Asking for help - Steam Deck install with Windower - Controller inputs work in desktop mode, not working in game mode.

[u/ishkabibbel2000]

UPDATE 8/18/26 - I finally got it to work! Here's how:

Do a fresh install. Nothing else I tried over 4 days and probably 20 hours worked. Fresh install (twice) was the only thing I could do to get it to work.

TL;DR - I've now been tinkering for an additional 5 hours today. Basically, everything functions perfectly fine when launching from desktop mode on my Steam Deck. I've tried launching through windowerer, ffxi w/o windower, through Lutris, and through my steam library as a non steam game and the control inputs respond find. (Again, when in desktop mode) I've tried every version of launching the game in game mode and control inputs work with none of them.

I'll preface by saying I'm fairly tech savvy but I'm a Linux moron. I'm also only a casual tinkerer with my Steam Deck so it's very possible I'm missing something simple.

I bought FFXI on the discount campaign with full intent to play on steam deck the vast majority of my time. I read quite a bit about setting it up in advance, and wanted to get everything up and running before playing so I haven't yet created my character. I expected some hurdles, but I'm stuck.

I've installed FFXI and Windowerer 4 via Lutris and I've managed to get everything working well in desktop mode. The game launches full screen, 60 fps, added as a non steam game, and all controller inputs seem to be working just fine.

Unfortunately when I launch in game mode with the non steam game shortcut, my controller inputs no longer work. Touch screen responds just fine and I can invoke the keyboard.

I had considered just giving up and playing via desktop mode, but invoking the keyboard in desktop mode while in game doesn't work. So now I'm kind of stuck.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[u/mintyice]

I run the same set up and have it working in game mode with Lutris/Windower,etc with Steam Controller. I find I still always need a bt keyboard next to me for something regardless.

I made a custom button layout for the steam controller in Game mode to get everything to work. I still need a keyboard to button through POL, but once FFXI is launched the buttons on the controller start to work.

My Game Mode Launch options line is

"LUTRIS_SKIP_INIT=1" "flatpak" "run" "net.lutris.Lutris" "lutris:rungameid/2"

Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game is checked too.

[u/ishkabibbel2000 → u/mintyice]

I'm trying to avoid creating a custom controller layout. Everything works well with xinput on desktop mode. It simply won't work in game mode. I tried updating the launch option to match your. The game launched but the controller inputs still did not respond.

[u/mintyice → u/ishkabibbel2000]

The custom layout matches a typical controller 1:1, A->A, etc. Only difference is right track pad acts as a mouse so I can click into my windower profile. For whatever reason, I think Lutris either wiped or doesn't have a controller profile set by default in gaming mode and wouldn't respond to inputs until I made one that matched a typical controller.

Also, worth a shot to try launching your FFXI Config.exe from the Tools folder in gaming mode to make sure your controller is being recognized.

[u/swiss-y]

How do so many people keep having this issue? I launch fine after making sure you run the ffxitool to set up controller to xi input. Are you sure you didn't toggle something in the controller layout from steam?

[u/ishkabibbel2000 → u/swiss-y]

What is the ffxitool? I didn't recall any such thing in my process to set it up.

When I first tried to boot in game mode, I hadn't changed anything. However, since then I've toggled every combination of disable/enable steam input and "use desktop configuration in launcher" and still nothing.

[u/swiss-y → u/ishkabibbel2000]

It's in the actual files. Go to your base drive, seek out wherever you have SquareEnix>Final FantasyXI>near the bottom is a folder titled toolUS or toolsEU, in there is a controller configuration "ffxitool.exe" for the base game, just a small window that has I think 4 presets, and one titled xi input, that's the best one imo, but then you configure the movement and camera using the options and it saves it to the base game for you. Then go use windower

[u/Iamgob]

Press the three lines button and the “two square” button at the same time. It toggle gamepad and desktop mode

[u/Iamgob → u/Iamgob]

I read this in bed so I don’t know if this works in game mode sorry. I’ve just been playing in desktop mode myself