Hmm, I think even playing midi files would be useful, if the sound bank used for rendering can be set somehow. It could allow mosic that is composed algoorithmically. Maybe some library like this one could be useful? http://portmedia.sourceforge.net/

Actually, with Dumb, we do already support ScreamTracker module music files. That's why I don't see any harm in also supporting MIDI, if the support is properly programmed and well documented. But yes, this would probably best work as an add-on.

Okay, that makes a lot more sense. I wasn't sure what you were trying to accomplish. Custom / exotic controllers have always been one of my favorite things.

I always wanted one of these as a kid:

http://daviddemar.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/76817-noscale-23214-steelbattalioncontroller.jpg

If I end up doing any custom controller "drivers", I'll add them to Allegro myself while I'm at it and submit a patch. I'm a big fan of using Arduinos as human-interface devices.

One HID I always wish they had was a (PC) keyboard with pressure sensitive keys, if only a few. Like even if it were expensive to do all the keys, then just pressure sensitive WASD keys so you can keep a keyboard layout but still have fine control over your strafing/movement.

Why... not? If someone wants to put the work in, at the very worst, it'd be an Allegro addon.

I also want multiple mice/keyboard support for Allegro, and if I wasn't stretched so thin between my RTS game, my submarine, work, and a thousand family problems, I'd have written the driver already.

It hurts my brain that nobody has bothered to create an RTS interface that combines a mouse/keyboard with a touchscreen monitor (that's NOT used simply as a touch "mouse").

It shouldn't be that hard. With the exception of PC keyboards, everything reports a combination of buttons, a relative axes, and absolute axes. Keyboards could be mapped to serial character output from a "104-button joystick," but that's kind of overkill.

Velocity sensitive musical keyboards are a bit of an issue. But then again, if you allow a button to have a value tagged with it (in addition to pressed), then that covers velocity/pressure/etc.

I'm not aware of any input device that needs more than one value attached per button press (pressure + velocity), but that could either be explicitly handled or reserved for macro DEFINEs for the few people who would actually use them.

Mouse gestures complicate things. I'm not sure how those work, whether they're a layer on top of the mouse x/y, or they get sent separately. Personally, I hate them.

Mouse button presses can include a pressure value as well to cover drawing tablets. I've long wanted to use those for an RTS game (I've got one, again, no time at the moment.)

What would be fun would be to have Lua (or whatever) script support to define generic "controllers" and the data they need so we can literally just plug an Arduino in, write HID_ARDUINO in the script type, and start defining "if(axis0 == 100)send_event(KEYBOARD_CHAR_A);".

What I mean is, an Allegro game expresses "things to be controlled" and their type. Then we use Lua to bind our input from our joystick/etc to event calls to those exposed functions. That way, people could literally add their own controllers to a new game without having to recompile it or have access to the code. They could also technically "abuse it" to write key pressing AI if we expose data outputs from the game.

Lastly, of course we'd have to define outputs as well for force feedback, audio to Wii controller speakers, LED flashing, and so on.

I'd be willing to work on such a library extension if other people are interested. Haptic Feedback / User Interfaces have always been a strong interest of mine.

I think I mentioned touch screens. It's just a mouse as long as you track movement while a button is pressed (or always with a "mouse_history_length * sampling_interval").

Multi-touch is interesting. I guess each mouse could have multiple relative/absolute "points" it returns. So point_0.xy is normal mousing, but another finger and point_1.xy is updated now.

We could add a gesture recognition layer on top of that, and again, technically we could have scripts so people can add their own "this gesture=KEY_T"

That way, technically, we could even have gestures that span non-traditional interfaces like wiggling a rotary knob on your MIDI keyboard.

Since this "library" could have many many applications, it might not be wise to rigidly combine it with Allegro. Allegro is more for gaming, and this could be for anything and people might not want the graphical overhead of Allegro, or perhaps use a different graphics library. Obviously, we would use Allegro, but someone might want something lighter-weight as say, a Many HID->TCP bridge Raspberry Pi--I don't know. I'm just trying to think ahead.

You guys have got me interested. I'm going to start thinking about some data structures. This is rather timely, I've even written a document a week or two ago about controllers. I've long wanted to make a steering wheel complete with turn signals, as well as a realistic shifter knob from one of my old cars, and 3-pedal (gas, brake, clutch) board for a game that involved realistic clutch use (Sierra's Drivers Education 99 meets GTA)

....huh?

Yeah....I was thinking a bit more technical than that Chris...how are you going to 'control FLStudio'...using midi...you may be able to get your midi into one of the scores, but how you're going to get midi via an IL_Bridge into FL to control it...

...I repeat, huh?

So, a USB loop back device?

...yeah...I'm not really making my question clear here...I know what midi is, I have several midi instruments (also, not sure if you knew but I've been making music for a while....)

My question is more specifically regarding FL Studio, which uses IL_Bridge's to overcome the 4Gb RAM limit it has...I'd like to know (from a programming perspective) how in the name of our lord Yevon you would "control FL studio" by using a midi device...

...just forget it. I'm annoyed now.

This library looks like it could be useful or relevant:

http://midishare.sourceforge.net/

Yeah, midi files are very compact and can sound nice with good sound fonts. I assume you mean this BASS: http://www.un4seen.com/? Interesting, but commercial software. Might be quite a challenge to replace all that functionality with some open source library.