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DirectInput and XUSB Devices

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The driver for XUSB on Windows implements the kernel-mode interface for the XINPUT DLL. To provide a good experience for legacy titles that use the DirectInput API with the common controller device, the driver also exports a Human Interface Device (HID) class interface, which is picked up by DirectInput. We chose the mapping of XUSB to HID based on typical behavior in a set of gaming applications for the original XINPUT version, and we updated the mapping for newer subtypes. This topic describes the mapping.

Human Interface Device (HID)

HID standard is a standard from the Universal Serial Bus (USB) committee originally proposed by Microsoft to generalize protocols for input devices. It consists of a byte-code description language and can express gamepads, mice, joysticks, throttle and rudder controls, and multi-axis controllers. Because this standard is so generalized, you might have difficulty writing software that consumes input from arbitrary devices. Therefore, for the game-centric DirectInput API, we developed a specific sub-mapping of types to encourage hardware manufactures to support through their drivers.

Important

You can also access HID input devices via RawInput API and process input reports via low level HID API but vibration feedback will not work as with DirectInput.

Mappings

The XUSB driver implements both an XUSB class interface and a HID class interface for devices in order to support both XINPUT and DirectInput usage. This mapping is based on the XUSB subtype information. The driver implements four distinct groups of mappings.

XUSB Subtype Mapping
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_GAMEPAD (Subtype 1) Gamepad
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_WHEEL (Subtype 2) Wheel
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_ARCADE_STICK (Subtype 3) Arcade Stick/Arcade Pad
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_FLIGHT_STICK (Subtype 4) Flight Stick
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_DANCE_PAD (Subtype 5) Default for any new subtype
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_GUITAR (Subtype 6) Guitar
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_GUITAR_ALTERNATE (Subtype 7)
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_DRUM_KIT (Subtype 8)
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_GUITAR_BASS (Subtype 11)
XINPUT_DEVSUBTYPE_ARCADE_PAD (Subtype 19)

Note

The following HID mappings are static. This means that even if the device capabilities report indicates that a particular button or axis is not supported, the mapping will still include it but will always report an off state or center value.

Gamepad

This is the default mapping and is designed around a standard gamepad, and is exposed as a Gamepad HID usage type.

Control HID Usage Name Usage Page Usage ID
Left Stick X, Y 0x01 0x30, 0x31
Right Stick Rx, Ry 0x01 0x33, 0x34
Left Trigger + Right Trigger Z* 0x01 0x32
D-Pad Up, Down, Left, Right Hat Switch 0x01 0x39
A Button 1 0x09 0x01
B Button 2 0x09 0x02
X Button 3 0x09 0x03
Y Button 4 0x09 0x04
LB (left bumper) Button 5 0x09 0x05
RB (right bumper) Button 6 0x09 0x06
BACK Button 7 0x09 0x07
START Button 8 0x09 0x08
LSB (left stick button) Button 9 0x09 0x09
RSB (right stick button) Button 10 0x09 0x0A

Note

(*): This is combined so that Z exhibits the centering behavior expected by most titles for rotation; this does mean it is not possible to see all possible trigger combination values through DirectInput and HID.

Arcade Stick/Arcade Pad

This is the mapping designed around the Arcade Stick controller, and is exposed as a Gamepad HID usage type. The Arcade Pad is very much like an Arcade Stick, but in a smaller form-factor. These designs replace the analog Left Trigger and Right Trigger with digital buttons that report the minimum and maximum axis value.

Control HID Usage Name Usage Page Usage ID
D-Pad Up, Down, Left, Right Hat Switch 0x01 0x39
A Button 1 0x09 0x01
B Button 2 0x09 0x02
X Button 3 0x09 0x03
Y Button 4 0x09 0x04
LB (left bumper) Button 5 0x09 0x05
RB (right bumper) Button 6 0x09 0x06
BACK Button 7 0x09 0x07
START Button 8 0x09 0x08
Left Trigger Button 9 0x09 0x09
Right Trigger Button 10 0x09 0x0A

These devices may or may not support additional controls, but these are not exposed by the HID mapping: Left Stick, Right Stick, LSB (left stick button), and RSB (right stick button).

Wheel

This mapping is designed around a racing wheel, and is exposed as a Gamepad HID usage type.

Control HID Usage Name Usage Page Usage ID
Wheel (Left Stick X) X 0x01 0x30
Accelerator Pedal (Right Trigger) + Brake Pedal (Left Trigger) Z* 0x01 0x32
D-Pad Up, Down, Left, Right Hat Switch 0x01 0x39
A Button 1 0x09 0x01
B Button 2 0x09 0x02
X Button 3 0x09 0x03
Y Button 4 0x09 0x04
LB (left bumper) Button 5 0x09 0x05
RB (right bumper) Button 6 0x09 0x06
LSB (left stick button) Button 7 0x09 0x07
RSB (right stick button) Button 8 0x09 0x08
BACK Button 9 0x09 0x09
START Button 10 0x09 0x0A

Note

(*): This is combined so that Z exhibits the centering behavior expected by most titles for the brake and accelerator controls; this does mean it is not possible to see all possible pedal combination values through DirectInput.

Flight Stick

This mapping is designed around a flight stick, and is exposed as a Joystick HID usage type.

Control Usage Name Usage Page Usage ID
Flight Stick (Left Stick) X, Y 0x01 0x30, 0x31
POV Hat (Right Stick) Rx, Ry 0x01 0x33, 0x34
Throttle (Right Trigger) Z 0x01 0x32
Rudder (Left Trigger) Rz 0x01 0x35
D-Pad Up, Down, Left, Right Hat Switch 0x01 0x39
Primary Weapon (A) Button 1 0x09 0x01
Secondary Weapon (B) Button 2 0x09 0x02
X Button 3 0x09 0x03
Y Button 4 0x09 0x04
LB (left bumper) Button 5 0x09 0x05
RB (right bumper) Button 6 0x09 0x06
BACK Button 7 0x09 0x07
START Button 8 0x09 0x08
LSB (left stick button) Button 9 0x09 0x09
RSB (right stick button) Button 10 0x09 0x0A

Note

This is based on the final Flight Stick design. Because this differs from early Flight Stick definitions, many devices have a mode switch that supports the old versus new model. This mapping assumes the new model.