All of the Game button configurations are stored in the game initialization files (e.g. DOOM.INI, DOOM2.INI, HERETIC.INI, etc.). These files are located in the C:\FPGAMING directory. Simply edit the appropriate file and add any changes that are desired.

For example, to change the Joystick Button C from the default selection "Speed Toggle" to "Turn Around" in Doom II just add the following line to the end of DOOM2.INI
BtnC = 20

For a list of assigable commands see the Setup Page for the game in question

Additionally, if you have a Speed Toggle button programmed, pressing this button will invert the throttle settings. So, flicking the throttle or pressing the Speed Toggle button will switch you from Medium to Fast or vice-versa.

Note: With Quake, since all buttons are programmed within the Quake game, the Speed Toggle button is not available. Instead, the Skill Setting buttons have been provided. Refer to the Quake section for more information.

For games that support high-speed looking up and down, like Heretic, there are three configuration variables used for setting the attributes of pitching and pitch leveling. These are:

Pnvrt = Pitch Invert
Plvl = Pitch Leveling
Pspd = Pitch Speed

Pitch Leveling (Plvl) can either be set to a 0 or a 1. Setting Pitch Leveling to a 0 disables the pitch leveling feature. Setting Pitch Leveling to 1 enables the pitch leveling feature. The default setting is 1 (Pitch Leveling enabled).

Pitch Speed (Pspd) can range from 0 to the maximum movement speed (see Speed Configuration). The Pitch Speed variable defines the speed at which automatic pitch leveling is to occur (assuming Pitch Leveling is enabled). If you are moving faster than the Pitch Speed variable is set to, then Pitch Leveling will be invoked. For instance, the default setting is 1. In this case, Pitch Leveling is invoked with any movement. Changing the Pitch Speed variable to 50 will then cause Pitch Leveling to occur only when moving at full-speed. Pitch Speed can be set anywhere in between based on your likes.

Pspd = 0, will disable Pitching.
Pspd = 1 or greater, will enable Pitching.

Plvl = 1 Will allow Pitching in a Look Up and Look Down style. The Look will automatically return to center.

Ynvrt = 0, Does not invert Yaw
Ynvrt = 1, Does invert Yaw

Setting Yaw Invert to 1 means that the yaw control is inverted. In this case, pushing the Trackball left will look right and pushing the Trackball right will look left. The default setting is 0 (Yaw Invert disabled).

The joystick handle moves through three defined zones. The three zones are; the dead zone, the proportional zone and the full zone. The dead zone is a window located around the joystick center. When the handle is within the dead zone, no game character movement occurs. As soon as the handle exits the dead zone, the handle enters the proportional zone. In this zone, movement of the game character is proportional to where the handle is located. If the handle is near the dead zone, then the game character will move slowly. As the handle moves farther away from the center, the game character moves faster. Eventually, the handle moves within the full zone. Within the full zone, the game character moves at medium/full speed.

The sizes of all three zones are configurable. This configuration is accomplished by setting the maximum edge of the dead zone and the minimum edge of the full zone. The proportional zone is whatever is left in between. Additionally, the windows need not be perfectly square. Both the joystick side-to-side (roll) zone edges and the joystick forward-backward (pitch) zone edges can be set independently. This allows, for instance, for strafing to be harder to activate than moving forward/backward.

The range of values for the zones edges are from 0 to 127. Value 0 is straight up dead center and value 127 is extreme deflection away from center (both defined during calibration).

Decreasing the PFZ and RFZ values causes the proportional zone to become smaller. This, in turn, means that the ramp from no movement to full movement is steeper. If the PFZ and RFZ values are set the same as the PDZ and RDZ values, the game movement will transition from no movement to full movement without any proportional control at all. This simulates the operation of an analog joystick connected to Doom games - no proportional control. Needless to say, this is not a recommended setting.

Note: Due to sloppier tolerances, cheaper joysticks may require a larger dead zone. If your game character keeps moving even when the handle is let go first try recalibrating. Then, change the PDZ and RDZ to values of 22 or above.

Note: The Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro does not have a North/South and East/West movement bias like other joysticks. This is great in some aspects, but sometimes it can be frustrating. If you are having trouble inadvertently strafing when your mean to just be moving forward, just set your RDZ setting to a values of 22 or above. This will allow a bit more movement left-to-right without causing your game character to begin strafing.

There is an exception to the previous joystick zone operation. If the joystick handle is moving faster than a previously defined rate, the game character will begin full movement (medium or fast speed) in the direction the handle is moving. This feature allows overriding the joystick zone operation by looking at the handle speed not the handle position.

Note: By default the Joystick Rate Configuration is set to 100. This means that the Joystick Rate Configuration is disabled.

To enable the Joystick Rate Configuration, add the following line into your <game name>.ini file:

JSfst = 15

The effects of this parameter are subtle, but provide an additional level of fine-tuning for joystick control. When enabled, the game is more responsive to the user's quick-movement desires and provides quick directional changing of the game character before the joystick handle even reaches the other side. Therefore, quick handle action corresponds to quick game character action.

The reason this parameter is disabled by default is that this logic does not work well with beginner joystick users since wild movements of the joystick handle will become amplified. This can be very disturbing to the novice user. Additionally, this feature does not work well with games with slow frame rates (under 15).