iOS Bluetooth

[mobichan]

So, I am having a hard time getting iCade working. My basic understanding of how this process should work is that the iCade sends a keyboard key to the ios device as a string whenever you press a button/move the joystick. I thought that just setting a Global String to the iCade's sent string would work. The setup is like this:

+On Message Received
- Set Global String to GetMsg$(iOSBluetooth)

+ Gloabl String = "some_string"
- Do action

+ Global String <> ""
- Set Global String to ""

In the PC debugger, if I change the string manually, I see the desired action. But on device (ipad2 in my case) nothing is happening.

Any idea what I am missing?

Reg

EDIT: The iCade is definitely sending the correct strings because I can see the output in any text field on the device. I also put in an iOSMultiline Editbox and it receives input from the iCade (which sets the Global String and causes the desired action). So I can only guess that the On Message Received condition is the incorrect one to use here. Anyone have any advice on what I am doing wrong?

[DistantJ]

Ah no, iCade sends a string when a button is pressed, then sends a DIFFERENT string when the button is released, you've misunderstood it. Hang on a sec, I'll build a widget, could you use your iCade to test if it works? I don't have access to one right now.

[DistantJ]

Could you test this for me? It all works in theory but I don't have a device to hand to test it on:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/27148256/iCade%20Widget.mfa

The buttons should light up green when you press them, and the joystick should move accordingly. Let me know if it works and I'll finalise the widget and put out a proper example file for using it for games etc.

[mobichan]

DistantJ: I tried your example and it doesn't work. You are actually using the exact same method I am. You set a Global String to the bluetooth object's sent string and then have conditions where (if string = "some key", then "do some action"). For some reason, I don't think the message is ever getting set to the Global String. I tested my theory by adding an edit box to my test frame and using the icade to input text into that. Then I set the contents of the editbox to the Global String. Voila! The string set from the editbox made the action I was expecting (making a character jump, in my case).

So I am not sure if there needs to be some other step, but just using the OnMessageReceived condition doesn't seem to be enough.

[DistantJ]

Hm, but surely an edit box can't be typed into unless it's in focus?

Try now, by the way:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/27148256/iCade%20Widget.mfa

[DistantJ]

This one uses an invisible edit box as a middle-man, does this work? https://dl.dropbox.com/u/27148256/iC...%20Version.mfa

And if it does work, does it require manually connecting to the iCade or is it OK to just receive messages when it's been connected in the iOS settings?

[mobichan]

The IOS Multiline Editbox did have focus when I was using it to test the iCade connection. But it makes me think that the idevice needs to be in a special state to receive the bluetooth keyboard inputs. I tried your first solution (changing the condition to "Always") and it didn't work. The second option seems to quit to the home screen whenever you try to run it on an idevice. Not sure why it is suddenly behaving that way.

EDIT: I got solution 2 to run after a reboot of the Mac. However, it doesn't work. In my test I was giving focus to the iOS Multiline Editbox by tapping on it first. Then pressing iCade inputs and seeing them appear in the edit box. I don't know if the normal editbox you used works differently, but I can also try swapping it for the iOS version. Either way, I think there is something strange with how the keystrokes are being received.

[DistantJ]

Hm, weird. The hidden edit box maybe...

[DistantJ]

Ah... What's happening here is that the iCade doesn't send string messages at all, we're just reading it as if typing in an edit box... Without the edit box there this extension can't be used to make iCade support, and with it there it'll force an on screen keyboard up for people not using one.

I can create an iCade extension but I don't have an iPad or iCade... If somebody was able to supply an iCade and iPad to me I will create one.

[Koji_Kabuto]

Hey Guys, chech this:

http://www.impulsecontroller.com/