new HOTAS isn't "compatible" with ED, they should've built a new game by now!

n4p0l3on

N
I've stopped playing ED since after playing Odyssey for a little bit at launch, it was probably in 2020, now I got upgraded my HOTAS to VKB one and here lies the problem, this has been known for years but it never affected my previous setup so this wasn't a problem for me, but now apparently if I want to get back to ED, it is my problem now...

I'm sure many of you here already aware of this by now, it's the fact that the game don't recognize a controller with more than 32 buttons, or so people told me... and yes I'm aware that there are workaround, but AFAIK the workaround also affects other games and the whatnot depending on your hardware and how you configure the hardware....

but this is beyond stupid IMO, we're getting closer to 2025 and yet the game still contain fundamental quirks from 1980/90s era of games and software, I think this is unacceptable, also especially given I asked some people too and nobody was aware that any other contemporary games (especially in similar genre of games) that suffers from the same limitation as ED in this matter...

and given that somehow this hasn't been solved/patched yet it probably means it couldn't be done with this iteration of the game.

so why haven't they tried to make a new game then? also with all the advancement in video gaming from the last 5 years that this game lacks, they really need to make a new game, not prolonging this ancient piece of software design carried within this game.
 

LifesAJourney

LifesAJourney
n4p0l3on said:
I'm sure many of you here already aware of this by now, it's the fact that the game don't recognize a controller with more than 32 buttons, or so people told me...
Click to expand...
People told you wrong. The game does recognize your controller and buttons numbered 1-32. Buttons with numbers bigger than 32 are indeed not accessible out-of-the-box.

If you spent the time of writing this post on solving the issue on your end, it would already be solved. Just sayin'...
 

Helmut Grokenberger

Helmut Grokenberger
Also, which VKB product do you own? The popular Gladiator doesn't have more than 32 buttons, and if your controller does or you add a SEM, the VKB software allows you to split your device into virtual devices, so this is a non issue.

But I doubt the post was about controller issues in the first place.
 
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aRJay

aRJay
n4p0l3on said:
I've stopped playing ED since after playing Odyssey for a little bit at launch, it was probably in 2020, now I got upgraded my HOTAS to VKB one and here lies the problem, this has been known for years but it never affected my previous setup so this wasn't a problem for me, but now apparently if I want to get back to ED, it is my problem now...

I'm sure many of you here already aware of this by now, it's the fact that the game don't recognize a controller with more than 32 buttons, or so people told me... and yes I'm aware that there are workaround, but AFAIK the workaround also affects other games and the whatnot depending on your hardware and how you configure the hardware....
Click to expand...
Not yet run into the button limit but when I do it won’t be a problem as I don’t currently run other games and so if I got them after configuring the controller for Elite they would be configured to match or get abandoned.

n4p0l3on said:
but this is beyond stupid IMO, we're getting closer to 2025 and yet the game still contain fundamental quirks from 1980/90s era of games and software, I think this is unacceptable, also especially given I asked some people too and nobody was aware that any other contemporary games (especially in similar genre of games) that suffers from the same limitation as ED in this matter...
Click to expand...
The thing is Elite isn’t a contemporary game it is essentially a ten year old game.

n4p0l3on said:
and given that somehow this hasn't been solved/patched yet it probably means it couldn't be done with this iteration of the game.

so why haven't they tried to make a new game then? also with all the advancement in video gaming from the last 5 years that this game lacks, they really need to make a new game, not prolonging this ancient piece of software design carried within this game.
Click to expand...
As has been mentioned in other threads Elite is currently covering its operating costs for the company and earning enough for updates, to code from the ground up is going to take years (more knowledgeable people have said at least 10) and the entertainment industry is struggling.

Interesting variation of the D(tm) post.
 

Helmut Grokenberger

Helmut Grokenberger
Ugh I am an idiot, sorry (in my defense I am a bit sickish). Four povs with center click is 20 not 16, so it is 34. But I assure you all of them work in ED. Maybe some (the encoders?) don't count as "buttons"' towards the 32 limit?
 

Guyperson

Guyperson
It's absolutely silly and I daresay even deserving of ridicule that this limitation is still a thing in a game like this, but man, it's like you went out of your way to make yourself mad.
 

Brammmers

B
It's easy to fix using vjoy and joystick gremlin. I have my 33rd throttle button mapped to the 18th on the joystick (which doesn't physically exist).

Fix it and play the game, more fun than complaining about a low priority issue when there are MUCH better things for the devs to work on!
 

Morbad

Morbad
DirectInput has supported 128 buttons and eight axes since 2001. It's successor, GameInput has no practical limitations.

I do agree that it was silly for Elite: Dangerous to ever have had this 32 button limitation, but there are many workarounds that are neither especially difficult nor intrusive.

Helmut Grokenberger said:
Ugh I am an idiot, sorry (in my defense I am a bit sickish). Four povs with center click is 20 not 16, so it is 34. But I assure you all of them work in ED. Maybe some (the encoders?) don't count as "buttons"' towards the 32 limit?
Click to expand...

Rotary encoders are almost always axes, not buttons.
 

Helmut Grokenberger

Helmut Grokenberger
okay, after I already had deleted this thread from my brain's FILO buffer, your reply triggered me, you I decided to map it out (not that OP cares, but neither do I). So, I launched the windows joystick control panel, and here is what it returns for my right hand stick:

  • the test panel shows the X/Y axis field, four additional analog axis (that's twist, the base mini throttle and the analog stick if I had one installed, but I swapped mine for the button module), 32 buttons and a POV.
  • the two stage trigger, red thumb and pointer buttons are buttons 1-4.
  • pinkie is button 5.
  • the center POV movements are buttons 6-9. The center click doesn't register because I have programmed it to switch macro mode. I assume otherwise it is button 10.
  • the right POV is buttons 11-15, with 15 being center click.
  • the left POV triggers the POV view, so it is not counted as one of the 32 buttons. The center click registers as button 30.
  • the thumb POV shows as buttons 16-20, with 20 being the center click.
  • the two-stage trigger is buttons 21 and 22.
  • the right rotary encoder registers as 23 and 24.
  • the self-centering encoder on the left triggers 25 and 26.
  • the three base buttons are 27-29.
  • I have also checked how the controls show up in Elite, they do exactly as above, with the left POV showing als POV1-<direction>.

So, that's all controls. The secret seems to be that one of the POVs doesn't register as buttons and thus doesn't fall under the 32 button limit. As I don't own one, I cannot say anything about the STECS, but I can see it having way more than 32 buttons. As said above, adding a SEM to a Gladiator will also do that. But we've already discussed the workarounds for that.
 

AceVice

AceVice
If you have devices not recognized by ED automatically (for example Virpil products), take a look at ControlSchemes and DeviceButtonMaps folders inside Elite Dangerous/Products folder:
  • With VPC Joystick Tester Tool, take note of VID (always 3344) and PID of every device
    • PID is changing whenever firmware update
  • Make backup of DeviceMappings.xml file
  • Review/add entries with desired name (VPCStick, VPCThrottle, VPCPanel, ...) with correct VID/PIDs according to your devices and firmware levels
    • You can see 2 predefined entries for VPC devices
  • Inside DeviceButtonMaps folder, create files with names included in previous step and .buttonMap extension
    • You can see 2 predefined files for VPC devices
    • See Readme.txt for more info
This way you can assign custom button names for your devices, and any changes to these files can be applied by re-entering the control binding screen, no need to restart the game.

Now we have (at last!) 128 buttons per device, and we will never again have confusion when reviewing the settings of your devices. 🙃
 
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gorankar

gorankar
FInally.. I already split my Virpil CM3 into 3 devices, long ago, and remapped all of my other games to it. So it doesn't really affect me now, but still, finally.
 
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