Chinese Game Controllers and the Men who Hate Them
I've always wanted a proper USB game controller for when I go to my friend's place for a little emulating. For those unfamiliar with console emulation you can check this out, though the long and short of it is that I dig playing SNES via laptop.
To my surprise, I found a $10 USB converter which can make normal console gaming controllers work on a PC! Booted the sucker up, plugged in my old GameCube controller and then, mistakenly, loaded the drivers. Now, I'm not as talented with computers as I'd like to be (should be?) but my understanding is that a driver is a program that allows hardware and software to work from OS to OS. Typically, I can get away with using USB game controllers on my computer and others sans drivers (the current game controller drivers on the computer usually suffice.) However, I really wanted to play Starfox 64 and Project 64 was rather insistent.
This is where the fun begins. You see, not only does the software which loads with the controller drivers eliminate my computer's "natural" programs which would allow it to calibrate joystick settings (if, for example, my GC controller's joysticks are off center and need software realignment) but it's also chock full of bugs that cause it to freeze up frequently. And how do I know I can't count on proper customer support? Here's why:
I hope I effectively "valid the special motor is okay." That's right, this sucker's native tongue is Engrish. Apparently, Gamemon is a Chinese hardware importer. The entire user manual is full of this foolishness and I'm not sure if there's anything to do about it. I have emailed the company to see if there's any way to troubleshoot the issues with the alignment but I'm not holding my breath.
The moral of the story: when I'm proficient in Chinese/English translation, people should hire me as a babel fish.
To my surprise, I found a $10 USB converter which can make normal console gaming controllers work on a PC! Booted the sucker up, plugged in my old GameCube controller and then, mistakenly, loaded the drivers. Now, I'm not as talented with computers as I'd like to be (should be?) but my understanding is that a driver is a program that allows hardware and software to work from OS to OS. Typically, I can get away with using USB game controllers on my computer and others sans drivers (the current game controller drivers on the computer usually suffice.) However, I really wanted to play Starfox 64 and Project 64 was rather insistent.
This is where the fun begins. You see, not only does the software which loads with the controller drivers eliminate my computer's "natural" programs which would allow it to calibrate joystick settings (if, for example, my GC controller's joysticks are off center and need software realignment) but it's also chock full of bugs that cause it to freeze up frequently. And how do I know I can't count on proper customer support? Here's why:
I hope I effectively "valid the special motor is okay." That's right, this sucker's native tongue is Engrish. Apparently, Gamemon is a Chinese hardware importer. The entire user manual is full of this foolishness and I'm not sure if there's anything to do about it. I have emailed the company to see if there's any way to troubleshoot the issues with the alignment but I'm not holding my breath.
The moral of the story: when I'm proficient in Chinese/English translation, people should hire me as a babel fish.