Looking Forward To Some Guitar Modding Options

[RDC]

Great job there kappa12981, so far I see jack that would stop this from being done, unless you had to "pick" the thing to get the buttons to report?

[kappa12981]

After digging deeper and using the XInput API in DirectX and a sample application, DirectX shows the controller as a undefined controller subtype. As of the Feb 2007 DirectX SDK, the following controller types are only defined:

#define XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_GAMEPAD 0x01
#define XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_WHEEL 0x02
#define XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_ARCADE_STICK 0x03
#define XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_FLIGHT_SICK 0x04
#define XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_DANCE_PAD 0x05

The guitar controller subtype comes up as 0x07. I'm guessing the DDR dance pad is 0x06. Probably the game is checking for this gamepad type and interpreting the button presses differently for each pad. I'm not sure how to compensate for this in hardware (i'm a software guy ).

Here is the capabilities structure returned by the controller (look at DirectX SDK Documentation) :



Actually looking at the documentation...

The SubType member indicates the specific subtype of controller present. Games may detect the controller subtype and tune their handling of controller input or output based on subtypes that are well suited to their game genre. For example, a car racing game might check for the presence of a wheel controller to provide finer control of the car being driven. However, titles must not disable or ignore a device based on its subtype – subtypes not recognized by the game or for which the game is not specifically tuned should be treated as a standard Xbox 360 Controller (XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_GAMEPAD).

Edit: oops didn't see that the dance pad is listed as 0x05.

This post has been edited by kappa12981: Apr 5 2007, 11:23 PM

[Mad-Man-666]

i hate the look of the 360 guitar. so ive ordered a PS2 one. and im planning on ripping its guts out and making it wireless. with the battery pack on the back of the guitar.

for anyone interested here is a link to the guitar on ebay. here

it should be fun.

ive been playing the game with my normal controler and since each command is mapped to a button on the controler is shouldnt be to hard to rewire it.

[Chigawaa]

Hey guys just a heads up (I didn't see anyone mention this yet). The 360 can distinguish between the Guitar controller and a wired/wireless controller. The way to validate this is by going into the training menu, you will notice that when a Wired/wireless controller is plugged in the tutorials are disabled (practice still works but the Tutorial section is greyed out and you can't select it). Change controllers to the Xplorer and this section now works fine.

Also below is the complete command list for a wireless/wired controller (added star Power). Also as stated before there is NO strum button, when left trigger is pulled green key is both depressed and strummed at same time.

Left Trigger - Green
Left Bumper - Red
Right Bumper - Yellow
Right Trigger - Blue
A Button - Orange
Up on the Left Thumb - Whammy
Back Button - enable Star Power
Dpad - Menu Navigation (Same a guitar)
Other buttons (besides 360 button) do not seem to function)

Anyway hope this helps someone. Until the BRILLIANT minds around here come up with a wireless solution I grabbed an old USB 6 foot extension cable. Plan on painting mine as soon as I have a chance and will post some pics in the coming weeks.

[RDC]

This was posted long before me as well as I was writing this, but I'll rehash it with some new info as well.

Wired and Wireless - Guitar

LT - Green
LB - Red
RB - Yellow
RT - Blue
A - Orange
Bk - Star Power
Left Analog Stick Up - Whammy
D-pad U/D/L/R - D-pad U/D/L/R
Guide - Guide
ST/Bk - ST/Bk

The Wired/Wireless also have no strum button and the note is picked when the controller's button is pressed, as skorchir pointed all this out earlier. This makes adding in the Plectrum to keep the Guitar feel intact a new level for the fun as well as a good deal of rewiring on the neck buttons to conform to the controllers button's layout.

The Star Power is done on the Guitar with an Accelerometer or some other type of motion sensing IC. This can be duplicated with some other type of mechanical sensor (like the 360 uses to change the Ring of Light) to mimic that IC and push the correct button on the controller when the guitar is tilted.

This can still be made wireless, though you'll be doing a F-ton of work and still loosing some of what the actual Guitar is capable of, Hammer Ons and Pull Offs for one, and that craps all over playing the game on the harder levels, if that stuff is even in there with a controller connected. The Plectrum would have to be setup to close the button circuits when it's picked, that would let ya hold the note before hitting it, but wouldn't show up in the game that you were holding it until strummed, thus hitting or blowing the note(s) in question.

I won't be doing this mod at all now, just too much being lost or a real bear to translate over to a Wireless controller and the game is too much fun for me to have it all torn down figuring out this and that right now. If anyone else still wants to go for it I'll help out with Wireless controller hardware info and how I might go about this and that and such, and any updates or new things I may think off or find out post up in here, but I don't think anyone that gets the Wireless stuffed in there will be 100% happy with it unless it's completely ironed out to work like the Guitar does now. That's a shade more work than I feel is worth it for having it Wireless right now. As of now, doing this mod will just get you a Wireless controller shaped like a Guitar, instead of a Wireless Guitar. Plus if the Pedal comes out you'll be tied to the thing with that cord and then you're still not really Wireless.

P.S. Playing with the controller after using the Guitar SUX hardcore.

This post has been edited by RDC: Apr 7 2007, 01:18 AM

[crazyfknheretic]

i dunno why you would want it to be wireless anyway wireless would have to use a shit ton of batteries

[Ashley_B_Soton]

i dunno why you would want it to be wireless anyway wireless would have to use a shit ton of batteries

Well most people would have the charge kit and if the internals of the guitar are pretty much the same as the controller then it wouldn't need that much more power to run. Not only that who wants to keep things standard? I know i like breaking stuff just to see how it works lol

[RDC]

That's why if you did it you'd also mod in the ability to use the Wireless controllers battery packs and the PnC connector, like I did on this arcade stick conversion. But that's all for not anyway unless you got the Wireless controller to work like the Guitar does. There's no point in doing it unless these other issues are overcome and battery life isn't even on the list of problems.

[MickRaider]

I hope someone can accomplish this. I'd love to be able to do this some day aka whenever I have money again to buy video games.

[DaveRob517]

So does anybody know how feasible it would be to wire a Ps2 guitar up to the xbox? I assume I'll have to sacrifice a wired 360 controller to accomplish this task.

RedOctane, the creator of Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 2, sells an adapter for the Ps2 Guitars (As well as any other ps2 peripheral)... to USB. PS2 to USB adapter. It's currently available at the RedOctane Store @ RedOctane.com for a simple $19.99

Just a little tip for all you GH fans who dont wanna fork over another $59.99 for a 2nd Explorer.


_Dave



(man i need to fix my gamercard, i changed my tag and now i have 0000 instead of the 4800pts)

This post has been edited by RDC: Apr 8 2007, 01:22 PM

[RDC]

Anyone that gets that thing for the 360 is just wasting $20, XBOX means XBOX, not XBOX 360 there DaveRob517.

[DaveRob517]

Anyone that gets that thing for the 360 is just wasting $20, XBOX means XBOX, not XBOX 360 there DaveRob517.

My bad, the point was, it has a usb plug as well, i dont see why it wouldnt work... with the exception of missing drivers...

[deakphreak]

I dont know why they didnt just make it wireless to begin with like the controllers? Im not going to attempt to make it wireless since it will just be too much of a hassle and may not even work the same.

[TehBanStick]

There is always the XFPS 360
it has a PS controller port.

[teamskene's]

There is always the XFPS 360
it has a PS controller port.

True, but it's 79.99