Swapping Shifts with a single button and more control over how Shift toggles work.

[Contrabardus]

What the title says.

Shifts should behave more like other bindings rather than how they behave right now.

We should be able to set up a cycle, or use activators like double tap, single press, hold, etc... to swap between Shifts on a single key, or multiple keys, and even switch what key that is within a Shift config.

We should also be able to change what key toggles a shift off. For example, if R1 or KB X toggles a shift on, I should be able to set toggle back to default to Select or Esc and disable R1 or KB X from toggling it off.

Toggle back to default should be its own separate binding.

The way it is now is kind of weird and unintuitive. Not sure why it was done that way.

Each shift being forced to its own key is not ideal, and a more advanced mode for using Shift configs would be great.

I will say there is no reason to disable the way it works now to do this. Just a more advanced Shift system as a toggle in the settings to change how it works to something a bit more flexible but complicated.

Adding shift commands to the drop down list for key bindings that can be put in multiple places, use activators, and change where the toggle goes, rather than using the current system where a button is assigned via a check box.

Leave the KISS system in place for novice users, but give an option for a more advanced Shift configuration for those who can handle it to give us more versatility.

[Support Agent]

Major changes in Shift system are coming with reWASD 5.7. If nothing goes wrong it should arrive by the end of April. Stay tuned!

[Boilinglemon]

That is great to hear Shion! I very much look forward to seeing the next release I agree with what Contrabardus is asking for. I have encountered 2 cases where the current Shift system falls short.

Case 1 - Multibutton shift modifiers

I wanted to switch my right trigger between normal left mouse / turbo left mouse. A shift layer would have been perfect since it is only one input I wanted to change. However I didn't want to lose any buttons with this shift layer, so I hoped to either use a 2-button shortcut to toggle the layer on/off or hold a single button and then while the shift layer is active press another button to switch turbo on/off for my left mouse.

My workaround was to clone my config for the game in question, and have it apply when Slot 2 is active instead of my normal config. But then I was disappointed that Slots can only be activated with the top-level controller shortcuts which all profiles share.

I thought I could be smart and set a key-combo within my config to press the button combination for Slot 2 from whatever button / button-shortcut I wanted, allowing me to switch between the slots easily. But sadly that isn't possible. I have settled with changing the Slot shortcuts so I only need to rest a finger on the touchpad and then press circle, triangle, square or cross to access each of the 4 Slots. This might not be a solution for people who already lean extensively on Slots and instead only want to change their slot button combo on a per-game basis. I would love it if I can use button combinations to activate/toggle switch layers as well as Slots.

Case 2 - Missing global shift, tedious to copy + paste + update duplicate shift bindings/layers across game profiles

I miss being able to hold a button to shift the controller into a global set of bindings. For example in Steam Input I have things such as volume control, an Alt+Tab shortcut, a Ctrl+Shift+Esc shortcut, an overridden right stick mouse mode etc etc available in any game due to the Chorded bindings that are always available when holding the Playstation button.

To achieve this in Rewasd I chose a button and set it as a shift modifier in every game config, then updated the shift layers with the bindings I explained above. This of course means that I now only have 3 available shift layers per game.

I have only been using Rewasd for a short while and so I only have a couple of game profiles, but it is already getting tedious to set this up for each game. I can only copy + paste specific input bindings. I know I can clone a config to another game, but if I have an existing game and simply want to add my global shift layer without losing my current bindings then I need to use copy + paste. Don't get me wrong, copy + paste is useful and I was happy when I found that feature. But if we won't be getting a global shift layer, then I would at least like to be able to copy my whole shift layer across game configs. Also if I come across a new function I want to add to my global/'Chorded' shift layer, then I have to change all my configs (including my duplicate Tubo click config) one-by-one. As a developer I find this sort of duplication hurts my soul

To finish on a positive note, I really like the fact that we have a blank canvas on which we can configure our shift buttons. The new Dualsense controller which I use has an additional button for muting the microphone, this is what I like to use as my 'global shift' button. I much prefer using this instead of using the Playstation button which you are forced to use in Steam Input, because I can hold this button as long as I want without worrying about the controller powering off. Additionally, since I use JoyShockMapper for my gyro + flickstick, I like to dedicate the Playstation button to recalibrating the gyro, something I can't do in steam because that'll trigger the steam overlay. If I have missed any existing feature that would have solved my problems then let me know!

[reWASDer]

Hey there!

Case 1 - Multibutton shift modifiers

This is exactly what we are going to make in the next releases. I can't give you the release dates now, because it is a big thing to do due to our architecture, but we will try our best. Stay tuned!

Case 2 - Missing global shift, tedious to copy + paste + update duplicate shift bindings/layers across game profiles

Pretty interesting request that we have never got before. A few quick notes:

We are planning to add global configs — the ones that will be available before you apply a config for the game. What if you use such config for your needs instead of a shift? However, you will be forced to use Slots (maybe, you could even switch with a single button after some additional work from our side). This is the most realistic solution I could image now. Not the only one, but still, will it cover your needs?

What if you get an ability to copy the whole Shift (all the mappings you have there) from one config to another? This is also possible, so maybe this solution may work?

[Boilinglemon]

Hello!

Thank you for the detailed response. I am very happy to hear we'll be getting multibutton shift modifiers 😀

That is interesting what you mention about global configs. I can't immediately imagine how that would work. So if I am currently in a game and that game's config is applied automatically due to the autodetected exe. Do you mean that I would be able to force rewasd to apply a different config regardless of the currently detected exe?

Regardless of how this bit works, if you say it would require me to use a slot then indeed it still isn't quite what I'm looking for as I only want to have these bindings while holding a button (or button combo 😉) rather than toggle them on/off.

If we could copy the whole shift layer that would definitely fit my needs. Just in case I wasn't clear though, I would need to be able to copy a shift layer not only across configs for the same game profile but also to configs for other game profiles. Like before though, that would leave me with only 3 more dedicated shift layers (or 2 if I can now have my turbo config as a toggleable shift layer with a two-button shift modifier). That is probably fine just mentioning it.

[reWASDer]

Hello!

I am happy to know that you do like our planned features, hope to deliver them soon.

I do understand your case with Shifts, I am just trying to find the right place in reWASD where it could be added.
It is definitely not possible to make a global Shift mode — this is a thing that can't be added to our architecture. However, if it is OK for you to copy and paste the dedicated Shift layer from one config to another (or even to another config stored in another game profile), then this is quite possible and already planned. I hope you will like it!

[CriticalComposer]

Pretty interesting request that we have never got before. A few quick notes:

We are planning to add global configs — the ones that will be available before you apply a config for the game. What if you use such config for your needs instead of a shift? However, you will be forced to use Slots (maybe, you could even switch with a single button after some additional work from our side). This is the most realistic solution I could image now. Not the only one, but still, will it cover your needs?

What if you get an ability to copy the whole Shift (all the mappings you have there) from one config to another? This is also possible, so maybe this solution may work?

This is the exact use case that I had in mind when I brought up copying an entire Shift between configs. My plan is to replicate the "Steam Chord" Config from Steam Input, which is just a global config that is activated when the Home button is held. I like to put generic system bindings here like disable/enable overlays (Geforce, Discord), volume control, screenshot, screen recording, etc. Basically the cool stuff that makes PC gaming feel more like the console experience -- chatting, sharing, and volume controls right from the controller. Right now I'm using Slots (which is a bit tedious with the 3 button requirement) but the possibility of a single button slot changer certainly has my attention.

[Boilinglemon]

This is the exact use case that I had in mind when I brought up copying an entire Shift between configs. My plan is to replicate the "Steam Chord" Config from Steam Input, which is just a global config that is activated when the Home button is held. I like to put generic system bindings here like disable/enable overlays (Geforce, Discord), volume control, screenshot, screen recording, etc. Basically the cool stuff that makes PC gaming feel more like the console experience -- chatting, sharing, and volume controls right from the controller. Right now I'm using Slots (which is a bit tedious with the 3 button requirement) but the possibility of a single button slot changer certainly has my attention.

Yes I am glad I am not the only one wanting this. I'm also glad that we are close to getting a GUI for the feature

[wookiepediologist]

You are absolutely not alone in a 'waiting list '

We try doing our best to implement this feature as fast as possible, but we wish to make it better-looking in GUI for the best user experience.

Stay tuned guys!

[reWASDer]

Yes I am glad I am not the only one wanting this. I'm also glad that we are close to getting a GUI for the feature

Done in reWASD 5.7.1, out now