Enable Force Feedback on your Xbox One Controller

This is the tutorial on how to get the Force Feedback working for rFactor 2 game on Xbox One Controller.
(Also applies to any other controller which does not give Force Feedback in the game.)

Introduction

If you have rFactor 2 and an Xbox 360/Xbox One gamepad, you may have tried to play the game with it to discover that there was no Force Feedback in the game - you couldn't feel the handling/vibration as there was none. Luckily, there is a solution to this problem - you just need to setup/install a few things.

This Guide works for any Xbox Controller, be it wired or wireless. It also works on any XInput-type controller which has the same problem.

Requirements

• Xbox 360 Gamepad/Xbox One Gamepad (or any gamepad which doesn't have working Force Feedback/Vibration)
  
• Patience
  
• Some of your time
  
• IQ > 60

Step 1: Getting the required files and Installation

First of all, you'll need to get the files for this to work.

I have made the pack for all required files, get them from here.[drive.google.com]

VirusTotal, just in case: https://www.virustotal.com/#/file/da69b7f55f2df8485c9a85ed09fab2f9c82593394be5636a3b3154d3c4fa3679

(This pack was based from the original topic here.)

Download it, extract it anywhere.

You should have this:

Now in the extracted folder, open "XInput Controller Driver" and install the file. When installing, select "Complete". This will install the driver you'll need later on.

Don't forget to reconnect your controller after you install these drivers!

Step 1.5: First Game Check

After installing drivers, you might want to check maybe your device is already working.

All you have to do is just try playing rFactor 2 with the gamepad connected in your preffered way.

If you now get the Force Feedback/Vibration, congratulations! The tutorial is over.

If not, continue to Step 2 and 3.

Step 2: Getting the HardwareIDs

If your controller still doesn't work, we will need to do a manual setting apply - this is where the "REG file" folder comes in. Before that, though, we will need to find out the HardwareIDs of the device we're using.

If you're using a Wired Controller, this is pretty easy to find out in Device Manager part - just check the "Properties" of the Gamepad and in the "Details" tab, select "Hardware Ids" from the drop-down list - the part with "VID_xxxx&PID_yyyy" (where xxxx is the sequence alongside VID and yyyy is the sequence alongside PID) is what we will need for the next step.

It's much more difficult if you're using a Wireless Controller - it might be especially difficult if you're using Bluetooth connection.

There's also an easier way to find out the HardwareIDs you're looking for.
To find out the Hardware IDs, you can navigate to <rFactor 2 Root folder>/UserData/player and open the Controller.JSON file using any text editor. Scroll down until you find a section in file like this:


As you can see, we have the device list which were connected to the game. At the end of "Device Name 1" line you see a symbol sequence (in this example it's "#045e02e0"). This is exactly what we need - 045e going to VID part and 02e0 going to PID part (in other words, 045e02e0 here goes in xxxxyyyy system which connects to VID_xxxx&PID_yyyy replacing where needed - so VID_045E&PID_02E0 in this example).

Step 3: Editing the REG file

Now, since we have the Hardware IDs we need, there's only one more thing to do, and it's A VERY IMPORTANT ONE - Editing the REG file.

It's pretty easy to do - just go to the REG file folder (that folder is in the pack you downloaded earlier), and on the joy.reg file Right-Click and select "Edit". A Notepad window will open.


Select Edit -> Replace... from the Top Menu.

Find "VID_045E&PID_02EA" and replace with Hardware IDs you found out ("VID_045E&PID_02E0", as in example above) and press Replace All.

!!!DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE!!!

Close the Replace window, and DON'T FORGET TO SAVE THE FILE.

Also worth mentioning: Check if all VID and PID values changed to the correct ones.

After Saving, close Notepad and open the REG file normally (Double-Click) and Apply the edited REG file to Registry.

DON'T FORGET TO RECONNECT YOUR CONTROLLER AFTER YOU APPLY THE REG FILE!

Step 4: Second Game Check

After reconnecting the gamepad, it's time to test rFactor 2 again.

If you did everything correctly, your controller should now have Force Feedback/Vibration while on track! Congratulations!

Step 5: What to do if it still doesn't work

EDIT 22-04-2020: I forgot to mention - I HIGHLY recommend to set up a "Force Feedback Reset" button also in the game settings - will help you if for some reason you lose the Vibration.

• Recheck the Hardware IDs - maybe you got that incorrectly?
  
• Recheck the connected devices - maybe you applied this to the wrong device?
  
• Recheck the game - maybe you have Vibration turned off?
  
• (Wireless) Check the Batteries - Vibration usually doesn't work when the charge is low.

If everything is correct and it still doesn't work, it's time to throw that controller out the window. /s

No but seriously, I don't know, maybe a PC restart will be enough, or maybe do a Windows reinstall or start again from Step 1, but if you're sure everything is correct and it still doesn't work on a clean system, then your controller does not support this system well.

Conclusion

Congratulations, now you have a working Xbox 360/Xbox One controller with working Force Feedback/Vibration in rFactor 2!

And that's not all, this will also work in other older games which used this system!

Enjoy the game!


If you still have problems, be sure to leave a comment or message me, I'll try to help as much as I can.
If anyone can come up with a more automated system or has any valuable suggestions, I'm more than happy to include you in a Bonus section later on.
For now, until Studio 397 upgrades their systems from "DirectInput (or "DInput") to the current "XInput" type, this is a good backup to have.

[Gomer]

Thank you for this guide, I'm using rewasd with a DS4 controller and works like a charm.

[Hinyaldee]

Heya, thanks for this great guide ! I only have one issue though, it's that the controller is vibrating all the time and doesn't really communicate when I have grip/traction or not. Which makes it nearly impossible to drive on the limit without spinning all the time. Is it possible to configure it to have a feel ala F1 games ?

[Gness Erquint]

Different ways over the years.
One way would be x360ce + Morii's thing. But x360ce is cumbersome to deal with…
There might be more streamlined XOne-specialized solutions. Never had any XBox pad myself, since I hate their form-factor, so not in the know on XOne-specialized tools. Look around.

[Mikawelll]

Gness Erquint Hi
Can you tell me how di tou emulate a 3060 pad olease ? Because even with the reg modification i cannot have the rumbling on my Xone pad.
Thanks

[Gness Erquint]

Honestly, I just always emulated whatever pad I had over the years into stock X360 pad with custom drivers and then Morii's thing worked perfectly on top of that.

[Mantazzo]

True! However, it only supported a limited number of gamepads (certain VID/PID values) - I had an Afterglow X360 gamepad before and it had this exact issue. Thankfully, one person "modified" the setup to include some new devices, but it is still not enough - I still have issues with my Xbox One Gamepad now, and the only solution to have FFB working is the REG file method.

[Gness Erquint]

Masahiko Morii already released a Windows MSI installer package with a signed driver for this purpose like a decade ago. Here's one of the reuploads: https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/1843-directinput-force-feedback-driver-for-xinput-masahiko-morii/

[Mikawelll]

I'm so dumb. Sorry for the disturbance.

[Mantazzo]

For that, I meant the "REG" folder that you can find in that .zip you downloaded. I will adjust accordingly.

[Mikawelll]

Hello
thanks for this tutorial. But i'm stuck at the step 3: Where is this reg folder , in the Rfactor root or somewhere else ?
Thanks and have a good day.