Wireless Gamepad Doesn't Associate Twice in one Instance.

[Cairdeas]

I'm not sure if anyone has reported this yet. Actually I'm sure someone has, but I don't think we ever got a response for it, At least I can't find one through the Search Feature.


When using a Wireless Gamepad with Final Fantasy XIV, it takes a while for it to accept a first association (Turning the hardware on). This is not a major problem. The major problem is if the wireless device breaks connection via timeout or through powerloss (Batteries) Reassociation will not take place. No matter what process you do to renable the wireless device it will not work in game without logging completely out and then restarting the Game Client.


Just for ease, heres my spec report.

Hardware
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955B@3.7GHZ
Memory: 8GB, 4x2GB DDR3
Graphics Controller: ATI HD5770 @1GB DDR5
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate

Device: Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller with Microsoft USB Dongle.

Process Used to Recreate Bug.

Log Into Final Fantasy XIV
Press Home Button on the Controller to Activate It.
Wait Time till controller can move cursor in game.
Select Character and play.
After Time Controller runs out of power, or times out from inactivity.
Replace Batteries and Press Home Button on controller to activate it.
Controller does not re-engage in game.


Did I miss anything?

[Lazerus]

The same thing happens for me , using a microsoft Wireless 360 controller, when i am loged into the game and for any reason it shuts off for more then 3 seconds you have to log out of the game ( to the desktop ) and log back it for it to work again. PLEASE FIX !! the controller has a Auto shutoff system after about 10 mins , so i bought a charging cord to prevent this, this way when i need afk for 10-20 mins or more i can plug the controller in for the time being, Very annoying. PLEASE FIX thanks

[Xophious]

Hey there you two.

Sorry to hear you're having that trouble with the controller, I can see it getting pretty annoying. Especially if you have to shutdown to get it working again. The thread was moved over to Technical Support from In-Game Bugs in case they're able to assist. Thank you for posting in the forums!

[Cairdeas]

Hey there you two.

Sorry to hear you're having that trouble with the controller, I can see it getting pretty annoying. Especially if you have to shutdown to get it working again. The thread was moved over to Technical Support from In-Game Bugs in case they're able to assist. Thank you for posting in the forums!

This doesn't appear to be a Technical Support issue. It appears to be a bug with the game only accepting an association once. No matter how you do it it will only let you connect one controller one time any other controllers do not work once they are activated.

FFXI does not do this.

[electrikALIEN]

I for one would love to see this fixed. It's highly annoying having to quit the game and restart just to be able to associate my controller again.

[Cairdeas]

If this is really a technical support issue I want to know how to fix it atleast. I don't think it is, The controller works fine in FFXI I can re-associate multiple times in XI and other games especially on the Source Engine. The only game that doesn't let me reassociate from going idle is FFXIV. Which points to the code used to accept Game Controllers being bugged.

[Lyniaer]

It's not, specifically, a technical issue nor a bug. It's a short-sighting in the design of the game's association. When a program starts up it logs and records the association of a device to the host [i.e. the computer] through the script currently active that the device uses to cooperate with Windows. The issue is, the game doesn't "refresh" this data because it does not have a direct association or access to the USB control drivers.

When you plug in a USB device it goes through a process known as Enumeration. This Enumeration tells the computer what kind of Device it is and assigns a unique Device identifier. The wireless controller is the actual 'Device' in this case, regardless that the receiver is still on [because that only translates the wireless signal to USB] the very act of having the controller on and associated is what keeps that value. Turn the controller off, the value is lost and the game is still stuck on the old one. When you plug it back in or turn it back on the game is no longer in a state of looking for peripherals. The same thing can happen in games when it comes to some Microphones/Headsets. I myself use a bluetooth headset for Voice Communication on MMOs such as Dungeons and Dragons online and DC-Universe. Turn off the headset and turn it back on, the game won't recognize it. I have this same issue with the PS3 and Xbox controllers with DCU as you all and I do with FFXIV.

If you think about it, FFXI works fine with controllers because it launched first on the Playstation 2 and already had the idea of game pads and their control function settled into it. By the time FFXIV is ready for the Playstation 3 the developers will have this issue sorted out by simply including an In-Game gamepad awareness design from the PS3 build. Easy-Peesy. Just comes down to developers remembering that we play with Gamepads, too, and to simply recognize the buttons of the controller isn't enough.
Of course it would be nice if I could find a way to force a device to have the same IRP every time it's connected. I'm sure there's a way, but usually there has to be a significant demand, first.

I would also like to see GamePad/Keyboard switching. Who hates trying to type and forgetting to hit that spacebar and suddenly your character starts to run in circles and all the names disappear over players?

[Cairdeas]

Can't you set the IRQ's in Windows to maintain the same interupts for a device no matter when its plugged in? would that work?

[Lyniaer]

Sadly, no.

[Cairdeas]

Sadly, no.

Then its not an issue with the game pad or windows. And as the same issue isn't reflected in other games like Fable III, Final Fantasy XI, and more. It points to this being a bug in the code for XIV.