SPAD.neXt set out as a replacement for Saitek Flight Simulation Panels (http://www.saitek.com/) drivers, but supports much more hardware today. While most manufacturers provide drivers for their hardware, these have several shortcomings, notably lack of configurability. SPAD.neXt closes this gap and provides almost unlimited options to configure your hardware not only for use with flight simulation software.
SPAD originally stands for Saitek Panel Advanced Driver, which was an earlier attempt to develop substitute drivers by Massimo de Nadal (http://fstools.weebly.com). Unfortunately, development stopped several years ago. Thus, Ulrich Strauss made a "neXt" approach. Despite similar names, SPAD.neXt is not based on the former SPAD Software but has been written from scratch.
SPAD.neXt had the reputation of being a bit hard to master initially. However, the latest versions enjoy a redesigned user interface as well as several helpful enhancements like online profiles and code snippets which should make it easier to come to terms.
Additional sources of information about SPAD.neXt are:
- Discord: https://discord.gg/sRwcWkB
- Forums: https://www.spadnext.com/forum
- YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsgyEhnCPKZiTvXV2gBj5dA