Joystick ID mapping for non-Xbox controllers

[rccraigb]

In attempting to get an application working with both an Xbox controller as well as a generic HID-compliant game controller (in this case a Great Planes R/C simulator), I noticed that the indexing of the non-Xbox controller is apparently shifted to index position 4. Would this be the correct Joystick ID ("4") to use for the older Joystick API functions, like joyGetPosEx()? Below is output from Xidi v4.1.1 with the R/C simulator and without an Xbox controller attached:

[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D] Enumerating system WinMM devices...
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [0]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [1]: VID_061C&PID_0008
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [2]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [3]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [4]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [5]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [6]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [7]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [8]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [9]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [10]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [11]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [12]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [13]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [14]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [15]: (not present - failed to get capabilities)
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D] Done enumerating system WinMM devices.
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D] Using DirectInput to detect XInput devices...
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D] Attempting to import DirectInput functions from C:\Windows\system32\dinput8.dll.
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [I] Successfully initialized imported DirectInput functions.
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D] Done detecting XInput devices.
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D] Presenting the application with these WinMM devices:
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [0]: Xidi virtual controller 1
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [1]: Xidi virtual controller 2
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [2]: Xidi virtual controller 3
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [3]: Xidi virtual controller 4
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [D]     [4]: System-supplied WinMM device 1
[04/11/2023 09:59:23] [I] Completed initialization of WinMM joystick wrapper.

Thank you in advance!

[samuelgr]

Yes, that's right. But you can actually control what Xidi does to some extent.

If you open the start menu and search for "Set up USB game controllers" and then click "Advanced..." in the window that shows up you can pick a preferred device. Whatever you pick there will show up at index [0] when Xidi does its "Enumerating system WinMM devices" step. Basically, the intuition is Xidi tries to respect your preference.

If you don't pick anything OR you pick a device that supports XInput, then when Xidi does its "Presenting the application with these WinMM devices" step you'll see the virtual controllers first followed by whatever else is attached to your system. I think this is how your system is currently configured, which is why your Great Planes R/C simulator shows up at index [4].

If, on the other hand, you pick a non-XInput device then it will come first when Xidi does its "Presenting the application with these WinMM devices" step. In your case you could pick your Great Planes R/C simulator as the preferred device, and then it should show up at index [0].