I ended up getting a Logitech F310 , the game detected everything and it works great without having to mess with the 3rd party programs . Thanks for the response hopefully this post will help other people too.
Does the thrustmaster Dual analog 4 work? Its a DirectInput controller, but it is optimized for the layout of an Xbox controller... This is all so confusing O_o
I can't be sure if it would work out of the box with the game optimally or not. *My guess is not great and "converting" it to a x360 controller would be the no-fuss solution.
Thrustmaster Dual Analog 4 seems to work with X360CE so using that method I'd be confident it would work.
http://www.fairlyangrymike.com/how-tos/how-to-use-x360ce-with-your-pc-gamepad/
Took me a little while but i can confirm that ive got the gamepad up and running and working 100% as intended
