The Force Feedback joysticks (from Microsoft and others) use MIDI data to
control their motion sensory effects.  This is accomplished by having the game
send MIDI data to the joystick that tells it when to "shake".  This feature
has ramifications for systems that are used both for playing games and for
MIDI music authoring.  

Here is an illustration of the gameport connector on the Montego II:

   

Here is an illustration of a typical SoundBlaster-compatible 
Gameport/MIDI Interface adapter cable:

   
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1) In a typical setup, a Gameport/MIDI Interface adapter cable is attached 
   to the gameport connector on the back of the soundcard, and the Force 
   Feedback joystick is attached to the Joystick Pass-Thru Connector.  
   In such a setup, the MIDI data will be sent to the MIDI 5-pin DIN plugs 
   and the standard joystick data will be sent to the Joystick Pass-Thru 
   Connector.  The joystick will not receive any MIDI data, as the MIDI data 
   is "split off" to the MIDI DIN plugs.  As a consequence, a Force Feedback 
   joystick attached to the Joystick Pass-Thru Connector will not "shake". 

   The solution is to attach the Force Feedback joystick directly to the 
   gameport on the back of the soundcard when you wish to play games, and 
   connect the Gameport/MIDI Interface adapter cable to the gameport when 
   you wish to play your MIDI instrument. 

2) In a typical soundcard, the Wavetable MIDI daughtercard header is 
   actually the same as the external MPU-401 compatible MIDI connector 
   (on the gameport).  By attaching a MIDI daughtercard to the Wavetable 
   header, most soundcards will send the same MIDI data going out of the 
   gameport connector to the Wavetable header.  This means that if the
   external MIDI (MPU-401) is chosen as the default synthesizer in the 
   Windows Multimedia control panel, the MIDI information will be 'split' 
   to two places, both to the Wavetable header and to the gameport.  
   In these cases, a Force Feedback joystick directly connected to the
   gameport (on the back of the soundcard) will not receive the MIDI data 
   to "shake".  

   The solution to this problem is to set the *internal* Wavetable MIDI 
   Synthesizer as the default synth in the Windows Multimedia control 
   panel.  Once this is done, the Force Feedback joystick will receive 
   MIDI data from the gameport and will now "shake" appropriately. 


   NOTE: 
   There is a serial cable available from Microsoft that allows connection of
   the Microsoft Force Feedback Joystick to one of the COM ports on your PC.  
   Using this cable will allow you to use the full features of the Microsoft 
   Force Feedback Joystick as well as having your Wavetable daughtercard as 
   the default MIDI synth in Windows. 



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