UltraStik Left XBox 360 PC (Quadstick, UltraStik & Xbox Adaptive Controller)

[Mark Lewis]

It has been a while since I initially set up my Ultrastik/Cronusmax/Quadstick set up and with the many additions Fred has made, and the recent arrival of my Xbox Adaptive Controller, I want to revisit my set up.

First, looking at the profile, but exactly does the following mean (comments found in the configuration file)? I would love to eliminate my Cronusmax from my PC set up because it interferes with a work-related program.

This configuration uses an UltraStik 360 as the Left Analog stick and the mouth joystick as the Right Analog stick. 

A serial connection between the PC and the Quadstick is required to transport the UltraStik data to the Quadstick because the XBox 360 USB emulation mode does not allow for sending data to the Quadstick over USB. Either a Bluetooth or cable connection can be used.

My biggest confusion is that I wasn't aware that the Quadstick has a serial connection...

As I write out this question, I'm starting to think it might be more symbol to plug my Ultrastik into the left side of the Xbox Adaptive Controller and then plug the Xbox Adaptive Controller into the PC. Finally, have my Quadstick utilize Xbox outputs (to avoid games getting confused between what controller suggestions to provide in-game).

Thanks!

[Fred Davison]

There are dozens of ways to connect things, even before the introduction of the XAC.  That list doesn't cover all the possibilities, just the most common.

I haven't tested it yet, but from my discussions with people at XBox, the XAC will work with the UltraStik in one USB port, and the Quadstick in the other USB port.  You have a limited number of buttons that you can get from the Quadstick, but if you are using the XAC, you can map inputs around and use buttons from the XAC plus external switches.   The Quadstick has two digital outputs, so however many buttons they allow in software, you can still connect two more outputs with a 3.5 mm cable to inputs on the back of the XAC.

The Quadstick has three serial connections which can be used for voice commands or sending UltraStik position & button data to the Quadstick via QMP.  One via Bluetooth, another via a cable into the IN port, and finally in QMP you can send commands via the USB connection while in some emulation modes.

The Quadstick supports the UltraStik directly in to the USB A port on the back or relayed via the QMP.

Just to make the decision more complicated....   The XBox Console has "co-pilot", which allows two controllers to work together, so you could use the XAC for some things and a Quadstick + CM for others.  I don't think co-pilot works on the PC.

If the USB-A port on the Quadstick is not used with an UltraStik, it can be used with a USB-A to A cable to connect to a second host.  (Power always comes through the USB-B port)   You could connect the USB-B port to the PC, the USB-A port to the side of the XAC, then switch between the two.  You could probably find a program like Controller Companion to let you use XAC inputs for controlling the PC.

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[Mark Lewis]

Thanks Fred for your reply. Sorry for not confusion, but your reply raises a couple questions.

 You have a limited number of buttons that you can get from the Quadstick, but if you are using the XAC, you can map inputs around and use buttons from the XAC plus external switches.   The Quadstick has two digital outputs, so however many buttons they allow in software, you can still connect two more outputs with a 3.5 mm cable to inputs on the back of the XAC.

I understand that I can connect additional buttons/switches, of my own making, to the XAC 3.5 mm inputs but what do you mean by, "you have a limited number of buttons that you can get from the Quadstick?"

The Quadstick has three serial connections which can be used for voice commands or sending UltraStik position & button data to the Quadstick via QMP.  One via Bluetooth, another via a cable into the IN port, and finally in QMP you can send commands via the USB connection while in some emulation modes.

So, the way I currently have it connected using the IN port to my computer USB will facilitate UltraStik commands via the Quadstick? I guess I was thinking old-school serial output/input.

 

If the USB-A port on the Quadstick is not used with an UltraStik, it can be used with a USB-A to A cable to connect to a second host.  (Power always comes through the USB-B port)   You could connect the USB-B port to the PC, the USB-A port to the side of the XAC, then switch between the two.  You could probably find a program like Controller Companion to let you use XAC inputs for controlling the PC.

So, does this mean that even if I buy the power cord for the XAC and have the Quadstick connected to it, it will NOT supply the necessary power? I was under the impression via the Microsoft website that it would supply the necessary power. Just want to make sure I understand.

 

Thank you for your input! And apologies for my misunderstanding :)

[Fred Davison]

what do you mean by, "you have a limited number of buttons that you can get from the Quadstick?" 

The Quadstick can normally output up to eighteen buttons when used as a game controller.  My understanding is that only the first four, or so, can be used by the XAC.  The XAC treats the QS like one of those joysticks used in flying games; a single joystick with a few buttons.

The XAC is fully mappable.  You can route any input to any output. 

A USB connection is between a Device and a Host.  A game controller is a Device.  A game console is a Host.   The USB-B port on the quadstick always plays the role of a Device.  The USB-A port on the quadstick can play either role, Host or Device.  The Quadstick always gets power from the USB-B port even if the USB-A port is being used as a Device. 

The XAC has two USB-A ports that act as Hosts to Devices, like the UltraStik or the Quadstick.  Normally you would connect the Quadstick's USB-B port to one of the USB-A ports on the XAC.  The power for the Quadstick would have to come from the XAC.

If you connect to one of the USB A ports on the side of the XAC to the USB A port on the Quadstick and operate the Quadstick's USB-A as a Device, no power will flow from the XAC to the Quadstick, the QS will need to get power from something else. 

The user manual covers the different ways to use the USB A port.

You are probably not using the IN port on the Quadstick.  Don't confuse it with the USB-B port.

Search the user manual for "ultrastik" for more info about the different ways it can be used.

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[Erin Muston-Firsch]

Just an FYI- Copilot will work on PC if running Windows 10. You can download the Xbox Accessories app to set it up. HOWEVER- If you wanted to copilot a quadstick and an XAC on PC, I still think you'd need a Cronus, Titan or other convertor to make the QS appear as an Xbox controller as Copilot only works between Xbox controllers.

[Erin Muston-Firsch]

Glad to see discussion on this, my hospital has been beta testing the XAC for several months so I'm happy to share my experience. here's some answers to questions.. See my other post in this thread re: copilot on PC.

You are correct that XAC will NOT power the QS on its own (the internal XAC battery is insufficient to power both the XAC and QS. Some buttons appear to pass through without doing any button mapping, I'm finding that A, B work on QS when plugged into the XAC left USB port and X,Y map when it's plugged into the Right USB port (these are behaving when I sip into the left and right tubes respectively). I have not yet explored button mapping for controller buttons through the Accessories app or the QS software yet (as I'm still wrapping my head around it). I did play with joystick mapping in the Accessories app and found options to switch X, Y axis for each joystick (essentially setting up something like the mixed analog mode the QS has). You also can map an external switch to behave as a "Shift" function so you could setup a button to toggle your QS joystick modes through the XAC. If you still wanted to  use all the buttons on the QS, I'd continue to use a Cronus, Titan, etc and copilot in the XAC. You could then setup an ultrastik and external switches through the XAC and eliminate the need to have everything run through a laptop.

This is just through the little but of playing I've done so far. That said, I am still using a Beta device (haven't yet received my official XACs) so I don't know if there will be any differences. Will try to update and answer questions as they come up. I'm going to try to throw up some videos on my Twitter feed later this week.

- E