Xbox 360 Controller for Windows

[Rob Williams]

Have you ever wished that you could use your consoles controller on your PC? Usually, they are designed much better than anything PC makers can release so it seems to only make sense. Finally, Microsoft has stepped up to the plate and made their Xbox 360 controller available for Windows.

After reading the review, discuss it here!

 

[Greg King]

I have been using my original XBOX -S controller for about a year and a half on my PC. I originally wired on a USB jack and then just purchases an adapter. It is wonderful for PC games like Halo and Far Cry.

 

[Rob Williams]

I'm too lazy to do that

 

[Unregistered]

Hi guys,

I have tried the logitech Cordless Rumblepad II and i hated the d-pad.
Its very noisy, loose and its precision is mediocre. The rest of the game
pad is very good in my opinion.

In your Xbox 360 controller review you dont even mention the d-pad,
wich is one of the most important aspects of a game pad. Could you
please share your toughts on the matter?

Take care!

Ikki

 

[Rob Williams]

What do you mean about noisy exactly? I have found it to be a little squeaky, but not really overly noisy. The 360 controller is fine in that regard, it's not noisy unless you really like to button mash. I played through the entire Tony Hawk American Wasteland with the D Pad without any issues at all.

 

[Bart]

couldn't you just try your xbox360 wireless on your pc? or is it connected differently?

 

[Rob Williams]

You would need a USB receiver to grab the information. It wouldn't be hard to do, so I'm hoping they consider it.

 

[Yaotl]

<<'m too lazy to do that >>

I tried it, stuffed it up a bit, and it's still sitting there today in it's destroyed condition (easily fixable, just can't be bothered).

 

[espressoman]

I downloaded the Microsoft DirectX SDK for December 2005:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...4e-7a8d-4f0a-b199-6a740d8f27bb&DisplayLang=en

There are a few utilities in the SDK that show what DirectX programers can do with the new "XInput". Apparently, game designers need to incorporate this Xinput into their games in order to fully support the XBOX 360 controller. With some of the silly test programs in the SDK, I was able to get the controller to rumble and the center X to light up according to what player the controller was. Also, you can plug a headset into the controller and Windows will recognize it. However, I suppose you'll need a game that will support this "XInput" DirectX stuff in order to use it. I don't think there are any games that support it now... but I'm sure Microsoft will be jamming it down the throats of designers who use DirectX for their games.

 

[Unregistered]

Hello guys,

Thanks for the feedback Rob Williams.

Take care!

Ikki

 

[Unregistered]

You could get the rumble to work and advanced settings by installing this modified driver and program, http://matt-land.com/xbcd/

 

[Unregistered]

Other Games

What about Prince of Persia, X-Men legends II, or Splinter Cell :CT ....


Did you try the controller on those? If so how did it work?


Thx

 

[TheGriffin]

What about Prince of Persia, X-Men legends II, or Splinter Cell :CT ....


Did you try the controller on those? If so how did it work?


Thx

Heh. Well I've tried Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, its currently the only game that many people have said support XInput, which is what developers need to incoporate into their games to feature full support for the X360 controller, I am currently playing this game and the rumble and all the controls work perfectly, also the game shows how to use moves using the buttons of the controller instead of the keyboard, its a really nice system Microsoft has put out, I guess thats the reason why we didn't get a big software to control the settings, but I do want one anyways to feel I got what I paid for.

Also, if you plan to buy the controller, don't buy the Windows version, just buy the regular Xbox 360 version, there is no actual difference other than there is a CD, which has the software that can be downloaded from Microsoft's website.

I am going today to exchange my controller for the cheaper one.

 

[Buck-O]

Heh. Well I've tried Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, its currently the only game that many people have said support XInput, which is what developers need to incoporate into their games to feature full support for the X360 controller, I am currently playing this game and the rumble and all the controls work perfectly, also the game shows how to use moves using the buttons of the controller instead of the keyboard, its a really nice system Microsoft has put out, I guess thats the reason why we didn't get a big software to control the settings, but I do want one anyways to feel I got what I paid for.

Also, if you plan to buy the controller, don't buy the Windows version, just buy the regular Xbox 360 version, there is no actual difference other than there is a CD, which has the software that can be downloaded from Microsoft's website.

I am going today to exchange my controller for the cheaper one.

Supposidly, according to the MS official website, the cost of the PC version, and the 360 version should be the same at $39.99(usd). But leave it to retailers to jack the price up becuase its "different".

As for the drivers, though they are there basicly as a general "im here" front end for XInput, i would have hoped they would have offered a little more in the way of functionality. My biggest pet peve is the non indipendent triggers. Im a HUGE racing game fan. Weither its a sim, or an arcade racer, i love them all. And not having indipendent axis on teh triggers is just stupid. Now i know that with XInput, you can get indipendent axis, but it should be in teh default drivers to function that way with every game possible. I know there are a couple of people working on "hacked" drivers taht incorperate alot of th XInput calls to allow for greater controler functionality. Provided MS doesnt tell them to stop.

 

[Unregistered]

Supposidly, according to the MS official website, the cost of the PC version, and the 360 version should be the same at $39.99(usd). But leave it to retailers to jack the price up becuase its "different".

As for the drivers, though they are there basicly as a general "im here" front end for XInput, i would have hoped they would have offered a little more in the way of functionality. My biggest pet peve is the non indipendent triggers. Im a HUGE racing game fan. Weither its a sim, or an arcade racer, i love them all. And not having indipendent axis on teh triggers is just stupid. Now i know that with XInput, you can get indipendent axis, but it should be in teh default drivers to function that way with every game possible. I know there are a couple of people working on "hacked" drivers taht incorperate alot of th XInput calls to allow for greater controler functionality. Provided MS doesnt tell them to stop.

Drivers are already out - And they work a whole lot better than the rubbish Microsoft have given us! (Which makes you wonder, why have M$ done this, when they could have still added DirectInput support???)

Anyhow, as stated above, download the XBCD drivers and everything is good in the world again! (Go to http://xbcd360guide.50webs.com/ for complete idiots guide!)

 

[Buck-O]

Drivers are already out - And they work a whole lot better than the rubbish Microsoft have given us! (Which makes you wonder, why have M$ done this, when they could have still added DirectInput support???)

Anyhow, as stated above, download the XBCD drivers and everything is good in the world again! (Go to http://xbcd360guide.50webs.com/ for complete idiots guide!)

Well, i will give them this much...they work.

And thats about it.

Every racing game i tried them on had some sort of issue with the seperate axis.
I also couldent get any of the rumble features to work, in any game i tried it in.
Plus, WTF is up with teh flashing ring. Its annoying as all hell.

So while it works, i wouldent say it works any better then the default MS ones did. And it takes alot more effort to get it working then it should.


Edit: Upon further looking, i seem to have found another driver versiont aht corrects the flashing issue, and should make the rumble feature work.
Ill report back.

Edit2: Ok, well, i found the latest release of the beta XBCD drivers. v.0.2.0. It fixed the flashing ring of light problem. So now it properly displays the "controler 1" indicator int he upper left hand corner. I wish i had a seconed controler to test it it would register in the "controler 2" upper right.
It also fixed the rumble problem, and now the rumble force can be selected from the rumble sliders in teh rumble tab.

However, it doesnt do squat with teh half axis triggers.
So far teh only racing game that works properly with it, is GT Legends that has the half axis recognition. Richard Burns Rally, however, does not, and doesnt work. Oddly enough, Gene Rally, which did not recognize either axis before. Now recognizes the half axis, and applys them correctly as indipendent, just like GT Legends.

Ill have to reinstall Need For Speed, Most Wanted again, to see if i can get the controler to work properly with it.

Hopfully somone somewhere will make the controler work on an indipendant axis.

Oddly enough, there is now a SEPERATE axis with no function called "slider" that has shown up in the properties of the controler. Both in XBCD and in the Windows controler properties. It serves no purpose, and does not respond to any function. Perhaps this could be used to break off a trigger to an indipendant axis?

If i find out more, ill reply with another post.

 

[TheGriffin]

Well, i will give them this much...they work.

And thats about it.

Every racing game i tried them on had some sort of issue with the seperate axis.
I also couldent get any of the rumble features to work, in any game i tried it in.
Plus, WTF is up with teh flashing ring. Its annoying as all hell.

So while it works, i wouldent say it works any better then the default MS ones did. And it takes alot more effort to get it working then it should.


Edit: Upon further looking, i seem to have found another driver versiont aht corrects the flashing issue, and should make the rumble feature work.
Ill report back.

Edit2: Ok, well, i found the latest release of the beta XBCD drivers. v.0.2.0. It fixed the flashing ring of light problem. So now it properly displays the "controler 1" indicator int he upper left hand corner. I wish i had a seconed controler to test it it would register in the "controler 2" upper right.
It also fixed the rumble problem, and now the rumble force can be selected from the rumble sliders in teh rumble tab.

However, it doesnt do squat with teh half axis triggers.
So far teh only racing game that works properly with it, is GT Legends that has the half axis recognition. Richard Burns Rally, however, does not, and doesnt work. Oddly enough, Gene Rally, which did not recognize either axis before. Now recognizes the half axis, and applys them correctly as indipendent, just like GT Legends.

Ill have to reinstall Need For Speed, Most Wanted again, to see if i can get the controler to work properly with it.

Hopfully somone somewhere will make the controler work on an indipendant axis.

Oddly enough, there is now a SEPERATE axis with no function called "slider" that has shown up in the properties of the controler. Both in XBCD and in the Windows controler properties. It serves no purpose, and does not respond to any function. Perhaps this could be used to break off a trigger to an indipendant axis?

If i find out more, ill reply with another post.

Don't reinstall NFSMW, I have it installed and it doesn't work perfectly with this controller, the light doesn't light up, the rumble doesn't work.

 

[Buck-O]

Don't reinstall NFSMW, I have it installed and it doesn't work perfectly with this controller, the light doesn't light up, the rumble doesn't work.

Ive heard that was a problem with the older drivers. But it supposidly been fixed for some with the 0.2.0's.

Ill give ti a shot for shits and giggles. If all else fails, its not like im gonna be bent up over uninstalling it. lol

 

[TheGriffin]

Ive heard that was a problem with the older drivers. But it supposidly been fixed for some with the 0.2.0's.

Ill give ti a shot for shits and giggles. If all else fails, its not like im gonna be bent up over uninstalling it. lol

Hmm, update me, what u mean by 0.2.0's?

 

[Buck-O]

Hmm, update me, what u mean by 0.2.0's?

Well, they (XBCD) released a new controler driver, that fixed the flashing ring of light issue, and some other controle issues with vibration, etc.

Its all detailed on their website.

Anyway, i tried NFS:MW with the new drivers, and the same problems persist. Everything else works great. However, there is still that werd bug where if you push up or down ont he left analog stick, the controler vibrates uncontrolably. Very odd indeed.

So, hopfully someone comes up with a fix for that soon, along with truely indipendant full axis for the triggers.