Customer Input Needed - Reduced Cost Macro Controller?

[odingalt]

Greetings,

The current macro controller is... well... pricey. And our current macro modchips can only be installed into a specific circuit board in the controllers called a "CG2" circuit board. Well, Microsoft has changed their circuit board design and all new controllers are now "Matrix2" design. The good news is that I've already reverse-engineered the new design.

The bad news is that we will probably need to develop a "Macro V2.0" controller. Macro v2.0, Macro-mini, Macro-LS (not sure what we'll call it yet), will be a "reduced feature" version of the full-on macro controller we are selling now. The plus side to this is, we can get the retail cost dropped by an estimated $50. Question for you customers. Would you be happy with a $149 macro controller, if we had to drop these features?:

*Add a 2.5mm jack for programming - you can no longer update the controller using the play-and-charge cable. You would have to use a 2.5mm - to - USB cable we provide, and there would be a small 2.5mm hole on the bottom of your controller.
*No more analog sticks - you wouldn't be able to playback macros that use the analog sticks. (you CAN still use the stick's center-press)
*No more fine trigger analog control - triggers control would be "simple" button like X,Y,B,A - no more "slider bar" for fine-trigger control (rapidfire will still work just as well as it does now)
*No more Guide Button and Start Button availability.

Please let me know your thoughts. I think we can seriously drop the price of the macro controller if we are willing to sacrifice these features.

Regards,

The Viking Staff

 

[GJUnLeAsHeD]

how long would this last until a new controller comes out or what ?? i guess this would be good 4 pplz trying not to drop the extra cash but will the old macro controller still get firmware software updates continually ?? and one more thing im not sure droping stuff is the answer the viking is the best moded controller on the market and thats what most hardcore gamers want to buy cutting features after releasing the king of moded controllers would cheapen the viking (look) or maby just thats me. I understand that u guys are looking to get to the buyers who dont have deep pockets and i respect that but pplz will find a way to get there hands on a viking if there they want it bad enough or is that just me ?? Thanx ,GJUnLeAsHeD

 

[WetterThanWater]

The 2.5 jack wouldn't be too much of a problem, my odin has a 3.5, theres no downside to it other than to keep it clean. (And makes it look a little unsightly.)

The guide button and the start button wouldn't be too much of a problem, except if you want to do some glitch or boost or something.

Analog sticks are great and people would like to use them, but I think it's something consumers can live without.

Also rapidfire works, so I don't see an issue. (I don't quite even know what the slider bar does xD)

but out of curiousity, do they use the same Macro chip

P.S. I agree, the original Macro controller should still receive updates..

 

[Sgt Jax Mehoff]

that would be ok but you still need to sell the ones for 200 that do everything because i would definately not buy one like that keep it the way it is guys... plz

 

[M1A1xVIKINGxFTW]

i think that a price drop would do wonders!! also i think a 3.5mm jack would be better than a 2.5mm jack because of the fact that 3.5mm cables are more available than 2.5mm cables....but all in all i think these changes would be fine....but would the ABXY buttons still be macroable?

 

[WetterThanWater]

NEpatsNE1's 3.5mm jack idea is a good idea, considering if you break your play and charge cable, you can't program it, correct?
You can just buy a random 3.5mm usb cable from radioshack/bestbuy/futureshop/walmart/etc.. and it'll work too.

Also, old school viking users can use their old 3.5mm cables as well.

 

[M1A1xVIKINGxFTW]

NEpatsNE1's 3.5mm jack idea is a good idea, considering if you break your play and charge cable, you can't program it, correct?
You can just buy a random 3.5mm usb cable from radioshack/bestbuy/futureshop/walmart/etc.. and it'll work too.

Also, old school viking users can use their old 3.5mm cables as well.

yeah.... 2.5mm cables IMO are brittle compaired to 3.5mm cables.

 

[WetterThanWater]

Yeah, I've snapped quite a few of em xD

 

[NYjetsNY1]

The current macro controller is... well... pricey. And our current macro modchips can only be installed into a specific circuit board in the controllers called a "CG2" circuit board. Well, Microsoft has changed their circuit board design and all new controllers are now "Matrix2" design. The good news is that I've already reverse-engineered the new design.

This is true, and good that you have gotten a new design.

The bad news is that we will probably need to develop a "Macro V2.0" controller. Macro v2.0, Macro-mini, Macro-LS (not sure what we'll call it yet), will be a "reduced feature" version of the full-on macro controller we are selling now. The plus side to this is, we can get the retail cost dropped by an estimated $50. Question for you customers. Would you be happy with a $149 macro controller, if we had to drop these features?:

*Add a 2.5mm jack for programming - you can no longer update the controller using the play-and-charge cable. You would have to use a 2.5mm - to - USB cable we provide, and there would be a small 2.5mm hole on the bottom of your controller.

That's fine

*No more analog sticks - you wouldn't be able to playback macros that use the analog sticks. (you CAN still use the stick's center-press)

Press is great, I honestly don't think I use macros that use analogs anyway because of the anti-recoil update awaiting.
*No more fine trigger analog control - triggers control would be "simple" button like X,Y,B,A - no more "slider bar" for fine-trigger control (rapidfire will still work just as well as it does now)
I don't think I use fine trigger analog control either

*No more Guide Button and Start Button availability.
I don't use these anyway


I really think this: Make a cheap macro, and have an expensive one. For people wanting the full on thing, keep the price around $199-$299.

For the cheaper macro, try $149.

Not sure on this one. I really don't need the features currently, but they are nice to have. Its nice to have full-on macro, but not necessary.

All of the current macros will work fine on it right? My turbo knife is super-fine-tuned, and any speed change (the controller does it faster / slower) will be hell testing...

VERY IMPORTANT...

 

[GJUnLeAsHeD]

that would be ok but you still need to sell the ones for 200 that do everything because i would definately not buy one like that keep it the way it is guys... plz

AGREED I LOVE MY MACRO

 

[GJUnLeAsHeD]

The current macro controller is... well... pricey. And our current macro modchips can only be installed into a specific circuit board in the controllers called a "CG2" circuit board. Well, Microsoft has changed their circuit board design and all new controllers are now "Matrix2" design. The good news is that I've already reverse-engineered the new design.

This is true, and good that you have gotten a new design.

The bad news is that we will probably need to develop a "Macro V2.0" controller. Macro v2.0, Macro-mini, Macro-LS (not sure what we'll call it yet), will be a "reduced feature" version of the full-on macro controller we are selling now. The plus side to this is, we can get the retail cost dropped by an estimated $50. Question for you customers. Would you be happy with a $149 macro controller, if we had to drop these features?:

*Add a 2.5mm jack for programming - you can no longer update the controller using the play-and-charge cable. You would have to use a 2.5mm - to - USB cable we provide, and there would be a small 2.5mm hole on the bottom of your controller.

That's fine

*No more analog sticks - you wouldn't be able to playback macros that use the analog sticks. (you CAN still use the stick's center-press)

Press is great, I honestly don't think I use macros that use analogs anyway because of the anti-recoil update awaiting.
*No more fine trigger analog control - triggers control would be "simple" button like X,Y,B,A - no more "slider bar" for fine-trigger control (rapidfire will still work just as well as it does now)
I don't think I use fine trigger analog control either

*No more Guide Button and Start Button availability.
I don't use these anyway


I really think this: Make a cheap macro, and have an expensive one. For people wanting the full on thing, keep the price around $199-$299.

For the cheaper macro, try $149.

Not sure on this one. I really don't need the features currently, but they are nice to have. Its nice to have full-on macro, but not necessary.

All of the current macros will work fine on it right? My turbo knife is super-fine-tuned, and any speed change (the controller does it faster / slower) will be hell testing...

VERY IMPORTANT...

THIS IS A GREAT COMMENT BUT WE STILL NEED TO FIND OUT IF THERES ANY WAY TO EVEN FIT A MACRO CHIP INTO A "Matrix2" CONTROLLER

 

[NYjetsNY1]

The current macro controller is... well... pricey. And our current macro modchips can only be installed into a specific circuit board in the controllers called a "CG2" circuit board. Well, Microsoft has changed their circuit board design and all new controllers are now "Matrix2" design. The good news is that I've already reverse-engineered the new design.

This is true, and good that you have gotten a new design.

The bad news is that we will probably need to develop a "Macro V2.0" controller. Macro v2.0, Macro-mini, Macro-LS (not sure what we'll call it yet), will be a "reduced feature" version of the full-on macro controller we are selling now. The plus side to this is, we can get the retail cost dropped by an estimated $50. Question for you customers. Would you be happy with a $149 macro controller, if we had to drop these features?:

*Add a 2.5mm jack for programming - you can no longer update the controller using the play-and-charge cable. You would have to use a 2.5mm - to - USB cable we provide, and there would be a small 2.5mm hole on the bottom of your controller.

That's fine

*No more analog sticks - you wouldn't be able to playback macros that use the analog sticks. (you CAN still use the stick's center-press)

Press is great, I honestly don't think I use macros that use analogs anyway because of the anti-recoil update awaiting.
*No more fine trigger analog control - triggers control would be "simple" button like X,Y,B,A - no more "slider bar" for fine-trigger control (rapidfire will still work just as well as it does now)
I don't think I use fine trigger analog control either

*No more Guide Button and Start Button availability.
I don't use these anyway


I really think this: Make a cheap macro, and have an expensive one. For people wanting the full on thing, keep the price around $199-$299.

For the cheaper macro, try $149.

Not sure on this one. I really don't need the features currently, but they are nice to have. Its nice to have full-on macro, but not necessary.

All of the current macros will work fine on it right? My turbo knife is super-fine-tuned, and any speed change (the controller does it faster / slower) will be hell testing...

VERY IMPORTANT...

THIS IS A GREAT COMMENT BUT WE STILL NEED TO FIND OUT IF THERES ANY WAY TO EVEN FIT A MACRO CHIP INTO A "Matrix2" CONTROLLER

Quote: odingalt.

"The good news is that I've already reverse-engineered the new design."
I think that answers it.

 

[PS3andCOD]

It apears that he has a new plan for a macro chip that works in a matrix 2 controller, but that it will have to cu those features to work in the matrix 2 controller. He'll still sell as many cg2 controllers as he can get his hands on, but also sell the matrix 2 controllers as the new "macro 2.0", which will unfortunatly have less features.

 

[odingalt]

All of the current macros will work fine on it right? My turbo knife is super-fine-tuned, and any speed change (the controller does it faster / slower) will be hell testing...

VERY IMPORTANT...

Correct, all macros that are in the library right now would work on this reduced-macro chip, with the exception of course that the new chip would ignore (not playback) any analog joystick moves - those moves would just be ignored by the new chip. And any finite trigger control using the slider bar, the new chip would just either assume you meant to press the trigger all the way or just release it.

So yeah, the reduced-version would still play the same exact macros in the library, in fact you would use the same exact macro software that you use now. We would just add notes explaining what happens if you were to own a future reduced-feature version.

This is all tentative but just some thoughts, still waiting on a big shipment of controllers to see what kind of circuit boards we are going to receive from the distributor.

 

[NYjetsNY1]

All of the current macros will work fine on it right? My turbo knife is super-fine-tuned, and any speed change (the controller does it faster / slower) will be hell testing...

VERY IMPORTANT...

Correct, all macros that are in the library right now would work on this reduced-macro chip, with the exception of course that the new chip would ignore (not playback) any analog joystick moves - those moves would just be ignored by the new chip. And any finite trigger control using the slider bar, the new chip would just either assume you meant to press the trigger all the way or just release it.

So yeah, the reduced-version would still play the same exact macros in the library, in fact you would use the same exact macro software that you use now. We would just add notes explaining what happens if you were to own a future reduced-feature version.

This is all tentative but just some thoughts, still waiting on a big shipment of controllers to see what kind of circuit boards we are going to receive from the distributor.

Would the speed be exactly the same though, for example - the way it portrays macros, just wondering. Like will a macro .89 rapid-fire be exactly the same on the matrix as it is CG2?

 

[WetterThanWater]

Shouldn't this also be in product conceptualizing ?

 

[M1A1xVIKINGxFTW]

Shouldn't this also be in product conceptualizing ?

no because he asked what we thought about the price drop....and thats PS3

 

[shaoliin]

I think this is a good idea to attract more customers, BUT im afraid that if you followed through entirely on the new design then that would leave little room for updates for the original Macro controller. So im on the edge about it.

 

[PS3andCOD]

The new controller would be so closely linked to the old one that they would share macros and the same macro software... I doubt there would be a problem with the old one being neglected in the updates.

 

[oDEEKo]

Tbh this concerns me greatly, as a relatively new macro customer, my macro controller is now based on redundant hardware.

I totally appreciate that Viking can not be responsible for, or predict, when or how M$ update their hardware. And by buying a 'modded' controller you accept the risk of just such a scenario arising..

It's just massively frustrating that it has happened so soon and while the 'full functionality firmware' is still in development. As evidenced by the creation of this thread, there's now a need to start focussing on creating a mod for the new hardware as well and ultimately us current macro owners become 'legacy users'.

I'm sure no one is feeling this quite so acutely as Einar though. Obviously he/Viking is now faced with the r&d and production set up costs etc. associated with producing a new mod whilst, in product lifespan terms, the current macro mod is still in it's infancy

I sincerely hope the new batch of controllers on order do turn out to be cg2 and this doesn't have too great an impact on the arrival of the new firmware.