Offers an easy way to map the keys on your joystick and multiple configurations that can be swapped out
Offers an easy way to map the keys on your joystick and multiple configurations that can be swapped out
Vote: (1 votes)
Program license: Paid
Developer: Rodrigo Rocha
Version: 1.1.3
Works under: Mac
Vote:
Program license
(1 votes)
Paid
Developer
Version
Rodrigo Rocha
1.1.3
Works under:
Mac
Pros
- Automatic gamepad detection
- Map buttons to a wide range of actions
- Create and edit profiles
Cons
- Lacks some customization options
Joystick Mapper is a Mac OS X program that lets you configure game controllers and create profiles.
Joystick Mapper is a small freeware program that makes it simple to configure Mac-compatible game controllers. It works with practically any kind of game controller as long as it is Mac-compatible and your OS is able to recognize it without help from Joystick Mapper. Joystick Mapper cannot do the dirty work for you when it comes to drivers and the like as some such programs can. Xbox 360 controllers, for example, are non-HID, so while supported, you’ll need to install and set up the drivers.
Joystick Mapper is rather powerful when it comes to mapping game controller inputs to various inputs provided by your keyboard and mouse. Just about everything you would expect to be supported is and perhaps some actions that you may not expect. You can map controller buttons to keyboard keys, mouse axes, mouse buttons, mouse wheels and so forth.
Nice thing here is that it lets you support a game controller in games that would otherwise not support one. For whatever reason, more games ship on Mac without controller support than Windows. With Joystick Mapper, you just map the controller to the inputs that the game does support and voila. You’ll even be impressed with how smoothly analog sticks and the like map to mouse movements.
Perhaps the greatest power of Joystick Mapper lies in its ability to create profiles. These are persisted configurations that you can load and edit. You can give them unique names, tag and otherwise organize them and even search for them. If you have multiple controllers active, attaching a profile to a particular controller is simple. There is no automatic game detection, however, so you will need to do it manually.
You do not need a controller connected to create a profile. This allows you to create base profiles that you can then copy from as new profiles are needed. Controller buttons are generally detected automatically and set up for you to bind. The program also lets you add a bind manually, which is helpful for complex binding, such as binding an action to a button in a secondary or tertiary mode.
The developer has created some excellent guides to work you through the various features of Joystick Mapper. These are available online, but they are also entirely available via the program itself.
There are other similar options for Mac, such as ControllerMate, which arguably sets the standard for such tools. Of course, ControllerMate costs a lot, relatively, and this program costs you nothing at all. Nevertheless, we would like to see some UI refinement, perhaps automatic game detection and a more ambitious layer of customizations options that let hardcore gamers really get creative.
Pros
- Automatic gamepad detection
- Map buttons to a wide range of actions
- Create and edit profiles
Cons
- Lacks some customization options
