What exactly does “Game Device Calibration” in Windows do?

Understanding Game Device Calibration in Windows

Game Device Calibration is a wizard that is available in Windows OS, specifically in the Control Panel. It is a tool that is designed to calibrate game controllers, such as joysticks, gamepads, and other input devices, to ensure that they work accurately and efficiently with games and other applications. The calibration process involves mapping the movement of the device to the movement of the cursor on the screen.

The Function of Game Device Calibration

The main function of Game Device Calibration is to ensure that game controllers work accurately and efficiently with games and other applications. The calibration process involves mapping the movement of the device to the movement of the cursor on the screen. This means that when you move the device, the cursor on the screen moves accordingly.

During the calibration process, the wizard generates a calibration profile that is stored in the registry. This profile contains information about the device, such as its range of motion and sensitivity. The calibration profile is then used by the operating system to ensure that the device works accurately and efficiently with games and other applications.

The Calibration Process

The calibration process involves a series of steps that are designed to ensure that the device is calibrated accurately. These steps include:

1. Centering the device: The first step in the calibration process is to center the device. This involves placing the device in its neutral position and pressing the center button (if it has one).

2. Defining the range of motion: The next step is to define the range of motion of the device. This involves moving the device to its maximum limits in each direction.

3. Assigning values to the raw data: The wizard then assigns values to the raw data within certain limits. This ensures that the device works accurately and efficiently with games and other applications.

4. Generating a calibration profile: Once the values have been assigned, the wizard generates a calibration profile that is stored in the registry.

Is Game Device Calibration Solely a Software-Based Calibration Tool?

Yes, Game Device Calibration is solely a software-based calibration tool. It does not transmit any information back to the device. The calibration process is done entirely within the operating system, and the calibration profile is stored in the registry.

Recognizing the Wizard’s Output

It is possible to recognize the wizard’s output so that you can integrate its calibration into your own application. The calibration profile is stored in the registry, and you can access it using the Registry Editor. Once you have the calibration profile, you can use it in your own application to ensure that game controllers work accurately and efficiently.

However, it is important to note that the calibration profile is specific to the device it was generated for. If you use the calibration profile with a different device, it may not work accurately. Therefore, it is recommended that you calibrate each device separately using the Game Device Calibration wizard.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Game Device Calibration is a wizard that is available in Windows OS, specifically in the Control Panel. It is a tool that is designed to calibrate game controllers, such as joysticks, gamepads, and other input devices, to ensure that they work accurately and efficiently with games and other applications. The calibration process involves mapping the movement of the device to the movement of the cursor on the screen. The calibration profile is stored in the registry and is used by the operating system to ensure that the device works accurately and efficiently with games and other applications. The wizard’s output can be recognized and used in your own application, but it is recommended that you calibrate each device separately using the Game Device Calibration wizard.

Game Device Calibration is a feature in Windows that allows users to calibrate game controllers, such as gamepads, joysticks, and racing wheels, to work correctly with games on their computer. The calibration wizard guides the user through a series of tests in which they move the controller’s axes and press its buttons to ensure that the controller is properly recognized by the system and that its inputs are correctly mapped to the appropriate in-game actions.

During the calibration process, the wizard may create dead zones and adjust sensitivity settings for the controller’s axes to ensure that the controller’s inputs are accurately reflected in the game. These settings may be stored in the registry or in a configuration file on the system.

Game Device Calibration is a software feature, so it does not send data back to the device itself. However, the calibration process may involve sending input commands to the controller to test its functionality and ensure that it is working correctly.

It is not possible to identify the output of the Game Device Calibration wizard in order to make calibration available from within an application. However, there are other ways to calibrate game controllers and access their input data from within an application. For example, many game engines and frameworks provide APIs for accessing game controller input and for adjusting controller settings programmatically. You may be able to use these APIs to calibrate game controllers and access their input data from within your application.

In summary, Game Device Calibration is a feature in Windows that allows users to calibrate game controllers, such as gamepads, joysticks, and racing wheels, to work correctly with games on their computer. The calibration process involves testing the controller’s inputs and adjusting sensitivity settings and dead zones to ensure that the controller’s inputs are accurately reflected in the game. Game Device Calibration is a software feature, so it does not send data back to the device itself. However, there are other ways to calibrate game controllers and access their input data from within an application, such as using APIs provided by game engines and frameworks.

Based on my recent experimentation with the joystick controller calibration tool built into Windows, I can confirm the following behavior for a PS4 joystick (other controllers should behave similarly):

After completing the calibration wizard, the calibrated data is written to the following registries: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\MediaProperties\PrivateProperties\DirectInput<DEVICE_ID>\Calibration\0\Type\Axes<NUM>, where <NUM> represents the axis number.

For a PS4 joystick, six axis are read by Windows, resulting in the creation of six registry key values. The axis numbers are as follows:

0 (x) –> horizontal motion of the left analog stick.

1 (y) –> vertical motion of the left analog stick.

2 (z) –> horizontal motion of the right analog stick.

3 (Rx) –> L2 trigger.

4 (Ry) –> R2 trigger.

5 (Rz) –> vertical motion of the right analog stick.

The format of the registry keys is Calibration mapped to a 12 byte binary value (encoded as <MIN> <MID> <MAX>).

For example, the value of my Axis 0 (x) is: <00 00 00 00> <80 00 00 00> <ff 00 00 00>, which translates to: Minimum Axis 0 value = <00 00 00 00> = 0 (decimal) Middle Axis 0 value = <80 00 00 00> = 128 (decimal) Maximum Axis 0 value <ff 00 00 00> = 255 (decimal) Windows’ calibration converts the physical values into a calibrated range (minimum, middle, and maximum values from above).

For example, if my faulty left analog stick registers a range of 10-100 for horizontal movement (x-axis) when it should be registering from 0-255, I can set the min/max values to 10 and 100 respectively to calibrate the faulty analog stick.

Deadzones do not seem to have a specific setting, so I assume this is an implementation detail that is left to the application above (e.g. a game defined as part of the game logic code). Since the calibration settings are stored in the registry, calibration is not persistent across different machines.

Regarding your specific case, you may want to use some Windows APIs to read the values (such as XInput, UWP API). As a bonus, I have included some buggy code that reads controller input using the Windows XInput API.

#pragma comment(lib,"XInput.lib")
#pragma comment(lib,"Xinput9_1_0.lib")

#include <iostream>
#include <roapi.h>
#include <Xinput.h>

XINPUT_STATE fetchAConnectedJoystick() 
{
    DWORD dwResult;    
    XINPUT_STATE state;

    for (DWORD i=0; i < XUSER_MAX_COUNT; i++)
    {
        ZeroMemory(&state, sizeof(XINPUT_STATE));

        // Simply get the state of the controller from XInput.
        dwResult = XInputGetState(i, &state);

        // Controller is connected
        if(dwResult == ERROR_SUCCESS)
        {
            return state;
        }
    }

    std::exit;
}

void printLeftAnalogStickReadings(XINPUT_STATE state) 
{
    float LX = state.Gamepad.sThumbLX;
    float LY = state.Gamepad.sThumbLY;
    std::cout << "(X=" << LX << ", Y=" << LY << ")\n";
}

int computeAdjustedMagnitude(XINPUT_STATE state) 
{
    int INPUT_DEADZONE = 42;

    float LX = state.Gamepad.sThumbLX;
    float LY = state.Gamepad.sThumbLY;

    float magnitude = sqrt(LX*LX + LY*LY);              // Determine how far the controller is pushed

    // Determine the direction the controller is pushed
    float normalizedLX = LX / magnitude;
    float normalizedLY = LY / magnitude;

    if (magnitude > INPUT_DEADZONE)                     // Check if the controller is outside a circular dead zone
    {
        if (magnitude > 32767) magnitude = 32767;       // Clip the magnitude at its expected maximum value
        magnitude -= INPUT_DEADZONE;                    // Adjust magnitude relative to the end of the dead zone

    }
    else                                                // If the controller is in the deadzone zero out the magnitude
    {
        magnitude = 0.0;
    }
    return magnitude;
}

int main()
{
    XINPUT_STATE state;
    int sleepDuration = 100;                            // Milliseconds
    int adjustedMag = 0;

    while (true) {
        state = fetchAConnectedJoystick();
        printLeftAnalogStickReadings(state);
//      adjustedMag = computeAdjustedMagnitude(state);
//      std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(sleepDuration));
    }
}