docs: input integration guide (cockpit -> RIOJoy -> game)
Companion to OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md: the three input surfaces (ViGEm x360 pad, SendInput scancode keyboard/mouse, RioGamepad HID), per-button routing kinds incl. the fixed 11-button pad order, axis calibration + routing with the triggers-are-buttons trap and the shipped Descent pattern, per-game strategy, profile building/triggers workflow, benchless testing, checklist. Cross-linked from README and the output guide. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Claude Fable 5
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ Red Planet — talk to the RIO directly and do not use this app.)
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| [`docs/PLAN.md`](docs/PLAN.md) | Full modernization plan |
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| [`docs/PROTOCOL.md`](docs/PROTOCOL.md) | RIO wire format + `iRIO` input-map reference |
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| [`docs/FEEDBACK.md`](docs/FEEDBACK.md) | Game→cockpit feedback endpoint (lamps + plasma over pipe/UDP, rumble) |
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| [`docs/OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md`](docs/OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md) | Integrator's guide: lamp address map, plasma display model, per-game recipes |
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| [`docs/INPUT-INTEGRATION.md`](docs/INPUT-INTEGRATION.md) | Integrator's guide: cockpit→game — routing kinds, pad/axis mapping, profile building |
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| [`docs/OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md`](docs/OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md) | Integrator's guide: game→cockpit — lamp address map, plasma display model, recipes |
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| _RIO board hardware & firmware_ | Moved to the [TeslaRel410 `restoration/`](https://gitea.mysticmachines.com/VWE/TeslaRel410/src/branch/main/restoration) archive — board photos, schematics, GAL decode (`restoration/rio-hardware`) and the RIO 4.3 board firmware (`restoration/rio-firmware`) |
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| [`docs/reference/`](docs/reference/) | Cockpit overlay art & the legacy labeling pipeline |
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| [`legacy/`](legacy/) | Original C++/vJoy implementation, kept as reference |
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# Input integration guide (cockpit → RIOJoy → game)
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How a game receives the cockpit's **inputs** — the 72 lighted buttons, two
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16-key keypads, and 5 analog axes — and how to build the profile that maps
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them. This is the mirror of [OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md](OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md)
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(game → cockpit); the wire protocol lives in [PROTOCOL.md](PROTOCOL.md), the
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profile/auto-switch model in [PLAN.md](PLAN.md).
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## What a game sees
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RIOJoy translates cockpit events into ordinary Windows input, per profile,
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through three surfaces (all can be active at once — each button picks its
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route):
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| Surface | What the game sees | When |
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|---|---|---|
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| **Virtual Xbox 360 pad** (ViGEm) | a normal XInput controller: 11 buttons, D-pad, 2 sticks, 2 triggers | default on Windows 10/11 when ViGEmBus is installed |
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| **Keyboard / mouse** (`SendInput`) | scancode keystrokes with modifiers; relative mouse moves + clicks | any button routed to a key/mouse action |
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| **RioGamepad HID** | a native 6-axis, 96-button, 1-hat joystick | fallback when ViGEm is absent; the XP flavor |
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The sink is chosen at activation: ViGEm → RioGamepad feeder → none (keyboard
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and mouse always work). Most games — XInput and DirectInput alike — see the
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Xbox 360 pad as a standard controller; the practical limit is its **11
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mappable buttons**, so keyboard routing carries everything beyond that.
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## The input inventory
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- **72 lighted buttons**, RIO addresses `0x00–0x47`, grouped into five MFD
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clusters and four columns — the physical map is in
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[OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md](OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md#address-map-functional-groups).
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- **Two 4×4 keypads**: internal `0x50–0x5F`, external `0x60–0x6F` (key label →
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address = base + hex digit; no lamps).
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- **5 analog inputs** — joystick X/Y, throttle, left pedal, right pedal —
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calibrated into **6 virtual axes** (X, Y, Z, Rx, Ry, Rz), each `0..32766`
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with center `16383`.
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## Per-button routing
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Every mapped address carries one action (the `iRIO` word, PROTOCOL.md §5).
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The editor exposes these as the **Action** kinds:
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| Kind | What happens on press/release |
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|---|---|
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| **Keyboard** | key down/up by **scancode** (so DOS-era and raw-input games see it), with optional Shift/Ctrl/Alt held around it and the extended-key flag for nav keys |
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| **Joystick** | virtual pad button 1–11 (or 1–96 on the RioGamepad HID) |
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| **Hat** | the POV hat / D-pad direction (up/right/down/left; release = centered) |
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| **Mouse** | relative move in clean 50-px steps (up/right/down/left) or left/right click — the legacy build's mixed-up move deltas are fixed in the port |
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| **RIO command** | internal: axis recalibrations/resets, version/check request, diagnostic toggles — useful on a spare cockpit button so recalibration never needs the desktop |
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| **Lit** flag | lamp follows the button (dim idle, bright pressed). Also marks the lamp as *profile-owned*, which shields it from the feedback endpoint (see OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md) |
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### The Xbox 360 button map
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RIO joystick buttons are assigned in this fixed order — pick low numbers for
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the game's most important actions:
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| RIO joy button | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Pad button | A | B | X | Y | LB | RB | Back | Start | L3 | R3 | Guide |
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The hat maps to the D-pad. Buttons past 11 are dropped by the pad — route
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those to the keyboard instead. (On the RioGamepad HID all 96 buttons exist
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natively and no mapping table applies.)
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## Axes
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### Calibration (per profile)
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`Calibration` holds per-axis invert flags and `EnableZR`:
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- **Joystick X/Y** auto-range from observed travel with a small deadzone.
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- **Throttle (Z)** is the ratcheted lever; calibrated so the detent rest
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position reads **0**, full forward `32766` — i.e. it is naturally
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**unipolar**.
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- **Pedals** feed Rx/Ry directly, or — with `EnableZR` — mix into a single
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rudder axis: `Rz = 16383 − left/2 + right/2` (Rx/Ry then idle).
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### Routing onto the pad (`AxisRouting`, JSON-only)
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Each of the six axes picks a `Target` and `Mode`
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(`src/RioJoy.Core/Output/AxisRoutingConfig.cs`; null section = the legacy
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default routing):
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| Axis | Default target | Conversion |
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|---|---|---|
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| X | LeftThumbX | Centered |
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| Y | LeftThumbY | Centered |
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| Z | LeftTrigger | trigger byte `value×255/32766` |
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| Rx | RightThumbX | Centered |
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| Ry | RightThumbY | Centered |
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| Rz | RightTrigger | trigger byte |
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Modes for thumb targets: **`Centered`** (`(value−16383)×2` → stick range) for
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axes that rest mid-travel, **`UnipolarPositive`** (rest 0 = stick center,
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32766 = stick max — only the upper half is used) for the ratcheted throttle.
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`Target: "None"` suppresses an axis entirely.
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**The triggers-are-buttons trap:** many games hard-bind the pad triggers to
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fire/actions. If the throttle rides `LeftTrigger` (the default), advancing the
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throttle *fires*. The shipped Descent profile
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([`profiles/descent-d1x.json`](../profiles/descent-d1x.json)) is the worked
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example: throttle → `RightThumbY` `UnipolarPositive`, rudder mix →
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`RightThumbX`, pedals `None`, keeping both triggers free for the game.
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## Choosing a strategy per game
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- **Modern XInput game** — pad buttons + axes for the flight controls, keyboard
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routing for the long tail (MFD pages, systems). Check the game's own binding
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UI to see the pad.
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- **DOS / emulated game (DOSBox, source ports)** — mostly keyboard routing (it
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arrives as scancodes, which DOSBox maps cleanly); axes via the pad if the
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emulator supports a controller, else map coarse throttle steps to keys.
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- **Legacy DirectInput sim** — the x360 pad appears as a DirectInput device
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too; if the game needs more than 11 buttons on the *stick itself*, prefer
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keyboard routing or run the RioGamepad HID (96 native buttons).
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- **Anything with a clickable cockpit** — mouse routing gives you cursor
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nudges and clicks from cockpit buttons.
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## Building the profile
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1. **Create/edit** from the tray: *Edit profile*. The editor shows the cockpit
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panel in its functional groups; click a button, set its label, action,
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modifiers, and **Lit**, then Apply. Save writes the config.
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2. **Live check**: with the RIO (or vRIO) connected, physical presses light the
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panel and the axis gauges move — before any game is involved. The "Send
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button output to the PC" toggle turns real keystroke injection on when you
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want to test into an editor/notepad.
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3. **Triggers**: comma-separated executable names that auto-activate the
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profile when their window is foreground (`d1x-rebirth, descent`). Matching
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is basename, case-insensitive, `.exe` optional. First matching profile
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wins; DOSBox-hosted games all share the DOSBox exe name (rename per game or
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switch manually); native games (Firestorm, Red Planet) go in
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`NativeGameExecutables` instead — RIOJoy releases the ports for them.
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4. **RIO port**: leave `(app default)`, or a COM name, or `pipe:vrio` for the
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emulator.
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5. **JSON-only settings** (edit `%APPDATA%\RIOJoy\config.json`): `AxisRouting`,
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`Calibration` fine points, `PlasmaComPort`/`PlasmaGreeting`, and the
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`Feedback` section (see FEEDBACK.md).
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6. **Legacy import**: `RioJoy.Tray.exe --import-profile <file>` merges a
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single-profile JSON document; the `Import .ini` menu converts an original
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`RIO.ini` (buttons, inverts, greeting).
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## Testing without hardware or game
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- **vRIO** (`pipe:vrio`): click buttons on the emulator's panel and watch them
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arrive — the editor lights up, the pad reacts.
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- **joy.cpl** (Game Controllers): shows the virtual pad's axes/buttons moving.
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- Keyboard routes: open Notepad, enable the editor's output toggle, press
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cockpit buttons.
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## Checklist for a new game
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1. Find the game's real executable name (foreground window process) → Triggers.
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2. Decide the axis story first: does the game hard-use triggers? If yes, route
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the throttle to a thumb axis `UnipolarPositive` (copy the Descent pattern).
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3. Map the few primary actions to pad buttons 1–11, everything else to
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keyboard; mark cockpit-lit buttons **Lit**.
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4. Set `EnableZR` if the game wants one rudder axis rather than two pedals.
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5. Live-check in the editor, then in-game; bind a spare cockpit button to
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*RIO command → recalibrate* for the cabinet.
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6. Add the `Feedback` section if the game will drive lamps/plasma back
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(OUTPUT-INTEGRATION.md).
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@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ through RIOJoy: the lighted buttons (lamps) and the plasma/VFD text display.
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This is the integrator's view — what the hardware can show, which addresses
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mean what, and how to feed them. The exact wire grammar lives in
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[FEEDBACK.md](FEEDBACK.md); the RIO serial protocol in
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[PROTOCOL.md](PROTOCOL.md).
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[PROTOCOL.md](PROTOCOL.md); the mirror direction (cockpit inputs → game) in
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[INPUT-INTEGRATION.md](INPUT-INTEGRATION.md).
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## The four output channels
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