Maybe all of you dedicated old skoolers know this already, but I thought I would share my tips on playing with a gamepad and JoyToKey.
I find using a gamepad much handier than a mouse and keyboard. I can lay about on my couch and have no need to sit upright to reach hot keys. Because I move a mouse all day at work, I find it more comfortable on my elbows and wrists too.
First you need a gamepad. I use a Logitech Dual Action Gamepad that looks just like a Playstation 2 controller. You can get this or similar for about $15 USD or a wireless one for $30 USD.
Many times I have found the Logitech software doesn't really behave like a mouse or cursor keys for older games. JoyToKey does and will behave correctly for games not set up for "official" joystick input. You can also customize it exactly to your liking.
Once you have a pad, you will need to find the latest version of JoyToKey. The latest version is 3.7.9. It is completely free. You can find it on the following site with more complete instructions on how to use it:
One Switch - JoyToKey
Here is how I set up Eshalon. First, I created a new profile and named it Eshalon. Then I set up the mouse movements by double-clicking on the directions and moving some slider bars. I set the mouse direction for a nice, slow 10 increment for precision. You can set another, faster speed with a button, which I will talk about later. The analog joystick allows a little speed control of the cursor too. The POV switch is the direction pad. I use it for Walk Lock, Camping, Torch and Waiting. The "select" (9) and "start" (10) are my Journal and Quick Save:
Note: To use the POV switch, check the "use POV switch" in the preferences tab on the right.
My main buttons 1-4 to the right of the gamepad serve as the Left and Right mouse clicks, inventory and stat screens (X) and the ever important Esc key. 5 and 6 are the top bumpers (or trigger type buttons) and 7 and 8 are the bottom bumpers. 5 is switch weapons, 6 is Magic menu and 7 is Bash toggle. 8 is the very important "switch" key. Holding it down allows me to switch to an alternate set of hotkeys on the Joystick 2 setup. I also use it to speed the mouse cursor up by setting higher mouse speed increment numbers on Joystick 2:
Here is the alternate set of hotkeys on Joystick 2:
This is also my magic spell recall screen. I can assign spells to buttons 1 - 9 (except 8 because it is the switch key) and recall them by holding the switch key and pressing the gamepad number button. Finally, the POV pad Left and Right serves as my Yes and No response shortcut for my shopping.
So there you have it. I hope this is of some interest. If you already have a setup you like, share it. Or if you have something that works better let the forum know.
![Officer [Gold Rank]](./images/ranks/officer3.png "Officer [Gold Rank]")
