1.32 BUG X4 does not find all controllers. How to fix this?

[Buzzark]

Question - do other X4 players that do *not* use Steam (e.g., those who bought the game from GOG) have the same issue? Or does X4 find all their controllers correctly?

I'm on GOG, though I mentioned it earlier so you might not be asking me.

[rrohde]

@Buzzark - Ah yes, so it's not a Steam issue then! At least that rules it out when GOG users experience the same.

[rrohde]

Ok, so I contacted the manufacturer of my pedals, and he said the following;

"In some games there is a restriction - the game "does not see" devices that do not have the X and Y axes."

So this could definitively be the issue here. Of course, my TM Warthog throttle is detected, as it's Thrustmaster, and they are the defacto standard for controllers so Egosoft ensured it's found, however, other device from smaller shops that don't have X/Y axes might be left out.

Devs, can you check into that?

[CBJ]

That's an interesting theory. I believe some hardware has been ordered so that this can be looked into with a bit more hard information and a bit less guesswork, but the likelihood is that actually investigating the issue with that hardware won't happen until January now.

[Bourrinopathe]

Hi,

I have the very same issue with my pedals - only using a Z axis (HID).
VKB-Sim T-Rudder PID=011D VID=231D

My other devices are correctly identified and available in the menus.
My problem is that knowing a device using any Z axis is not identified (no X and Y), it wouldn't be practical to change the HID for the axis every time I play X4.
A fix would be greatly appreciated

----
Thanks for forwarding the info to the team CBJ.

[rrohde]

Ok, I seem to have fixed it:



I poked around the Windows registry, and noticed that my BRD pedals were the only ones that didn't have an "OEMData" entry, so I created it, copied and pasted the binary key from another, long gone joystick whose entry was still in the registry, and voila, it works in X4. As per the screenshot, no idea why the pedals are found twice, but I am not complaining (edit: seems to find it twice because I "stole" that OEMData binary value from another controller that doesn't physically exist anymore, but now references two devices within the registry).

Devs, how come that other simulations didn't have that issue? Do you base your joystick-finding logic on the OEMData values in the registry? Maybe that needs to change (other simulations, like DCS, IL-2, etc never had an issue finding these pedals).

Oh, I've also changed the axis from Z to X, not sure if that matters in the end. (edit: didn't matter, changed it back to Z and still works)

[Buzzark]

Some interesting developments there!

I've been building custom controllers for people (simmers and gamers) on and off for many years and haven't heard the missing X and Y theory before - though given my BU0836A Interface fits that bill (it does work everywhere else though, just to be clear) then it's a possibility.



I should be able to find some time to re-wire this controller tomorrow to switch a couple of the declared axis to X and Y and see if that suddenly brings them into play. Obviously that's not a fix for many others, but if true then I'm sure it'll help with solution development.

I'll also have a look at the registry settings.

Just for reference the BU0836A is a joystick/input/buttonbox controller made by Leo Bodnar often used in the simulation world and I guess for many other things that require analogue or button inputs. It's fully supported in windows with built-in drivers and usually just works. I say usually, because this is the first time I've heard of one not being available to a game.

[UthervL]

Ok, I seem to have fixed it:



I poked around the Windows registry, and noticed that my BRD pedals were the only ones that didn't have an "OEMData" entry, so I created it, copied and pasted the binary key from another, long gone joystick whose entry was still in the registry, and voila, it works in X4. As per the screenshot, no idea why the pedals are found twice, but I am not complaining (edit: seems to find it twice because I "stole" that OEMData binary value from another controller that doesn't physically exist anymore, but now references two devices within the registry).

Devs, how come that other simulations didn't have that issue? Do you base your joystick-finding logic on the OEMData values in the registry? Maybe that needs to change (other simulations, like DCS, IL-2, etc never had an issue finding these pedals).

Oh, I've also changed the axis from Z to X, not sure if that matters in the end. (edit: didn't matter, changed it back to Z and still works)

Can you post a detailed procedure of how you created this file?

[Buzzark]

Some interesting developments there!

I've been building custom controllers for people (simmers and gamers) on and off for many years and haven't heard the missing X and Y theory before - though given my BU0836A Interface fits that bill (it does work everywhere else though, just to be clear) then it's a possibility.



I should be able to find some time to re-wire this controller tomorrow to switch a couple of the declared axis to X and Y and see if that suddenly brings them into play. Obviously that's not a fix for many others, but if true then I'm sure it'll help with solution development.

I'll also have a look at the registry settings.

Just for reference the BU0836A is a joystick/input/buttonbox controller made by Leo Bodnar often used in the simulation world and I guess for many other things that require analogue or button inputs. It's fully supported in windows with built-in drivers and usually just works. I say usually, because this is the first time I've heard of one not being available to a game.

I can confirm not having the X-axis and Y-axis inputs prevents X4 seeing a device/controller. I took apart my controller today and wired an extra mini joystick onto the X-axis and Y-axis inputs which then activated allowed X4 to see the controller and all the other inputs on this device. All buttons and other joysticks are programmable now and the device is listed in the Manage controllers/joysticks panel.

I would conclude that there is likely some sort of filtering in X4 that looks for devices as controllers or joysticks based on the presence of the X & Y axis. However, there's a lot of simulator gear and custom builds out there that simply don't operate like that.

My solution obviously isn't going to fix it for anyone that doesn't have equipment they can modify, but should help pinpoint the issue in the code of the game. Thanks to rrohde for providing the information.

[rrohde]

@Buzzark - that's great that you were able to confirm that.

That would also explain why Bourrinopathe above would not see his VKB T-Rudders in-game, because it only has one axis (Z). In my case, my BRD rudders have 3 axes, one was called Z, the other two Ry and Rx. Other players should check their device axes names as well here.

And you're right - devices can have many axes, some of which may be called X/Y, however, others might not and might call theirs Slider1, Rotary1, etc. So, as Egosoft is still new in supporting multiple Joysticks/Throttles/Pedals, they really need to do what pretty much every simulation game developer does and allow the game to find any and all devices (regardless of axes naming conventions), and let the user tweak them.

My registry hack was unique then in the sense that I believe in addition to allow X4 to only "see" controllers with X/Y axes, they also might force X4 to only "see" devices with that aforementioned OEMData value within the Windows registry. Removing both "filters" (as Buzzark coined them) should alleviate the problem for most players whose devices are currently not found by the game.

NB: Elite Dangerous, DCS, IL-2, and countless other simulation games had no problem finding any and all of my devices without having to hack the registry or without having to rename axes.

[CBJ]

Please don't jump to conclusions. The game does have code to recognise devices with RX/RY/RZ and numbered Slider axes, and doesn't look for "OEMData". Clearly something isn't working as intended, but there are many possible reasons for that which don't involve programmers making silly assumptions. By all means look for workarounds, but leave it at that until the developer concerned has had a chance to look into it.

[rrohde]

Good point CBJ. We can only speculate from our points of views here, as we don't see the big picture from a developer standpoint - totally agreed here. But as human nature has it, we also want to conclude our findings within our own limited means to make sense of it. Once you guys find the issue and fix it, it will be all good, and fumbling and trying and doing from our end will be forgotten.

Thanks for the feedback!

[CBJ]

Don't get me wrong. The investigation into which information does and doesn't cause a device to be detected is interesting and could prove useful. It's the assumptions about why that are less helpful.

[Buzzark]

Please don't jump to conclusions. The game does have code to recognise devices with RX/RY/RZ and numbered Slider axes, and doesn't look for "OEMData". Clearly something isn't working as intended, but there are many possible reasons for that which don't involve programmers making silly assumptions. By all means look for workarounds, but leave it at that until the developer concerned has had a chance to look into it.

That's why I said "likely some sort of filtering". Might not be the case but even if it's a bug/unintended consequence an not intentional we seem to have the following condition - X and Y axis present = controller detected in X4, not present = not detected.

I'm onto the next control issue now, I've finally had a bit of a play today and found that while I can use my controller now I can't steer with mouse and roll with a controller. Rolling cuts off the mouse steering mode.

[Bernd]

Hi,

I am not the expert on this problem, (DocAce is), but can those affected please check how their steam client is set up in regards to controller mapping? I have heard from several users that could fix controller issues by turning this off in Steam

-Bernd

[Bourrinopathe]

Bumping the thread as I managed to find a workaround to make the VKB-Sim T-Rudder visible in X4 (as the issue has not been fixed (2.10 beta)).

I can also confirm that having X and Y makes the device visible in the controllers list in X4 :
(it doesn't seem to be a Steam configuration issue in my case)

VKB-Sim Tiny Box is the T-Rudder controller name and appears as such in any other software/game.
http://tof.cx/images/2019/03/04/2b1848d ... 8892a8.jpg

I configured fake X and Y axes using the VKB Device Config software.

http://tof.cx/images/2019/03/04/0511b96 ... 517638.jpg

So they're not physically functional but only declared in the logical layer and thus detected by X4.
The Z axis of the pedals can now be correctly assigned in the controls.

For reference, here's what I see in my Steam General Controller Settings:

http://tof.cx/images/2019/03/04/b9b1625 ... d3fb43.jpg

(also please note that I switch some control devices on or off as required using a USB HUB - the T-Rudder pedals are directly connected to the PC in that particular case)


{Images posted directly to the forums should not be greater than 640x480 or 100kb, oversize image now linked - Terre}

[Alan Phipps]

Thank you. I have added a link to the above in the 'Common Problems with Possible Workarounds' Sticky.

[Lilting Banshee]

hello,

i'm not sure if this problem was ever resolved, but i'm having a similar issue. i have several input controllers connected (all USB):

• Logitech X56 throttle
• VKB Gladiator-K joystick base with SCG grip
• VKB T-Rudder Mk IV pedals
• 2x Thrustmaster MFD Cougar button boxes (28 buttons each, no axes)

the throttle works fine, the stick works fine, and the pedals work fine (they're configured to appear as a slider on the joystick using the VKB software). however, the Thrustmaster MFDs don't work: they aren't listed in X4's controller list and i can't bind any of the buttons. they appear in joy.cpl and they work fine in other games (Elite, DCS, MSFS), X4 is the only game where they don't.

tested with 3.30 and 4.00 beta.

[CBJ]

Could you please indicate whether you are playing under Windows or Linux? There is a completely separate issue associated with SDL under Linux that means certain repeated devices don't get listed.

[Lilting Banshee]

i'm on Windows 10 (10.0.19042.610).