ROF shifting control axes

[Jaus]

Has anyone found a solution to the constantly changing controller ID's in Win10?   I've done some searching and found reference to a third party software that allows you to specify joystick ID's but, as you might expect,  the posts are old.   I seem to recall hearing mention of a file replacement or the like that cures, or works around, the problem.

[IRFC Hawkeye]

There was a thread on this somewhere a long time ago; Me, Emerlist DavJack and possibly others were involved as I recall.

There is no simple easy fix (re: software) that worked for everybody all of the time.  However, you could edit your controls file as needed each time it changes, and the fastest way was to figure out which controls had changed to what in terms of ID numbers, and then adjust them using a text editor such as Notepad.  In other words if originally your joystick was "joy1", your throttle was "joy2" and your pedals were "joy3", and then it changed such that your joystick was "joy2" and your throttle was "joy3" and your pedals were now "joy1", what you would do first would be to rename your original controls file to "J1T2P3.txt" to indicate the configuration of your controllers that does not now work anymore.  THEN, you would edit that file in Notepad, changing only the numbers in the controller ID's to what is now needed: in this example case, you would change all 1's to 2's, all 2's to 3's, and all 3's to 1's.  This is not as difficult as it may sound since you can just place your cursor after the first ID number, hit backspace once, enter the now correct number, hit enter, your cursor moves down to the next line in the correct place, do the same thing over and over again until you go through all of the entries.  This is faster than doing it in the game where you have to re-enter every controller by moving it or pushing a button in every single field of every section that has anything to do with a controller, and odds are you always forget something.  Working from top to bottom in the text editor makes it so you don't forget anything, and it's all in one place.

When you've corrected all of the ID numbers, you then "save as" that file so that it has the correct file name required by the game (the file name that your original file had).  Can't remember it exactly right now since I don't have my gaming machine at this time. Notepad will try to append a ".txt" on the end, so that you end up with something like "controls.cfg.txt".  So after the file is saved, then rename it to get rid of the extra ".txt" on the end.  It will ask you if you're sure and say it might render the file useless, but just say yes, since that file with the extra .txt on the end will not be recognized by the game and so be useless.

In any case, you now have a working current file, and also another file that, if Windows happens to change the ID's back to that configuration, all you have to do is rename that particular file with the correct required game controller name, and then rename the other, now inoperable file indicating it's configuration (such as "J2T3P1.txt).

Eventually, if this happens enough times, and you create new configs each time as required, you have enough files that it covers all possible changes that can occur, and you'll never need to actually edit the file again, only rename an existing one that you created previously.  So for a while it's either a semi-quick fix to edit, or a really quick fix to rename an already existing file.

The idea is that it beats manually changing all the controls mapping within the game each time they change over and over forever.

Another note is that Windows doesn't normally change the controller ID's unless it's a larger update such as a "feature update", so the need for this is usually pretty infrequent.  But I stand to be corrected on that.

Good luck!  

[Jaus]

Thanks for the suggestion Tobin.   I think I have found a solution to my particular situation.   I have all of my game controllers  plugged into a hub with individual port 'on' switches.   If have them switched off when the computer boots, then turn them on in the same order each time, allowing a few seconds between each port,  I don't seem to get the id shuffling.    Interestingly, having all of the ports on when the computer  boots does not solve the problem.

I might try the config file solution in the future, but it seems like it would be hard to keep track of all the config files you might wind up creating (?)

S! 

Jaus

[IRFC Hawkeye]

  Good fix, it does sound like your problem was caused by factors different than the old garden-variety Windows Update thing.

With regard to keeping track of the files, you keep them all in the same folder as the config file, and you'll see them all together when you list files by file type (extension).  If you follow the naming convention I described above, you can tell exactly how the controllers are configured in each file just by the name of the file. Of course the fewer controllers you have, the easier it works.  I used it quite easily with 3 separate controllers, but it probably wouldn't be nearly as valuable with 4 or more.  In the end, just being able to edit the file as described is the most useful thing, being faster and more error-free than the game interface, if you have any familiarity with simple text editing and file explorer locations.

S!

[Klaiber]

@US103_Tobin, are you still mid-move?  If so, I hope things are going well!

[IRFC Hawkeye]

   As far as being "moved", welI, we're down here, we have Florida driver's licenses, car license plate, and we're voting as Florida residents!!

However, our "residence" is my sister's address, and we travel back-and-forth between there in Sarasota and Englewood to spend most of our time taking care of our 91/92 year-old parents (my in-laws).  Teresa cooks and I do the dishes and try to keep things clean and organized    Mom-in-law just got back from a month's worth of hospital/rehab facility stay.

As far as our own permanent home, we have a lot in a great residential area already bought (Rotonda West) and we've contracted with a builder, but the market is so active down here they all take a year or more to get it done.  It takes approximately 3 months just to get all the permits and approvals in Charlotte county, alone!  Then of course you have the actual building.

We have found out that things like appliances and furniture take 6 months or more to be delivered!

My motorcycle, tools and stuff are in storage still in Michigan, for a monthly fee ($$) 

In the mean time I am forgetting how to fly and using a laptop and phone.

We are really liking this area, what with the beaches and the great places to eat and drink.  I'm a big reviewer online  who would have thunk it.  We know all the good places!  We are dodging virus' too, so far successfully. Also, as of today, Oct 21, it is still 88-90 degrees every day!!!    No end in sight!  Crazy, man!  I don't mind it a bit.

Obviously I still look in on you guys now and then, and hope you are doing well and are staying healthy.

S!!

 

[Klaiber]

Glad to hear that things are starting to come together.  Was thinking about you trying to get to Florida during the whole COVID thing, and the logistics of it must have been really tough.

Also glad to hear that you have family down there.  That makes the process so much easier, honestly.

Building your own home sounds both really cool and also terrifying.  I'm assuming you already have plans drawn up.  Are you trying for a man cave / computer room?  With enough time and budget, I could dream-a-dream of an amazing room: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/341781059216482311/

Oh well, I can have aspirations.

[IRFC Hawkeye]

At one time I was hoping for a separate office area (i.e. "man cave"?) but honestly the extra cost for a plan like that was just too much for us both in terms of money and in terms of space on our lot.  So we're going with a standard 3 bedroom 2 bath, nothing extra, of somewhat over 1,700 sq ft. (living space) that also includes the important stuff (lanai and pool!) and forget the extra room.  I'll use one of the guest bedrooms for that instead, and what we'll end up with is the "master suite" and one of the guest bedrooms will open onto the pool / lanai area, and hope we don't have need for more than that.  I don't know what most of you guys are used to, but for that here is $350,000.00 if you don't go over budget, and honestly that's more than $100,000.00 more than we got for our old place which had a full finished basement besides.  That's just the way it is, and you can't do much about it, and I get that it's far worse in other parts of the country.

I'll be very happy if we can actually get through it all without any tremendous economic road blocks that could take place within the next year.  A year is a long time to keep one's fingers crossed!!

S!

[IRFC Hawkeye]

Thought I could attach our latest (and hopefully final) floor plan.  This has to be approved by the county and the HOA. This takes up to 3 months   

 

[Klaiber]

That looks really great!  I love how all the bedrooms, family room, and the dining room open up to the lanai (veranda).  It's a really clean design, and I can see a great opportunity for guests and parties by the pool.

Also the garage look like it'll give you a ton of room for both your cars and workshop projects.

If I was going to build a house, it would probably be a single floor plan as well.  My grandparents had a ranch-style house that I always liked.

[Vonrd]

Our house (2 BD 2 bath, 1940s Craftsman with a very narrow garage and showing its age) ... $1,103,520 ... but we love the Bay area and no plans to sell at this time (though it's really tempting... my wife bought it for about $80 K in 2002).

[IRFC Hawkeye]

Amazing the difference between areas.  The thing is if you're in an area like Vonrd's, you can relocate to an area like ours and be WAY ahead.  The reverse is impossible. So if wages allow in those expensive areas, eventually you're better off, just when you need to be.

@Klaiber, you really do absolutely live in that lanai and pool area. The entire lanai and pool deck will be screen enclosed....they all are here.  No insects or debris falling into the pool!