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AndyHill · 08-18-2006, 12:23 PM

That's the way it goes as long as the mouse is involved and there's probably no way around it except perhaps with co-operation from game developers. I'm not intimately familiar with the way Windows works at the lowest levels, but I'm pretty certain there's a way to operate the touchscreen without using the mouse in any way if the manufacturer decides it's worth the effort. That would require some serious coding effort, though, and it shouldn't be your problem. It would probably require software that would track all the buttons' positions manually and handle all the clickety-click stuff that's usually done by Windows through mouse operation. This shouldn't concern you, however, I think it's a service the touchscreen manufacturers need to provide.

I don't know how much potential benefits such a system would have, but it seems that many companies are bringing lots of different gadgets to market and selling them to people who want better playability out of their systems. I haven't done much testing with TB, but as a concept it's far superior to any of them. I've been studying and practicing cockpit building for a couple of years, I've seen LOTS of really cool (and horribly expensive) stuff and I can say that if you manage to some day combine simulator outputs to display data AND touchbuttons on the screen at the same time it's easily the most impressive piece of cockpit gear ever.

The idea is so brilliant that someone is bound to go commercial with it at some point. At that point they will have to have a proprietary interface system like I explained before and it's going to work with any game in local mode. There are a couple of potential issues, however. A commercial operation would probably not be targeted for simulator audiences and if it was it would cost two arms and three legs. As a simmer I have more faith in your ability to create the best possible solutions for simmers than I would have in any €€€-oriented company whose main concern would be the casual gamer and his wallet. And I only have a pair of arms and legs and I'm sort of grown attached to them although they aren't that pretty or useful.

Keep up the good work.

08-18-2006, 12:23 PM	#41 (permalink)
AndyHill Junky Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 97	That's the way it goes as long as the mouse is involved and there's probably no way around it except perhaps with co-operation from game developers. I'm not intimately familiar with the way Windows works at the lowest levels, but I'm pretty certain there's a way to operate the touchscreen without using the mouse in any way if the manufacturer decides it's worth the effort. That would require some serious coding effort, though, and it shouldn't be your problem. It would probably require software that would track all the buttons' positions manually and handle all the clickety-click stuff that's usually done by Windows through mouse operation. This shouldn't concern you, however, I think it's a service the touchscreen manufacturers need to provide. I don't know how much potential benefits such a system would have, but it seems that many companies are bringing lots of different gadgets to market and selling them to people who want better playability out of their systems. I haven't done much testing with TB, but as a concept it's far superior to any of them. I've been studying and practicing cockpit building for a couple of years, I've seen LOTS of really cool (and horribly expensive) stuff and I can say that if you manage to some day combine simulator outputs to display data AND touchbuttons on the screen at the same time it's easily the most impressive piece of cockpit gear ever. The idea is so brilliant that someone is bound to go commercial with it at some point. At that point they will have to have a proprietary interface system like I explained before and it's going to work with any game in local mode. There are a couple of potential issues, however. A commercial operation would probably not be targeted for simulator audiences and if it was it would cost two arms and three legs. As a simmer I have more faith in your ability to create the best possible solutions for simmers than I would have in any €€€-oriented company whose main concern would be the casual gamer and his wallet. And I only have a pair of arms and legs and I'm sort of grown attached to them although they aren't that pretty or useful. Keep up the good work.