Bloodrayne Terminal Cut editions
Do I have to install a separate programme or does the game natively support a game pad, I just plug it in and play.

XInput is a part of DirectX which the game uses anyways so yes, nothing else is needed.

Thanks Lord Kane for clarifying that, much appreciated! :)

No problem.

You didn't mention which gamepad you have...

What it essentially means is the difference between old-style PC gamepads (pre-2007 games supported "DirectInput") and Xbox 360/Xbox One/Series S/X controllers as well as PC-based clones released since then ("XInput"). Most modern games won't actually support DirectInput pads directly, unless you use Steam Input or x360ce. Conversely, older games have problems with Xbox controllers, most often with recognising the triggers as buttons, but also issues with the second stick, and 8-way digital controls being forced to the left analogue stick.

An XInput game will usually have a sensible controller layout pre-configured from the outset.

Xbox. 360.
Thanks for the reply! Thanks for taking the time to write all that, I really appreciate the information.

I have a wired 360 controller.

Funnily enough a couple of months back, I posted in the original Bloodrayne forum about gamepad support and got no reply

So Microsoft, in their infinite wisdom invented a new controller protocol instead of using the existing one. For reasons which remain a mystery; and one that isn't very backwards compatible. That's why I have a nice multimode controller; the 8Bitdo SN30 Pro +.

I miss DirectInput. There was a tremendous diversity in available controllers and because of that it was pretty much required for the game to let you map the controller how you wanted.

Xinput pretty much killed all of that off and made it so that gamepads on the PC were essentially the same as on consoles - one universal design with games being pre-mapped (and often without the option to change the mapping).

It sounds like they didn't even make the protocol transparent to the applications that use it. In other words, the code that one writes to access controllers is different depending on which type of controller is being used.

What they should have done, instead, is just use one system call API that's used for both types of controllers so that the programmers only have to write the input code once for all controllers rather than twice.

(Then again, games should really be using an indirection layer here that converts raw inputs (like which physical button is pressed) to events that the game engine processes; this would allow one to, for example, easily implement key/button rebinding, which is a commonly requested feature.)

I like my SN30 Pro+ but I do wish 8bitdo made a controller with the left stick at the top. I find the "PS style" means my thumb approaches the stick at an angle.

That's one reason I have to still use my XBox 360 (IIRC) controller on occasion.

On the other hand, I tend not to play games that make heavy use of the analog stick(s), so the 8Bitdo controller I have works fine for most of my controller-based gaming (accidental diagonal dashing in Celeste aside).