Glossary:Controller

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Guide to PC Gaming

Guide to PC Gaming

General information

DirectInput (and XInput) on Wikipedia
Xbox 360 Controller (XInput) on Wikipedia

Key points

Controllers are an alternative to keyboard and mouse input. Almost all recently released PC games support controllers, although many only support the newer XInput controllers by default.

General[edit]

Controller to Keyboard Input[edit]

These utilities allow keyboard keys to be bound to any controller buttons for games with poor or no controller support. These keys must match with the in-game settings.

AntiMicro (Windows and Linux)[edit]

Open source and easy to use application. On Windows it should always be run as an admin.
Allows any mouse and keyboard input to be bound to any controller buttons across different profiles.

Windows[edit]

XInput wrappers[edit]

Generic game controllers are classified as DirectInput by Windows, these can be used in any games with XInput support by using a wrapper.
See Controller to Keyboard Input for games with no controller support.

Durazno[edit]

Allows XInput controllers to be customized.

XInput Plus[edit]

The Xbox Controller Driver and the Force Feedback Driver aren't required with this program.
Features a wide array of advanced options, tweaks, features and some major fixes which other wrappers may lack.
Can translate DirectInput calls into XInput and back. It can also be used on older games using dinput.dll and dinput8.dll.

Xbox 360 Controller Emulator[edit]

Can be used to force DirectInput controllers to be detected as XInput ones.
Useful for games which may require multiple players. It also features a wide array of options.
Does not work with games using Unity due to implementation differences.[1]

Primary device[edit]

Some games only use controller set as primary controller on Windows and ignores the rest. If incorrect or no controllers are set to primary, game doesn't work with used controller.
Set your used controller as primary one[citation needed]
  1. Open the Start menu, type joy.cpl, then press ↵ Enter.
  2. Push Advanced.
  3. From dropdown list, locate your used controller and then push OK.

OS X[edit]

Controller Mate[edit]

Linux[edit]

Most distributions come with the xpad driver already. If you're experiencing problems with using controllers in your game, or want to bind your keyboard to the controller, you may want to try xboxdrv.

Dualshock 4 Lightbar[edit]

See DualShock 4 Light Bar Support.

Issues fixed[edit]

Slow or random movement[edit]

This may be caused by worn out sticks or by low in-game deadzones.
Calibrating[citation needed]
  1. Open the Start menu, type joy.cpl, then press ↵ Enter.
  2. Select the desired controller and click on the Properties button.
  3. Select the Settings tab, then push the Calibrate button and follow the on screen instructions.

Fast movement[edit]

Remove any virtual controllers and use the Xbox 360 Controller Emulator instead. If the issue persists see below.
Common issue on games running on the Unity engine due to the Unity input manager using Raw Input instead of DirectInput.
Finding Virtual Controllers[citation needed]
  1. Open the Start menu, type joy.cpl, then press ↵ Enter.
  2. Locate the name of the virtual controller driver or utility and remove it.
Rebind Controller Buttons
For Unity games with no launchers hold ⇧ Shift to access the launcher as the game starts, then select the Input tab.
Check the wiki article for the desired game to find a different rebinding solution. Configuration files may hold such settings.

SDL2[edit]

Many games use SDL2 to handle controller input. This means as long as the controller is on the list, game should detect, use it and give proper controller placement and prompts. Controllers that aren't on the list, do nothing and has to be manually added.
To see what games use SDL2, refer to game-specific middleware section.
Configure controller through Steam Big Picture modes settings[citation needed]
This method requires Steam to be installed on a machine, making it harder for DRM-Free releases.
Use SDL2 Gamepad Tool[citation needed]
  1. Download and open SDL2 Gamepad Tool.
  2. Select desired controller from dropdown menu.
  3. Select "Create a new mapping" and press buttons accordingly.
    • If some button isn't present on the controller, use the "Skip" button and if some key is registered twice, use the "previous" button.
  4. Either set the string as enviromental variable, which should make the controller work with every SDL2 game or alternatively copy the string and paste it to gamecontrollerdb.txt found in games install folder.

List of controllers[edit]

Logitech[edit]

Microsoft[edit]

Xbox

PC

Nintendo[edit]

Sony[edit]

Miscellaneous[edit]

Other information[edit]

Controller hotplugging[edit]

Controller hotplugging is the ability to switch controllers without restarting a game.

DirectInput[edit]

DirectInput is Microsoft's older controller API (used with nearly all games until 2006). XInput controllers operate in DirectInput mode for these games. Logitech's F310 and F710 gamepads have a physical switch which should be set to "D" for these games.

XInput[edit]

XInput is Microsoft's API for Xbox 360-compatible controllers such as the official Xbox 360 Controller.

Multiple controller order for older games[edit]

Instructions[2]
  1. Open the Start menu, type joy.cpl, then press ↵ Enter.
  2. Click on the Advanced button.
  3. Select the Preferred device from the drop down menu located on the center.

References

  1. ↑ Issue 48 - x360ce - Hooking does not work with Unity Engine - x360ce/x360ce - GitHub
  2. ↑ Verified by User:Blackbird on 2016-10-06
    Far as I can tell this is for DInput games only.