[Redstreblo]

I am having a problem where I am setting up my USB Xbox 360 controller for use in Descent 3 or FreeSpace and other games where the Left Trigger and Right Triggers are not buttons. The way it detects them is by a Z axis. This means that I cannot map LT or RT to be say "Fire Primary" or "Fire Secondary" because it doesn't detect the triggers as buttons. Is there another driver out there or a workaround that will let me use the triggers as buttons?

Thanks   

[IronBeer]

I use a 360 controller, myself, and running it through a program like Xpadder or Pinnacle Game Profiler (I'd recommend the former, since it's free) allows you to set certain buttons on a controller to be keypresses. The problem with a 360 controller sans special software is that the L/R triggers ARE axes, they're just hardly ever configured as such.

[Redstreblo]

Thank you very much! Xpadder has solved my issue flawlessly (except now the game sees it as a joystick AND keyboard controls and overrides what I set the left analog stick to do to become, well an analog stick) and the triggers are now seen as buttons and are my primary and secondary fire buttons YAY!

By the way Xpadder is not free, I had to search for an older version that was free. But hey now I had something to Google for!

[IronBeer]

...(except now the game sees it as a joystick AND keyboard controls and overrides what I set the left analog stick to do to become, well an analog stick)

Yeah, what I did to fix that was to disable the gamepad as a joystick all together, set FSO to accept mouse flight, then emulated mouse inputs with Xpadder on one of the analog sticks. Though, it does sound like you've got a control setup you like, so do with this info what you will.

By the way Xpadder is not free, I had to search for an older version that was free. But hey now I had something to Google for!

Aaargh. You're right, I forgot about that. But there are free versions out there, so.... we can both be right. 

[Redstreblo]

...(except now the game sees it as a joystick AND keyboard controls and overrides what I set the left analog stick to do to become, well an analog stick)

Yeah, what I did to fix that was to disable the gamepad as a joystick all together, set FSO to accept mouse flight, then emulated mouse inputs with Xpadder on one of the analog sticks. Though, it does sound like you've got a control setup you like, so do with this info what you will.

What I did to solve the issue is to remove the pitch and bank controls from being "mouse x axis" "mouse y axis." leaving only the num pad arrows as pitch and direction control and mapped the right analog stick to those buttons. I went back to the pitch and bank controls and tried to map them with the right analog stick and it replaced "none" with "R Analog X" and "R Analog Y" or something along those lines. So apparently if the game can recognize a controller it will use the controller controls over the XPadder controls. I had set the trigger buttons to be left mouse click and right mouse click on Xpadder (which happen to be called "Button 1" and "Button 2") and found that in game the A button (AKA Button 1) and the B button (AKA Button 2) (Xbox 360 controller) also fired primary and secondary weapons. I had to set the triggers to be left control and space bar to avoid the issue.

Heh, I didn't see any options for disabling the Joystick in game and solved it the way I say above.  Now I go and look into the launcher and see the Audio/Joystick option and disable Joystick   . Oh well either way works I guess.