A couple years back the right joystick on my xbox one wireless controller started drifting up on the y axis while in neutral. After failing to fix it I decided to develop a software solution (and it still works!)
Simply drag the XInput dll version you require into the same directory as the executable, and windows should load it in place of the regular XInput dll. It will apply to any XInput device loaded in the application. Depending on the application, different DLL versions may be loaded. This project supports:
- XInput 1.3 (
xinput1_3.dll) - XInput 9.1.0 (
XInput9_1_0.dll) - XInput 1.4 (
XInput1_4.dll)
When windows loads the dll, it loads the normal XInput dll its associated with.
Any commands it then receives from the application it forwards to the original dll, except for XInputGetState.
If the controller's joystick is in what I've marked as the updriftzone (this covers all the range my controller drifts while its actually in neutral), all changes to the y axis are ignored. Once the y axis exits that zone (because someone physically moves it outside of the zone), controller operation resumes as normal. Once the control stick enters the beginzone (i.e.: neutral), it will lock again until exiting the updriftzone.
This is better than just setting a massive deadzone in a game because it doesn't restrain the X axis (which doesn't drift on my controller), and allows for fine control on the y axis by tapping outside of the updriftzone, and then slowly returning it to the desired level.
Currently the project is considered fit for the purposes I needed it for. So don't expect many future changes.
I figure this project is a good place for others to start with - feel free to make your own changes.
There is an additional file in this project called XInputTest. You may wish to use it to test controllers or this dll.
Building the project requires CMake. You must use a Visual Studio compiler (MSVC). MINGW / GCC do not work due to different linking mechanisms. Support is Windows only (other systems may support this via WINE or Proton).