Quick Start
1) Connect your joystick to you PC, ensure that Windows has recognize it
(If you're using a force feedback joystick, disconnect the power supply)
2) Run Joystick To H-shifter 2
(If it is already running before connecting the joystick, restart the program)
3) Change the "Device ID" (starts with zero) and check if the cursor reacts when your joystick moves
4) If you're going to play LFS, check the "LFS" option
5) Run the game and have fun!
Instruction
Real cars are using H-shifter to switch gears, but most of us do not have such advanced device like G25 or homemade hardware to realize this. But a joystick is very cheap and easy to get, and this program can turn your joystick to an H-shifter.
Nowadays most of the game supports H-shifter inputs, you can assign a certain key from keyboard or a button from your game device (driving wheel, flight joystick, game pad, etc.), And this program reads the X and Y axes of the joystick, while your stick is in certain position, the program sends a virtual keyboard key pressing to the system, so all you have to do to enjoy an H-shifter simulation is to: 1) prepare a joystick, 2) run my program, 3) a bit settings in my program and game.
No need to buy expensive devices, no need to do works to make a complex electrical & mechanical device.
Just plug your joystick and have fun :-)
Gear Effect Zones (GEZs)
About GEZ
In Joystick to H-shifter 2, keys are pressed while joystick cursor enters a GEZ.
And with the "Press and Hold" mode active, the pressing key will only be released if the cursor exits the current GEZ.
You can also change the position and the size of the GEZs.
Center Zone and Natural Gear (C/NZ)
The main feature of Joystick to H-shifter is that you must center the Y-axis before switching to the next gear. If you do not move the stick to center, you can not perform such switching like 1st to 3rd gear, or 6th to 4th gear. This is why I started to write Joystick to H-shifter instead of using Xpadder.
You needn't stay the joystick cursor in C/NZ and wait for a period and then go to next gear, normally, you can draw the C/NZ just like a line horizontally cross the entire joystick moveable zone, and while you're doing a correct two-gear-shifting, the stick cursor must've been crossed the C/NZ and the next gear will be effective. But if you've made an H-slot of your joystick, defining the C/NZ carefully is recommended.
If the option: "N Gear" is checked, a virtual pressing of a certain key will be sent to system while the stick is entering the C/NZ, the key maybe just hit once, or keep holding until the cursor moves out, that'll be related to if "Press then Release" or "Press and Hold" mode is active.
Like other GEZs, the C/NZ can also be moved and redraw, BUT IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMAND THAT DO NOT DRAW THIS ZONE TOO BIG, OTHERWISE YOU MAY MISS THE NEXT GEAR, for more details, please refer to KNOWN BUGS.
Reverse and 7th Gear
Check the R Gear option to active the reverse gear.
R gear is not recommended if you didn't make something like an H-slot to enhance your joystick, to limit the move path of the joystick.
You can also use the R gear function as the 7th gear, just position the GEZ and match the key setting for 7th gear in the game with the key code in "key.cfg".
Modify GEZs
Click the "Modify GEZs" to active the modify mode, and then:
-To move a GEZ, move your joystick and place the cursor within a GEZ, then press and hold joystick button 1 to drag it.
-To resize a GEZ, first select which gear you want to modify in "Resize GEZ" box, then click the "Redraw" button, the GEZ will reduce its size to 20x20/65536x65536, then you can press and hold joystick button 2 to redraw the GEZ.
Summary: 1) Drag to move it. 2) Click the button to reduce its size to a dot, then redraw it.
DO NOT FORGET TO DE-ACTIVE THE "Modify GEZs" AFTER YOU FINISHED MODIFYING. IN MODIFY MODE, KEY VIRTUAL PRESSINGS WILL NOT BE SENT TO THE SYSTEM.
Joystick
General
You can use any kind of joystick for Joystick To H-shifter 2, MIDI or USB port, force-feedback or non-force-feedback, as long as the Windows recognize your joystick, and the program will recognize it too.
Device ID
The device ID specifies the game devices that is connecting to your computer, whatever a Driving Wheel, or a Joystick, or a Game pad, etc. It is defined by system, and generally it is unknown to you.
Although you do not know the Device ID of the joystick which you're going to use as an H-shifter, you can try to find it, by changing the index number in the "Device ID" text box. The index number starts as ZERO, and once the select device matches your joystick, you can confirm that by moving the stick around and see if the cursor is moving correctly.
Normal(Auto Center) / Force Feedback Joystick
If you're using a normal joystick, which the stick will return to center position after your hand releases. Then check the "Normal Joystick? ( Auto Center )" option.
In fact it performs the same in "Press then Release" mode. But it's different in "Press and Hold" mode (which is the only mode for LFS, TDU etc.).
So if you do not have a force-feedback joystick or you didn't open your joystick and remove the center-spring, check this option.
But if you're using a FFB joystick, do not connect the power supply of the joystick and just leave this option unchecked and you've got nothing to worry about.
Key
General
The propose of Joystick To H-shifter 2 is to send a key pressing action to the Windows system, so when the game receives the key pressing from Windows, shifting is realized. So you should care what's the key you're going to "press" and some different ways of "pressings".
About Key Codes
Joystick to H-shifter 2 loads two type of key codes, Scan Code and Virtual Code.
Normal DirectX games respond Scan Code and LFS responds Virtual Code.
Each code specifies a key, and you can change the code in "key.cfg" to change the keys for virtual pressings.
For the list of the codes, check the Scan Code /
Virtual Code list.
NOTE: Keys for normal DirectX games and LFS are different, pay attention to the section of key codes while editing.
Press and Hold/Release Mode
A key pressing consists two actions: press and release.
In some games like GTR2(with *** "holding key for gear" unchecked in the option), to hold in a certain gear, you should just hit the key and that's all, but in some games like LFS, TDU, you should keep the key pressing, if you release the key, the gear in game will switch to natural gear, in this case, "Press and Hold" mode is needed.
FILE
Profile
Profiles are saved in ".cfg" format file, you can open it by notepad and change the settings/GEZ values manually.
Joystick to H-shifter 2 will load "default.cfg" as the start up setting.
If "default.cfg" is missing, program default setting will be loaded and "default.cfg" will be created in the same folder of the program.
Key Inputs
You can open key.cfg with notepad and change the key code here.
Here're the lists of Scan Code and Virtual Code:
Scan Code List
Virtual Code List
Other
Pause
If you have to do something else with the program still running and the joystick is still connected, you may need to Pause the program in case of send a key by hit the stick into a GEZ by mistake.
New Features
--Custom Gear Effect Zones(GEZ)
You can define the gear effect zones by yourself.
The position of the GEZs, and even the size of the GEZ for each gear.
This feature also brings up the following feature.
--Self-made H-slot For Joystick Supported
If you've made an H-slot for your joystick to enhance the realistic of the H-shifter, it may be impossible for the previous version of Joystick to H-shifter v0.1&v0.2.
Due to the old version only actives when the stick is in the upper/lower most of the axes, so it'll be hard to work within an H-slot.
But now, as you can define the GEZs for each gear, so whatever the X/Y value of your stick is, sending virtual key pressings are always available.
And if you have made the H-slot for your joystick, the following feature will available to you.
--Reverse/7th Gear Supported
Joystick to H-shifter 2 now supports the Reverse Gear, you can active this function and send virtual key pressing while your shifter(joystick) cursor enters that zone.
You can also uses the R as the 7th gear.
And also, another new gear supported as follows.
--Natural Gear Supported
In some games, N gear is active if the current pressing of the key of a certain gear is released (e.g. LFS, TDU), while in other games, to active N gear you should press another key, so Joystick to H-shifter 2 is now able to send a pressing while in N gear.
--Custom Keys For Virtual Pressings
In Joystick to H-shifter v0.1&v0.2, key 9,8,7..is pressed for Gear 1,2,3... and those keys are not changeable, I'm sorry for the inconvenience for some users and now keys in Joystick to H-shifter 2 are all changeable, you can send any keys as you like, for each different gear.
--Profile
All the adjustable features described above can be saved as a profile file. You can save different settings for different needs, and you can set a default profile for the start up loading for Joystick to H-shifter 2
(old feathers)
--Realistic Shifting Action
You must move the Y-axis of your joystick to center before switching to the next gear. If you're trying to switch 3rd gear to 1st directly by moving the stick from top-center position to top-left corner, nothing will be happened, the following steps show the required and correct of such shifting: move the stick from top-center to center, move it from center to left-center, move it from left-center to top-left corner.
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