Miscelleneous by stefan @ 2013-04-24
The Wolf Controller for XBOX 360 is a modification PCB from Talismoon which allows adding a lot of features to the original controller like Rapid Fire, 17 programmable buttons, instant Macro creation, multiple profiles, Voice commands, the ability to use multiple controllers at once in single player games and more.
At first we would like to thank Talismoon for offering a sample of their Wolf Controller for testing and reviewing.
“Talismoon is an exciting and fast growing company which aims to go that extra mile in satisfying the ever-growing niche gamer market.
Our motto relies heavily on three key phrases, quality, innovation and low prices. Talismoon products are designed on a global scale in both Europe and North America, with operations head quartered in France. When you order a Talismoon product, you can be assured of quality to rival the big name brands but at a price that won’t break the bank by any means.
We have 3 development centers: one in France, one in Canada and one in Hong Kong.
Our factory is located in the Shenzhen area in China.
Our international staff of young videogames and electronics fanatics allows us to produce products for ourselves that will appeal to millions of people around the world”
Talismoon Wolf Controller is the best of what rapid fire mods can offer, and a lot more. It provides every functions existing on the various on all available Rapid Fire Mods, and adds many unique function you will not find anywhere else. It is simply put the ultimate Rapid Fire Mod!
Bluetooth Enabled: Log into your Wolf from any PC or Android device
Control over 17 buttons
Easy, drag and drop macro creation:
Upload your macros to the Wolf and download them from the net
Record macros, live, in the game you are playing
Design how you want to swap macros, with the combination (or voice command) YOU selected
Configure your Wolf from any PC or Android device
(with iOS and WP8 coming soon)
Wolf Pack mode for single player games:
Add one, two or three additional Wolf Controllers to your ‘Pack’ and all other controllers can play in the single player game at the same time!
Voice commands:
Control your Wolf by simply speaking, from simple ‘Reload’ to complex macros with just the sound of your voice
Lights: Wolf comes with bright blue LEDs that you can configure on/off/flashing
In this review we will try to take a look upon one of the latest Rapid Fire Mod for the XBOX 360 controller made by Talismoon. There are also some other Rapid Fire mods on the market, but this one is more advanced (we have control of over 17 buttons), permitting a much simpler configuration procedure, via Bluetooth. This procedure will allow us to connect directly to the XBOX 360 mod itself and perform modifications from our PC or Android device. The Wolf mod can be bought separately or integrated inside a new XBOX 360 controller. On a first look, the controller looks very similar to the stock one, with a few modifications like the clear analog sticks:
At each analog stick we have 4 additional SMD LEDs that can be controlled from the Wolf app:
Opening up the controller to see what is inside is not an easy deal since Microsoft has used special screws that can be removed by only using a T8 Security screwdriver; we must not forget the last screw that is placed underside the product serial number, in the battery compartment:
Our sample had the mod pre-applied; the manufacturer does not recommend installing the mod by inexperienced people because we may damage the controller in the process. Before attempting to order the PCB, we must check the compatibility: only the C15 type original Microsoft Wireless XBOX 360 controller is eligible. First we will have to remove some graphite material from the instructed points and then we’ll have to tin the points in order to apply the mod PCB (Wolf Flexi Board). A completed board should look like this:
Some extra wires must be installed to take control of the left and right bumpers:
Also, we will place two additional wires for the thumb sticks:
The light rings will be fixed properly by using glue or double side tape. These must be secured properly because if we do not, they will lift up and start moving; by using the controller like this we may damage the PCB:
The Wolf is not a regular PIC chip design, but is powered by an ARM Microcontroller and secure FPGA chip, both which are fully upgradeable over Bluetooth. Here are the components that we have spotted on the PCB:
ACTEL AGLN060 IGLOO Nano FPGA
NXP LPC1114F ARM Cortex-M0 based Microcontroller
The visible EN29LV800CB IC is an 8 Megabit Flash Memory placed on the Bluetooth PCB and was manufactured by EON (Eon Silicon Solution Inc.):
After turning on the controller, we can pair it with our computer or Android device via Bluetooth. The necessary configuration software can be downloaded from the www.wolfcontroller.com website along with the Android app, a default controller profile and some individual macros for the default controller profile:
The main application screen will show the controller in the middle, a small wolf head on the top left and a macro selector. The right side comes with the memory banks selector and on the bottom we have the option to load new macros, save them, clear the currently created macro, or perform upload/download operations to/from the controller:
The top menu also comes with the following configuration screens:
Further on, we can choose a port if the controller was not detected properly by the application or perform software updates:
A successfully connection will light up the eyes of the wolf and the bats will start signaling when data is being communicated with the controller:
After loading the default profile, we can see some newly defined macros and some banks will be also programmed:
When creating a macro, the button presses will be shown like some bloody cuts with different sizes, depending on the duration of the press:
The Train Mode is used for stepping up the voice commands we wish to use during gameplay. The functionality will require suitable 3rd party voice recognition software like Dragon Naturally Speaking Home. To begin adding actions or commands, we will have to click on the small + sign near the “Train” area. This will create and Action book icon and start a command set:
We can define a name for the action, in this case “Reload”; then we can assign what we want to happen when the Reload word was spoken; this will require us to press the small + sign and assign new actions (including a time delay). Next, we will set one from the available mappings like Press, Release, Bank, Disable, Bank Down or Bank Up. For the example we have chosen Press and Release actions:
The Live mode is used for testing the Voice commands; we can either say the word or type it inside the designated box:
The Test area is used for checking the controller if everything is working as it should; we will be prompted to press all available buttons on the controller and the ones which we have pressed will appear on-screen:
The Action Mode will allow us to assign shortcuts for performing fast Bank Up-Down or Macro Up-Down actions, during intensive battles:
Finally, we can access the Update tool, from where we can bring our Wolf controller to the latest version:
Before starting up the Wolf application, we will have first to pair via bluetooth the controller with our tablet / mobile phone:
Since the Android application offers the same functionality, we will only provide some screenshots:
The new new Wolf Controller modification from Talismoon brings a lot to the table and allows configuration of the buttons on-the-fly, by using a separate Bluetooth communication interface instead of WiFi. The Wolf Labs configuration software is not only available on PC, but also on Android, for a more convenient access.
By taking advantage of the on-the-fly recording, we can hit “record” in the software and all button presses will be inserted into the software when we are playing. The newly created macro can be fine tuned later and shared to all our friends.
The controllers also support Wolf Pack Mode. By using the PC/Android devices as a pass-thru, we can add/link up to three more Wolf controllers; in this mode the primary wolf will become the Alpha Wolf and along with the other controllers we can play in a single player game at the same time.
Another nice addition is the Voice commands that allows us to perform different actions by simply saying the respective words.
With Live Mode we can assign keyboard buttons or mouse clicks to the controller for playing older XBOX 360 games from the market places; this way we will be practically using the controller as a bridge.
A visible hardware modification from the outside is the inclusion of LED lights underside the analog sticks that can be lighted up when performing different types of actions.
The Wolf Rapid Fire Mod can be bought separately (without installation) for about 52 Euros and preinstalled to a new controller for about 96 Euros.
We would like to thank again to Talismoon for making this review possible!