Joysticks are enabled by default, but can be disabled via the Artemis.ini file. There are two mechanisms for configuring joysticks with Artemis, and usually you will want to use both of them. The first mechanism is via Artemis's built-in support for joysticks, which can be configured via the controls.ini file in the Artemis directory, and is used to configure analog axes (direction, throttle, etc.) and a few joystick buttons. The second mechanism is to use a program such as JoyToKey or Xpadder or ControllerMate (Mac OS X) to map other joystick buttons to keyboard hotkeys, where the keyboard key bindings are also configurable via the controls.ini file.
When designing fighter joystick controls, it is important to decide between turns based on roll (meaning pushing left and right will bank or "roll" the ship) vs. yaw (meaning pushing left or right simply turns the ship using the rudder, without any banking). Roll is commonly used in aircraft simulators. Helm in Artemis cannot roll, only yaw and pitch. The choice for a Fighter client can be either based on physics or simply on player familiarity. For aircraft, roll is used due to how the aircraft wings use atmosphere to cause a turn, but this reason does not apply in space. In space, yaw is more natural. Physics-wise, roll would be better for spacecraft where the pilot is affected by inertia, since turning with a roll plus pulling "up", results in "downward" (from the pilot's perspective) acceleration that feels similar to gravity. Yaw, on the other hand, would be better for spacecraft with inertial dampeners and artificial gravity (such as is assumed in many sci-fi shows and movies including Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.). The configurations below tend to use the yaw model as a result. Further discussion of yaw vs. roll-based controls can be found in forums for other spacecraft games, such as here and here.
Sample Configurations
Just about any joystick will do. Here are some sample configurations for a number of popular joysticks.
The following pair of files from Dave Thaler are for the Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X:
The above files use the following mappings for Helm:
Throttle forward/back: Impulse forward/reverse
Joystick up/down: Dive/climb
Joystick left/right: Turn left/right
POV hat: Directional view on main screen
Trigger: Warp 1
Button 2: Tactical on main screen
Button 3: Request dock
Button 4: Long range scan on main screen
Button 5-8: Toggle warp 1-4
Button 9: Shields Up
Button 10: Shields Down
Button 11: F9
Button 12: F10
Slider1: Zoom In/Out
And the following mappings when in a Fighter:
Throttle forward/back: Boost/Brake
Joystick up/down: Dive/climb
Joystick left/right: Turn left/right
Joystick twist: Roll
Trigger: Fire beams
Button 2: Fire torpedo
Button 3: Request dock
Another sample for the Saitek X52 or Saitek X52 Pro is from Lightwave_Gecko:
Nareau has had success getting his DualShock 3 controller to work. The files are posted here. Specifically:
The above files use the following mappings:
Triangle: Reverse
Circle: Toggle Shields
X: Warp Speed Down
Square: Warp Speed Up
L1: Zoom out
R1: Zoom In
L2: Impulse Down
R2: Impulse Up
Left Stick (X-Axis): Turn right/left
Left Stick (Y-Axis): Climb/dive
L3: Request Dock (R)
R3: Request Dock (R)
Hat Up/D-Pad Up: Front View (F2)
Hat Left/D-Pad Left: Left View (F3)
Hat Right/ D-Pad Right: Right View (F4)
Hat Down/D-Pad Down: Rear View (F5)
PS Button: Sector (F7)
Select: Tactical (F6)
Start: Status (F8)
For an alternate set of DualShock 3 controls (they also work with an Xbox 360 controller), including a sample solo setup for flying Helm, Weapons, and Engineering as one person, Pupbrad has set up a configuration here:
For the DualShock 4, nareau set up a DS4Windows configuration that works with the default controls.ini bindings here:
The controls are:
Left analog stick: Turn right and left, pitch up and down. Click to reset rudder to center.
Right analog stick: Up to increase warp, down to reduce warp, click to set warp to 0. Right/left don't do anything.
L2: Warp down
R2: Warp up
L1 Trigger: Impulse down
R1 Trigger: Impulse up
Directional Pad: Change main viewscreen to forward (up), back (down), left and right.
Triangle: Toggle reverse
Circle: Toggle shields
X: Select closest (in case you might want to play both Helm and weapons; this is untested)
Square: Request Dock
Share: Main Screen Tactical
PS: Main Screen Sector
Options: Main Screen Status
The touchpad controls the mouse on the screen.
Two different Xbox controller examples are given below. The first works with both Helm and Fighter and is intended for a setup that includes JoyToKey,
while the second works only for Helm and works without needing JoyToKey.
Example with JoyToKey, for Helm & Fighter
The following files are from Dave Thaler :
Example without JoyToKey, for Helm only
The following configuration from Cap Naes should be renamed to controls.ini after downloading:
The setup allows all helm commands (except viewscreen switching) from the gamepad.
HELM controls:
Left stick= rudder, climb and dive
Right stick= Impulse throttle
Y = increase warp level
A = decrease warp level
X = stop warp/full stop
B = Toggle shields
RB (Right top) = zoom in
LB (Left top) = zoom out
back button = Reverse direction
start bottom = Request docking
FIGHTER controls:
Left stick = pitch (up/down), yaw (left/right)
RT and LT (bottom left and right front buttons) = roll left and right
RB (Right top) = fire beam
LB (Left top) = launch torpedo
Y = boost speed
A = brake
X or B = request docking
Using ControllerMate, mappings (and, more powerfully, scripts) can be made for devices that work with a Parallels/Wine installation of Artemis. See Joystick/Keyboard Controller Configuration (Mac OS X) for examples using Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X and XKeys 24 controllers with the default Artemis controls.ini.
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