Controller layouts
Since Apeiron 1.11
Apeiron can turn an Xbox controller into a keyboard and mouse for one game at a time. The left stick walks, the right stick moves the mouse, triggers click and buttons press keys — so games without controller support, Rebellion among them, can be played from the sofa.
Where to set it
- Library → the game's ⋯ menu (or right-click) → Controller layout.
- Overlay (Shift+Tab in the game) → the controller line under the game's name: switch the layout without leaving the game, or open the editor from the button next to it.
Each game keeps its own choice.
Presets
| Preset | What it does |
|---|---|
| Controller as is | Apeiron leaves the controller alone; the game reads it directly. The default for every game without a preset of its own. |
| Keyboard and mouse | A general layout for shooters and action games: WASD on the left stick, mouse look on the right, triggers are the mouse buttons, Space, Ctrl, Shift, R, E, Q, F, V, Tab, Esc on the buttons and 1–4 on the D-pad. |
| Made for Rebellion | The game's own keys from its settings. Switched on by default for Rebellion. |
| My layout | Your edited copy. Changing any row of a preset creates it; picking a preset again brings that preset back, and your layout stays available. |
Editing
Click a row and press a key, click a mouse button or turn the wheel — that becomes the button's action. The ⋯ next to a row assigns Open the overlay or clears it. Each stick can be WASD, the arrow keys, the mouse, the mouse wheel or nothing. Dead zone, mouse speed, the trigger press point and vertical inversion are set on the right. Pressing a button on the controller lights up its row.
By default the Xbox button opens the Apeiron overlay. While the overlay is open, the left stick moves the pointer, A clicks, X right-clicks, the right stick scrolls and B returns to the game.
How it works
- Apeiron reads the controller through XInput — Xbox controllers and anything Windows presents as one. Other controllers need their own XInput mode.
- Keys are sent as physical keys (scan codes), the way a real keyboard sends them, so a layout works with any keyboard language. Mouse movement is relative, so games that capture the cursor receive it too.
- Input is sent only while the game is the active window (or the overlay is open over it). In other windows the controller does nothing. Leaving the game releases every held key.
- Nothing is injected into the game: no DLLs, no memory reads, no drivers. Some anti-cheat systems still refuse simulated input — use Controller as is in games that forbid it.
- Layouts live on your computer in
input.synx, next to the library file.
Limits
- The game still sees the controller itself. A keyboard layout is for games that don't read a controller; in a game that does, it would receive both inputs.
- Remapping a controller to another controller (swapping buttons for a game that already supports one) needs a virtual-controller driver and is not available yet.
- A game started as administrator does not accept input from a normal program — start Apeiron as administrator too, or the game without it.