FORZA 3 H-PATTERN GEAR SHIFTER

[Mr ASIO]

Forza 3 is a modern racing simulator title, exclusive to Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console. There's not currently much on the market at reasonable cost for controller hardware that makes use of the game's clutch feature and employs a H-pattern stick-shift manual transmission. I'm after something that's close to the real thing, metal and leather not plastic and rubber...so to speak. So to satisfy this Forza fetish I've decided to embark on a project to contruct a gear shifter, improved steering wheel and a clutch pedal perhaps from reclaimed automotive parts to intergrate with the Xbox's original controller hardware.

Breaking from the step-shifter and using a H-pattern shifter presents the greatest challenge for me. Without hacking into the game's physics engine I've decided the easiest approach would be to monitor the visual feed from the Xbox itself.

My aim is to output the video feed from the Xbox 360 into a P.C. Monitor it with optical recognition software to provide a real-time feed of the current gear. Output that via USB to a micro-controller that links to custom gear selector switches and Xbox 360 hardware.

So in theory:

1. MANUALLY SELECT GEAR
2. SWITCH 3 Active (Gear 3)
3. MICRO-CONTROLLER INPUT (ARUINO BOARD?)
4. TELEMETRY REPORTS GEAR 5 (Feed from MAX MSP, Jitter/OpenCV/Eyesweb etc.)

Then on the micro-controller something along the lines of...

5. IF SWITCH is, '3' AND GEAR FEED IS '5': DELAY OPTICAL RECOGNITION 5ms, OPEN XBOX CONTROLLER 'GEAR DOWN BUTTON' CIRCUIT, CLOSE, OPEN, CLOSE CIRCUIT, RE-ACTIVATE OPTICAL RECOGNITION.

If this works, the application could even work with hyraulics, tracking X/Y positioning the yellow dot on G-force telemetry mode?

I'm a complete rookie when it comes to any kind of programming languages, but, I'm keen to learn.

So my real question to anyone interested and willing to help, from what you've read, is this possible? What software/hardware would you recommend? Can anyone link me to useful education resources so I can further break down the process into certified steps?

Regards,

[gcampton]

So my real question to anyone interested and willing to help, from what you've read, is this possible? What software/hardware would you recommend? Can anyone link me to useful education resources so I can further break down the process into certified steps?

As for the first part I don't like your chances, most people are too busy working or doing their own side projects. That's not to say someone wouldn't be interested but the % is low :P
You would have a much better chance at trying to find a programmer or someone good with hardware in the Forza forums if there is any.

Number 2, I have no idea really, I can speculate and say that the controllers have simple on/off 0/1 sensors in them much like a keyboard. so when you move the gearstick to gear 1, it would throw that switch on, and send to the xBox console. and so on. But you would need to get familar with Xbox API to know this... I guess C++.

Number 3, There are plenty of resources to help you get started, but really you would need to be interested in programming first to undertake this, because you could study for 1year + and still be nowhere near reaching your goal (i doubt it would be longer than that for this purpose).
I would also consider enrolling in a course if your that interested. There's basic tutorials on this site, http://cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

Additionally this is how I would go about it in your position, what you could do is splash out on an expensive set, I suggest Logitech g27, and simply pull it to pieces and stick real world forza gearstick pedals etc on a made up metal platform. because really all you would want is the circuit board contained within.
But a up up up up, down down down down type gearstick would not be sufficient for this, you would need a H style.

I know I didn't really give you the info you were hoping for but I hope it helps a little.

PS. check out some of these videos:
http://www.vidoemo.com/yvideo.php?i=Vzl0Z2pNcWuRpcTl0SkE&porsche-911-turbo-racing-wheel-from-fanatec-review-pc-ps3=

I've been reading up on some forums, and a number of people have suggested simply paying for a custom build. The only problem with this is most of the time you loose force feedback.
However custom builds have the advantage of being customizable and upgradable, fixable too.
custom builds can start from $500 and up.

[jRaskell]

Optical recognition, while maybe technically feasible (barely), is completely impractical. Not only is it not the easiest approach to the problem, it could very well be one of the hardest approaches.

[gcampton]

TBH the g27 is pretty sweet as is good as it gets for plug and play. But then it's not entirely impractical to get a rig built, bucket seats, hydrolic lifts, the whole works...
just lots of $$$ and spare room :P

[Mr ASIO]

Thanks for the feedback!