Shield Tablet Controller and Basic UI Navigation in Portrait

[jaredmorgs]

I've been working on a pseudo-UI Controller Scheme for TPA Android that will benefit other Shield Tablet owners.

http://goo.gl/PHh852

@Baron_Rubic can confirm whether SixAxis has multiple page support in the button emulation part of that app. If so, you can use the blog post linked above to construct a similar controller interface.
[MENTION=4573]Scumble373[/MENTION], it would be really beneficial to map the L1 and R1 buttons to the table carousel scroll motion, or even better the D-pad or Left Analog Stick. It would make the mapping I've devised here work flawlessly.

Or, you know, fully implement controller navigation in-app.

 

[Baron Rubik]

Not sure exactly what you mean by 'multiple page support'.
Is it different mapping layouts for different parts or pages of a game?
If so I don't think it does. I could quite easily be wrong though.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Not sure exactly what you mean by 'multiple page support'.
Is it different mapping layouts for different parts or pages of a game?
If so I don't think it does. I could quite easily be wrong though.

Yeah, the NVidia Gamepad Mapper allows you to keep adding fresh pages, and name them different names. Then you link to these pages by assigning a button press.

This is how I managed to overlay about four separate command sets inside the table game mode view. It's pretty cool, and I haven't seen anything like it before. I only stumbled across it today when I was messing around with mappings, and had to take it to the degree I did.

 

[Baron Rubik]

I'll have to check on Sixaxis. You can obviously asign multiple pages because they aren't linked to the game, but I don't know if a button can be assigned to change active touch profile selected.

I've not been using a controller much recently. I've really taken to 'swipe' touch nudging in Zaccaria. Just been using my thumbs.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Gah, it is SO difficult to retrofit controls over the current UI.

Basic primary and secondary navigation baked in would make a HUGE difference here.
[MENTION=4573]Scumble373[/MENTION], how difficult would it be to echo the same navigation controls that PS3/4 has. They have clear controller buttons superimposed over the normal buttons.

How about just emulating the same functionality in Android (without declaring the buttons on the UI elements)?

Should I raise a formal request with support@?

 

[Scumble373]

Gah, it is SO difficult to retrofit controls over the current UI.

Basic primary and secondary navigation baked in would make a HUGE difference here.
[MENTION=4573]Scumble373[/MENTION], how difficult would it be to echo the same navigation controls that PS3/4 has. They have clear controller buttons superimposed over the normal buttons.

How about just emulating the same functionality in Android (without declaring the buttons on the UI elements)?

Should I raise a formal request with support@?

Unfortunately, we don't have a shield tablet here in the office, so i'm not sure exactly what you mean.

We got a MOGA controller in recently and controls have seemed to work great with that. Perhaps I can try to get a shield tablet in the office soon.

 

[Baron Rubik]

What I think Jared wants could be tested using the Moga you have.
I'd think he wants user interface control for Android via a native bluetooth controller. Ie he can scroll tables, select and start games, and change cameras via the controller without having to revert to touch screen control.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Unfortunately, we don't have a shield tablet here in the office, so i'm not sure exactly what you mean.

We got a MOGA controller in recently and controls have seemed to work great with that. Perhaps I can try to get a shield tablet in the office soon.

The in-game (that is, when you are actually playing the table) controls work great
with any controller. That is the beauty of the Moga API implementation Ryan put in.

What doesn't work is navigating through the menus using the controller. That is what I'm trying to retrofit with the NVidia Gamepad Mapper, and it is very difficult with how the UI elements transition.

You don't need to get a Shield Tablet in to try and replicate this. What needs to happen is to logically implement full UI navigation with the controller.

The screens above show what buttons I've used in the NVidia Gamepad Mapper to move through the screens. I've also written up the transitions with an explanation in https://jaredmorgs.github.io/2015/0...nball-Arcade-using-NVidia-Gamepad-Mapper.html

Are you saying that with the Moga Pro the game has full UI navigation? That is, from the splash screen to the in-game controls? If it does, the mappings aren't translating through the API to other controller types.

 

[jaredmorgs]

What I think Jared wants could be tested using the Moga you have.
I'd think he wants user interface control for Android via a native bluetooth controller. Ie he can scroll tables, select and start games, and change cameras via the controller without having to revert to touch screen control.

Correct, on all counts.

 

[Baron Rubik]

Are you saying that with the Moga Pro the game has full UI navigation?

Erm, turns out it already does have some UI navigation.

Just connected a Moga Pro mode B to an SGS4 GT-I9505 to double check for you.
And at first thought it wasn't working, but...

Shoulder buttons rotate through the table carousel, and 'A' selects table or starts game.
I think from memory camera could be changed via select or start button but forgot to test before switching controller off.
Oops.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Erm, turns out it already does have some UI navigation.

Just connected a Moga Pro mode B to an SGS4 GT-I9505 to double check for you.
And at first thought it wasn't working, but...

Shoulder buttons rotate through the table carousel, and 'A' selects table or starts game.
I think from memory camera could be changed via select or start button but forgot to test before switching controller off.
Oops.

I had the shoulder button navigation thing working periodically a few days ago and shouted it out on Twitter. Then because I did that, it stopped working. I'm not sure whether it was because I was using a controller map on that screen.

And yes, you can activate camera using buttons. For the Shield Tab Controller (STC), it is Y (the top button in the ABXY button cluster).

But that's where it ends.

How about implementing the DPad/Left Stick to navigate between menu elements and the X button (or A on STC) to select consistently in *all* menus. And the O (or B on STC) to back out through menus.

This small thing would make a huge difference to navigating with a controller. I'd be happy with using a selection caret to highlight menu items. Zen handles menu navigation this way, and it is fine for me.

I'd also think that normalizing the table carousel scroll should be done using up/down on the DPad. That is the logical thing a person would reach for if they didn't know about the triggers (I only stumbled across it).

 

[jaredmorgs]

I had the shoulder button navigation thing working periodically a few days ago and shouted it out on Twitter. Then because I did that, it stopped working. I'm not sure whether it was because I was using a controller map on that screen.

And yes, you can activate camera using buttons. For the Shield Tab Controller (STC), it is Y (the top button in the ABXY button cluster).

But that's where it ends.

How about implementing the DPad/Left Stick to navigate between menu elements and the X button (or A on STC) to select consistently in *all* menus. And the O (or B on STC) to back out through menus.

This small thing would make a huge difference to navigating with a controller. I'd be happy with using a selection caret to highlight menu items. Zen handles menu navigation this way, and it is fine for me.

I'd also think that normalizing the table carousel scroll should be done using up/down on the DPad. That is the logical thing a person would reach for if they didn't know about the triggers (I only stumbled across it).

[MENTION=4573]Scumble373[/MENTION], remember that cryptic tweet about getting the carousel shoulder buttons working then not working. I worked out the issue!

The Shield Controller Mapper (SCM) software seems to override some UI button navigation coded into the app. And only on some screens.

For example, the table carousel screen can't have any overlaid buttons on it otherwise the L/R Trigger navigation and "A" button Controller code doesn't work.

Strangely though, during game mode the flippers and launch button works just fine with other SCM interface soft buttons overlaid. Again, with some exceptions:

On Terminator 2, I can't launch the ball with "A" (X on PS3) on the controller with SCM buttons overlaid. On AFM, I can. The same on Star Trek.

And the issue with SCM is that if I want to implement full transitional controller support like I did in the blog post, I need to have each screen in the UI overridden with a control overlay screen (which causes the Moga API controls to be overridden)

Request

So here's a request from all Controller users on TPA Android. Can you please consider implementing the mappings I suggested in the OP? Follow the screens in the blog post to see the transitions I successfully coded in. Having been using this type of mapping for a while now, I can say it works really well for "hands-free" play and makes our Android version potentially playable while connected to the TV. And that's an AWESOME thing .

For the record, this request isn't for full controller support (that's probably too much work between DLC sprints).
There already seems to be some UI interactivity coded in, so perhaps you can see how Ryan implemented that in the code and add just that little bit more to drastically improve the current functionality.

Pretty please?

 

[Scumble373]

So we're just looking for a way to scroll through the carousel using the d-pad?

 

[jaredmorgs]

So we're just looking for a way to scroll through the carousel using the d-pad?

Well at the moment, we can do that using the L/R Triggers. But arguably that isn't as intuitive as using the d-pad, so reassigning scrolling to the d-pad makes more sense (Joe Average user would probably try the d-pad first rather than the triggers).

The current button assignment to select the table can stay as it is (currently A on moga and X on PS3).

If you can get that working, the next step would be to assign a navigation structure something like you probably have had to do with touchless Android based consoles like OUYA.

If that code is largely transportable, you should be in good shape.