PC Drivers for the Xbox One Controller | Hacker News Reader

PC Drivers for the Xbox One Controller

majornelson.com

32 pointsstumpyfr42 comments

No offense against the Xbox One controller (which I do enjoy using), but I think for my casual on-the-road or in my room gaming on my laptop I'll just keep on using my PS4 Controller (I didn't get a PS4, but the $60 on the controller was well spent :-).

Instructions for PC setup can be found here: http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-DS4-To-XInput-Wrapper

It's really nice not to have to worry about extra wires :-).

It makes me wonder why there aren't more Bluetooth PC controllers out there (I really haven't seen too many, maybe like one from Logitech, but none of them are as good as the console ones anyway so it's a moot point for me).

Most gaming PCs don't have inbuilt bluetooth.

Everyone has USB.

For gaming PCs that's true...I was referring to laptops though (on the road, less stuff to carry).

The PS3 controller works via both Bluetooth and USB. IIRC it's the same for DS4, and DS4 via USB is practically mandatory on OSX currently for some reason (DS3 works fine on both).

A bluetooth module costs a dollar and is the size of a USB plug. The aversion to bluetooth is weird.

PC gaming culture is defined by one guy in front of his box/laptop. Wireless controllers for console make sense because its usually multiple people many feet away from a TV.

I don't want a wireless controller for my PC. Its just more needless complexity. I don't want to worry about batteries for something that I use 2 feet from my PC.

Bluetooth (at least in my experience with XBox 360 controllers) introduces a larger amount of input lag than wired controllers. This is important for FPS and other twitch games.

X360 controllers are not bluetooth. They use their own proprietary protocol. I honestly can't see a difference between DualShock 4 connected via USB vs. bluetooth to my PC,and I use it to play titanfall.

I've been waiting for this for a long time. The Xbox One controller has many small improvements that build up to a noticeable difference over the Xbox 360 controller I've been using to play games like Watch Dogs on the PC. It's vastly more comfortable for extended sessions.

I'm more interesting in the fact that he is showing Halo 2 running on (what I'm guessing) is the microsoft surface. It seems like a strange choice to choose a game that is almost 10 years old unless he is hinting that Halo 2 Anniversary is also coming to PC?

Halo 2 was also the very first game to officially support the XInput API of the X360 controller on Windows, so he might be paying homage to it by showing that the first game running with the Xbox One controller is nothing else but Halo 2.

Once the wireless dongle gets released then I will jump in. Not a big fan of having to plug it in. For now I'll stick with the 360 controller I have.

What are the new features of the Xbox One controller as compared to those of the Xbox 360 one ?

They're about the same as far as features. Immediately noticeable is that the Xbox one controller is much more comfortable to hold and has an improved D-pad. They got rid of the battery compartment on the back so if you have large hands that doesn't get in the way.

I'm not much of a console gamer but I own both systems and occasionally play the newest hyped game on them, finish it, and don't touch it for months, but in imho they new one feels a lot better in my hands. I think it has a lower profile, is somewhat smaller, and is definitely lighter.

The 360 controller just feels like a brick in my hands now.

What about wireless support?

Apparently the controller is not bluetooth[1], so wireless would only be supported with a custom dongle, just like the X360 wireless controller.

[1]http://kotaku.com/how-the-xbox-one-controller-has-changed-11...

That is a little bothersome I guess. I have the x360 wireless receiver for PC and it works great, but I suppose I'd need a different one. I probably shouldn't expect an xbone version anytime soon.

On the other hand, 360 controllers have gotten cheaper if you just stick with those. Does the XB One controller add much?

Microsoft did spend $100 million developing the new controller, so I hope they've got some improvements to show for it. I haven't used it much myself.

Not much. The triggers can now vibrate to give feedback, but I don't know if any PC games do (or even can) implement that. It also feels different. I don't like the feel of the new design, but the majority of people seem to agree it's more comfortable than the 360 controller.

For the Xbox 360, the wireless controllers communicate wirelessly even while plugged in. There's a dongle you can purchase to make it work, though I believe it's discontinued. I wouldn't expect one for the Xbox One controller.

You can still buy it as part of a controller bundle for now: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-Wireless-Controller-Win...

Not sure if Amazon is just working through the remainder of their stock though if it is discontinued (they're listed as a seller on the right since some third part one is like a dime cheaper). I never was able to find the Microsoft dongle alone without the controller though so perhaps they did discontinue it.

Not a bad price for both the dongle and a controller though and always nice to have another one for when friends stop by for some Sonic Racing.

Buy the Chinese knock-off for $10.

https://encrypted.google.com/shopping/product/99842391963509...

Download the discontinued device's MS software.

x64

http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/0/f/00f2a67b-e10b-4...

x32

http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/0/f/00f2a67b-e10b-4...

Extract .exe with 7-zip

Go through the Device Manager>>>Update Driver on unknown device>>>Browse...>>>Let Me Pick>>>Have Disk>>>Drill down to Xbox360_64Eng\xbox360\setup64\files\driver\win7\x64

You may need to add the chinese device's hardware ID to the inf file...it's a buggy install but works flawlessly once Windows accepts the driver, just don't remember what the final trick was. JFGI.

Edit: clarified 'buggy install' & remove color commentary

The text

> We're planning to release the drivers as part of a Windows update in the near future; however, today, I am happy to offer early access to our dedicated PC gamers on MajorNelson.com.

screamed “trojan” to me when I read it. It sounded like a random site was claiming to be affiliated with Microsoft, and was trying to get me to download and install a malicious driver. (The comments say the driver has a signature that Windows does not recognize.)

However, the site does seem legitimate. http://majornelson.com/general-blog-faq/ explains who the site owner is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Hryb, the Director of Programming for Xbox Live. And the site has many real commenters who seem to treat the site owner as an authority.

Yes, MajorNelson is fairly well-known in the Xbox-using community (actually better known by the pseudonym than as Larry Hryb). He really is Microsoft's Xbox Live director.

But this is about a software release for the PC gaming community, not the Xbox community. Handling things this way shows that somebody's got an embarrassing (though mostly harmless) PR blind spot. It's fine for Microsoft to have it as a goal that everyone who plays PC games is also part of their Xbox ecosystem, but pretending in any way that it's already that way is off-putting and not helping.

At the moment, this release is targeting the Xbox community, because that's who owns Xbox One controllers. I'm sure Microsoft will do a proper page on a more Microsofty domain in due time when they actually release the drivers with Windows.

> "I am happy to offer early access to our dedicated PC gamers on MajorNelson.com"

There's a definite conflict between the statement that they're targeting "dedicated PC gamers" and the action that they're doing it through the Xbox community. Come to think of it, does Microsoft even have an established gaming-oriented channel through which to release something like this apart from their console-oriented Xbox branded stuff?

This looks like a way to beta test the drivers with enthusiasts who would likely have an Xbox One controller already. People who don't have one yet likely wouldn't go buy one to try early drivers, so it seems reasonable to reach out to the community through the Xbox channel.

(Disclaimer: I work at MS, nowhere near Xbox.)

Any intermediate that people would learn about the drivers from would know what major nelson's website is. Nobody is checking microsoft.com for product announcements anyway, they get it through news outlets. The outlets (and enthusiasts who would post to social media) already know who major nelson is.

Major Nelson is well regarded in the Xbox community.

His insincerity is at odds with someone like Phil Spencer, and it's not a surprise that Phil is in the position he is in now.

He hosts a podcast and a big part of his job involves personality, not being a business robot. That doesn't mean he can't fire his business guns, or that you should slam him for it just because you're unfamiliar with an XBox sub-brand that is responsible for xbox announcements every now and then.

I think just about everyone in the Xbox community is aware of Major Nelson.

Am I missing something, or did they just break backwards compatibility again? Bad enough the first time around, when they conned a bunch of lazy-ass devs into only supporting 360 pads and our standard USB gamepads stopped working.

I try to avoid knee-jerk Microsoft bashing, but they're really making it hard.

"The new PC drivers will enable the Xbox One controller to be used with any game that featured gamepad support for the Xbox 360 controller"

Sounds like compatibility is fine? Honestly, I'm okay with the 360 pad support taking over--Almost every controller had a standard button layout, but with the buttons oddly numbered from controller to controller. Newer controllers all mapping to 360 buttons has simplified everything.

It's sad that my original Logitech DualAction isn't quite as useful, but the newer models have had so many fewer issues when it comes to just using them in a game.

> Sounds like compatibility is fine? Honestly, I'm okay with the 360 pad support taking over--Almost every controller had a standard button layout, but with the buttons oddly numbered from controller to controller. Newer controllers all mapping to 360 buttons has simplified everything.

It was indeed annoying that the pad manufacturers couldn't get their shit together and agree on a button ordering, but that doesn't excuse Microsoft inventing an entirely new and unnecessary standard instead of just declaring their own canonical ordering.

I genuinely have no idea why this is getting downvotes. Was I not clear? I thought we were all on the same page here re: "standards are good, pointlessly breaking compatibility is bad."

There's an established standard for USB gamepads, and Microsoft (a) ignored it in favor of their own proprietary standard Xinput and (b) convinced quite a lot of devs to only support Xinput. This means that a perfectly functional Logitech or Saitek gamepad from the late 2000s is useless with modern games, and a 360 pad is useless with older games, unless you jump through hoops with drivers. It also means that it's difficult to get a 360 pad working correctly on non-Windows platforms.

It makes no sense that the Xbone controller, which has the same controls in the same places as the 360 controller, wasn't backwards-compatible out of the box; and I'm suspicious that they'll push devs to support the Xbone pad exclusively to force 360-pad owners to upgrade, because they've already done that once.

What were they doing to "convince a lot of devs to only support XInput"?

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee41...

For starters, as your link says, the analog trigger buttons don't work properly in DirectInput. Instead of registering as two independent axes, they show up as Left and Right on the same axis, so pressing both triggers at once looks the same as no-input. The triggers are generally the preferred control for primary buttons, so for all practical purposes XInput is required if you want to support the 360 pad.

(Their explanation is "the Xbox 360 controller was designed to register minimum value, not center, when the triggers are not being held." Seems like the obvious solution would be "don't do that.")

Because you said:

"Am I missing something, or did they just break backwards compatibility again?"

And... no, they didn't, the Xbox One controller (per the linked article) is backwards compatible with PC games who use the 360 controller. So you ARE missing something, something you could have discovered easily by reading the article you're commenting on.

So... you were clear, you were just wrong.

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