Farpoint Controls
Giordano Thibault
Currently using the Sheridan widget for the OLE design, which is incompatible with/does not support Windows 10 (64 bit).
Problem occurs while opening the OLE widget in CA Gen Toolset for view/modification from the development machine.
Component : CA Gen Workstation Toolset Resolution Per the Gen 8.6 Technical Requirements General Comments page the "Active Control Support Policy" shows that the only OLE/ActiveX control supported is the FarPoint Tab Pro control:
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Active Control Support Policy
Support of TAB controls for GUI applications is limited to the Tab Pro control provided by FarPoint Technologies Inc. While this control is no longer supported by its distributing company, it continues to work with this version of Gen.
Remember that Gen has not been tested with all ActiveX controls available in the market. Therefore, we cannot guarantee they will all work with Gen.
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From our research, it appears that the old Sheridan Data Widgets are now called Infragistics Data Widgets but still date back around 20 years: -widgets
They have not been tested with the Gen 8.6 Toolset (it is not known if testing was done with any specific older versions of the Gen Toolset).
The feedback from Gen Engineering confirms that per the "Active Control Support Policy" above, only the FarPoint Tab Pro control is supported with Gen 8.6.
For further details the current FarPoint owner GrapeCity can be contacted ([email protected]). This KB article also covers it: Gen and FarPoint TabPro OCX Installation
If that control does not help, and another is found that satisfies requirements then the onus would be on the user to test it with Gen 8.6 Toolset.
Any official support for such a control would require an enhancement request i.e. new Community Idea:
The single-control (controls one motor) linearvoltage control (LVC)hand unit includes two forward and reversebuttons (red) and a two-position slow-speed switch (black). The slow-speed switchadjusts from high (left) to low (right). The system automaticallychanges from slow speed to fast speed when one of the forward or reverse buttonsare held down for two seconds or more. This effectively gives the hand unitthree speeds very slow (1), slow (1.5 times faster) and veryfast (5 times faster). The system includes a 1/8" jack, quick-stop braking and a 9-volt alkaline battery. It can control MOTOFOCUS, MOTODEC,EV, NGF and RCF motors. This hand unit gives the best control of any system ever manufactured by JMI.
The dual-control (controls two motors) linearvoltage control (LVC) hand unit includes the same functionality found in thesingle-control hand unit (forward and reverse buttons, a two-position slow-speedswitch, quick-stop brakingand a 9-volt alkaline battery). It also includes two1/8" output jacks and a switch to select the active jack. It is designed to easily control two motors, such as MOTOFOCUS and MOTODEC, from one hand unit.
Extension cable for adding length to the standard coiled hand unit cord (above). It includes a 1/8" mono (TS) phone plug on one end and a 1/8" in-line mono (TS) phone jack on the other end. The extension cable can be inserted between the standard coiled cord and the hand unit or between the coiled cord and the motor. The extension cable is available in 5 foot lengths up to 100 feet.
The gameplay is also very basic, and like mentioned above, pretty much should never exist outside of VR and the use of the Aim controller. The first half of the game starts off fairly slow, funneling you through tight corridors and periodically opening up for a big battle. Essentially it serves as a tutorial letting the players to get used to the Aim controls and various enemy types and tweaking the turning settings to make you feel the most comfortable in VR. They allow you to adjust movement speed and give you the options of a few different turning styles. The default setting is only enabling the left stick for forward, backward and strafe movements while you aim in the direction you want to walk with the Aim controller. There is also small step, big step, click and smooth options and you can adjust the speed of the turning for each one. Since I have my VR legs I went with smooth turning with a sensitivity at 11, and I felt this was the most immersive experience making it feel like you have full control of the character instead of a stiff robot. There was only one time that I got the sweats and motion sickness, but I was really clogged up from a cold so I think it was messing with my equilibrium and caused the dreaded VR sickness.
The sound design for all of the weapons is well done and they pack a nice punch, which helps with the immersion of holding the actual gun. All guns have their own distinct sounds that work well, the alien guns have more of a futuristic laser sound as you would expect from a plasma rifle and needle gun. The enemies are distinct as well, with the small arachnid types pitter-pattering as the large brutes stomp the ground. My only gripe here is that there was no epic battle music. Missing was a large score that fit the intense up-close and personal battles, no music build up to a large scale fight. I feel like this was a missed opportunity to make the game standout for more than just the gun play.
Way Too Many Games is an up and coming gaming site run by gamers for gamers. Established in January 2017 Way Too Many Games began with the goal to provide objective reviews and better represent independent developers and niche titles, eventually expanding into board games as well. Since its launch, WTMG has been a presence at E3, Brasil Game Show, and Play NYC, with more events on the way.
VR gaming had a massive presence at E3, and that's thanks in no small part to Sony, whose sizable West Hall booth was dominated by PlayStation VR set-ups. This of course followed Sony's post E3 conference VR party, which was exclusively dominated by PlayStation VR. While titans like 'Batman,' 'Star Wars,' 'Final Fantasy,' and 'Resident Evil' have been positioned to attract players to the day one launch experience, Sony also produced more of a wild card. That would be the VR space adventure, 'Farpoint.'
Developed by Impulse Gear, 'Farpoint' puts the player in a spacesuit on a hostile and desolate world. The actual 'Farpoint' demo that I played at E3 employed a holographic narrative. That is, the game played like an interactive playback of record, with jumps in time and space to ensure that a lot could be experienced quickly.
While I was able to walk around, pick up weapons and ammo, and fight off the alien fauna, each vignette ended in one these time shifts, often while I was still engaging enemies. I want to make clear that this all fits well with a demo experience, and it may not be the format used in the actual game.
What's more important is the gameplay presented in between these jumps. And really, there's no way to describe the gameplay, or really any of 'Farpoint,' without covering the new hardware involved. It's not just the PlayStation VR headset, in the case of 'Farpoint,' Sony also employed their new PlayStation AIM VR controller.
No doubt, anyone familiar with the PS3 era PlayStation Move can be forgiven for thinking that this is yet another plastic shell with PlayStation Move and Nav controllers shoved in it. And yet, while the AIM controller is descended from such ideas, it is its own single piece of hardware. Unlike any of the PS Move/gun shell combinations, the AIM has two analog sticks, plus a full complement of DS4 controls, and all of this in a finished package. For example, the trigger pulls aren't some jury-rigged thing, and there is haptic feedback
The AIM controller looks and feels great, and as I will detail here, it works well in 'Farpoint.' That said, it's far from a slam dunk, as it has some very Move-like limitations. In practice, these limitations are fine for the realm of light guns, but they definitely hinder the "VR" aspects.
In the 'Farpoint' demo, I walked an inhospitable planetary surface. I did this by moving the left stick. (I kept my feet planted.) I could control my view by moving my head, but to aim the in-game weapon, I needed to aim the AIM controller. This might sound pretty basic, especially as holding a gun on a weird planet in video game makes for an itchy trigger finger, one that's sure to find release as enemies are like to be nearby and very easy targets. Even so, putting the AIM controller to my eye and shoulder was even more natural than if I had been playing a regular console FPS.
I began with a kind of machine gun that used a cooldown rather than ammo. Shooting the spider-like enemies as they rushed me had the great arcade/shooting gallery feel. Of all possible FPS games, I think 'Farpoint' specifically gave me a 'Half-Life' feel. I moved along expecting creepy and aggressive alien creatures, of the kind that burrow underground, hatch from eggs, and can't help but launch towards my face or sling acid my way.
Eventually, I picked up a shotgun, which did use shells. Switching between the machine gun and the shotgun at will, I could hit targets at a distance or issue serious stopping power up close. I next picked up two kinds of secondary ammo. The machine gun has a very conventional grenade launcher, but the shotgun has a laser guided rocket launcher. Naturally, the front trigger (L2) fired the secondary ammo while the back trigger fired primary ammo. I could reload using the side R1&R2 buttons or else tilt the gun back.
I played the demo very cautiously. Once I had the rocket launcher I crept forward and, seeing around the edge of a rock, spied a good-size enemy waiting half-hidden about ten meters up. I fired my laser guided rocket launcher, and the rocket immediately collided with the nearby rock edge, blew up and killed me.
As I said before, there were times when I faced a furious amount enemies, only to have the demo jump forward, which kept things moving in spite of my cautious movements. One key to understand is that everything, especially the AIM controller, required line of sight with the PlayStation camera. Although I could glance backwards, this was all really a forward-facing experience. That made the arcade-like light gun feel even more uncanny.
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