PC: Game constantly asks to setup additional controllers (I don't want to use)

Okay, this game has a really weird setup system. I got rid of the problem, as follows:

First of all, it is strange that the game complains that

1. key functionality like steering, gas, brake, etc. are not defined yet while I can still use the T248 and race. EA obviously uses a default setting, but does not show the default setting in the active controller config. Very confusing. Also, it is not possible to see the default setup so when configuring from scratch, you have to guess
2. controllers like the flight stick and others (see above), that are not to be used in the game, are not set up. They are not used, they don't need a setup, just allow me to mark them as "inactive" within F1 23 

So the solution was pretty weird. First of all, in my controller settings I had to define all the basics (gas, brake, steering, etc.) and all buttons of my T248 again (although everything was working by default without a specific or visible setting). Then, I assigned one button of each the "unused" controllers to an unused function I don't need (those user defined action thingies).

As of that moment, F1 23 stopped bothering me with the controller settings upon start-up of the game and everything is fine now. It is, however, a very weird work-around for a 100 USD game, to be honest. I would wish for some increased usability here where default settings are visible directly and unused controllers can just be marked as "don't bother".

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@sirupflex wrote:

Hi all, searched the whole HQ for answers, hope I didn't overlook and hence try to get your input here.

On my PC I am playing F1 23 (Steam) with the T248. Besides the known FFB issues the T248 seems to work fine so far (just started playing yesterday).

I also have connected to my PC some additional controllers, like a T16000 flight stick, thrust controller and the Logitech Farming Simulator side board. I don't need them in F1 23 obviously. Still, at every start-up, F1 23 tells me that I "have to" setup these controllers and does not leave me any choice but to go to the setup mode of these controllers. I then abort the setup and am in the game. And the T248 works fine. At the next start of F1 23, the same circus happens again.

Any advice on resolving this? I thought the game might have a setting somewhere to tell F1 23 not to bother with some of the controllers (like other games do) but looks like F1 23 does not have that. Any other advice? I wondered if I just go through a dummy setup with each of the controllers once, I might get rid of F1 23 bothering me. I was not sure, however, when I would assign steering, gas, brake, etc. to those controllers, if this messes up the T248 settings, so I didn't try that yet (i.e. the race wheel not working any more, which I want to avoid to get into that trouble). Any hints are welcomed!

Just to state the obvious: Disconnecting all the unnecessary controllers via USB just to play F1 23 is NOT an acceptable option for me.

And as the long-term solution, I would expect EA to have an in-game option to disable / ignore controllers you don't need.

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You say 'not acceptable'. I say this is actually 'very common' advice. The way these controllers are defined (to the system) is very similar through the controller APIs.

It's often been the advice to unplug the (gamepad) controllers, they are USB connected. USB connection is versatile and designed around hot plug / unplug scenarios. Advising removal is a simple workaround. I congratulate you on finding your much longer and more difficult workaround, the advice is useful if it is ever deemed relevant by the appropriate parties.

Striking a balance between 'supported controllers' and a complete allowlist / blocklist scenario means I think it is highly likely to be disregarded. Enable / disable isn't quite as simple as the device remains attached to the system with allocated resources and power draw. And it may be called by external parties or programs without the core game. You can use 'Device Manager' to disable controllers (I've done it where I can't reach network sockets or cables easily, for example) or simply unplugging the control cable (power cables may be off the USB and external).

I've often posted that people using 'unsupported controllers' can't necessarily expect patch or future support (especially if the controller is unsupported / superceded by the manufacturer). But, to remove support entirely for non-allowlist controllers would be quite draconian.

I have given XP for the posts in the other thread about the crashing, but you'll notice I remain consistent with this thinking and would advocate the removal of the 'problem' devices one way or another. I've worked around issues with other settings in mainboard UEFI BIOS to 'resolve' other controller issues.

@SteveJackson , I'm sorry I can't follow any of your arguments at all, and I'm not sure if you understood the issue and the impact for your customers.

1. First of all, I know a lot of games where you can specify which controllers you want to use and which ones not. It's not a problem to do so, and to claim it would be a problem is simple not correct (see also further below)
2. I don't want to use any "unsupported controllers". It is F1 23 that forces me to configure them although they are irrelevant for the game (and not even officially supported). F1 23 should give me the option to just say "they are not relevant for the game", as I can do in many other games. F1 23 is the only game ever that tries to force the user into configuring an "unsupported controller" that is not required for the game. Does not make sense at all
3. Unplugging USB or even worse, using Device Manager, is a no-go. I use these controllers for other games I play regularly and I am not doing a constant unplug/replug party with controllers just because one game, F1 23, cannot sort them out correctly. Does not make sense at all. Again, all other games that I have do not have any issues with those controllers. They just use the ones I tell them to and ignore the rest. And it works perfectly fine for all the games. Except F1 23
4. Your slightly sarcastic comment that unplugging would be much easier than my solution is a joke, sorry. My solution is a one-time execution that resolves the issue permanently. No constant unplugging mess for every game I want to play, like you suggest. My approach is much better and easier. Once done, problem gone. Not sure why you would seriously prefer to constantly unplug controllers forever instead of doing a one-time config work-around that takes you less than 5 minutes.
5. I don't understand your speech about "no patch for unsupported controllers" or "remove support entirely for non-allowlist controllers". Has absolutely nothing to do with the described issue. My T248-PS is on the officially supported list for F1 23 so it has to work and the game should be able to handle it (and it does work in general). And, in addition, the game should not get confused by any other controllers connected to the PC that it does not need (this is the part that does not work in F1 23). Like every other game on this planet. It is a very simple user interface configuration that should take EA just a few lines of code to implement
6. Again, my T248 works fine in general. It is just F1 23 that forced me, at each start, to do an initial setup of additional controllers that are not necessary. And it didn't stop asking on start-up until I did my easy one-time work-around. The posting was not about controllers not working, it was about F1 23 forcing users to repeatedly configure controllers that the game does not need 

So to summarize: I have a race wheel T248 that is officially supported by F1 23. I do not have any "controller issues" on my PC. All controllers work perfectly fine in every of the many games I have. F1 23 is the only game that in the config cannot handle properly multiple controllers attached to a PC. So I do not have a "controller issue", but F1 23 has a controller issue. I suggested to implement in the settings an option where I can tell F1 23 which controllers are relevant for the game and which ones not (like other games do). Because F1 23 absolutely can differentiate all the different controllers on my PC. In the mentioned dialogue box at start-up, F1 23 lists correctly all 3 unused (and unnecessary) controllers I have in addition to the T248, with correct identification name. At this point, all I need is a dialogue to click a checkbox next to each of the 3 controllers to tell F1 23 "hey just ignore those controllers, they don't have to be configured, you don't need it". As it is possible in so many other games.

It's 2023...games should be asking the user which controller they are using, and ignoring the ones not selected.

Almost every other game handles this issue perfectly fine without needing to unplug anything.

Thank you, yes I fully agree, this is exactly what it is about.

For me it sometimes feels a bit weird when there is such an issue that is clearly a lack of the game's ability to handle things properly, but as a user I am asked to unplug things each time before starting the game, doing BIOS upgrades and whatever (I'm an IT professional for decades, by the way). I very much appreciate all the support and responses I get here and I know it's a very tough job supporting "the mob" in a forum remotely. But what happens here is that the problem and the responsibility for the problem is just pushed over to the user.

Instead, I would expect EA to take responsibility for this issue themselves. They are the only ones who can resolve it for each and every single user, i.e. paying customer, of their software. And the issue I raised is not about "not working due to xyz individual PC config" that might be difficult to reproduce and handle. It is a simple and standard set of code EA would need to implement to avoid this hassle for everyone.