With a few mods and a special cable, it’s possible to get Armored Core VI working with Capcom’s giant Steel Battalion Xbox controller.
Capcom’s Steel Battalion controller has become the stuff of legend. Released in 2002, it was one of the most ostentatious video game controllers ever conceived, featuring twin joysticks, three foot pedals, a throttle handle, a radio dial, myriad buttons and switches, and even a flashing emergency eject button under a plastic safety flap. For mech-based games, it was the ultimate playing accessory, even though only two titles – Steel Battalion and its 2004 sequel – officially supported it.
But the controller’s sheer extravagance has seen it win the hearts of many fans down the years, as evidenced by the excitement around ten of these joystick behemoths being gathered together for a LAN party at PAX West last week.
Steel Battalion LAN Party!
STEEL BATTALION LAN PARTY!!#retrogaming #xbox pic.twitter.com/Fzd1cotXue— Selena the Retro-Princess (@SuperZvesda) September 3, 2023
Down the years, folks have gradually worked out ways to use the massive Steel Battalion controller with other games – and on Saturday, Japanese Twitter (aka X) user @tukasakotobuki posted a video showing how it could be used to play From Software’s latest mech shooter, Armored Core VI.
Steam版ACVI（オフラインモード）
一人称mod試プレイこれは完全に「コックピット視点」ですわ！
アサルトアーマー使うと一瞬自機が見えるのも「演出」感あって楽しいところ
強いて言うなら武器類は透過なしとかに出来たら更に盛り上がりそう！ pic.twitter.com/oXRmfRofpC— スミ夫𝕏 (@tukasakotobuki) September 2, 2023
Connecting the giant controller to a PC involves buying a special cable that converts the original Xbox connector to a USB connector, then installing fan-made drivers that enable it to be recognised by the PC. After that, it’s a case of assigning all the many controller inputs to different functions. In the video, @tukasakotobuki also uses a mod for Armored Core VI that switches the game to a first-person view.
The Steel Battalion controller seems like the ideal fit for Armored Core VI, and anyone who’s lucky enough to own one will undoubtedly be watching this video and idly wondering whether it’s worth heading into the loft to bring it down. Although if you’re thinking of buying one for yourself, be warned that complete controllers can sell for well over £300 these days.
Or you might consider using your prized Steel Battalion controller to play a game that it definitely wasn’t designed for, simply for the LOLs. Like Dark Souls, for example.
