Unable to set custom keybindings, default kb/m resets when I click "Apply"

[Herbrand]

Don't even get me started on the fact that the game nuked my entire custom config because one peripheral is missing, I am now unable to use any custom config for whatever reason. As in, I customize a number of controls, I click "Apply", and when I go back to the bindings menu everything is reset to default.

Am I alone with this problem? So much for coming back to the game...

 

[DNA-Decay]

Yeah, can confirm.
If you don’t have every peripheral plugged in, you can’t get your bindings.
There’s a bindings file that can be edited by hand, but it’s s worse nightmare than just redoing it.

 

[DNA-Decay]

I’m thinking about doing an edit of the file and removing all references to the controller that is actually my son’s. But the missus thinks I should be doing something more social than playing a stupid computer game anyways, so an hour of stuffing around isn’t worth it.

But then redoing the keybindings with the controller unplugged means I have to remember whether it prev or next that I liked to be on the down click because I don’t use the other one much etc

 

[Herbrand]

It's worse than this, because to fix it I would only have to replace the entries associated to the missing peripherals from the config files with the {NoDevice} value; the problem is, I am completely unable to customize the default bindings at all. I literally cannot play right now.

 

[Jukelo]

Yeah, can confirm.
If you don’t have every peripheral plugged in, you can’t get your bindings.
There’s a bindings file that can be edited by hand, but it’s s worse nightmare than just redoing it.

Plug the controller back in and the profile will be available again.
Or edit the xml file, find the name of the missing device, and use any good text editor's mass-replace function to remove any mention of it.

 

[Herbrand]

Plug the controller back in and the profile will be available again.
Or open the xml file, find the name of the missing device, and use any good text editor's mass-replace function to remove any mention of it.

Did that, doesn't work. I am completely unable to customize the default config right now.

How is your custom bindings file called? Still Custom.3.0.binds?

 

[Jukelo]

Did that, doesn't work. I am completely unable to customize the default config right now.

Do you mean in the game's controls screen? You're not supposed to be able to make any changes to the default profiles from inside the game. Any change you make to a default profile from inside the game will instead create a new Custom.3.0.binds file with your changes (if it already exists it will overwrite it hence why it's best, once you've made a custom profile, to edit the file and the filename to give it its own name).
If you really like to live dangerous you can edit the default profiles from the game's install folder (Elite Dangerous\Products\elite-dangerous-64\ControlSchemes)

How is your custom bindings file called? Still Custom.3.0.binds?

Yes.

 

[DNA-Decay]

Plug the controller back in and the profile will be available again.
Or edit the xml file, find the name of the missing device, and use any good text editor's mass-replace function to remove any mention of it.

Can I just say how a response that is?

In another thread someone said: “Your data - your responsibility”

It should not be up to the USER to parse the DEVELOPER’s XML file.

It should not be up to the USER to make a backup of the bindings file when the DEVELOPER rolls out an update.


Elite Dangerous is a notorious driver of hardware purchases.
I seen many threads from folks who have bought their first joystick or graphic card or whatever after getting into Elite.

They really do need to sort out their keybindings.

 

[Herbrand]

Do you mean in the game's controls screen? You're not supposed to be able to make any changes to the default profiles from inside the game. Any change you make to a default profile from inside the game will instead create a new Custom.3.0.binds file with your changes (if it already exists it will overwrite it hence why it's best, once you've made a custom profile, to edit the file and the filename to give it its own name).

Yes, I cannot change binds from inside the games.

-I click on Controls;
-I expand any submenu;
-I change a single bind from default to my custom one;
-I click "Apply";
-I go back to Controls, and the default keybind has replaced my custom one.

It's maddening.

 

[Jukelo]

Yes, I cannot change binds from inside the games.

-I click on Controls;
-I expand any submenu;
-I change a single bind from default to my custom one;
-I click "Apply";
-I go back to Controls, and the default keybind has replaced my custom one.

It's maddening.

It sounds like you have a problem beyond the usual missing peripherial invalidating a profile one.
When you click apply, does the actual file change? If you rename custom.3.0.binds to something else, does the game recreate it when you try to make changes to one of the default profiles in the controls screen?
Either way, your best bet is to open a ticket with support directly, as it's of course not supposed to do that at all.

 

[Para Handy]

Yes, I cannot change binds from inside the games.

-I click on Controls;
-I expand any submenu;
-I change a single bind from default to my custom one;
-I click "Apply";
-I go back to Controls, and the default keybind has replaced my custom one.

It's maddening.

Check that you do not have any copies / backups in the Options/Bindings directory, even renaming the file doesn't cure the issue. The game looks in line 2 of the file for the preset name and if there are more than one file in the directory with that name in there then the game seems unable to save your altered bindings.

That might not be your issue - just offering it in case. Good luck

 

[Aussiedroid]

The missing devices breaking bindings has been around since 3.1/3.2 IIRC. Its caught me several times and many of the users of my profiles too. Bug has been reported to Frontier but seems given the time frame its been left unaddresssed, it will not be fixed.

Elite Dangerous as far as controls go, has amazing depth and customisation, one of the best I have seen in a PC game, yet marred by a really destructive bug that can cost players hours of their time.

Why it even has this behaviour to begin with is very confusing. Cannot see the benefit. Previously, if a device was missing, it would just ignore those 'missing' mappings and load the rest.

In all seriousness, this should be addressed asap, but with such a complex game, it would certainly not hurt Frontier to introduce cloud saves or backups so you can restore 'broken' configs.

AD

 

[Herbrand]

Hi Aussie, nice reading you again

I sorted it by:

-deleting EVERY file in the \Options\Bindings folder (after taking a backup);
-launching the game and setting a few binds; the file is regenerated;
-using Beyond Compare and comparing with an old backup I copied across all the binds associated to the peripherals I am still using.

Everything now works and I'm back in business.

 

[Aussiedroid]

Glad its working for you again mate! Most people would have probably just given up lol!

Still, how much time did you end up wasting on this unnecessarily, when you could have been enjoying the game?

AD

 

[Jaggid Edje]

This same thing happened to me when I was very very new to the game (only like a week in).

It is probably the most annoying thing about the game. I've been lucky, it hasn't happened since....and I learned quickly to backup my bindings and edit the bindings xml files, etc.

Glad you got your issues sorted @Herbrand

 

[Herbrand]

Glad its working for you again mate! Most people would have probably just given up lol!

Still, how much time did you end up wasting on this unnecessarily, when you could have been enjoying the game?

AD

Enough that I didn't play the game itself, and had a couple runs at Darkest Dungeon instead...

Anyway I do understand why they do it the way they do. This way, you can have different sets of controls for different peripherals, and each combination is bound to the type of devices currently connected to the PC. I suspect - although I never tried - that you could swap between configs by having the appropriate hardware configuration before launching the game. The reason I say this is that once I forgot to connect my pedals, and all my bindings appeared reset. Then I reconnected them, I launched the game and bam - everything was hunky dory again.

Oh and by the way, I have now ditched the stick and hotas for PvP reasons - these days, I play with mouse, pedals and left-hand keypad.

 

[Watcher]

I seem to recall I had a similar problem and it turned out to be ED getting confused with unexpected binding files confusing it.
If you have backups you might want to try putting them somewhere else on your machine. That might clear up the problem.