pcbview 1.21.0 — Controllers, and the board as a real object

Controllers, and the board as a real object

Controller support

pcbview now takes a gamepad. A DualSense or Xbox pad is picked up automatically
when connected, hot-plug works mid-session, and buttons are read by position, so
one map serves both: ✕ ○ □ △ and A B X Y mean the same thing.

Right stick turns, left stick pans, L1/R1 zoom, and L2/R2 explode and
collapse the stack — those two are analogue, so pressing harder peels faster.
Face buttons pick Fit, Iso, Top and Bottom. Options/Start recentres.

Hold and turn. Hold the DualSense touchpad and physically twist the pad, and
the board turns with it, 1:1 — twist 30°, it turns 30°. Nose up and down
pitches, twisting it like a steering wheel turns it left and right, and turning
it flat flips it to the other side. The gyro's zero-rate offset is measured and
subtracted continuously while you're not holding, so the board is dead still
until the pad actually moves. Needs a pad with a gyro; an Xbox pad has none.

The board is an object now

The board has a real pose of its own, independent of the camera, and there are
two ways to move things:

• View mode (default) moves the camera around a stationary board. Its
  shading stays put and the sky sweeps past — you are walking around a lit
  object.
• Object mode (Shift with the mouse, R3 on a pad) turns the board
  while the camera holds still. The sky doesn't move and light sweeps across the
  board as it turns — you are handling it. Only here can the board be slid
  through space with a middle-drag.

Home, the View menu, or Start on a pad recentres: board square-on at the
origin, view framed.

The sun is fixed in the world now rather than travelling with the viewer, which
is what makes the difference visible — and it removes an old wart, because
turning the board over presents its underside to the light instead of leaving
bottom views murky.

Showcase

A Move board checkbox plays the very same playlist as object motion or as
camera motion. Checked, the board turns and light travels across it, which is
usually the better look for a recorded video. Existing playlists, recorded
custom moves and saved templates are untouched and work either way.

Fixes

• KiCad importer: back-side text applied (justify mirror) twice, rendering
  mirrored designators on some boards.
• Bottom views in path-traced mode rendered murky with the sun glaring in frame.

Controller artwork by AL2009man (Gamepad Asset
Pack, MIT). Gamepad support is
built on SDL3 (zlib), input subsystem only.