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I do not have an XBOX 360 controller (and if I had I would not want to use it for a FP"S" ;)). Is there a way to play the co-op mode on one PC where both players play with their own keyboard and mouse?

I guess what I am looking for is a 360-emulator that would take keyboard+mouse as input. The programs I found so far only allow you to emulate the 360 controller using another controller, joystick or wheel (most famously the "x360ce" program).

Or is it possible to tweak some portal 2 config files / are there any console commands?

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  • for anybody with a good reputation: there should be a "co-op" tag for gaming. wanna create one? ;)
    – stack_horst
    Dec 2, 2015 at 9:06
  • 3
    @stack_host I don't think such tag would be necesary. Remember, tags aren't just for describing the question but for experts in paticular subjects (mostly paticular games) to find questions they're more likely able to answer. I have hard time seeing anybody being an expert on "co-op" in general.
    – DJ Pirtu
    Dec 2, 2015 at 9:17
  • I think the main issue you will encounter is that OS generally can't differentiate between two different mice and would treat them both as one. I don't know if there are any workarounds for that in modern systems or not.
    – Elise
    Dec 2, 2015 at 9:27
  • I never managed to even get 2 controllers to work correctly (gestures would cause my character to become unresponsive). Not sure if anything here is useful - gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/20769/…
    – user101016
    Dec 2, 2015 at 11:18
  • @DJ Pirtu: that's true!
    – stack_horst
    Dec 3, 2015 at 21:59

2 Answers 2

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When you use two keyboards and mice, the computer cannot differentiate between the two. If you move one mouse, the cursor will move - with the other mouse, the cursor will also move; there is no difference. You can also type using two keyboards at once.

This unfortunately means you cannot pay co-op with two sets of keyboard and mouse. The 360-emulator reads the controllers unique id, which is used to tell them apart. Keyboards and mice do not have this capability.

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    To be precise: its Windows "desktop" that do not see difference between multiple mice/keyboard. It is fully possible to use multiple input devices of same type if you know how. Standard input methods just aggregate data from keyboards/mice.
    – PTwr
    Feb 20, 2016 at 23:05
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    There are games that support multiple mice. For instance, World of Goo on Linux, Hammerfight (maybe only on Windows 32-bit), Rag Doll Kung Fu, …
    – Denilson Sá Maia
    Mar 15, 2016 at 21:09
  • DirectInput sees keyboards and mice separately.
    – Nathan Osman
    Feb 17, 2017 at 5:01
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    "Keyboards and mice do not have this capability." - They do! Since Vista onward, RawInput API does it, DEVELOPERS don't notice this fact... Sadly, Portal 2 does support RawInput but still no multiple devices.
    – Петър Петров
    Oct 18, 2017 at 0:47
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I finally found a way to play with my friend with each player using a keyboard.

What you will need:

How to use:

  1. Run the keyboard splitter .exe and install it's dependencies (restart your computer before continuing)
  2. Change the slot counts to 1
  3. Select the keyboard that you want to disguise as an Xbox controller (If there are multiple options, because of secondary or virtual keyboards, you can find out which keyboard you're using by checking the Input Device Monitor included in the application, it shows you the origin of button presses and clicks)
  4. Create a new preset (just replace the text in the box that says default and save)
  5. Map your keyboard buttons to the virtual controller's buttons
  6. Press Start and enjoy

The result:

What you're basically going to do is block your keyboard's inputs and mask them as an Xbox controller's inputs. All the other player has to do is connect and use his/her keyboard.

Q&A:

Q: How do I alt-tab out of the game if my keyboard is disabled?

A: Push left Ctrl five times to disable input blocking and you can use alt-tab.

But be careful, your inputs are still being sent as Xbox inputs at the same time (your keyboard inputs are unblocked but the application is still working), so if for example, you have bound S to D-pad Down, it'll type S and move down at the same time.

Q: Can I use my keyboard at the same time?

A: No, this would mess up the inputs, but you can connect a second keyboard/use a virtual keyboard/use a keyboard app on your phone. You could also just stop and restart keyboard splitter but I guess that would get old fast

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    This video looks helpful, but a rule on our site is that your answer needs to still be helpful even if the video and linked resources are removed. Can you summarize the linked resources?
    – ExpertCoder14 - RETIRED
    May 10, 2021 at 1:59
  • Sure, I will edit my post to add a detailed guide
    – pitprok
    May 11, 2021 at 2:09

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