This doesn't bide well for the future.....

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on Windows.

Moderator: Moderators

Locked
lee
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue May 22, 2007 7:32 am

Post by lee »

Can it be so? Second Life supporting 3DConnexion controllers before Mudbox? What a mixed-up world!

Is it really down to Autodesk to create the driver?

How loud do we have to shout?
cadtech2000
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 12:24 pm

Post by cadtech2000 »

Well, all of this reminds me of 3DLabs not supporting and not intending to support DirectX a while back...

I'm running a SpaceBall 5000 USB (PID_C621), a lot of great work has been done on the RBC-9 driver, but the SB not being very popular anymore, the support for it hasn't been completed.

I mainly work with Solid Edge v.20, but occasionally have some programming to do on OpenDMIS (CNC CMM metrology software), If I could use the SB with it, it would greatly ease a lot of the workload.

But, OpenDMIS being a software with limited client base (compared to the big 3D guys), I doubt 3DX will ever support it.
Absum
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:00 am
Location: Sweden
Contact:

Post by Absum »

How come none seem to get that if you want your app supported, pester the app-devs to implement support for multi-dof devices. Bitching on 3dcon about it won't really make a different, they have been very kind and polite about this and im pretty sure they've helped more then blender to implement spacenav support.

Having a bunch of lowlives screaming insults at them won't make much of a difference.
NickDavy
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:46 am
Location: Surrey - UK

Post by NickDavy »

Absum wrote:..............Having a bunch of lowlives screaming insults at them won't make much of a difference.
And this is the best insult you can scream?
Magic Man
Posts: 225
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:51 am
Location: South Wales

Post by Magic Man »

Absum would you feel the same if your apps required the developers to specifically code to support your standard mouse...?

What about your keyboard. Sorry, can't use that unless you pester the developers of xxxyyy to write an interface using our API...

Those who want a universal driver are not being "lowlives". We actually like the product very much, so much so that we would like to be able to use it in other applications and, by doing so, encourage others to use it which would in turn benefit the company and keep such products well supported and continually developed. Instead it's a product that can be used in application x, y and z but nothing else...
Polat
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:44 am

Post by Polat »

How much more a company can get feedback than this?

Write an official RBC9's driver that's compatible with your current one!
If a user could write, probably you can!
And support it later on.

I'm sure you understand what your users want. And it won't take you more than 1-2 days to fulfil that demand. But you have an other game in your mind about the software vendors.

This attitude of 3dconnexion trivializes and disgraces LOGITECH!
Reaction
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:02 am

Another (potential) customer turns away...

Post by Reaction »

Wow. I just registered on these forums only to ask if there was a generic driver for the SN. Then I found this thread - and how glad I am!

Just to add my tiny voice to the avalanche of protest: I too will NOT be buying a Space Navigator until a generic driver is available.

My excellent Griffin Powermate has added wonderful navigation to some of the creaky old applications I use at work (Interleaf/QuickSilver, Adobe FrameMaker), and many other modern ones too like Blender and CorelDRAW suite. Almost every application I have now has a configuration setup in the Powermate's simple FLEXIBLE configuration interface. I now have lovely smooth zooming and panning in all sorts of programs!

3Dconnexion have made a woeful mistake in adopting the driver-per-application model, crippling their potential range of customers.

Oh dear! :shock:
marklaff
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:54 am
Location: IBM TJ Watson Research, Hawthorne, NY

Post by marklaff »

Reading through the forum, this is likely a silly question, but:

how would I go about controlling a Torque-based 3D application with Space Navigator?

Thanks,

Mark
jwick
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3374
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:25 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Post by jwick »

Hi Mark,

Do you have the source code for the application?

Jim
3Dx Software Development
ngomes
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3390
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 7:22 am
Contact:

Post by ngomes »

Hi marklaff,

If you have a question on developing software solutions for 3D mice, I suggest you create a new topic in the relevant Forum (see here).

Continuing such discussion in this thread will be off-topic and confusing for others following it.
marklaff
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:54 am
Location: IBM TJ Watson Research, Hawthorne, NY

sorry for the off-topic post (but not really)

Post by marklaff »

I started a new topic titled: SpaceNavigator for Torque Game Engine but...if a MDOF controller driver standard existed, then it would "just work" and there would be no need to ask a question here.
jwick
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3374
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:25 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Post by jwick »

but...if a MDOF controller driver standard existed, then it would "just work" and there would be no need to ask a question here.
There IS an MDOF controller driver standard in HID. It is called the Multiaxis controller. This is precisely what all 3Dconnexion products are.

The question is whether anyone supports the standard. The answer to that is, no one, until there is an inexpensive multiaxis controller. The first one of those was the SpaceNavigator. Now there are starting to be ISVs supporting it.

Jim
3Dx Software Development
David.P
Posts: 77
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 3:36 am

Post by David.P »

Well one more strong vote for the generic driver. It is unbelievable that the driver still only exists in the form of RBC9's (great) hack.

Although using speech input as well as a Fingerworks iGesture Pad, in addition to a Logitech force feedback mouse, I use my SpaceNavigator a lot alongside or instead of the mouse.

Therefore, I had to use RBC9's driver to make my SpaceNavigator move the mouse pointer as well as scroll and pan in many applications. Which works very well, even alongside 3DxWare.

3DConnexion, you gotta get out of your shell and finally code that generic driver! Since this can be only a matter of days, not months, I suppose there can only be political reasons to not have done it yet. Other than the, sorry, ludicrous repetition of not having the resources to write that driver, no single sensible argument has been made so far that would support your hesitant point.

Finally, to keep this alive, another ovation for this posting further up the thread, of course regarding the very same feature request.

David.P
Don Gray
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:11 am

Post by Don Gray »

Just received my Space Pilot last week.
Nice in Max and Google Earth, I too would like to use it more,
definitely in Battlefield 2142, would help me keep up with those using the high powered joysticks while flying the airships!
As well as surfing the net.
Guess I'll have to do a search on the generic driver talked about here.

Don
mullett2k
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:27 am

is this a joke

Post by mullett2k »

I happened upon your product by chance while searching on ebay. The look and concept of the device immediately caught my interest, the price was VERY reasonable for such a revolutionary sounding device. The concept is quite revolutionary, never before has such a device been implemented - you guys are potentially sitting on a GOLD MINE, quite possibly a revolution in desktop computing and GUIs. Your resources should be vast, being linked to logitech.

Wow, after such a power intruction -I'm going to state that I absolutely will not be buying your product at this point(surprising?). Let me explain myself. I've wasted 1-2 hours of my valuable time researching your product, my mind intially ran wild with the possibilities. I do many things with graphics, dabble with 3d apps, also enjoy web browsing, 3d gaming. (Just with 3d gaming alone you could be sitting on a gold mine) My search and imagination of the possibilities finally led me to this forum.

I wonder if you guys have anyone on your staff with any business sense experience on your staff. Do you guys just not want to sell your product? Isnt the point of a business to expand your user base and sell more products (make more money). You guys could add basic functionality and expand your target audience from 1-2% of very high end users to up to 90+% of computer users WITHOUT NEGATIVELY IMPACTING AT ALL the experience of high end users. Dont wait on microsoft - they DONT CARE IF YOU MAKE MONEY, put in some initiative yourself. If you guys did this right, every windows could one day come preloaded with a 6DOF device. Expanding your potential user base only helps you guys in the long run - as it gives you more resources to spend towards your 'intended' and beloved user base. (Not that you would even need to spend the money if you had a comprehensive generic driver)

Not only is the business strategy bad, the customer support model that I've seen on this forum is demeaning and insulting to its core user base. Not only do you deny hundreds of thousands of paying customers begging (for years) for even the most basic of functionalities. Reading previous posters, its clear that these are your CORE and INTENDED users complaining. Theyre quit intelligent. Often doing high end computer apps and programming. I read by mods on here that it would take away precious resources to do mouse emulation, or something to that effect - thats funny considering On current generation computers you can emulate every last chip on a playstation 2 at full speed- and you're telling me its to much to emulate or intercept a mouse pointer (which i would imagine could be described in 2 numbers: a vertical and horizontal digit).

We (the BUYERS and potential buyers. aka the people paying for you to have or not have a job) want to be able to use this product with windows GUI, yes we KNOW that it was intended for full 6DOF apps. Trust me we know, we know, we know. We want to be able to be able to mess around with 3D games (yes we know, this isnt your intended purpose). To mess around with undeniably NOT 6DOF apps in a new and innovative way (yes we know this wasnt your intention). JUST LET US GIVE YOU OUR MONEY ,in return - let us use your product for other endeavours and PROGRAMS that we chose.

I'm a very logical person. I think theres a reason for everything (good or bad). There is obviously a reason why you guys do (or dont do) certain things, adopt certain models. The only logical way I can interpret your business model is that you have many programmers at your company that are afraid to lose their jobs and are worried about programming themsolves obsolute. Your whole model is based on programming for this new app, programming for the new updated version of xyz program. If you make one good, standard, user adaptable driver - all your programmers have nothing to do, no purpose (other than swim in olympic sized pools full of cash).

I find it ironic that your bragging about that fact that you support 1 video game on your website with a banner. WOW - you support 1 game out of millions of pre-existing video games. That must give you a marketshare of 0.000001% of all gamers. I promise you I wont buy your product so I can look at google earth, I may mess around with that for a few minutes if i could for free - certainly not a product seller though.

I think you guys have a well designed and probably very well built product at a very fair price. I wish you the best in the future, please listen to your potential users wishes if you wish to succeed and revolutionize as you clearly intend.
Locked