Community Event / Creation Microsoft Strategic Commander

[Roobarb]

Hi everyone!

I thought I'd pull out my very old and obsolete MS Strategic Commander ahead of the upcoming PB, and see if I could make some use of it.

If you're not sure what the devil I'm talking about, it's this.

Now, due to its age, this old-school bad-boy isn't compatible with any version of Windows newer than XP, as MS stopped supporting it a long time ago. Fortunately, some clever spark somewhere created a small program that not only allows recent versions of Windows to recognise it, but also allows you to program it completely!

And because I'm nice, I'll share it all with you.

First up, here's a link to the Strategic Engine software.

Next, here's a link for my Elite Dangerous Profile to import into the above software.

In order to import it, download the file, open your "My Documents" folder, look for the "Strategic Engine" folder, and simply paste into it.

Fire up the program, load the profile, and you're laughing.

Although it works a charm, and most controls are mapped, you may find some configurations unintuitive. It's really what feels right for you, so feel free to edit the profile.

I've tested Strategic Engine on Windows 7 and 8 without any problems.

Here's the profile layout:







Couple the Commander with VoiceAttack and FaceTrackNoIR, and you've got yourself a very cool ED controller setup, without much fuss, or cost. Plus you have the bonus of making use of that really awesome peripheral you bought 10 years ago and hardly used!

Enjoy, and thanks for looking!

 

[Mobius]

Looks like I'll be in the shed tomorrow to dig out that old thing. It was fantastic to use with the total war series.

 

[Roobarb]

I should point out that this is a mouse/keyboard supplement. That is to say, a keyboard control replacement which still requires the mouse to pitch/yaw/shoot. Also note that on my configuration, I've set the throttle to my mouse wheel.

 

[Roobarb]

Looks like I'll be in the shed tomorrow to dig out that old thing. It was fantastic to use with the total war series.

Yeah, it worked a treat with Total War. And Civ4. And Sims 3.

If you got your head around it, it worked great with first-person shooters too. I used to own Unreal Tournament with it!

 

[Roobarb]

I woke this morning and realised that my profile will be missing quite a lot of functions, such as landing gear and cargo scoop key mapping, amongst others no doubt... oops!

I'll update it later once I've finally got the beta update.

 

[JonnyRedHed]

Your profile link requires I give an email address. That's just going to get me tons of spam. Do you have it uploaded to a public dropbox or somewhere that don't require handing over an email address.

 

[Roobarb]

Your profile link requires I give an email address. That's just going to get me tons of spam. Do you have it uploaded to a public dropbox or somewhere that don't require handing over an email address.

Oh yeah, forgot about that. I was meaning to repost it somewhere more accessible. It's early atm, I'll sort it out later after work.

 

[JonnyRedHed]

Oh yeah, forgot about that. I was meaning to repost it somewhere more accessible. It's early atm, I'll sort it out later after work.

Thanks.

I just got my friends old Commander in the post today. Much bigger than I expected but wow it slides back and fourth and side to side, and twists left and right. Could be very useful.

I cleaned the sliding surfaces and added a very thin layer with a cloth of some old PTFE grease I had left over. And it improved the sliding a lot.

 

[Vingtetun]

If anyone wants one, I have one here that I no longer need as I have an X52 ;-) PM Me. (FOC)

 

[Vingtetun]

Can I suggest getting this thread moved out of the fan creations section?

 

[Vingtetun]

Gone - to the man in Red.

 

[MugwumpUK]

Strategic help

HI Guys, thanks for posting this.

I'm having an issue when, having downloaded and installed Strategic Engine 1.3, I plug the controller in and it instantly says "Unable to open Strategic Commander Device"


I have tried the unplug and re run the software thing to no avail, any ideas?

Thanks

 

[JonnyRedHed]

Gone - to the man in Red.

Thank you sir. Rep given.

 

[Roobarb]

HI Guys, thanks for posting this.

I'm having an issue when, having downloaded and installed Strategic Engine 1.3, I plug the controller in and it instantly says "Unable to open Strategic Commander Device"


I have tried the unplug and re run the software thing to no avail, any ideas?

Thanks

I'm not sure if it'll help, but I plugged the SC in before installing the software.

Also, try using a different USB port, just in case.

The software, when run, should detect the SC instantly. You can tell because the buttons light up when the program starts.

What OS are you using? I've only tested the program on Win7 and 8 (not 8.1 or Vista).

 

[JonnyRedHed]

Any one have much luck using the Microsoft Strategic Commander. Tips etc.

Also we still need that link fixed OP for the profile you made.

 

[Wezzoid]

does the controller have proportional, 'analogue' control like a mouse or joystick, or is it simply acting like WASD or arrow keys? It's hard to tell from what i've found so far on the web.

 

[SilverXXX]

With strategic engine there is no analog axis,
i'm trying to build an application with analog support thru vJoy virtual driver.
If you're interested, i can post a link.

 

[JonnyRedHed]

With strategic engine there is no analog axis,
i'm trying to build an application with analog support thru vJoy virtual driver.
If you're interested, i can post a link.

Yes keep us posted. Thanks.

 

[p1agu3]

I'm also interested in analog axial control

With strategic engine there is no analog axis,
i'm trying to build an application with analog support thru vJoy virtual driver.
If you're interested, i can post a link.

I am very interested. I bought a MS Strategic Commander after seeing your initial profile ($25 - awesome price on eBay these days!), and though it is pretty awesome (much more awesome now that I've gone to the work of reconfiguring my own profiles which I'd be happy to share once I get home), I'm on the verge of just buying an expensive throttle now to go alongside my joystick in place of this. I just can't deal with the inability to quickly set a very specific speed when dogfighting with other players and it's killed me several times already. Analog control would be incredible on this old beast and it would make me not feel such a compulsion to upgrade. Keep us in the loop! I made this account just to say this and voice my support for your efforts.

 

[Vendraen]

HA! I used to have one of these, as well as a Microsoft Game Voice (I believe that was the name) - that was a very early attempt at voice comms. I actually got that one for free because I ran a fairly major fan site at the time (neriak.com).