Use Generic Games Controller for Fortnite and Other Epic Games

23 March 2019
 https://tinyurl.com/y2nxujpe

Epic Game allowed Generic Games Controller (or USB joystick) to be used before mid 2018 for their games.  Then the  users need only to install  a small program called  "x360ce emulator".  Now Epic Game only allows Xbox and PS4 controllers to be used for some reasons.    This article will describe how a Generic Games Controller could be used for  Epic Games again.

How x360ce Emulator works?

X360ce is a popular Xbox emulator that has been used widely in PCs for many many years.  For the emulator to work,  one must configure the controller and install the program's  ini files together inside the games'  folder for it to be picked up when the games started.  This no longer works for Epic games since mid 2018.

What’s the Alternative?

To use the x360ce Alpha version 4.8.0.14 developed by GitHub.

Why the Alpha Version can work?

The Alpha version works exactly like the x360ce;  in fact,  it is a modified x360ce. It differs from the older version in where the little program resides.   Instead of residing in the games' folder,  the Alpha version is now part of Windows’ operating system just like any controller box.  It can be found in the [Devices and Printers] of [My Computer] as shown below.

How to install the Alpha Version

Step by Step

Description	Action	Remark (double click to enlarge pictures)
1.  Download x360ce Alpha	1. From here.   Remember where one has saved the file 2. If you have previously download other versions,  delete the old program called "x360ce" found in [C:\ProgramData]	Only the 32 bit version is available but it will work also in Windows 64 bit OS
2. Configuration	1.  Fire up the downloaded program	One would be greeted with the following main menu The program will highlight  any issue found in starting up the program such as missing drivers or software etc.  Some of these issues are described in the next section below
	2.  Press [+Add Game..] found on the top of the main menu screen.  In the next screen,  browse to x360ce folder to select x360ce.exe.  Make sure the x360cd.exe checkbox is also checked,
	3.   a)  Go back to the main menu b)  Plug in the USB joystick,  making sure the joystick’s LED light is on; c) Select [Controller 1] , then d) Select [+Add…] c)  In the screen shown on the right,  select and delete the keyboard and mouse by [x delete], leaving only the [USB joystick] behind.   d)   Click ok to return to  the main menu.
	4. In the main menu, tick the following check boxes  a)  [Enable 1 Mapped Device] b) [Get Xinput State] and c)  Highlight the required  Joystick.  Tick the check box if it is unchecked	The [Enable 1…] refers to the 1st item in the device box.
3.  Matching the controls	b)  On the buttons to be matched,   left click it with the mouse and select [Record] to show the blinking lights on each button in the picture c)  Click the corresponding button on the joystick d)  Repeat same for all other buttons	The button of Xbox picture will flash when [Record] is selected The flashing light will go away when a button in the controller is pressed
4.  Testing	Click the [Game Controller] button at the lower left hand corner	The following screen will show.  Select [XBOX 360] to test.  Calibrate the joystick buttons if necessary by selecting  [setting] in the properties section
5.  Saving the configuration	Go back to the main menu and press [save all] at the top right hand corner to save.	Unlike the older version of X360ce,  there is no ini file or Xinput files to be created;  instead,  an xml file will be created in the ProgramData’s x360ce folder.
6.  Creating a Windows start up shortcut	a)  Type [shell:startup] in the search window of Windows’ start button. A window with the folder will show b)  A right click in the startup  folder will allow a shortcut to be created for x360ce.exe.    c) In the [New] section,  navigate to the folder where one has saved the x360ce.exe to select and create the shortcut	The x360ce program should always be loaded throughout the game.   To automate it during every Windows startup,  one would have to create a shortcut in the startup folder.
7.  Configure the shortcut to auto-start when Windows started	a)  Right click the [x360ce] shortcut in startup folder; b)  In the [Run] dropdown box,  select [Minimized] c)  In the [compatibility] tab,   click to run the program as Administrator	To ensure x360 will not slow down Fortnite,  it is always recommended to minimize x360ce.exe
8.  Restart the computer	After restarting the window,  fire up [Device & Printers] in the start menu	If the joystick configuration is done properly,  one should find 2 games controllers listed in the devices section;  one for generic controller and the other for Xbox 360 as shown earlier.

Issues During Configuration process

Description	Action	Remark (double click to enlarge pictures)
Missing KB3033929 Windows security updates	Update Windows’ OS if it has not been updated before	Windows needs an update.  Preferably to do  a complete updating process rather just downloading this file
Missing Xbox 360 drivers	Download the required drivers,  Select the correct Windows OS to download
Windows KB cannot start	Turn on Windows Updating service from [Disable] to [Manual] and start up Windows Updating service
Controller buttons not active	In the main menu,  delete all other devices using [X remove] button,  making sure there is only one device left,   which is the  defaulted joystick	When the game controller is in first row and is selected,  the check box [Enable 1 Mapped Device] should show up. if the button still not active,  do a device clean up by pressing the [Test] in the top right corner and select [Cleanup Devices]  which will show the numbers of  inactive devices.  Click [Yes] to remove them.

Other references

http://skyjuiceiswater.blogspot.com/search/label/computer