Elite Dangerous Force Feedback with a Microsoft Force Feedback 2 Joystick (MSFFB2)
EDForceFeedback.exe is a console program that runs during a Elite Dangerous session. It watches the ED log files and responds to game events by playing a force feedback editor (.ffe) file.
It has been tested with the following devices:
Microsoft XBox One Controller running the XInput modification
Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joystick.
- Connect your joystick/gamepad and run the EDForceFeedback.exe program.
- Start Elite Dangerous
- In-game events like deploy/retract hardpoints and deploy/retract landing gear will send the configured forces to the joystick.
The settings.json file contains the device and the forces that will be played when an event occurs. Multiple different devices can be configured with different effects for each device.
Included in the package are several different examples of different configurations.
"Devices": [
{
"ProductGuid": "02dd045e-0000-0000-0000-504944564944",
"ProductName": "Controller (Xbox One For Windows)",
"StatusEvents": [
...
Each device and the configured effects for the device has it's own section. If the device guid or product name are unknown, you may attempt to use the values the program outputs for the connected devices while it is initializing.
Both values are searched against the list during initialization. If either is found the device is selected.
The Microsoft Force Feedback device sometimes turns off the autocenter value after playing an effect. Setting this value to true, resets the centering spring.
This value is the strenth of the effects. The valid range is 0-10000.
Each event can have a different force played for the on or off state. The on/off state for the "Docked" event is the following events "Status.Docked:True" happens when the ship is docked and "Status.Docked:False" happens when the ship takes off.
{
"Event": "Status.Docked:True",
"ForceFile": "Dock.ffe",
"Duration": 2000
}
The "Event" Field
The EliteAPI StatusEvent name and state to respond to.
The format is: Status.StatusEventName:[True or False]
The "ForceFile" Field
The name of the force file (.ffe) to play when this event is detected. The force files can be found under the .\Forces folder. There is a force file editor included under the .\FFUtils folder. See the Creating And Editing forces section for more information.
The "Duration" Field
This is how long the force will be played. The value is in milliseconds (1 Second = 1000 milliseconds). The forces will be stopped after this amount of time even if the .ffe file is configured to play longer.
The settings.json json file only has a few of the status events defined. Additional status events are provided by the EliteAPI and can be added to the StatusEvents array in the settings file. During game play, the console window will output the names of the events that were detected. You can use these names to add additional forces.
On startup all .ffe files in the .\Forces folder will be loaded. To create new forces use fedit.exe and save the file in the .\Forces folder.
These are Microsoft utilities to edit and configure force feedback devices. They may get removed from this location. They can be found in various locations on the internet. They were part of the DirectX DirectInput developer packages.
csFeedback.exe
fedit.exe
FFConst.exe
This utility allows you to build your own custom forces. For an example, open the Cargo.ffe file. The forces can overlay and played before, after, and simultaneously to create complex movement and effects.
Enjoy! - Bob (CMDR Axe_)