nothing

Carl Spiby · Aug 16, 2013

I'm just going from the whole it "registers in windows as a keyboard" idea. Do you know what keys it binds to? Maybe TPA only supports one 'keyboard' connected at a time.

karl · Aug 16, 2013

Not sure about what keys it binds to, if any at all.

Maybe FS must implement support for it to work? But on the PW site it says that it should work with any pinball PC game.

It worked on the old version of Pro Pinball but I have not tried it on Zen yet since I am not very fond of Zen Pinball but I will check it out now. Thanks for your suggestions Carl

Carl Spiby · Aug 16, 2013

Open notepad, press a button on the controller, does a letter appear? What do they keys become mapped as in Timeshock?

karl · Aug 16, 2013

I just tried Zen pinball and it did not work there either so it could be a Steam thing perhaps?

It would be a shame if there will be no support for it since this controller is a perfect match with TPA. This thing is using almost the same setup as a virtual pinball Cabinet is using so this would be the perfect training ground for FS if they want it to work on a Cabinet. It uses the same buttons, the same plunger and the same tilt functions as a virtual cabinet. I was not expecting the analog tilt functions to work but getting the buttons to work should be easy.

Pretty please, Mike

karl · Aug 16, 2013

Carl. I just tried Pro pinball again and when I map keys it calls the left flipper button Joystick button 10 etc and there is no typing happening in notepad. In windows device manager it shows as a keyboard and it works with Visual pinball and Future pinball and those have no support for Game controllers as far as I am aware of?? Maybe pinball games must see it as a game controller for it to work?? Strange

Is there someone else on this board who have the pinball Wizard?

rob3d · Aug 16, 2013

karl said:
Carl. I just tried Pro pinball again and when I map keys it calls the left flipper button Joystick button 10 etc and there is no typing happening in notepad. In windows device manager it shows as a keyboard and it works with Visual pinball and Future pinball and those have no support for Game controllers as far as I am aware of?? Maybe pinball games must see it as a game controller for it to work?? Strange

Is there someone else on this board who have the pinball Wizard?

If the pinball wizard controller buttons are showing up as joystick buttons then it won't work out of the box with Zen or TPA. These games only support the Microsoft wireless controllers. There is an app called x360ce that you place in the same folder as TPA and Zen that will emulate the Xbox controller. It takes about 10 minutes of setup but once it's done you never have to mess with it again. Starting TPA will automatically run the controller emulator and from what I've tested with the generic controllers I have it seems flawless.

I actually just ordered a pinball wizard controller so I'd like to hear how it goes on your end setting it up.

karl · Aug 16, 2013

Rob3d, Very cool. Thank you for that suggestion. I will try it out tomorrow or maybe Sunday. Have a feeling I will be a bit busy tonight since enter Sandman will happen a bit later than usual. Metallica will be knocking on my door in a few hours

Good choice on getting a Pinball Wizard controller. After having it for a year, it is hard to play pinball on a PC without it. I am extremely happy with it. Just make sure not to use an uneven table when you plug it in ;-)

PS! I found that Visual Pinball works like a dream with it, but Future pinball is easier with a regular keyboard for me but that is probably just because I was never to comfortable with the flipper accuracy on Future pinball and to me that became even more apparent when using real pinball buttons, but it still works fine, just a personal opinion

Roo · Aug 16, 2013

Right, the Pinball Wizard controller/kit is recognized as a generic joystick, not a keyboard. I got the one in my cabinet working fairly well with Pinball FX 2. See my post here.

I even have nudging working and the plunger sort of working. Haven't tried TPA yet, as it sounds like the beta doesn't support portrait mode so it's kind of worthless for the cab.

rob3d · Aug 16, 2013

Hey karl or Roo, is it easy to disassemble the Pinball wizard controller, held together with screws or is everything glued down? I'm looking to do some Mods when I get mine.

karl · Aug 16, 2013

It has 4 screws at the bottom so I guess you can get easy access from there. Never tried to unscrew them though

karl · Aug 28, 2013

A small update. After trying a few different things (Thanks to Roo and Rob3d) I got the pinball Wizard controller working with TPA using the program "JoyToKey" I did not get it working with x360ce but that is probably due to my incompetence (or lack of patience). Did not try to get the analog functions to work but the buttons was easy to map.

Still hoping that Farsight will support all the functions of the Pinball Wizard controller soon but this will work while waiting

DaPinballWizard · Aug 29, 2013

Another one to try is a program called XPadder. I grabbed the free version and mapped my cabinet flippers, launch button, and and even the coin button to be used for ENTER. Worth a try. Also I was able to make the launch button pull back as much as I want for skill shots. Only problem is, it is a one time shot. If you try letting go of the button it launches. Still, able to enjoy the beta using my pinball buttons. Not perfect, but adds to the experience.

karl · Aug 29, 2013

Thanks Dapinballwizard.

I think JoyToKey was a trial version and not a freeware program so It's always good to have more options.

Professor_Jones · Aug 29, 2013

rob3d said:
Hey karl or Roo, is it easy to disassemble the Pinball wizard controller, held together with screws or is everything glued down? I'm looking to do some Mods when I get mine.

What mods are you planning to do ? I have one too, been using it with visual pinball. The analog plunger is a pain to set up and use and doesn't add much to the experience IMO, but the motion detector for nudges is really great. I hope it will be supported one day by TPA.

No Pinball Wizard Support

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