I'd forgotten how awesome Xpadder is

Comments and ratings from buyers of Xpadder
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rmm
Posts: 1
Joined: 28 Sep 2013, 22:29

I'd forgotten how awesome Xpadder is

Post by rmm »

I purchased a copy of Xpadder a few years ago to make an old and almost unsupported Microsoft Force Feedback joystick work for Star Trek Online. It was a huge help and made flying a starship much more fun. Then I forgot all about it as I moved on to other games...and later on, newer computers.

Recently, I've been playing Saints Row the Third and became annoyed with the flight controls (or the clumsy lack thereof), plus I'm a pledge donor for Chris Roberts' upcoming new game Star Citizen, which I know will eventually have full joystick flight support. (Maybe...) So this past week I bought a Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X.

Installed it, and felt that familiar sense of "oh crap, no button programming software." Fired up Saints Row, got into my helicopter... and of course it didn't work. In fact, the joystick didn't do anything. I tried assigning the joystick buttons within the game and it didn't work either. Frustration and annoyance that the joystick would be a $50 paperweight on my desk for at least several months until Star Citizen actually comes out.

Then I remembered Xpadder. My old copy didn't support Win 8, and while I suppose I could've asked for an update, I said to heck with it. Xpadder was worth $10 when I bought it the first time, and I decided it only seemed right to kick another $10 to Jonathan.

It took some doing to set up the Hotas X. At first, I couldn't always tell the difference between a button and a trigger. And it took me a while to suss out that the left hand throttle (back and forth only) and the Z-axis twist on the main stick equaled "Joystick 2."

As ever, Xpadder recognized every single button and control on the joystick, and gave me the means to program them to do nearly anything. It's way more fun flying a helicopter this way, not to mention more realistic and immersive. I programmed the main joystick for direction headings, the hat to move the mouse (enables advanced targeting, plus turning on a dime), throttle for climb or descend, and stick twist to turn. Plus guns and missiles, and even a hard-to-reach button to eject. It's just amazing how easy it is to program the controller this way.

So thanks again, Jonathan, for a terrific -- and very nearly unique -- software product. Kudos.

animeman_59
Posts: 1
Joined: 22 Apr 2013, 13:44

Re: I'd forgotten how awesome Xpadder is

Post by animeman_59 »

How did you get the Thrustmaster HOTAS X to be recognized in Xpadder? Every time I try to make a profile for the joystick, it doesn't recognize any input. Windows 8 recognizes my joystick just fine, and I can configure it fine in Windows settings. Any help would be appreciated.

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