Achieving full XBOX 360 Controller support in Vice City

This guide will let you know how to add full XInput support to GTA Vice City! All you need to do is to download a modification for the game...

About GInput

Hey, what's going on? You plugged in your PlayStation or XBOX pad in hopes that you'll be able to play GTA on your PC just like you used to play on the console, and for some reason you can't make the controls work properly? You can't use full possibilities of your brand new, XInput-compatible pad? Maybe you want to refresh your childhood memories after ages of playing IV and you're sick of the old-fashioned controls?

If any of these apply to you, GInput is the mod you've been looking for! This modification completely rewrites Vice City controls handling and ditches DirectInput in favour of XInput. This way, your PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360 pads will be handled by the game just perfectly, taking advantage of all their features, including analog triggers.

Features

• Complete XInput support, so pads are mapped to match console versions perfectly (including Start button, which can't be mapped on PC version without this modification).
  
• Proper vibration support - something that was cut from all PC versions of the game!
  
• FIVE different control mappings - four setups matching PS2 selectable setups and fifth one being a recreation of GTA IV controls!
  
• Pad buttons in In-Game helps, replacing PC key names (depending on user's choice, either PlayStation or XBOX buttons are shown).
  
• An INI file with tons of options - including toggleable vibration, selecting controls setup, Invert Look option from console versions, axis inversion options from San Andreas and more!
  
• Automatic switching between keyboard & mouse and pad controls, basing on last device input.
  
• Support for Guide/PS button. The button is fully functional and can show your Steam Overlay menu if you launched the game via Steam!
  
• Cheats input from the pad. Use classic PS2 cheats on PC!
  
• Increased support for DualShock 3 controllers and SCP Driver Package - including pressure sensitive buttons and SIXAXIS accelerometers.

Downloading, Installation & Configuration

The modification can be downloaded from my blog:
https://cookieplmonster.github.io/mods/

Alternately, all downloads are still mirrored on GTAGarage:
https://www.gtagarage.com/mods/show.php?id=24272

When downloaded, the package contains:

• models directory - contains two TXD files with PS3/XBOX styled pad buttons
  
• docs directory - contains a text file with all five button mappings (useful if you never played the game on PS2 or never tried playing IV with a pad) and two HTML files with cheats for the pad
  
• GInputVC.asi - core of the modification
  
• GInputVC.ini - configuration file - its possibilities will be discussed later (although they're described in the file too)
  
• ReadMe.txt - just a ReadMe file - if you'll read this guide carefully, you don't need to open it ;)

Installation

Easy as pie! You don't need to do anything fancy, just extract the archive content (except ReadMe.txt and docs directory, which, obviously, aren't required by the game to work) to your game directory (if you don't know where your game is, open Steam -> Right click on GTA: Vice City -> Properties -> Local Files -> Browse Local Files to locate your game directory).

If your pad doesn't support XInput, you should try downloading any X360 controller emulator (x360ce recommended) and put it in the game folder (GInput makes use of xinput1_3.dll).

INI configuration

The modification is highly configurable. These are all the options available in GInputVC.ini:

• Enable - Well... you shouldn't ever really need this option, but if you're too lazy to drag GInput out of your VC directory, you may disable it completely here.
  
• DisableOnFocusLost - Setting this to 0 won't stop the game from registering pad input when not in focus. Best to leave it enabled.
  
• Vibration - This option will toggle vibration on/off.
  
• ControlsSet - This option will determine what controls set game will be using. See docs/GAME CONTROLS FULL LIST.txt for available modes and their setups.
  
• SAStyleSniperZoom - This option will allow SA style sniper zoom (R2/RT to zoom in, L2/LT to zoom out) This option is ignored when IV style controls are enabled (ControlsSet=5).
  
• Southpaw - This swaps all actions bound to analog sticks, similarly to Max Payne 3/GTA V Southpaw option, so everything bound to left analog stick will be controlled by right analog stick and vice versa.
  
• SwapSticksDuringAiming - This option will switch analog sticks when aiming with a sniper. Takes effect only with IV style controls enabled (ControlsSet=5).
  
• HotkeyToDriveby - Enabling this option will modify right analog stick actions - Look Left, Look Right and Look Behind will require holding R1/RB, whilst turret/hydraulics won't. With this option disabled, you need to hold R1/RB to control turret and hydraulics but not to look around. Takes effect only with IV style controls enabled (ControlsSet=5) and with pre-1.03 looking around (DrivebyWithAnalog=1).
  
• InvertLook - This option will invert view controls (1st person aiming and looking around).
  
• CheatsFromPad - Enables cheat input from the pad - see docs/cheat_list_*.html for more info.
  
• GuideLaunchesOverlay - This option will make the mod launch Steam Overlay menu by pressing Home/Guide. Has no effect at all if game is not launched by Steam.
  
• ApplyMissionSpecificFixes - This option alters some of the SCM scripts so they work properly with all GInput sets. It fixes Pizzaboy submissions, Martha's Mug Shot and also some helps not appearing in IV controls mode. You should disable this option only when using SCM without stock Vice City missions.
  
• PlayStationButtons - This option will replace XBOX pad buttons with PlayStation pad buttons.
  
• InvertLeftXAxis - This option will invert left thumbstick X axis
  
• InvertLeftYAxis - This option will invert left thumbstick Y axis
  
• SwapLeftAxes - This option will swap left thumbstick axes (so X axis becomes Y and Y becomes X)
  
• InvertRightXAxis - This option will invert right thumbstick X axis
  
• InvertRightYAxis - This option will invert right thumbstick Y axis
  
• SwapRightAxes - This option will swap right thumbstick axes (so X axis becomes Y and Y becomes X)

Screenshots & Video

Playing Demolition Man with Dualshock 3 pad - people usually hate that mission, but GInput makes it easy!

[Scrumilation]

Otherwise it works perfectly, you are truly a game modding legend :)

[Scrumilation]

I get flickering icons (between xbox and keyboard), I guess it is detecting some keyboard or trackpad input, is there any way to force it to show only xbox icons all the time?

[Silent]

Only if used through something that makes it use XInput, like (I think) DS4Windows. I am not up to date on the DualSense specific solutions though, unfortunately.

[Lokiau-2]

Doesn't it support the Play-Station 5 Controller?

[aGoryLouie]

Worked perfectly, cheers mate.

[Humanman]

Using ControlSet 5 the triggers to accelerate and reverse in car make my camera do weird things. How can I disable the camera from moving around?

[Karanthir_666]

I don't know how, but it fixed itself. I remember, that after install windows 11, ginput doesn't work. Atfer redownload from your site, everything work perfectly.

[Silent]

It does, but you may be missing DirectX End-User Runtimes. Once you install them, GInput should work fine.

[Karanthir_666]

Unfortunatelly, ginput doesn't work on windows 11.

[cyberjunk]

Well, with an XBox 360 controller it sort of works except I can't actually turn right or left. I can strafe okay, but as the right analogue stick just doesn't work it's a bit of a non starter! : (