Controller Troubleshoot on Steam

This post is to a supplement to the Hit Box, Smash Box, and Cross|Up posts. Please read the relevant post to your controller above prior to going through this quick troubleshooting guide.

If you run into any issues, please email us for trouble-shooting help: support@hitboxarcade.com.

Compatibility Overview

Not all games have the same input compatibility. Below is a short list to keep in mind regarding what games work with which options:

Most games will accept Xinput

This is the default output of Hit Box and Cross|Up

Some games accept WUP - "Switch / WiiU" mode on GameCube adapters:

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
Rivals of Aethers
Rushdown Revolt
Slap City

These games below do not accept Dinput - the default output of older Hit Boxes as well as GameCube adapters in PC mode (PS4, PS3, and Switch Pro controllers are Dinput as well):

Street Fighter V
Tekken 7
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Guilty Gear Strive
Soulcalibur VI
Melty Blood: Type Lumina

If your controller works with specific settings in one game it does not mean that your controller will work with those same settings in another game.

1. Preemptive Steps

Have these confirmed prior to moving forward with the troubleshooting in the rest of this post:

Your controller is working in Joy.cpl
You can map your buttons on Steam
Your controller is not outputting anything into the game of your choice

If you have not tested or confirmed the above steps, please follow your controller-relevant post:

If at any point through these instructions you were not able to solve your issue, email us: support@hitboxarcade.com. Please include your name, order number, a link to this post, and a description of where you stopped in the instructions.

2. Controller Options

This is the first troubleshooting you should do once you have done the steps above.

First, go to "Steam" then "Settings" then "Controller" then "General Controller Settings."

2A. Unselect All of the "Configuration Support" Options

Make sure none of the options in the Controller Options.

Once they are all deselected, boot up your game and see if your controller works.

If this does work, it most likely means that the game you are playing has good controller compatibility and using the "Configuration Support" options will most likely hinder the game reading your controller.

If it does not work, make sure that you have buttons mapped to your controller by selecting the detected controller in the Controller Options. If it still does not work, try the step below.

2B. SELECT All of the "Configuration Support" Options

Select all of the "Configuration Support" options only.

Once they are all selected, try your controller in the game of your choice.

If it works, this most likely means that Steam's controller "Configuration Support" helped the game read your controller. This also means that should only need one "Configuration Support" active when playing your game. Test out each "Configuration Support" option individually with your game to see which one it is - the most like option will be the one that best matches the name of your detected controller.

If it does not work, make sure that you have buttons mapped to your controller by selecting the detected controller in the Controller Options.

If it still does not work and the game is asking and/or only accepting keyboard inputs, continue to the "Steam Wants Keyboard" section.

3. Steam Wants Keyboard

In some cases, Steam will try to force you to use keyboard and will completely ignore your controller. To ensure that Steam does not continue to do this, we will go through some more controller options that will help prevent your controller from acting like a keyboard.

From the main Steam window, select "Steam" in the top left then select "Settings." From there select "Controller" then "Desktop Configuration."

It should bring you to a window that has a controller image (your image may not look the same).

In this window select "Browse Configs" at the bottom.

Once you are in that menu, select "Recommended" and then select the second / bottom option titled "Disabled."

It should show a similar window with the controller image, this time with no buttons mapped and with the word "PREVIEW" at the top.

Simply select "Apply Configuration" at the bottom.

This will send you back to the controller image and nothing should be mapped.

Select "Done" at the bottom and exit the settings.

Now try your controller in game.

If it still does not work, please continue to the "Steam Overlay" section below.

4. Steam Overlay

Steam Overlay is a function of Steam that allows it to apply the controller settings above to the games you are playing. This function may or may not be interfering with your controller, but it will be good to check.

From the main Steam window, select "Steam" in the top left then select "Settings." From there select "In-Game."

"Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game"

If this option is currently selected, then unselect it, hit "OK" at the bottom, and try your controller in game.
If this option is currently unselected, then select it, hit "OK" at the bottom, and try your controller in game.
Test both if you wish.

If it still does not work, please continue to the "Steam Input" section below.

5. Steam Input

As mentioned at the beginning of the post, each game has its own controller compatibility. You can access these properties and use different options.

In the main Steam window, select your Library tab. Then right-click the game you are trying to test your controller in and select "Properties." Once you are in those options, select "Controller."

Click on the drop-down menu under the "Override for [game name]" title - if you have not changed these settings before, it will say "Use default settings."

Now to test some options:

Select "Enable Steam Input." Exit the Properties window, and start your game.

If it works, great!
If it does not work, continue to the next step.

Select "Disable Steam Input." Exit the Properties window, and start your game.

If it works, amazing!

If it does not work, reselect "Use default settings" and move on to the "Input Wrapper" section below.

6. Input Wrapper

An "Input Wrapper" is - simply stated - something that takes the output from your controller and 'translates' it into another output. Using an input wrapper can help with game and program controller compatibility.

Below are the three most used input wrappers - if you have any questions regarding these, we recommend reading through the documentation that comes with the links first, then going into our Discord and posting in the #smashbox-discussion channel.

X360CE: Emulates an Xbox 360 controller (outputs Xinput).

https://www.x360ce.com/ (Includes links to latest downloads and tutorials)
Try this first if your main use for your controller is going to be fighting games.

AntiMicro: "Graphical program used to map keyboard buttons and mouse controls to a gamepad. Useful for playing games with no gamepad support."

https://github.com/AntiMicro/antimicro
Try this if you plan on playing games other than fighting games, or if X360CE did not work for you.

Joy2Key: "Enables PC game controllers to emulate the keyboard and mouse input, so that windows applications and web games can be controlled with your favorite joysticks!"

https://joytokey.net/en/
Try this if you plan on playing games other than fighting games, or if X360CE did not work for you.

DHC: "A DirectInput/XInput wrapper DLL that implements controller hotplugging for games that don't do so themselves. It pretends that there are always a fixed number of PS4 controllers plugged in at once, and maps the inputs of real controllers onto the virtual controllers as they are plugged in."

https://github.com/jmgao/dhc
Select the "Code" drop-down menu, and then choose "Download ZIP" to download.
This input wrapper is designed to work for fighting games.

Once you have your controller set up with an input wrapper, please go through this post again starting with the "Preemptive Steps" section.

7. Restarting All Configs

If you have gone this far with nothing helping, you may want to delete your controller settings in Steam and start the process over from the beginning.

- We recommend proceeding with the following instructions with caution -

We are referencing this post from the Steam community: How to completely delete and reset all Steam controller data?

7A. Steam Restart

Steam -> Settings -> Account -> Beta participation
Change to "Steam beta update."

7B. Backup your data before moving forward.

Copy and save all of the below to another location:

\Steam\userdata\-YOUR USER NUMBER-\241100
\Steam\userdata\-YOUR USER NUMBER-\config\controller_configs\personalization
\Steam\userdata\-YOUR USER NUMBER-\config\controller_configs\apps

7C. Delete the data.

Delete everything from:

\Steam\userdata\-YOUR USER NUMBER-\241100
\Steam\userdata\-YOUR USER NUMBER-\config\controller_configs\personalization
\Steam\userdata\-YOUR USER NUMBER-\config\controller_configs\apps

7D. Testing the Controller

Steam -> Settings -> Controller Settings -> Uncheck all of the "Configuration Support" options
Connect controller and see if Steam recognizes it
If your controller is recognized: check the "Configuration Support" option that applies to what type of controller it was read as. Now test in your game!
If it works in your game: congratulations, you can play now!
If it does not work in your game: start with step 1 again and work your way down.

Tags: Cross|Up Hit Box PC Smash Box Support