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Dual Strike Sidewinder Xpadder Profile

How to macro program the Dual Strike in Windows 8

By far I consider the Dual Strike Sidewinder the best Frist Person Shooter (FPS) controller device.

Sadly though this controller is no longer manufactured and although Windows 8 does include the needed drivers the bundled software that allows you to program and create macros no longer works - without this functionality the controller is nothing but a shadow of it's potential.

Xpadder to the rescue

I stumbled onto this utility after reading this post and in my testing it is the perfect solution, not only for this controller but for any that you mihgt have and not only for controller aware games! That is if you ever wanted to play Minecraft, Xenominer, or Starmine with your favorite controller well with Xpadder you can make that happen.

Yes it's not free and costs $9.99, yes it's not the best looking software, and yes the site look like it was made at the same time as my Dual Strike Sidewinder stopped selling but it does work and is easy to use.

Xpadder Dual Strike Profile

Save yourself couple of hours and download my ready made SideWinder Dual Strike USB version 1.xpaddercontroller profile file where all the buttons/functions are mapped but macros are left blank to be defined as per your needs.

If you found this useful do to follow me on twitter: @danielsokolows.

Mouse Mapping Flaws

As I continued utilziing the software I've noticed that there is huge room for improvement when it comes to mouse movement emulation. I believe there should be an ability to map anolog (joy)stick position to a view port rather than accelerated movement, see my Better Mouse Emulation post.

Comments

  1. ram1009April 12, 2014 at 5:47 PM

    Yours is the only account I've seen of complete compatibility of the DS with Xpadder. Others say that the analog functions are useless on the DS. What have you done differently?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daniel SokolowskiApril 20, 2014 at 9:16 PM

      Hi Ram I am glad it works for you - It doesn't work as well I think it can - http://xpadder.com/forum4/viewtopic.php?f=184&t=4736 - I just tweaked it as best as I could using the provided functionality.

      Delete
    2. satnuMarch 24, 2016 at 1:06 PM

      Daniel- I tried to dl the profile but the link seems to be a dead end. Can you send the file to me?

      Stan

      Delete
    3. UnknownMarch 30, 2016 at 3:55 PM

      Hi daniel,
      I'm trying to download your sidewinder dual strike profile but seems offline...Do you know where i can find it?
      thank you

      Delete
    4. Daniel SokolowskiApril 7, 2016 at 9:27 PM

      Link has been fixed.

      Delete
  2. UnknownDecember 21, 2016 at 12:58 PM

    Thank you ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ram1009December 24, 2016 at 3:24 PM

      I too have been searching for years to find someone who has/could make the Dual Strike work with OS after XP. My approach as been to find someone to write an updated driver. I even sent the author of XPadder (Johnathon) a Dual Strike for him to write the appropriate driver for his software. I never heard from him again and that's been a couple of years. If you ever do get the rights to manufacture the D/S I hope you'll let me invest in your company. I just don't think Microsoft gave the D/S enough time to catch on.

      Delete
  3. yeswedeliverDecember 24, 2016 at 1:31 PM

    I have been seeking a way to program xpadder to sidewinder to use the point of view features as they worked with older os...for years. I build, rebuild pc's for kids, others and give them away... loved these controllers so much I used to buy and include one with simple old NFS Porche game or COD demo - but never have been able to make that POV feature work in win 7, etc. [still works in the car game but not COD, Far Cry, etc with POV].I wanted to buy the rights to the controller and build [have built] a platform to make it work with with win 7, 10 ... IF this works as you say, I tip my hat to you and maybe the rights can be had to re manufacture this little dream of a controller yet in the future. Hmm, it's Christmas eve and I am searching for the 100th time [over years] to see if someone achieved the outcome you posted so I can include one with a PC I am building for a young brother and sister [not my own kids] ... and if this works I will enjoy playing the game as much as them when I get finished setting theirs up... guess that says something about me :). Thanks for sharing your work. Merry Christmas. Feel free to note me - surely China could knock these out for reasonable prices and everyone would want one! ... [if they really work as they used to]

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownNovember 10, 2017 at 11:48 PM

    Hmm I just received the sidewinder dual strike and found out my windows 8 wont accept it. I am in for $20 and the end game is to set this up for star wars mame using a DIY controller centered around this controller. http://arcadecontrols.com/hosted/yoke/ .. do you think this thing will work with the star wars mame (star wars 1983 arcade emulation). I mean I will happily spend another $10 if I can get this thing working .. what do you think my odds are getting this controller on board with the rig? There are just too many variables right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daniel SokolowskiDecember 11, 2017 at 9:40 AM

      If Windows 8 won't recognize the device it sounds like a dead unit to me, when you plug it in you should see it show up in your 'Device Manager' list under 'Sound, video and game controllers'.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousDecember 11, 2017 at 1:50 PM

    I have been trying for about 7 years. I actually rebuilt an old Win XP Machine just so I could use the controller and its original software. 'X-Padder' almost worked. Frankly, I think the flaw was me 'the user' who was overwhelmed by the remarkable sophistication of the program. You might want to try that ... as for it not being recognized - I thought [one of] mine was 'dead' - would be recognized ... but it was not... I recommend trying to put it into another PC and see what happens - - perhaps you put the 'plug' in too far [sometimes, some machines, if you back out just an 1/16 of an inch - you will hear the recognition sound :)... I never heard of your way to 'build around the controller' it sounds like xpadder similar app. I will check it out. I hope that helps. It was a very frustrating few years - nothing worked. I even wrote to MS asking if I could buy the rights and have a geek rebuild software for it. It's the best controller ever... I wish you well :) in your efforts. Jerry

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousAugust 15, 2019 at 11:13 PM

    @Daniel, thank you for sharing your learning about this device. I bought one for $15.00 at half priced books for use with Windows 10. I know realize it may be a paperweight.... but I'm going to try anyway... Keep on posting!

    ReplyDelete

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