The Xbox One Elite Gaming controller arrives at the end of October and one of its features is that it will have the added functionality of button mapping (once the NXOE update is rolled out in November that is), so in English this means you can swap Button ‘A’ with button ‘B’ - so each button does what the other one used to do.
Well the feature is also coming to standard controllers via the same NXOE update; which is currently in preview.
However I was having a look around the NXOE update last night, as Microsoft released another fix over the weekend and I just happened to look in the settings option and thought I’d have a play with the Button Mapping Utility and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually working - having previously been disabled in earlier builds.
I doubt the feature will remain as it is (some cosmetic changes could be implemented) but it worked a treat regardless and its going to be an awesome feature when it lands in November! Note: Check the video out below this article to get a real-world look at the software in action.
How to enable
If you are in Preview you need to update your controllers firmware first and then it can be enabled via Settings > Ease of access > Button Mapping.
What’s cool is that I did not have to connect my standard controller to the console via a USB cable as the button re-mapping works wirelessly.
After selecting my controller I could then do things like swap the left and right thumb stick positions, change the X/Y Axis or swap triggers.
For example with the box selected in say ‘swap sticks’ I could then press the ‘B’ (Back) button and when I returned to the software the sticks were changed i.e. the left was now the right stick.
Swap them buttons
Furthermore I could also go into the main Button mapping settings. From here I could use an intuitive drop down box to select the button I wanted to re-map and then in the box out below choose the button to swap with. For example button A was swapped with button B.
Alternatively you can hold down a button and then press the one you want to swap it with for quick re-mapping.
This was a little more fiddly but the re-mapping all worked! More importantly it worked quickly.
The only snag was remembering what I had re-mapped as it can be a dyslexic nightmare!
Summary
Joking aside, even though the feature won’t be out until November from my initial impressions I think it’s going to be a big hit with fans and its another feather in the Xbox One’s cap.
What a turn-around from two years ago when the Xbox One first came out. Thanks to several updates the console now has game streaming support to your Windows 10 PC/tablet and shortly it will have a better performing UI (with NXOE), the ability to play Xbox 360 titles, the option to compete with PC owners via cross-play support and early next year it gains the function to record live TV to an external hard drive. As a result the console, which I call Xbox 1.1, is now worth serious consideration if you have been sitting on the fence! For existing fans it’s never been a better time to be an Xbox One owner! Kudos to Phil Spencer and the team for turning things around!
In the meantime check the video out below to see the above controller mapping in action!...