nunchuck-style controller for Windows?

[steiner666]

Recently I have been playing Left4Dead, HL2 (w/ Synergy mod), and a couple other FPS games with a sort of unusual control setup. I have been using my mouse as usual, but instead of using my keyboard I hook up a 360 controller and use it for movement, jumping, crouching, and other functions that i can't fit on my mouse buttons. It's very easy to find a comfortable position for playing when you only have to worry about positioning your mouse pad.

What I'm wondering is if there are any wii nunchuck-style peripherals (basically, only the left half of a regular controller) for the PC that are designed for this control method... If not, someone should make one!

 

[purplerat]

There are a couple of left hand only gamepads out there. You don't hold them like a nunchuck, they lay flat like a keyboard but are designed to fit one hand (left) and give you the max amount of keys with the easiest layout. I have one from Belkin, Nostimo 52, and it works very well.

 

[Guest]

It's not the same. I have use both the nostromo and nunchuck. They both feel completely different. I'm thinking of a device that looks and feel like the nunchuck that could be plug into a share PS/2 connection in the back of the PC. You could easily get a splitter that could split the keyboard PS/2 connection, they already have that for barcode scanners.

Anyway, all this "PC nunchuck" has to do is simulate the key stroke, e.g moving the nunchuck stick up would send a key stroke of "w" to the PC. In terms of the game software, it would think that is coming from the keyboard. Obviously the "PC nunchuck" is programmable so you could change what ever key you want. Most FPS games have "w" as forward, "s" as backward, "a" as left, and "d" as moving right. You could program the "PC nunchuck" to simulate those key stroke with the movement of the stick. In terms of the C and Z buttons of the Wii nunchuck, we still could keep that but now it's programmable therefore the C button could simulate a "spacebar" key stroke, which usually means jump in FPS. The Z button could simulate a "c" key stroke, which is usually crouch.

I would add 2 more buttons to the side of the "PC nunchuck" that could be program either to simulate a single key stroke each or both buttons could be use to cycle through sets of programmable sequences. One button would cycle the sequence forward and the other backward. For example we could program the sequence to simulate the numbers "1", "2", etc. up to 10 key stokes. In FPS games number keys usually change weapons, therefore you could cycle the weapon you want, by pressing the forward or backward buttons.

You'll still use the mouse as normal, but the keyboard will be replace by the "PC nunchuck".

I'm in the process of trying to make a prototype. I'm using a Microchip PIC to simulate the key strokes, but it's harder then I thought, although I'm inching closer.

 

[Guest]

How did you configure L4D2 to accept both Xbox controller and the mouse? When I did that for L4D1, I can't use the mouse to shoot and mele.

Here are some info to build a PC Nunchuck. It's not simple.

http://hacknmod.com/hack/how-to-cheap-accelerometer-using-wii-nunchuck

How to: Cheap Accelerometer with the Wii Nunchuck

As you’re probably well aware, the wiimote and nunchuck have a vast array of sensors built into them. Instead of buying pre-assembled breakout board for $35, or attempting to solder a tiny surface mount accelerometer, learn to exploit the features of the Wii Nunchuck and have a fully assembled accelerometer, joystick, and pushbuttons for just $12.50 shipped (on ebay).

Why use the nunchuck insead of the actual WiiMote? Wiimotes can be about $40 and have a lot of extra features you wont need at the moment. Plus, the nunchuck has a cable which can easily be plugged into the Arduino. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to connect the wiimote to your pc but this way we can interact with other hardware using the Arduino. If you’ve never used the Arduino, see our tutorial.
1. Connect the Nunchuck to your Computer

The Nunchuck communicates through 6 bits of data. To read this data, you’ll need to connect the wiimote to a microcontroller. In this case we’ll use the Arduino. You can either cut the cord on your Nunchuck or purchase an adapter so it fits snugly into your Arduino programmer board. View more detailed instructions about connecting the nunchuck and I2C (how they talk to each other).
2. Setup the Software and Download Code

If you don’t already have it, download the Arduino software (free). Next, download the code which deciphers the 6 bits of data send from the Nunchuck and prints it to your computer’s serial port. To learn more about how this communication works, see the author’s tutorials or the original source.
3. Resulting Output

By using the serial monitor of your Arudino software (or other serial monitoring software), you’ll see the above output. Sure, view the results as numbers is fine, but visually representing data in real time is far sexier. Using a program called Processing, you can read the above data and display it like the image below. See our thorough tutorial about how to graphically visualize data.
4. Visualizing Data in Real Time

Watching numbers steam in (step 3 image) is fine and dandy, but sometimes you just need something more to create a truly new perspective. Processing is the program I’ve used, it’s pretty easy to learn, uses the same interface as Arduino, and can render 2D and 3D visualizations with small amounts of code. Check out our tutorial to learn how to graphically visualize data.
Now that you’ve learned how to read data from a nunchuck as well as data visualization, go make something awesome and don’t forget to subscribe to HacknMod for more fantastic posts.
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[isamuelson]

You can get a blue-tooth USB receiver and then with blue-tooth drivers, you can actually use the Wii Remote on your PC. I did it for games like Frets on Fire (guitar hero clone but uses keyboard).