Gamepad with a bad case of the stupids

Lord_Snot

Hey guys,
I have a Saitek P480 controller which rarely works properly, when I try and use it on a game like Really Big Sky or Geometry Wars, the right stick constantly reads that I'm pointing it diagonally upper-right, and won't let me move it anywhere else, even when I physically move it to the opposite of what it is, it just stays there. Games also sometimes misread the buttons, so it thinks Button 1 is Button 3 or whatever. I've tried using an emulator that changes the input of my pad into that of a 360 controller, but that doesn't work.

Also, I fixed it a couple of days ago, by plugging it into a different USB port and letting Windows download the drivers again, it worked for a while, then went back to what it used to be. However, the games I set up to use the 360 emulator while it was working, such as Beat Hazard are working fine. But even if I use the 360 pad emulator, it doesn't work properly.

What could this be? I'm going to be buying a 360 controller for Windows soon, but why is it doing this?

Tef

I really can't come up with your current controller is janky, but since you mentioned you're picking up a new one you should have a look at the Razer Onza. It's a fantastic controller and I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for a new pad and doesn't mind that it's wired.

minor incident

Another vote for just picking up the Onza. It's cheaper than a wireless 360 pad, and infinitely better in every way.

Lord_Snot

Cool, I'll look at getting an Onza, thanks guys.

Mangaroo

Have you tried recalibrating it through windows game controller? If it worked with one usb port but not the other are you sure the ports are not overloaded? Doesn't take too much these days. Otherwise the misreading of the buttons sounds like a hardware issue? The program Xpadder can also help fix some input issues, worth a shot while you get a new pad perhaps.

I'm happily using a 360 controller for games and the ps2 controller with a usb converter when the game allows (for the d-pad if needed). It's nice to see the onza's d-pad has some extra attention - is it noticeable? Also does it use razer drivers or sort of stealth 360, otherwise I would worry about compatibility with some games and having to use a 360 emulator once again. Or if that is not the case then I'd be quite interested myself - although need to hunt for a decent price in the UK.

Also, I recently looked up how to use a 360 controller to control the pc at a distance while watching shows and came across a guide that uses Joy2key with a config for a 360 controller. No keyboard but mouse control and some other buttons:

Has a nice alt+tab switch with the LB and RB.
Also speed up mouse with X.
Right stick to scroll.
Left trigger minimises and right trigger closes (alt+f4).
A - left click, B - right click

This is the guide with the full info:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Use-an-Xbox-360-controller-as-a-mouse/

Here's an archive of the few files already put together:
http://www.multiupload.com/Y2M7X5IV2Q