Hello everybody!
In this video, I’m going to show you how to connect a joystick to a computer with a
Windows
operating system.
Many modern games are designed to be played with original gamepads that come supplied
with Xbox One or Xbox 360.
If you are using an inexpensive Chinese joystick, playing modern games could be impossible without
installing some additional software.
That’s because original gamepads use the XInput software protocol while others still
rely on the older protocol DirectInput.
There are also models that can switch between the two standards, and they usually have a
dedicated button for this function.
If you want to connect an old joystick to a computer and play new games, you’ll have
to use a special utility - Xbox 360 Controller Emulator, which can make the system recognize
any game controller as an Xbox-compatible device.
This is a free tool, and you can download it from the official website by following
the link below this video.
There are two versions of the emulator, 32-bit and 64-bit.
If you are using a 64-bit operating system, you should use the corresponding version of
the emulator.
This utility works in Windows 10, 8 and 7.
You can watch one of our videos to see how to learn the bitness of an operating system;
find the link in the description.
Download the program, open the archive and extract the files - it’s better to create
a new folder for this purpose.
Connect the gamepad to the computer and wait until the operating system recognizes it and
installs a suitable driver.
You can check it by opening the Device Manager and trying to find a device with the name
of your gamepad model - something like “Generic USB Joystick,” “USB GAMEPAD” etc.
If it wasn’t recognized in the Device Manager, look for a suitable driver online.
Run the utility as Administrator - if you run it by just double-clicking, emulator settings
may not be saved, so the necessary files will not be created in directories where they should.
If you start x360ce and see an error saying that the module is not found, it means your
computer misses some system libraries and needs the latest version of NET Framework.
When the utility starts for the first time, you’ll be suggested to create a .dll file.
Click “Create.”
The settings window will open.
Click “Next” and “Finish.”
When you connect another gamepad model, this window will appear again.
In all other cases, you can download settings from the Internet in the window “Controller
Settings - Most Popular Settings for My Controllers.”
You can connect up to 4 devices, and there is a dedicated tab for each one - Controller
1,2,3,4.
Different gamepads may have the same name in your operating system, so if you used automatic
button settings, some buttons may get confused.
You can check it by pressing a button and seeing how it is represented on the virtual
gamepad.
If it is displayed incorrectly, select a corresponding cell here and click “Record,” then press
the button.
When the setup is complete, click “Save” for the system to remember the settings.
You can configure how sticks respond to your fingers by changing the Sensitivity setting
in the tabs “Left Thumb” and “Right Thumb.”
That’s all with the settings, click “Save” if you haven’t done it yet and close the
program.
In the folder with the extracted file, two new elements will appear, and you should copy
them to the root folder of the game.
Otherwise, specify the path to the game; in the tab “Game settings” click “Add”
and show the path to the folder containing the game, then check the game version here
- 32-bit or 64-bit, depending on what you have installed.
The following elements may be difficult to deal with, because you will have to use the
trial and error method to find the right settings.
Start with COM line and go one by one; don’t forget to save the settings after every change
you made and restart the game.
Alternatively, you can look up your game in the compatibility list - find the link in
the description.
After all that, start the game and check if the gamepad responds properly.
If it still doesn’t work in the game, try to download the beta version of this utility.
In my case, the gamepad worked properly in NFS Payback only with the beta version.
It is even easier to configure - click “Add Game” and specify the path to the folder
containing the game’s executable file.
If you don’t know the location for such folder, right-click on the game shortcut and
select “Properties.”
You will find the path in the line “Target.”
Now it’s time to add the device: click “Add,” choose the gamepad and click “OK.”
The only thing left to do is to configure the buttons - you can do it manually or automatically
by clicking the “Auto” button here.
To save all the changes, click “Save all.”
In this version (unlike the previous one), you don’t need to close the emulator, but
just minimize it to the system tray; if you close it, the gamepad will not work in the
game.
Minimize the utility and start the game.
As you can see, the game asks you to press “A” button instead of “Enter” - the
game recognized the controller, and it responds properly.
That’s all - now you can play without a keyboard but with a gamepad.
(The menu shows the gamepad buttons, not the keyboard buttons)
You don’t have to configure gamepad buttons again for another game.
Click “Load Preset” and select the settings you have chosen before.
That is all for now.
I hope you liked this video.
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Leave comments to ask questions.
Thank you for watching.
Good luck.