Topic: Xbox 360 Controller Emulator

[Xessive]

I managed to accomplish two controller related things today!

1) I finally got a 360 controller emulator driver, which basically lets your PC think any controller hooked to it is a 360 pad. So I have eliminated the need to get one so I can play any G4WL games that only recognize the 360 pad.

You can get the driver here.

2) I got my PS3 SIXAXIS pad to work on my PC! When I first plugged it in via USB the system recognized it as a "PLAYSTATION(R)3 PAD" (or something) but the pad would refuse to switch on. All I needed was a little driver called "libusb-win32-filter-bin-0.1.10.1.exe" and a little program that tells it to switch on.

You get the PS3 SIXAXIS files here.

The one problem with the 360 emu is that it has no UI, you have to figure out the button configurations on your own. I got mine by opening the Game Controllers option in the Control Panel and seeing the button numbers in the properties of my gamepad.

I'm just happy it works great.

[MysterD]

Very cool.

[Quemaqua]

Awesome, I'd love to use a PS3 pad on my PC from time to time.  Too bad I can't make use of the wireless functionality, but I guess you can't have everything.

[Xessive]

Awesome, I'd love to use a PS3 pad on my PC from time to time.  Too bad I can't make use of the wireless functionality, but I guess you can't have everything.

I'm hoping it's just be a matter of time. I believe the PS3 pad uses Bluetooth, so there might be a way to register it.

Either way, it turns out the PS3 SIXAXIS is an excellent PC controller!

If you try out the PS3 pad driver there's a little trick to it. Here are the instructions:

1) Download the driver.

2) Unzip that file to a separate folder or your desktop or somewhere you can find it.

3) Run libusb-win32-filter-bin-0.1.10.1.exe (right click and run as administrator if on vista to be safe)

4) Connect the controller to your PC (oh yeah... make sure your PS3 is off)

5) Hold the middle PS button on the controller down and run ps3sixaxis_en.exe WHILE STILL HOLDING THE BUTTON DOWN. This will briefly bring up a black command box... keep holding the button until the command box disappears (should only be a second or two max). When the box is gone you can let go and the controller should be set up.

6) Go to Control Panel > Game Controllers, highlight the PS3 sixaxis controller (should say "ok" next to it) and click properties. Test the buttons and analog sticks. If it doesn't work then most likely you did not follow the instructions exactly (you can try running ps3sixaxis_en.exe again but remember to hold the PS button down before you run it all the way until the command box disappears).

EDIT:
While we're on the topic I also tried my PS3-Eye cam on my PC and it is a premium quality webcam! It also needs a custom driver.

[Ghandi]

Awesome, thanks for the instructions. I'm going to try that out in a bit, and hopefully play through Mafia again with proper controls.

Also I'll test whether or not it works on Bluetooth.

[Xessive]

Awesome, thanks for the instructions. I'm going to try that out in a bit, and hopefully play through Mafia again with proper controls.

Also I'll test whether or not it works on Bluetooth.

Sweet. Glad I could be of help

Let us know if it works out!

[Cobra951]

Am I the only one who finds it funny that now you need to trick PC games into working with gamepads other than a console's?

Thanks for blazing the trail, Xessive.  I'm using my Nyko pad now,  so that emulator could come in handy.

[Pugnate]

It is actually quite pathetic on MS's part.

[Ghandi]

Well I tried Bluetooth and it recognizes the device but I can't seem to get it to work. So I'm guessing that it's possible but I'm just dumb.

Also, every time I reconnect my controller I have to run ps3sixaxis_en.exe to get it to work again. Windows will recognize it but none of the buttons will work unless I run the .exe file again.

[scottws]

I find it much easier just to use a 360 controller but yeah I guess if you don't have one then you'd have to look for one of these convoluted solutions.

[Ghandi]

Yeah I'm not exactly looking for the most difficult route possible.

Although I'd probably use the PS3 controller anyways just because I like it better.

[Xessive]

Yeah, if you disconnect the PS3 controller or reboot you need to 'reactivate' it with the ps3sixaxis_en.exe. It seems tedious but I just have a shortcut on the desktop.

The instructions definitely make it seem more complex than it really is. I just wanted to be as detailed as possible so I don't skip any important steps. Sorry about that

It really is pathetic of MS to have done things this way; forcing us to resort to alternate (somewhat sketchy) methods.

Anyway, I tested the driver with Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and Gears of War and it works like a charm. Though I prefer GoW with kb+mouse.

Hehe I realize this might make me seem self-contradictory on the whole gamepad versus kb+mouse argument but I just believe that certain control schemes work for some games better than others. For exmaple, Spider-Man games just don't work so well with kb+mouse, pretty much any arcade-action style or fighting game begs for a gamepad.

I think using the X360emu driver pretty much makes your system always recognize your controller as a X360 pad for all games. No harm really since it works so well with practically everything.

Btw, I was also toying around with Xpadder and JoyToKey (keyboard/mouse to pad mapping utilities). They're pretty handy tools but since they're bound to keyboard keys you kinda lose the analogue degree of motion.

EDIT:

I thought I'd post my xbox360cemu.ini bindings for the PS3 controller:

[PAD1]
Left Analog X=1
Left Analog Y=-2
Right Analog X=3
Right Analog Y=-6
D-pad Up=5
D-pad Down=7
D-pad Left=8
D-pad Right=6
A=15
B=14
X=16
Y=13
Left Shoulder=11
Right Shoulder=12
Back=1
Start=4
Left Thumb=2
Right Thumb=3
Left Trigger=9
Right Trigger=10

All you gotta do is copy and paste that into the xbox360cemu.ini file (overwriting the previous stuff) and save.

I added in the D-PAD since the PS3 controller treats them as individual buttons rather than a POV. Also, I bound the shoulder buttons as the R1 and L1 and the triggers as R2 and L2.

Hope this helps!