Hardware & Technical HowTo: Configuring the X52/X52 Pro for full-button usage

Carr0t

C
I had a fair few issues with this when I first got my X52, in that I didn't seem to be able to bind half the buttons I wanted, and others weren't showing up as I expected them to, so I thought i'd outline the issues I had here and the solutions, in case anyone else is also suffering similarly.

N.B. - A lot of these issue go away if the Windows Control Panel joystick dialog (where you can see which buttons/axes you are using as you use them) is open in the background. This is presumably because with that open certain custom settings for the stick are overridden. My solutions work even if this dialog is closed (As it should be except for when testing).

N.B. 2 - Some of these issues only appear if you have the Saitek Profile Editor utility installed. However as some of the other issues require that utility to be installed to resolve them, I am assuming you've installed both the joystick driver and the configuration utility from MadCatz' website.


Issue 1: Button30 (default 'boost' in the Elite config) button doesn't work in game.

Solution 1: Disable 'Clutch' mode for the stick. Right-click the Saitek X52 icon in your task bar (The Profile Editor) and go to the Control Panel menu option. Within the Control Panel settings it's in the MFD tab, and under Clutch Settings untick "Enable Clutch Mode", then Apply and close the dialog.

Issue 2: Joy6 (the pinkie finger button on the stick) doesn't work/can't be mapped (default 'UI Focus Mode' in the Elite config)

Solution 2: Delete the shift states for the stick in the Profile Editor utility for the default/your Elite configuration profile. Load up the Profile Editor to edit the desired profile. Note how you (probably, if you're having the same problem as I was) can't map the pinkie button at all to anything else. Switch the view to 'Grid'. Have you got a load of 'Mode X + Pinkie' shift state profiles in there by default? Delete them. Save the profile. Switch back to the other view if you want. Like this:

3D3sHpp.jpg


Then go and edit the binding for the pinkie button/joy6 within the profile editor so that it's state is set to 'Fall Back' (right click on the macro edit pane for that button IIRC, or there might be a button to access the states). It'll then just work as joy6 in game, like you want it to.

Issue 3: Some buttons/hats/wheels show up as mouse axes/buttons, not joystick buttons, and therefore can't be used separately to the mouse or simply can't be bound at all in game (e.g. joy19, the 'click' functionality of the scroll wheel on the back of the throttle I believe).

Solution 3: Rebind the buttons/axes in the Profile Editor so that their states are 'Fall Back', not a mouse button/axis (right click on the macro edit pane for that button IIRC, or there might be a button to access the states). There are various other states you can use, like having an axis divided into 3 segments and activating a different command as the axis enters each segment (this can be used for the slider bar or the two wheel type axes around the primary buttons on the throttle, for example, but i've not had to bind anything like this).

As far as I am aware there is no way to bind the buttons/wheels that are on the base of the throttle. These do not appear at all in the Profile Editor, as they are intended for changing the status of the screen on the throttle, not for user configuration. You *can* bind them when the Windows joystick utility is open, but i've not found a way of having them work in that way when said dialog is closed.

If anyone else thinks i've either got something wrong, or has more X52 tweaks to add (e.g. how to configure those throttle base buttons for in-game use), please reply :D
 
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robdood

robdood
Oh and when you talk about not mapping the buttons are the bottom of the throttle, do you mean the ones directly below the screen? On my x52 I am able to map those in game without issue.. Possibly cos I'm not using the profiler?
 

Carr0t

C
Fair enough. You do say you're using the mouse wheel click for the clutch though, as it isn't picked up by the game. Running the profile software allows you to fix *that* issue, because I am using every button on my setup including the mouse wheel click (free-look), and scroll (radar zoom in/out), the tiny button next to the mouse emulation stick (flight assist on/off) etc, none of which could be bound (or at least showed up as mouse buttons, which made it awkward when I actually also wanted to use the mouse itself in game to navigate menus) without the profile software loaded.
 

Dark Lord Insidious

Dark Lord Insidious
pretty easy

Had all the same issues as this at the start(x52 pro) though all i did was make sure my joystick was first on the list in windows control panel>devices and printers> right click on joystick and go to game controller settings, (has to be at the top if it isnt uninstall all of them then install the x52(or pro) first.

Then make sure you are not selecting any profiles in your x52(pro) software it should say it on your LCD display (no profile) and also untick the clutch checkbox as said above.
Once I did this it just works with anything I throw at it now, just remap whatever you like in the elite keybindings and your golden all buttons and mouse pointer nub work and can be mapped to whatever you wish.
 
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Mr Onak

Mr Onak
This being the N-th thread about the X52 where people disable the pinky "shift" functionality I simply have to ask: Why?

Not that there's anything wrong with disabling it - everyone has their preferences - but personally I love the option to have double the functions on every physical button by assigning a different shift functionality to them.

I just don't get it :D so I'm really curious what the reasoning is to disable it. Just to get one more button to assign in the game? But with it you'd get many more buttons... hmm. Any hints? :D

For comparsison, here's my layout for the X52 pro (with shift):
http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38309
 

Dark Lord Insidious

Dark Lord Insidious
Mr Onak said:
This being the N-th thread about the X52 where people disable the pinky "shift" functionality I simply have to ask: Why?

Not that there's anything wrong with disabling it - everyone has their preferences - but personally I love the option to have double the functions on every physical button by assigning a different shift functionality to them.

I just don't get it :D so I'm really curious what the reasoning is to disable it. Just to get one more button to assign in the game? But with it you'd get many more buttons... hmm. Any hints? :D

For comparsison, here's my layout for the X52 pro (with shift):
http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38309
Click to expand...

I agree I keep my pinky shift enabled it works well to look at the side panels when I am not using my trackir plus a few other functions. I can do everything in game without ever having to take my hands off the throttle and joystick, even the toggles on the bottom of the joystick I don't use much if at all.
 
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Carr0t

C
The default mapping for the X52 uses the pinky button to access UI mode. That's doesn't work if you have profiles with shift functionality enabled, because the button can't be seen by Elite. The software 'steals' it for access shift states. And if you *don't* have profiles with tham enabled you can still use Elite: Dangerous' control mapping itself to map joy6 (pinky) + buttonX to give you a shift state just within Elite for that button (assuming that you don't want to use joy6 on its own for something else).

Personally, I don't have any shift states mapped within Elite. I don't need them, and I still never take my hands off the controller. When I did have the shift states configured in the MadCatz profile editor I was unable to use the pinky button *at all* within Elite. It just failed to see the button press entirely. And pinky + button30 (for example) still showed up within Elite as just 'button30', so I was losing a button, not gaining any. If I wanted to gain all the shift state buttons via the Profile Editor i'd have had to set them to keyboard keys within Elite, then use the Profile Editor to map the shifted buttons to those keyboard keys. This way I can just do everything within Elite by mapping a combination of >1 button to the specific action I want.
 

M4y83L

M4y83L
I have an X52 Pro, and I tried utilizing the profiling software and it really worked poorly in-game. I personally used the default controller profile in the game and just made tweaks in the in-game controls menu to tailor it to my liking. I disabled the clutch button as well. I also use my pinky trigger as well as a work around to the profiler not working. I just had to get used to the "lean back" when you press it in order to access the side panels which was a default configuration in the game. I access the side panels using the POV hat, but if I do not press a side, I can press any other button on the joystick and that is mapped to specific functions that are separate from their functions that they are mapped to without depressing the pinky toggle. Also the toggle switches on the bottom of the stick are great. I use them for various mundane functions where I can take my hand comfortably off the stick.
 
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S3nt1n3l

S
This saved me a lot of time.
Just got my X52 Pro today and installed all the software.
Not as polished as the Logitech G Series software, but it does the job.

I cleared the profile and turned off the clutch mode, which was causing me the headache.
Made it all work for me :)

Thanks for the tips.
 

storm4710

S
just wondering do you guys know of a way to make the slider on the throttle
control the endpoint for the throttle
meaning
slider all forward=full throttle(on controller) is 100% throttle in game
slider all backward=full throttle(on controller) is 20% in game
linear 20-100% with the slider
 

DAOWAce

DAOWAce
Carr0t said:
Issue 2: Joy6 (the pinkie finger button on the stick) doesn't work/can't be mapped (default 'UI Focus Mode' in the Elite config)

You *can* bind them when the Windows joystick utility is open, but i've not found a way of having them work in that way when said dialog is closed.
Click to expand...

Seriously? The solution to this issue is that simple and stupid?

My joystick wasn't working properly when I attempted to play the game again after a few months. The only difference now was that I installed the drivers so I could turn off the blinding LEDs.

Now I have to open the gamepad button tester every single time I want to play E:D properly (which is probably never until Horizons goes on a 75% off discount), potentially every other game too, unless I want to deal with blinding LEDs. That is asinine.

The drivers haven't been updated since 2013, what is Saitek/MadCatz even doing? The Windows 10 drivers they're developing better fix this, but I assume they're just going to release new W10 drivers and leave the old ones sitting there with issues.

Edit: Finally have updated drivers.. they didn't fix a damn thing as far as I can tell. Still have to open the test window every time I want to play E:D. Though I discovered that if I end the rundll32 process it will close the window and still behave normally, so there's one new benefit.
 
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Hellhawk666

Hellhawk666
Darth-Simba said:
I tried to follow the steps here, but there is no disable clutch check box
Click to expand...

I don't have an X52 anymore, but when I did (which was a couple of months ago) this procedure worked fine.

Are you opening the right application? It's not in the stick config app, it's in the Profile Editor.
 
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jgm

jgm
In general you're better off trying to use Elite's own mappings rather than putting them through a profile manager. Shift keys, for example, are fully supported natively by Elite and you aren't limited to using the pinky button.
 
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