Please consider option to disable mouse contol

[MrUp]

When in space, I use the mouse only to select items, to set focus. I do not use the mouse to fly the ship or shoot. I use a joystick and keyboard.

Even when I'm not using the mouse:
1. it's reticule argues with my joystick aim, just now I didn't notice and had an unexpected result.
2. the ship wants to fly in another direction which forces me to oversteer just to maintain control. The easiest solution is to unplug the USB joystick and reconnect so it 'resets'

I do not do well with mouse/keyboard in space.
I would unplug the mouse except I prefer mouse/keyboard when walking.

Please consider adding an option in the "Controls' menu which can disable the mouse from flying the ship and aiming the weapons... i can do that quite well with my joystick.

[Wraith_Magus]

Oh god, yes, please.

This stupid mouse control thing makes using a controller or joystick completely untenable, because if the mouse is so much as nudged or has some bit of dust go in front of the laser, it completely disables controller and joystick controls for the next few seconds. Even when mouse isn't disabling my controller, the game is permanently stuck making it so left trigger kills all throttle, and this cannot be rebound in any way. (I can set a binding to another key, it just ALSO kills all throttle. I set left trigger to roll, something I want to do in combat to evade, so making it kill all throttle and make me a sitting duck makes controllers unusuable even when the mouse isn't killing the controller entirely.)

In addition, there are several key controls like menu functions that cannot be rebound to other keyboard keys, as well as functions like the left mouse button.

X4 was advertised as offering multiple control options, and EgoSoft just made it so that you're basically not allowed to actually USE any of them, because the game will disable them at random points and won't let you rebind any of the important keys.

[Imperial Good]

Does this still happen when mouse steering mode is disabled (shift + space bar)? Or must you keep steering mode enabled to use your joystick? I know keyboard steering mode still works when mouse steering mode is both enabled and disabled.

If you are having problems with your mouse cursor drifting without user input I recommend getting a textured mouse mat to put it on (can be quite cheap, as long as not glossy) and cleaning the sensor of it (remove pet hair, e.t.c.). A mouse left stationary should as good as never drift a pixel.

[Wraith_Magus]

Does this still happen when mouse steering mode is disabled (shift + space bar)? Or must you keep steering mode enabled to use your joystick? I know keyboard steering mode still works when mouse steering mode is both enabled and disabled.

If you are having problems with your mouse cursor drifting without user input I recommend getting a textured mouse mat to put it on (can be quite cheap, as long as not glossy) and cleaning the sensor of it (remove pet hair, e.t.c.). A mouse left stationary should as good as never drift a pixel.

I never use mouse steering mode. I hate it with a passion.

While I tried to make an all-controller configuration, the simulated mouse has completely unusable sensitivity. Cranking up the mouse sensitivity to max, the cursor still crawls across the screen at a rate of about 1/5th the screen per second at max tilt, or about a 5 degree/sec when looking.

Inversely, using pure digital keyboard, the slightest tap makes the camera spin around about 720 degrees per second.

The game was designed to be flat-out unplayable without using a mouse. Egosoft doesn't allow for anything else by sabotaging all other controls.

Hence, I have to play with half a controller in one hand and a mouse in the other. That would be fine, I played X3 like that and had a blast. I just put all the combat functions onto the mouse, and would use the controller for everything else. Only, nope, I need to aim my guns and fire with the mouse, while I steer with the analogue stick but GEE, they set up the mouse to disable all controller input, so aiming at all brings my ship to a dead stop and disables all steering controls.

And again, they force the godawful arrow keys for menu navigation, so that means that unless I'm an actual space alien with four arms, I need to drop the mouse to use them. In X3, I could fly using the left stick of my controller while navigating the menu using the d-pad and face buttons with a bit of a monkey grip involved. (I didn't really fly WELL, but I just needed to corkscrew to throw enemy aim off while sending out a call for my combat ship to jump in while in my speedy mission ship, so random circles was good enough. It really did make me feel like a hotshot space captain to be able to navigate the menu calling in my big guns while also evading a storm of Xenon laserfire, though. It's such a disappointment that I can't do that in X4 because they disable steering in the menu and if you don't turn on an option, they disable ENGINES.)

[Imperial Good]

It's such a disappointment that I can't do that in X4 because they disable steering in the menu and if you don't turn on an option, they disable ENGINES.)

You can pause and do your menu related stuff. Menus still work while the game is paused. Only thing you cannot do is com people as that requires simulation to progress to work.

[MrUp]

Ctrl-Spacebar has no affect on this problem. I use bluetooth mouse and tried unplug/replug the bluetooth nano and that still didn't stop the rolling.
I suggest someone on your team play this game with a joystick/keyboard... or HOTAS/keyboard (which is what I do: Logitech X52).

While in space trying to lay an EMP bomb, my guy starts to do somersaults. I tried using the mouse... which works by the way... although it's not my preferred gameplay, then unplug the HOTAS usb wire and plug it back in.. then everything is fine although I need the mouse to select and rightclick to explode. As soon as I do that, I've lost control again and start spinning or doing back flips.

I must unplug and replug the usb wire again to 'reset' the HOTAS.
If that's what it takes, I'll keep doing it before I switch to mouse/keyboard alone.

Would be WONDERFUL though if your developers could add option for me to disable mouse from 'steering' the ship/spacesuit and controlling the aim reticule. Seems like I may not be the only player who would benefit.

Have you played Elite Dangerous with HOTAS or Joystick? Do it like they do... as a matter of fact, do the Tobii head tracking like they do too cause I can't use it in X4. Head tracking should not move the HUD, only where you are looking. Anyway... enough of my rant. I love this game. I only wish these couple things were considered in a future patch.

[Wraith_Magus]

You can pause and do your menu related stuff. Menus still work while the game is paused. Only thing you cannot do is com people as that requires simulation to progress to work.

I know, that's what I wind up doing. I just HATE having to do it. I like playing the game as an RTS where I'm a unit flying in real-time while also controlling my own units, not as a turn-based strategy. It kills the excitement to constantly pause the game to give orders because the interface is so utterly clunky and terrible (far worse than the X3 interface that supposedly was so bad they had to make a new engine to "fix" it only to make it worse) that I wind up HAVING to pause the game just to use it since everything forces you to use the mouse now AND is several times more convoluted, with any management of order priority requiring either going into the "information" tab, then the "behaviors" tab then changing listed order of operations, or else having to left click, right click, remove all orders, then click where I want an action to take place THEN give an order. Remember how X: R was supposed to have a radial menu they were ripping directly off from Mass Effect to make things "easier for controller"? Yeah, it was vastly easier to use the old drop-downs not made for controllers with controllers than this.

[Imperial Good]

Ctrl-Spacebar has no affect on this problem. I use bluetooth mouse and tried unplug/replug the bluetooth nano and that still didn't stop the rolling.

Mouse control should not cause roll. Or at least in my experience it does not and I usually fly using mouse. All my roll is done manually using the QE hotkeys. Mouse controls pitch and yaw based on position on screen when enabled (can disable as mentioned above).

I believe there is a dynamic mode that for S and M ships with combat thrusters (which pitch better than yaw) causes horizontal mouse movement to roll. This can be turned off in the options and is intended so that you keep turning by pitch rather than yaw to get the most out the thrusters.

X4 defaults to auto roll correction (or something similar sounding) like XR did. This setting will cause your ship to automatically roll to keep you facing up (make up +Y and down -Y). This has nothing to do with the mouse control and also can be turned off. Since it defeats the purpose of combat thrusters (use pitch not yaw) I strongly recommend turning it off as otherwise you will not be able to keep an efficient roll as you are having to fight the system.

I suggest someone on your team play this game with a joystick/keyboard... or HOTAS/keyboard (which is what I do: Logitech X52).

Just making it clear that I am a volunteer moderator. I mostly play by fly by mouse and keyboard. I do not own a reasonable joystick but intend to try out a game controller for the people reporting an issue with using them.

Would be WONDERFUL though if your developers could add option for me to disable mouse from 'steering' the ship/spacesuit and controlling the aim reticule. Seems like I may not be the only player who would benefit.

As I already mentioned. You can turn off mouse flight. Mouse aiming is also turned off if you use the space bar to fire to use the auto aim. I do not know if mouse flight is needed to still use a joystick and if it is then I can see that possibly being a problem to some.

Head tracking should not move the HUD, only where you are looking.

Be aware the HUD moves as part of acceleration and roll to give a feeling that your body is being strained by the force. This is similar to XR. This can be turned off in options for X3 style HUD where it is flat against the screen. Not sure how eye tracking affects this as I do not own such a system however the option may have an effect on its movement.

[MrUp]

It seems most people use mouse. I get it, this HOTAS cost me a lot of money. Trust me, using HOTAS makes flying very realistic. Weather it be an airplane or spaceship, any flying simulation benefits from the same controls as if you were flying in the 'real world'. If mouse was so great, why don't all airplane pilots use it.

Weird thing happen in X4.. frequently:
1) The ship, or spacesuit, wants to go it's own way and I'm working hard to counter act it instead of enjoying the flight.
2) My weapons want to shoot where my mouse cursor is on the screen.

workarounds:
for #1 above, I unplug the HOTAS usb wire... most the time this helps... sometimes I also need to move my mouse on the screen clicking randomly and then off screen and unplug the HOTAS again.

for #2 above, I move my mouse off screen.

Ideally, X4 controls should recognize the HOTAS as the only method to fly and aim when connected.

I don't ever press Ctrl-Spacebar and have not seen it help with either of these big issues.

Regarding head tracking... imagine for a moment, you're driving in a new car/truck that has HUD. My truck has it... it shows the speed limit and my current speed.. plus other stuff. If I look at my wife, I do not expect this HUD to travel to the right but to STAY in the same spot. If I move closer to the windshield, I do not expect/want it to enlarge.

The HUD stays in one spot. This is normal behavior. I can look back forward when I want to see it.

Tobii head tracking is a bar that sits below my monitor. It sees where I'm looking and where my head is facing. When I turn my head to the right, I see out the right window. Same as when I'm playing EURO Truck Simulator flying Microsoft Flight Simulator. I can lean right to see better out of the right rear view mirror too... very realistic. That is simulation and head tracking helps a lot. I can't use head tracking in X4. The HUD goes all over the place and the zoom in/out is nuts... I'm forced to keybind the head tracking reset option, in controls, and press it frequently to keep the HUD in the center, so I've unplugged it.

These controls are expensive so I'm not surprised few have them. I am surprised they are options in the setup of this game and they are not fully functional. They don't need to be supported but I do think the developers should personally use them before they sign-off that the feature should be included in the game.

Enough of my rant. Thanks for listening. I still love this game the most of all the games I play.

[Kondiq]

It's still an issue after all these years. There's even a post about it on the steam forums, which describes what's still happening in the game:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/392160/d ... 805972097/

When you use HOTAS, you still see the annoying mouse cursor on your screen and your weapons can target something different than what you want if you move the cursor by accident.

You can set "Gamepad Mode" to "For All Controllers/Joysticks", so the cursor is gone, but it causes other issues. When you touch your mouse by accident, it disables hotas inputs for a second or two. Same in the other way - when you use HOTAS and want to use mouse to walk around when you get up, you need to wait a bit until it switches controls to mouse. Sometimes, when you move your mouse to early after pressing "Get Up", your ship starts moving on its own and you feel it while walking around the ship, because it's moving you around inside too. It's also dangeorus when you use your map with a mouse, then switch back to your ship by pressing buttons on the HOTAS. It still registers mouse inputs and spins you around after the menu closed, until it recognizes that you're using HOTAS now.

It's very annoying. I was considering buying Kingdom End to finally have all the races and sectors, so I got back to the game and remembered why it annoyed me before. My friend even abandoned the game entirely two years ago because of these issues (he has a bit more expensive HOTAS than me) and he only has 3 hours in the game, even though he played X3 a lot. You're pushing away players by not fixing such fundametal things like HOTAS support for space sim game. Even X: Beyond the Frontier worked better with a joystick (that's how I played it a few years ago).

EDIT. And when you get out of ship and try to walk using mouse and keyboard, the character is drifting to the side or to the back. It stops moving by itself when you use your joystick, but when you use your mouse again, the drifting continues...

[Radamanthe Nemes]

It's still an issue after all these years. There's even a post about it on the steam forums, which describes what's still happening in the game:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/392160/d ... 805972097/

I guess all X4 hardcore joystick players know this post.

You can set "Gamepad Mode" to "For All Controllers/Joysticks", so the cursor is gone, but it causes other issues.

I do not set it to "For All Controllers/Joysticks", but to "off". This does not prevent using HOTAS at all, contrary to what one could legitimately believe.

I have a peculiar HOTAS setup (Warthog throttle + Virpil joystick), and with "off" it works like a charm, no interference from the mouse in the handling, never. But… the cursor never disappears, and that is the main issue to me. But I prefer by far this issue to the handling one which is just intelorable. I did not took the habit to systematically move the mouse away after using it, so it still bothers me, you see, like a fly which turns around along your gaming session and which you cannot kill to recover your sanity and peace of mind.

So I gave up hope for a dedicated option for the mouse cursor to simply disappear immediately when using the joystick. Really. Completely gave up, even if it’s something easier to implement than a conform C “hello world”… It’s obvious now they simply don’t care. I just posted this recently, right here, for the sake of sarcasm, because IIRC, X3 had the same issue, or kind of (don’t remember about X:R, I could not stand it more than a few hours for other reasons). So yes, I’m beyond the sarcasm now as it seems both fun & worth to ask it for X5 ;)

What a shame for such a great space game. I played so many since decades, and it’s the only one that made me so mad about that damn #$*@&! mouse cursor. The ONLY one.

[Franc Kaos]

... If I look at my wife, I do not expect this HUD to travel to the right but to STAY in the same spot. If I move closer to the windshield, I do not expect/want it to enlarge.

I play with Tobii and don't experience the HUD moving that extreme but I do like the HUD enlarging if I move my head forward so I can focus on say the radar.
But I do have VR recentre on an easy to reach finger switch on the HOTAS .

+1 for the request to disable mouse / cursor in spaceflight mode tho'.