UPDATE: DS2Key 1.01 released! Binaries available here

Changes:
Version 1.01 (Revision 44) January 20, 2009

1. Fixed bug with arrow keys sending numpad keys (2, 4, 6, 8).
2. Fixed GH Pad repeat bug reported blahblahblaster from gbadev.org.
3. Fixed CPU usage with server console versions.
4. Fixed repeated sending of "/p?".
5. Fixed a bug with the mouse cursor sending negative values, causing wrapping in the linux version.

Recently cualquiercosa327 contacted me with an interest in adding adapters, such as the Guitar Hero Grip, to my DS2Key application. I spoke to him saying I had lost all the server source code, which would make it impossible without recoding everything again to add these features. Long story short with some help from cualquiercosa327 I have almost completed the server and client working with all old features of DS2Key, and I've added the Guitar Hero Grip feature. I'm not going to release binaries until I feel that it is polished enough for the normal user. Although I am asking if you are able to compile it from the SVN to please give input on what features you would like to see. If anyone would like to help with this project simply get the source from the SVN and either post your changes or send them to me directly. Any help including bug reports would be greatly appreciated.

Current Status
The server (PC side) is either a GUI or console window (only console in Linux for now). It runs off of configuration files it generates when it first needs to use them. You are able to edit them by hand if you're using the console version. At this point it's undocumented, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out the codes if you're able to compile it, just read through the source code a bit.

The client (DS side) has a simple GUI at this point. tapping the top left where you see a badly drawn rotating gear you can edit the settings, which are also saved. To edit the settings just tap "[Edit]" next to the setting and it'll bring up a keyboard, pressing enter when you're done editing will take you back. You'll have to change the IP for sure the first time, the default is 0.0.0.0 which is invalid for everyone. Then press "[Done]" to go back to using DS2Key. at the bottom right corner is a cursor image, tapping that will lock the screen back lights on, and you'll be able to use the mouse or mouse buttons, tapping it again will deactivate this mode.

Complete:

• Action Buttons (Normal button input, a, b, left, right, etc)
• Exact Mouse movement (Touching the middle of the touch screen sets the cursor on the middle of the PC screen, etc)
• Mouse Touch Screen buttons (The screen is divided into having 12 buttons working similar to the normal buttons)
• (New)Guitar Hero Grip buttons (All four buttons act the same as the normal buttons, but have their own settings)
• (New)Mouse Clicks (Left, right, and middle buttons)
• (New)Linux Support (All functions work as they do in Windows now)
• (New)Windows GUI Support (Very friendly GUI :3 )

Planned:

• Relative Mouse movement (Similar to a laptop's mouse pad)
• Profile Toggle Function (Press or hold a key to switch to another profile)

Known Bugs:

• (Squashed)Mouse input doesn't cover entire screen -- deadzone borders need to be made for the touch screen.
• (Squashed)GUI log is disabled -- log caused lags, disabling command logs should fix this
• (Squashed)Setting mouse button clicks in the GUI doesn't work -- mouse clicks actually work, just setting them up in the GUI doesn't
• (Squashed)After changing the IP on the DS, the server ends up sending /p? repeatedly -- restarting the DS makes everything work fine
• (Squashed)Arrow key settings actually send numpad arrow keys, or numbers, depending on numlocks status
• Setting GUI log to "All Messages" causes lag. This log mode is mostly for testing your connection, just switch the setting to something else and it will run lag free

svn checkout-ed, compiled for both, and am currently playing Touhou using my DS as controller.

Thanks for the work :3

[edit] IIRC, the address to the server is hard coded into the code? Had to alter that value. Or is there an undocumented server setting outside the code?

[edit2] Ah, it's on the DS as menu thingy, I see.

Will this work with newer DSLites? Right now, my DSLite freezes when I choose a controller, which is strange, because for the first two weeks that I had my DS, it was working.

I've tried it extensively with my DSPhat and DSLite, cualquiercosa327's DSLite works as well. I'm not sure if my or his DSLite is a new or old one at this point though. I'm guessing it should all work fine though, considering I'm using the newest stable DSWifi library.

Damn can't wait for this to be released! I'm so sick of using the buggy win2ds gamepad =/

wow, glad to see the app is still being worked on. Was just digging it up now that I finally have a slot1 flash cart.
Used to play with this on my GBA flashcart and through a WiFi homebrew download server some years ago.
Now with NDS emulators I can use the DS as a controller :3
Course with a flash cart that beats the point.

Anyway, thanks for the continued work. Can't wait to download this.
Adding Guitar Hero adapter support is a cool idea.
Arkanoid turn dial support would be cool too, though its hard to get outside of japan anyway. Still, would be a good solution for a turn dial for Mame for me :3
A Wiimote just doesn't cut it.

I wish I could add support for it, but lack of the actual device makes it very hard for me to add support. It took me quite a bit of code tinkering to get the Guitar Hero pad to work perfectly.

Hey, hamtotem again. I'd just like to say that while this project is fricken awesome, it isn't getting the recognition it deserves.

This topic was posted two months ago and only 4 people other than sypherce have replied. Maybe you should post a topic on a more active site like GBATemp at some point and inform us of updates even if its just what you have done so far.

Personally, I don't care if you take another year to finish this project. At the least I know that you're still working on it.

Hey, I don't know if you read my post or not but it seems that you have updated your first post. Still, as much as I appreciate your work, I honestly don't think anyone will know about because these forums are deserted.

I decided to take your advice GBAtemp post.

Please please please please please provide binaries (preferably for my Linux PC)! I simply cannot figure out how to compile the thing...

If you already have the code on your pc all you need to do is run gcc config.c key.c main.c -lXtst -o ds2key in /DS2Key.Server/DS2Key and it should compile. Make sure you have the Xtest extensions installed.

I just wanted to note that I fixed almost everything I can without user testing. I can't replicate the /p? bug anymore, but I know it's still there. Last thing I will (possibly) add before releasing a beta binary is the touch pad emulation. I might also work on the client a bit more but it seems functional enough.

Keep up the good work Sypherce!

Apparently, I both don't have Xtest extensions, and any idea what they are. My apt-get has never heard of them, and I think I'll just wait for the binaries - apt-get can't find DevkitARM either.

EDIT: Looks like I've found Xtest - I needed to install the "xorg-dev" package, which included it. I'll use an older version of the DS client (I've got 0.5, and it's connecting fine. )

I would just like to add that I've released binaries. They should work perfectly, but I'm wanting any input, and hopefully you guys can find any bugs that I couldn't.

I've made a short news item about this,

http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29523

hopefully more people will notice...

Works good so far. Have yet to try the Guitar Grip but now I can use two DS's at the same time. Thanks.

Edit: nevermind what I originally posted.
There is an issue with the windows graphical client though. If you set the log level to "all messages", then the client will actually get slower and slower as it writes each message, and become unable to send the keypresses to the applicaiton in realtime. Probably a limit should be set on the amount of messages in the text box at once.

That is already a known issue, but you don't really need to see all messages unless you're testing your connection. I'm sure there is a method to set the text at a much faster rate, and hopefully I'll implement in the next release.

How do you configure the buttons? The graphical client just sets the key to "None" if you tell it to assign a key. I see a text file where I can manually specify the keys, but I don't know the names that it's looking for. I want to use the "up/down/left/right keys on my keyboard, but just saying KEY_UP etc just uses the arrow keys on the numpad.

I'm not sure how it's just setting it to "None", there is an option for it... what's the nationality of your keyboard input, is it just the standard american one or is it something else? I haven't tested unicode support and everything at this point, I don't know if it works or not. As for the arrow/numpad problem, it's a known problem, I do hope to fix it later in a future release, along with other things. If you find any other problems, please do report them here. That goes for everyone.

I'm using a standard american keyboard. When I click on a button and then choose "capture key press", it immediately sets the button to "none".

Typically is should show a window, and wait until you press a key, then if it's a key it doesn't know, I believe it may set it as "None". I'm wondering if something might be sending a signal that's messing things up. Are you able to test this on another computer to see if you get the same results? Also, what operating system are you using? Windows XP? Windows Vista? Versions not derived from Windows NT (and mabey before Windows XP even) might not work properly at this point.

I just tried it on my other PC and have the same result. Both are running XP.

I happen to have the save behaviour, but it sets the key to R instead of none. It seems to have solved by itself now :S

The only difference is that my NDS is powered off.

BTW what I can't acomplish is the mouse movement, all works great, but my mouse won't move. What am I doing wrong?

Maybe I have to set all mouse buttons to none?

About mouse buttons, It would be great if we could toogle mouse buttons ON/OFF with a mapped button to toogle between mouse buttons and mouse movement (maybe this is already this way and when mouse movement works for me I'll understand...)

EDIT: I guess I had to bind all mouse buttons to none to use the mouse movement.

The numlock status also affects the other keys on the numbers 1, 3, 7, 9, 0 and dot, I hope you can workaround that.

Just like to notify everyone I updated DS2Key. The link is updated in the first post.

Version 1.01 (Revision 44) January 20, 2009
1. Fixed bug with arrow keys sending numpad keys (2, 4, 6, 8).
2. Fixed GH Pad repeat bug reported blahblahblaster from gbadev.org.
3. Fixed CPU usage with server console versions.
4. Fixed repeated sending of "/p?".
5. Fixed a bug with the mouse cursor sending negative values, causing wrapping in the linux version.

Excuse me my mouse support wont work. or perhaps I just dont know how to use it. I've tried clicking the little mouse pointer on my ds. please help

You need to make sure all the "Mouse Buttons" are set to "None" then it should work.

Great, 1.01 works fantastic here. Expecting relative mouse movement!

BTW what do you think of an option to quickly switch profiles?

It could be using two buttons (profile+, profile-) or a single one cycling trough a max profile number set by the user.

That would be a great way of having mouse movement and the touch buttons in a quick access mode.

Also, any plans on adding support for keyboard combos?

It's already in the works. [Click]


It is planned, but no work yet started. [Click]


None yet, but it sounds like a good plan. Feel free to submit any wanted enhancements at the DS2Key project page. [Click]

All versions of DS2Key has worked fine for me. Except when trying them out on certain games. Once I'm in the game the none of the controls work. I try it in windowed mode and I can see the info being sent to the ds2key server but not doing anything to the game itself. Sad. Any ideas?

What games exactly? Anything small (and free) that I could get my hands on?

Mouse control is very nice!
I still cant map keyboard keys to the buttons though.

Sure. The only free one I am playing right now is Rumble Fighter.

found here: http://rf.ogplanet.com/

I think my friend who tried this with MapleStory also had the same problem. I'm pretty sure the game is blocking port access because when I try Win2Ds, the game itself stop showing on the DS's screens after the title screen and just kind of sits there frozen until I alt tab.

This has been working perfectly for ePSXe and ZSNES though.

how do i get the mouse function to work? the touch screen just acts as a bunch of buttons. and by the way, add a background when using the touch screen in button mode, so one can actually tell which buttons one is using! thanks!!!

*EDIT*:
okay, all i had to do was switch to a different profile, press done, then switch back to the profile i wanted to use before. the profile just isnt updated right away. perhaps a bug that theeds to be fixed (or SQUASH!ed, lol).

and also, it'd be great if it was compatible with macintosh computers. mac os, etc. without using crossover and crap; i dont own any of the mac computers that i use, so i cant use crossover

anyway, its a great application. other than adding a background so you can see what touchscreen buttons you are pressing, and fixing that thing i just mentioned about profiles, and also having the touchscreen be used as if it were a mousepad, its pretty good on the ds side. but mac support is needed along with better gui or watever for linux (who uses linux? i used to; dont like it; never will like it).

this is, by FAR better than win2ds or ds2win. virtually NO lag, works with everything i have tried so far (i dont play online games only nes, snes, gb, gba, gbc, psx, nds, and some pc games). i should check it out on addictinggames.com or onemorelevel.com. but i've been too busy. and, finally, you should be PAYED for the hard work and effort put into this. not that we should need to pay you a nickel each time we want to download it, but, this is just as good as my PHILIPS retractable pc controller. as far as mouse goes, ds2key leaves philips in the dust. as far as ease of use, no drivers to download but its only fully compatible with linux and pc. and wireless router is manditory.

i rate: 9.25/10

Glad you fixed your problem, I'll take a look at that. I don't remember having a problem, but there could be a bug anywhere, it is my code.


I'd love to add support for Mac, but I have none at my disposal. I can't even work on the linux side of things until I move back to my home state either.

Hmm. This has been a quiet thread for a while, but here goes:

While playing GBA games with ds2key 1.0.nds and 1.0 server in VirtualBoy, occasionally buttons get stuck. If you've ever played the MegaMan BattleNetwork games, you know how lame it would be to have your d-pad holding down right on the custom screen.
It stops on it's own after a bit, but it's still a major hassle.

Any ideas?

It has something to do with your connection quality. The method in how DS2Key communicates it can't have ANY interference. Even when other things will run fine, DS2Key at times can have problems. Try moving your DS and PC closer to your router. If they are already close, it might simply be your router. I've began a rewrite on DS2Key using a better method, hopefully it will come out soon, when I get the time and energy to complete it.

I didn't think of that... I'm already as close as I can comfortably get, so I guess it's just interference. I'll be ready for the new version, too!

A cursor aspect, both like a mouse pad (drag and droping the cursor...I can't really explain it) and where the walls of the touch screen are the walls of the computer screen, would be great for those who want to draw on the computer but don't have a tablet. Pressure sensitivity as well, there's a homebrew called "colors" and it actually has calibratable pressure sensitivity, the Touch button visual sectoring is a good idea. Another thing i would want to add, would be (if its possible) to be able to eject the flash card and put it in a separate ds, so two player can play game on one computer. well thats what i think.

Edit: ok well, i found out how to use the mouse, but a mouse pad would be realy great be cause, i found you can assign a single button and allow the screen to still acct as a mouse, this would be handy for say halo, jumping and switching weapons would be assigned on one of the side walls, then using the rest of the screen as mouse activation, there after you can still use your mouse in button zones, as long as the stylus is still on the screen. You can assign all but one touch button, and still have mouse (I would leave the two most centered buttons as mouse activation). also, id like see that the menu button be made smaller. maybe only big enough you have to put your stylus right up to the corner, maybe you sould make it customizable? I always manage to hit it.

Edit2(lol): I have a keyboard called Alchemy Elixir, it has media and browser keys on the sides, so i tryed to map to them, the keys registered in the DS2Key computer program, but when I pressed the buttons assigned nothing happened. There is a driver for the keyboard, but I don't have them installed and they still work, Ithink the code is something like 'MEDIA_PLAY' I'm currently opening windows media player, having assigned ctrl and f(next), b(back), p(pause/play) and s(stop), then running around the house doing chores with my ds as a song selector and my wireless headphones. if you could, either find a way to acsess these media comands, or allow a media section. im also working on an image of what the screens could possibly look like.

The mouse-pad idea is already in my list of things, has been for a while but should be in the next release.

I'm not sure how to implement pressure sensitivity but it is a good idea, although I'm not 100% sure if the DS's limited pressure capabilities would be of use.

I know for a fact that I use to do that with my SuperCard CF. Not sure if it still works after implementing libfat support. It also might depend on the card, I'll try to look into it.

Yes, I'm planning on making the touch buttons customizable, which would also makethe button to return from using the touch screen customizable.

I forgot about that problem. At the time I didn't know what to do to fix it and it slipped my mind. I'd like to see your concept of the screens too.

Hopefully I can get some time in the coming months to work on ds2key again. I've been working a full time job and have been unable to get a second to work on it, at least a second where I wasn't exhausted or busy with something I can only get around to on a day off.

Well the Pressure control would be used for a tablet feature, which would be the mouse because of the ease of stylus, pressure giving it depth, I myself have a tablet, but those who don't would benefit, and I know what it's like not to have a tablet, it really sucks.

I know all the stuff I included in my pictures arent going to all be in the next update, but it's something to maybe shoot for.

The panels are left to right then top to bottom.

1. - 3. This is the top screen in different modes, the only difference is the 'Mode' Label. This is where all the settings are here. To use the Top screen click on the bottom right of the bottom screen, this will switch the screens back and forth.

4. This is the main Mouse / Button mode. Options that affect this mode are: Mouse Selection (Should have modes relative and the other(dunno the name) and Mouse/Buttons (Dictates weather the mouse and buttons [or both] are active, touching a mouse zone will activate the mouse then the user will be allowed to slide into a button space without activating the button, this is curently available).

5. This is a Media Player consisting of Play/Pause, Stop, Next and Previous (and possibly a system volume, but when I tried to assign it in the config it didn't register). Options that affect this mode are: Media Player (This allows the selection of Windows Media Player and other common players).

6. This is the Pressure Calibration Screen. Here under Max you push as hard as you would, safely, while drawing. Under Min you press moderatly, when you reach this pressure your screen in mouse mode acts as a left click, anything bellow this level will only move the cursor. Options that affect this mode are: Pressure Sensitive (This allows no pressure, pressure and pressure only to click).

7. Is a sample of what the mouse / button mode would/should look like with some keys assigned to NONE.

8. Is a sample of a dropdown menu, the dropdown disapper when click, activating the selected. The 'Mode' dropdown will automatically switch the screens back.

Hope you like it. If theres anything I didn't explain, ask, but I think I covered everything.

What do you think? I really don't like bumping...

Sorry for not replying, I've been feeling dead for most of the week with work and all. Everything looks good to me, at least for a concept/basis to work from. About the pressure capabilities. I do agree that it would be useful at least in theory, but the actual pressure abilities of the DS I'm unsure of, in the past I've attempted using them and have had no accuracy with it. But I will look into it, I don't know if it's been improved in the libraries. Anyways, hopefully I get some time in the next month or so to work on DS2Key.

Sypherce, many thanks for this wonderful piece of software. It's very simple to set up and works perfectly. Again, thank you.

I notice you were advising someone suffering from a bit of lag that he should go nearer to his router. I myself experienced an extremely small lag every 3 minutes or so. After taking your advice and putting the computer (and the ds) nearer to the router, this lag seemed to go. Unfortunately, I do not want to move into the living room and the router is kind of stuck there.

Initially, I had assumed this lag was either a bug that needed ironing out in your program, or a limitation of the DS's wireless capability. I had also imagined that the ds was just going directly to my wireless dongle going into my PC. Is there any way to actually get it to do this? After all, you can go direct to a PC with the official Nintendo DS dongle...

Sorry about the late reply. Only way you can connect directly to your wireless dongle is if the dongle has the ability to run as a software access point. WifiMax is one that I know of that can, so can the official Nintendo dongle that you mentioned, with hacked drivers. Currently dswifi doesn't contain the ability to connect in ad-hock mode either, there is another library that enables some form of direct communication between multiple DS's but I don't believe it can communicate with a PC.

Any plans on doing the analog you did at version 0.6 (client)?

My laptop uses MSVista and PPJoy does not work at all, is there a way to use the gamepad mode you design without this [PPJoy]?

I would love the Taito Paddle too, but as you said I am aware that is hard programming the use for it without the actual hardware.

Any documentation on the order of the profiles text?

Thanks for your AWESOME application, keep the good work; it does not matter how long you take as long as you are working on it.

Possibly in the future, but the only option that I know of would be to use PPJoy again, although I haven't looked for new options, there may be some at this point.

Perhaps in the future you could help me test the code to implement it?

Are you asking how to edit the profiles by hand? I can't remember off hand, but I can figure it out for you if that's what you're asking.

Hello, this looks great but how do I get the device to connect? I have Vista Home Premium and a DS lite with an R4 card. I placed the DS2Key.nds file in te root folder and activated the Windows app. So, I am now running the DS app as well but all I get is:

Connecting via WFC data...

and nothing more. I leave it to run, but nothing happens. Any ideas?