GameInput PC v2.2 Adds Support for Haptics, Motion and More

This past March, we introduced GameInput v1.0 with a variety of improvements targeted to the PC space. Now, we are excited to discuss some awesome extensions and improvements we are bringing to the API to further represent the varied PC ecosystem!

This release brings support for:

• Advanced Haptics: The API can now represent haptics information for audio-driven devices, including audio endpoint and channel information.
• Motion: The API adds support for gyroscope, accelerometer, compass and orientation devices that enumerate via the Windows sensors stack.
• WINE support: The new GameInput redistributable MSI and DLL can operate in Linux-based platforms via WINE-based emulation layers.
• Other assorted improvements: Support for Escape calls for FFB devices, background input support for all XInput devices, container ID information for GameInput devices, among many others!

Further, this GameInput release is ready to redistribute, and you can expect it to be packaged and redistributed with the next Gaming Runtime Services (GRTS) release.

Advanced Haptics

Extending from the traditional vibration/rumble functionality on GameInput, this release also brings support for audio-based advanced haptics devices. The API provides information about the audio endpoint associated with the gamepad, as well as describing the location of the different channels. The audio endpoints can then be targeted via audio APIs like WASAPI.

Motion

Motion devices are now supported by the API. At present, this includes all sensor devices that enumerate through the Windows.Devices.Sensors API. This includes integrated sensors in handheld devices and tablets, as well as attached sensor devices under the HID sensors page. Over time, we hope to bring support for more HW devices as well!

You will find that the API exposes gyroscope, accelerometer, compass and orientation as received from the HW directly. We are also tracking synthesized orientation results for a future API revision.

WINE Support

We know supporting games across different endpoints and environments is an important consideration for game developers. To that end, the latest version of the GameInput installer, static library and dynamic library are directly compatible with WINE. That means that applications packaging and applying the GameInput redistributable can operate across Windows and Windows-like environments.

Hardware Support

We have built GameInput with the goal of representing and interfacing with as many Windows gaming input devices as possible. For HW manufacturers that want to align to the API and better represent their devices in the OS, we have created a “GameInput for hardware developers”  guide. If you would like to onboard your existing devices to the API, you can reach us via the “Contact Owners” feature in the NuGet site.

Available today via NuGet

If you are wondering how you can get started with this new GameInput release, it is now available via our NuGet site. You can learn more about the API at https://aka.ms/gameinput.

We are excited to keep bringing new updates to you and are interested in hearing your feedback! Please let us know of any bug reports and feature requests via the NuGet “Contact Owners” feature.