Problems
I followed your instructions re: regedit to hopefully achieve the aim of activating my Nostromo n45 Dual Analog Gamepad. I searched the registry for the entries as per your instructions and replaced 2 of the four entries. The registry wouldn't allow me to alter the other two, or at least it refused to change/store the edits. I tried it in-game anyway, with the following results:
1. I can now go to Controls section and I finally (despite patching previously) get an arrow to switch out of keyboard remapping to what I hoped would be the gamepad. Oddly though, it calls the next controller option "Multimedia Keyboard Hub" !? Still, I remapped as I desired and despite a couple of glitches where it lost the changes, I finally got my choice of controls in there and went to the game.
2. Ingame, well it works with all the regular controls, the buttons do what I want them to do but as with others here, the right analogue stick's axis' are messed up. Didn't figure that out till I got a freekick outside the box and started trying to adjust for dip and spin. Odd! Imagine someone will find a fix for this.
3. Also find that the controls are a little bit sluggish, but I'm not sure if this is the gameplay itself or the fiddling done with the controller. Despite not being able to select the gamepad under the controls menu previously, I could use it in-game albeit with odd mapping for moves/actions, and it was a bit smoother, more responsive. Anyone else have this issue?
4. Finally, thanks to your help, I'm a bit closer to having the game and gamepad work as I'd wish. I had trouble getting it to work in Fifa 03 too but eventually people came up with fixes and I expect that to happen here too. The only problem with doing it this way, with editing the reg, is I fear for what it'll do to my controller's setup for NHL 04 and other games I occasionally use it for.
In closing, it's frustrating as HELL that EA (or whoever they licenced this out to this year) turn out such inconsistent and shoddy work. From brief time in-game, I get the feel that the gameplay might be the best yet and the football fusion idea is a strong one. However, graphically it's a step back apart from the smoother animations, along with the smoother cinematics are superior. Increasingly the player skins look like zombies. The crowd anims are significantly poorer than last time. The menu's are horrible, the general responsiveness of the GUI is nearly laughable. Then there's the horribly inconsistent patch issues; quite why they don't release a regular .exe I don't know. Then there's this, the ridiculously lazy problems with controllers and gamepads. It was clearly an incomplete game, out-of-the-box and I don't think any of us would reasonably have minded waiting an extra month or so to have these issues ironed out.
With EA's very nonchalant attitude toward patching their games, I fear it's going to be down to the outstanding mod community to fix this one up. I don't know, they turn out a brilliantly presented, near perfect NHL 2004, strong games in NBA and NFL arenas (from what I hear) yet we always get stuck with the wart-ridden runt of the litter. It IS the most popular sport of the four, afterall. Bah, disappointing. Back to the controller fix hunt.
9.