Running 2 controllers

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rod_r

Running 2 controllers

Post by rod_r »

Hi.

I am trying to run 2 generic 8 button controllers on lego Indi and have a couple fo questions.

1. When running xpadder I get 2 tabs appearing, one white, one grey. Do I set each tab up for a different controller?
2. What is the difference between the "save as" function and the saving the profile option.
3. What are the "set" for in the bottom right numbered 1 to 8
4. Do both controllers run under 1 profile

regards,

rod

SGTCableDog
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Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by SGTCableDog »

rod_r wrote:1. When running xpadder I get 2 tabs appearing, one white, one grey. Do I set each tab up for a different controller?
If the controllers are the same then just create a layout foe the first one, save it, then open that same layout for the second.
rod_r wrote:2. What is the difference between the "save as" function and the saving the profile option.
Just like in Windows, "save" will over write the current open file while "save as" will prompt for a file name so you can save it to a different or new file.
rod_r wrote:3. What are the "set" for in the bottom right numbered 1 to 8
A set is a single collection of assignments for the controllers sticks and buttons. A profile can have up to eight collections or sets of assignments. You can assign a button to toggle between sets, selet a set while the button is held, or change to a set.
rod_r wrote:4. Do both controllers run under 1 profile
You can load the same profile for both controllers or have different profiles loaded depending on the need. Games will generally need seperate profiles for head to head play.

rod_r

Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by rod_r »

Hey, thanks for that. I have been reading up a bit more and wasn't quite clear with some of my questions.

I am running 2 identical controllers and what I have at this stage is that I have used the save function from the left hand bar to save a layout. I have the 2 tabs with the same layout and have assigned the right keys for each tab to emulate 2 users using the keyboard. What I haven't done is save a profile. So....

5. Can I now save a single profile for my 2 layout tabs, so that 2 users can drop in and drop out of the lego pc game, or do I somehow need to do one controller under one profile and the other controller under a different profile.

6. Should I only have 1 controller plugged in at first, set it up then add the other controller, [ i had both plugged in all the time ]

7. I kinda had it working for the game, [ lego indiana jones ] but it seemed to lose the setup when i dropped in and dropped out with a character. Is there something I'm missing, lik expadder has to be running or open or something before the game is started.

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Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by SGTCableDog »

rod_r wrote:I am running 2 identical controllers and what I have at this stage is that I have used the save function from the left hand bar to save a layout. I have the 2 tabs with the same layout and have assigned the right keys for each tab to emulate 2 users using the keyboard. What I haven't done is save a profile. So....

5. Can I now save a single profile for my 2 layout tabs, so that 2 users can drop in and drop out of the lego pc game, or do I somehow need to do one controller under one profile and the other controller under a different profile.
What you did was create seperate profiles, one in each controller tab. This is fine, you'll need to save each profile seperately. Make sure when you save the second tabs profile that you indicate that it's for player two.
Pro tip: if the controller name box or profile name box is yellow there are unsaved changes.
rob_r wrote:6. Should I only have 1 controller plugged in at first, set it up then add the other controller, [ i had both plugged in all the time ]
This is fine. It sounds like the second controller is setup fine as you where able to create a profile for it.
rob_r wrote:7. I kinda had it working for the game, [ lego indiana jones ] but it seemed to lose the setup when i dropped in and dropped out with a character. Is there something I'm missing, like xpadder has to be running or open or something before the game is started.
Xpadder will need to be running (icon should be in the notification area/system tray of the Windows task bar) and profiles loaded. You can check that Xpadder and the profile is working by opening notepad and seeing if the keys that show up when you press the controllers buttons. If it works in notepad and not the game AND you have Vista, you may need to run Xpadder as adminstrator. Close Xpadder by right clicking the icon in the notification area/system tray and choose "Close" from the menu. Now right click the Xpadder.exe file in explorer and choose "Run as administrator..." open and click through the dialogs, load your profiles, start your game, and enjoy.

rod_r

Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by rod_r »

Cool, thanks I'll try all that. I'm now not sure if I had xpadder running, and since I didn't save any profiles, I certainly didn't load any as you describe.

I did have both controllers working in the game at one stage, but as I said when I dropped a character out, it seemed to lose all functionality and when I went into the games controller options menu, one was set to keyboard and one had been reset to gamepad. Maybe because I haven't saved the profiles and may not have had xpadder running, it lost the connection when I dropped out.

Unfortunately, unlike starwars lego where almost any controller can be used, the indiana game came after xbox and it won't accept any non-xbox controller. This is all for my 8 year old BTW, not for me...honest :-)

rod_r

Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by rod_r »

That all aseemed to work OK. A small issue is that the game detects the gamepad is installed so I have to go into controller options and make sure both players are set to keyboard....but that's a game issue.

When I hover over the xpadder icon in the task bar it shows both game controlers, [ 2 axis, 8 buttom ]. When I hover over each controller, it shows both profiles loaded. Does that sound right?

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Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by SGTCableDog »

Sounds like everything should be working. The important question is, is it working for YOU?

rod_r

Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by rod_r »

yes, it is working for ME :-)

It's a shame though, that you buy a PC game for your 8 year old and end up needing to be a web slueth / boffin to make the thing work.
From my short history as a lego indi owner I have discovered how many bugs the pc version has, which makes it more difficult to ascertain if the problem encountered is a game issue or a controller issue.

Aside from that, xpadder appears to be a great little program. A simple idea well executed. Thanks to the creator , [ and helpful forum advisers ].

best regards,

rod

rod_r

Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by rod_r »

Just one last question....is it right that I need to apply a keyboard key to every button on the controller? I had a spare button and didn't assign a key to it but I seem to recall reading somewhere that doing that can make the game think I want to add another controller...it may explain why occasionally I have to go to the game controller options to reset it to keyboard?

Jonathan
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Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by Jonathan »

rod_r wrote:Just one last question....is it right that I need to apply a keyboard key to every button on the controller? I had a spare button and didn't assign a key to it but I seem to recall reading somewhere that doing that can make the game think I want to add another controller...it may explain why occasionally I have to go to the game controller options to reset it to keyboard?
When you assign a key to a gamepad button Xpadder does not hijack that button. Windows and games will still see that button as a gamepad button. All that has happened is that Xpadder nows looks at that button to determine whether to perform a fake keypress. Windows and games never see the controller any differently whether Xpadder is running or isn't.

rod_r

Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by rod_r »

Thanks Jonathan

I'm still having aproblem, but it may be game related.
This is what happens. The game controller settings are set to keyboard for both players. Both players start to play and everything is fine. But when a player, say player 2 "drops out" his controller settings are reset by the game back to keypad which doesn't work because I don't have the right keypad...obviously...so I have to reset player 2's setting back to keypad and start again.

SGTCableDog
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Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by SGTCableDog »

Sounds like a game issue. I'm not familiar with the game to offer any tips. :(

Jonathan
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Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by Jonathan »

rod_r wrote: I'm still having aproblem, but it may be game related.
This is what happens. The game controller settings are set to keyboard for both players. Both players start to play and everything is fine. But when a player, say player 2 "drops out" his controller settings are reset by the game back to keypad which doesn't work because I don't have the right keypad...obviously...so I have to reset player 2's setting back to keypad and start again.
I've just remembered... I remember playing Lego Star Wars and having the same problem. It kept hearing the gamepad button and thinking "Oh you have a joystick, well I'll enable it without asking you!" I found the problem happens more in two player mode. I can't remember exactly what I did to fix it. Maybe there was an option in the settings file to turn joystick support off? Or maybe I opted to control some things with the controller support in-game and added rumble and other tweaks to Xpadder.

I don't think it's a bug with Xpadder but more of a problem with a) Lego games trying to be too clever and auto-selecting the controller and b) Xpadder not getting exclusive access to the joystick so its data leaks into other joystick reading programs.

rod_r

Re: Running 2 controllers

Post by rod_r »

Thanks Jonathan

I also think it's a game issue. I can use my 8 button gamepads on Starwars I and II but after Xbox came out, they made future pc games only accept the xbox gamepads. They didn't even make it so a lesser button gamepad didn't have as many functions....it actually won't accept ANY non- xbox gamepad, [ don't know about xbox clone ].

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