remap joystick system wide?

[twotone8]

's been a while gameex forum.

I've had the same installation of GameEx running on two different computers. I use a file syncing program to keep the two installations and all of the romsets identical, and it's been working great for years. In my continuing quest to streamline everything, i've switched from ps2 controllers with a usb adapter to using xbox 360 controllers. The only problem is, the button mappings are different by default for the ps2 and xbox controllers. If I have xbox controllers in the main living room, the control scheme will no longer be valid on my other setup.

Is there a way to remap the joypad buttons system wide?

I know there are xbox controller emulators out there that trick individual programs into thinking your generic joystick is a bonifide xbox controller, but these have to be manually set up for each different game, and these rarely work with emulators.

Would it be possible to remap the buttons and axis of the ps2 controllers through the registry? I know xpadder could also do the trick, but then i'd lose the analog functionality of the thumb sticks. Any help is appreciated. Perhaps an autoit script could do the trick, but I have no idea where to start.

[simbamame]

try this http://rustyhearts-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=88781 mentions a jpystick mapping program that might help.

[Draco1962]

I'd recommend speaking with Adultery or some of the others that use Xpadder exclusively with 360 controllers. I do not use them myself (yet anyways) but I've not heard of anyone losing thumb stick functionality. Since I have a few extra original Xbox gmaepads, I have been using them on my system with USB adapters, running DSEO and a driver following the instructions I found here.

While synching between the two machines is a great idea, you may need to make the controllers (and supporting software) an exception within your synch and set up each machine to its respective gamepads manually, or consider moving both machines to the same gamepad. Since they are different, a system-wide approach will only dumb-down the functionality of the controllers to their similar functioning parts (buttons).

[twotone8]

hrm. you're suggesting keeping my sync in place, but omitting xpadder? that way everything will be configured to use different keypresses for the controls, and i'll just have to keep separate individual xpadder profiles. that's not a bad way to do things. i've heard xbox 360 sticks don't work so well with directinput anyway seeing as it counts the triggers as an axis as opposed to a button. i'd only be worried about those rare games that would register both the joypad press and the keyboard assignment. i wish there were some registry hack to simply reconfigure the button assignments to my ps2 pad.

edit: after doing some research, i'm curious about xbcd. apparently it's a driver that allows you to remap your xbox controller.

best case scenario, i'd be able to remap the xbox 360 controller to match my ps2 controller when using directinput, and yet still retain its native xinput state for newer stuff. that way i'd just have to reconfigure one program (xbcd) as opposed to having to reconfigure every single emulator in my collection.

anyone have any experience with xbcd?

[Draco1962]

I am not sure about XBCD other than to say that while it seems to offer quite a few options for those with original Xbox and 360 game pads, not to mention 3rd-party game pads, I am not so certain I want to support something where one of the programmers (or maybe it is the programmer - hard to tell) has no problem starting a flame war if someone asks a question that he thinks the answer should be obvious to all (which in most cases it isn't). Also, it does not appear that the latest version provides 360 Wireless support.

[nullPointer]

This is probably the most untimely of suggestions (sorry), but I've been extremely happy with these controllers. They support both DirectInput, and XInput. This is accomplished via a switch at the top of the controller. Flip it once and you're rocking out in XInput (with analog triggers and all), flip it back and you're back in DirectInput mode (triggers are treated as buttons again). In addition, it offers all the same functions as the old Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2 (which it replaced).

In the case of the OP I would imagine the layout of buttons would likely match his Xpadder profiles, but would also offer the advantages of XInput at the flip of a switch.

[Draco1962]

@null - That is a cool feature - wish more manufacturers offered such. For the flexibility they offer I may end up grabbing a pair eventually.

[twotone8]

it seems like microsoft might have intentionally introduced the trigger issue to encourage development of its new platform. kindof a dick move if that's the case. i love the idea of using xbox controllers. they have a good solid feel, and are magnificent for newer games, but as i do more research into directinput legacy applications, it seems very difficult to get everything running smoothly.

as of now i'm leaning towards simply setting up some xpadder profiles and reconfiguring all of my emulators to accept key presses for commands. i wish there were a simpler solution. i didn't know reassigning buttons would be such a hassle, but even if i were able to figure it out for the ps2 controller, i'd still need xpadder or some equivalent to get the xbox triggers to register correctly. doesn't click with the purist in me, but hopefully it won't be too much of a pain to get up and running.

i retool my computers quite often, and one of my goals has been a relatively portible gameex folder that could migrate relatively painlessly from computer to computer. a few xpadder/daemontools lite installations, and *poof*, all is well.

[Draco1962]

I have always liked the feel of the original wired Xbox S-pads, even over the current 360s. I also have a few Logitech Dual Action Game Pads which are a little simpler, no rumble, and wired. I know wireless is the way to go but can't see a reason to let them go when they have some useful life left in them.

[twotone8]

odd. it seems like mame isn't playing nice with xpadder for some reason. i need for stuff to play nice whether i have my ps2 or 360 controllers plugged in, but i can't seem to find a sure-fire solution. xpadder seemed to be my best lead, but for some reason it doesn't seem to be supported by mame.

edit: anyone have any experience with ppjoy?

[nullPointer]

You need to compile MAME from source in order for it to work with CP/controller mapping software. Luckily it's not a terribly difficult adjustment to make. This thread may be of interest to you:

XPadder MAME mod

I'd recommend taking a look at that whole thread, but cutting to the chase this is what you'll need to do:

Take a look in src\osd\windows\input.c and change

// For testing purposes: force DirectInput
#define FORCE_DIRECTINPUT	0

to

// For testing purposes: force DirectInput
#define FORCE_DIRECTINPUT	1

That should do it.

Not sure of your level of experience, but if this all sounds like greek to you headkaze is also the author of the most popular MAME compiler software which is available over at his website. His software takes a lot of the guess work out of compiling MAME. Naturally we can provide some assistance with MAME compiling if you run into difficulties.

[twotone8]

thanx for the help. i'll look into compiling a mame with xpadder in mind if i need to. Although I think i'm well on track to solving my problem relatively simply.

Using a combination of JoyID (for assigning the joystick numbers), PPJoy, and Glove Pie, i'm able to create any number of virtual joysticks and customize their bindings. It's a bit of work to script everything out, but hopefully i'll only have to do so once and have everything playing nicely with one another.

My current strategy is to create a directinput friendly virtual stick uses my 360 controller for input. i've tested it out, and xinput games still function normally after i've futzed with stuff. i'll post more details if anyone is interested.

edit: curses! it appears that mame disreguards the joy id alltogether. it just reads what devices are plugged in and assigns joypad numbers relatively arbitrarily. back to the drawing board. this might be a fools errand on my part afterall.