A combination of recently purchasing an Xbox 360 controller and a Reddit post inspired me to have a look at one of the core issues when using a gamepad: not enough buttons to use for hotkeys.

I started working on the mod today and I decided to go the route of implementing tap vs hold functionality for some buttons and having buttons, which are held down, act as modifiers in order to allow for more hotkeys. This all requires some editing of the controlmap.txt file in order to allow the keyboard and gamepad to work at the same time as well as replacing some buttons with custom scripted ones. Here's what I've got implemented so far:

A: Activate (tap), SkyUI favorite groups 1-4 modifier (hold)

B: Character menu (tap), SkyUI favorite groups 5-8 modifier (hold)

X: Draw/sheathe weapon (tap), Hotkeys 5-8 modifier (hold)

Back: Favorites menu

Start: Journal menu (tap), Wait menu (hold)

D-pad Left: Hotkeys 1 & 5, SkyUI favorite groups 1 & 5

D-pad Up: Hotkeys 2 & 6, SkyUI favorite groups 2 & 6

D-pad Right: Hotkeys 3 & 7, SkyUI favorite groups 3 & 7

D-pad Down: Hotkeys 4 & 8, SkyUI favorite groups 4 & 8

This system also allows for hotkeys to the map (B + Back), inventory (A + Back) and magic (X + Back) menus or whatever one might need.

Why am I posting a WIP thread about this? I'd like feedback from people who have been using gamepads for a longer period of time than I have. What do you feel that you would need to have hotkeys for? Do you have suggestions for button placement? You might have noticed that the Back button doesn't have a function when it is held down. What would you like to see take that spot? Another modifier button or perhaps it should be a hotkey for the skill menu?

I actually started implementing this very thing recently, using Xpadder. I use the Sprint key as a toggle to a different control profile so all of the buttons are different.

I implemented QuickSave as a hold-Start function, and QuickLoad as a hold-Back function (holding LB + Back is fairly difficult to do naturally so for QuickLoad this made sense).

In general, for a controller I miss having Quick Save, Quick Load, SkyUI MCM-compliant hotkeys, and being able to type. The typing thing is something I attempted to do with this insane controller configuration modeled after the Steam Big Picture Mode keyboard, but it never worked out due to too many conflicting controls. I instead use a custom Voice Activated Commands profile to pull off typing ("Type A", "Type Upper B", etc).

How did you avoid misinterpretations when pressing the Sprint button? It is one of the few buttons that, in my opinion, needs to do the same thing regardless of whether the player is tapping or holding down the key. That's why I haven't done anything special to the jump button as I think it is quite common to hold down the button and that might be misinterpreted. Did you just move the Sprint action from LB to another button?

Totally forgot about Quick Save/Load as I always create a completely new save game. Definitely going on the list of actions. Button combinations can indeed put your hand(s) in awkward positions. I would have preferred to have the Hotkeys 5-8 modifier action on the same button as the Favorites menu hotkey, but the combination of Back + D-pad direction is really awkward.

It's a shame that there isn't even a text input menu like the one on the consoles, though that might be possible to implement. It might actually be possible to use just Papyrus to create a very basic system that lets you select and input a single character at a time like you can do on old arcade machines that only have a joystick and a few buttons. However, that wouldn't be ideal.

I'm not sure that I quite understand what you mean by SkyUI MCM-compliant hotkeys.

For my ultimate gamepad experience in Skyrim i use the latest JoyToKey together with http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35405/?.

Right now my custom hotkeys are:

Shout and sprint are set to the same key.

Pressing the key for shout and holding it (250 milliseconds) for sprint.

This can be a annoyance but in my setup is necessary.

I needed the right shoulder free key for http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9247/? and http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/20923/?

Fov and Sneak also will act differently if you hold it instead of just pressing.

Holding FOV changes the 3rd person view horizontally using the key press of http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/37347/?

While holding the sneak key will display or remove the clock from http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/44091/? and the compass from http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/3222/? all together.

Apart from the ones you and Chesko already mentioned i also added a screenshot and zoom in/out hotkeys using a modifier key and the dpad.

Unfortunately i can't really set most hotkeys in the MCM but that's probably possible.

So instead i first use the keyboard set a key in the MCM them use JoyToKey to assing the same key to the gamepad :/..

Would the miniature keyboard adapter for the xbox 360 controller have any functionality in Skyrim on PC? (I'm referring to the one that attaches directly to the bottom port of the 360 controller.)

I don't have one, so I can't test it. I'm just curious if any of you can confirm.

I myself like the mappings of http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=212383355, but the only downside is that I don't have any mappings for SkyUI groups or Gopher's iHUD. I may just have to learn how to edit the controlmap text myself.

EDIT: since you've asked for gamepad-user input....

As a long time gamepad-user, myself, I would make these adjustments:

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LB: Sprint/Shift (hold)

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Y: Jump (tap)

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B: Character Menu (tap), SkyUI Hotkey Modifier (hold)

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X: Sheathe/Unsheathe Weapon (tap)

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A: Activate (tap)

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Back: Favorites Menu (tap), Screenshot (hold)

LB + Back: Wait

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Start: Journal Menu (tap), Quick-Save (hold) [I never use quick-save, but this would be my hotkey for it.]

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D-pad Left: Hotkey 1

D-pad Up: Hotkey 2

D-pad Right: Hotkey 3

D-pad Down: Hotkey 4

LB + D-pad Left: Hotkey 5

LB + D-pad Up: Hotkey 6

LB + D-pad Right: Hotkey 7

LB + D-pad Down: Hotkey 8

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B (hold) + D-pad Left: SkyUI Favorites Group 1

B (hold) + D-pad Up: SkyUI Favorites Group 2

B (hold) + D-pad Right: SkyUI Favorites Group 3

B (hold) + D-pad Down: SkyUI Favorites Group 4

LB + B (hold) + D-pad Left: SkyUI Favorites Group 5

LB + B (hold) + D-pad Up: SkyUI Favorites Group 6

LB + B (hold) + D-pad Right: SkyUI Favorites Group 7

LB + B (hold) + D-pad Down: SkyUI Favorites Group 8

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B (hold) + Y: iHUD Toggle Hotkey [for Gopher's "Immersive HUD" mod]

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Notes:

- Using LB for "Shift" and "Sprint" as the same command is very, very convenient; I've played for over a hundred hours using it, and this is extremely functional.

- "Quick-Load" should NEVER be a hotkey in my opinion, especially on a gamepad.

- I would NOT put hotkey modifiers on X or Y since they are reflex-oriented commands by default (unsheathe and jump respectively)

- I would not put a hotkey modifier on A for simplicity's sake. It can also lead to accidental presses in some circumstances.

- Using B (hold) as the hotkey modifier for SkyUI groups is genius though; I would definitely keep that.

SkyUI has forced me to alter my plans a bit as the controls for SkyUI's favorites menu are determined in the ActionScript file by looking for the buttons assigned to "Jump", "Sprint", "Ready Weapon", "Wait" and "Toggle POV" (Y, LB, X, Back and RS by default). So those actions need to be assigned in the controlmap.txt unless the favorites menu can be modified and recompiled, but I don't have the necessary software to do that as the software isn't free.

The plan is to have MCM allow for remapping certain predefined actions and most of the keyboard's keys to buttons on the gamepad. Which buttons can actually be used depends on the controlmap.txt of each user, but I will be providing a default template based on the original layout provided by Bethesda. Most of the actions in http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Controls list and the A-Z, 0-9, F1-F12, Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down keys on the keyboard can be assigned to a button. Each button will have a Tap and Hold slot for actions, but the Hold slot will have additional Modifier 1-4 actions. Each Modifier action will have its own section where the second button in the combination (currently only modifier + another button) and the resulting action can be assigned. The time that a button needs to be held down to count as being held down can be adjusted to suit ones own taste. All buttons should be possible to assign to whatever function, but some actions (e.g. attack and power/shout) are best left to be handled by the game since the length of time that the button is held down affects the action.

I'll have to consider the ability to use button combinations that comprise of more than just one modifier button and one other button. The current approach would not work with a three-button combination as the modifier key is expected to be pressed down first, but that would make a three-button combination fail to work if the wrong modifier button is pressed first.

The MCM options and controlmap.txt editing should allow users to create all kinds of layouts. Being able to simulate pressing keys or physically press keys on the keyboard should also allow the user to use hotkeys provided by pretty much any mod.

Wow thats sound amazing MrJack man!

Not sure how you will achieve all that but i never manage to assign a modifier combination to work with SkyUI.

All my modifiers combinations are for vanilla comands like quisave/load or quick menus.

I'll be tracking for now on!

Hi MrJack!

Are you still working on this Gamepad mod?

So far on all my research you are the only modder around that cares for gampad players .

So I have high hopes for this mod

I am still working on this, but I've been busy with real life and finishing version 2.0.0 of Five O'Clock Shadow. It looks like I'll be quite busy this upcoming week, so I don't expect to be able to find a lot of time for modding.

Oh ok man!

Thanks for the answer!

as an xbox controller user,

if you could add in extra buttons with button combos,

for example, when you use the dual wield block mod, you have to use xpadder.

I found that this got in the way of using xbox remapper mod that was posted above. Adding in button combos with compatibility with the dual wield mod would be great

There is a alternative mod to Dual Wield Block/Parry that also blocks when unarmed.

I also adds a working bash options: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/41780/?

You will block by pressing the left attack while you are not moving.

Overall is more complete them DWP.

And it works fine with a gamepad. It requires a learning process.

You can disable all other functions and keep just the blocking.

5 minutes before you posted this i psychically already knew about this mod.

So no thanks to you.

All thanks to me!

Glad you could help yourself

Sounds nice, what I usually do is play with the controller and have a keyboard next to me for hotkeys. This sound more convenient