Button fix for actual index controller

Fixed an issue where the A button would stop functioning after accessing the SteamVR dashboard. No custom controller bindings or other dependencies required.

There is an open SteamVR bug that makes the Index Controller's A button not work in Skyrim und Fallout 4 VR when opening the SteamVR dashboard. The current workaround remaps the A button to some other input and establishes a new controller binding to keep the A button functional.

This fix masks the actual SteamVR bug and ensures that Skyrim still receives A button input regardless. Simply place the provided openvr_api.dll in your SkyrimVR installation directory, replacing the one that came with the game (make a backup, just in case). No custom controller bindings or other dependencies required. Although you can of course still use custom bindings, they no longer require remapping the A button if you wish :)

Technical background

In OpenVR (the library used to communicate with SteamVR), there is a function to query the inputs (buttons and axes) supported by a VR controller. Skyrim (and Fallout 4) queries this feature every frame. Why? I don't know; you wouldn't expect this information to change during gameplay. Ironically, however, this is exactly what happens due to the SteamVR bug: if you open the SteamVR dashboard, this feature no longer reports the A button as supported! However, the A button's input event is still generated and forwarded to the game. Skyrim just chooses to ignore them because it thinks your controller doesn't have an A button.

This fix provides a custom openvr_api.dll that intercepts the above call and ensures that the A button is always reported as supported no matter what. As a result, Skyrim continues to handle A button events. Eventually, we can only hope that Valve resolves the underlying bug in SteamVR so this workaround is no longer necessary :)

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There is an open SteamVR bug that makes the Index controllers' A buttons non-functional in Skyrim und Fallout 4 VR when you open the SteamVR dashboard. Current workarounds remap the A buttons to some other input and build new controller bindings to keep the A button functional.

This fix masks the actual SteamVR bug and ensures that Skyrim still receives A button input, no matter what. Just place the provided openvr_api.dll in your SkyrimVR installation directory, replacing the one shipped with the game (make a backup, just in case). No custom controller bindings or other dependencies are required. Although you can of course still use custom bindings, if you like - they just don't have to remap the A button anymore:)

Technical background

In OpenVR (the library used to communicate with SteamVR) there is a function to query the supported inputs (buttons and axes) of a VR controller. Skyrim (and Fallout 4) queries this function every frame. Why? I have no idea; you wouldn't expect this information to change during a game session. Ironically, though, this is exactly what happens due to an open SteamVR bug: if you open the SteamVR dashboard, then afterwards the function no longer reports the A button as supported! However, input events for the A button are still generated and forwarded to the game. It's just that Skyrim chooses to ignore them, because it thinks your controllers have no A button.

This fix provides a custom openvr_api.dll that intercepts the aforementioned call and ensures that the A button is always reported as supported, no matter what. As a result, Skyrim keeps handling A button events. Eventually, we can only hope that Valve will fix the underlying bug in SteamVR, so that this workaround will no longer be necessary:)