Outer Wilds on a Mac with a controller
The Outer Wilds layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: No Mac version. It runs on Apple silicon through CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, and the game's own gamepad support often does not survive the wrapper.
Yes, Outer Wilds plays on a Mac with a controller, through a wrapper and this layout. The ship has six directions of thrust, and a pad has just enough: the left stick for forward, back and sideways, the right stick to look, up on a trigger and down on a face button. Match velocity is the big button, which is the one that keeps you alive.
On this page: 8 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Thrust and look. The left stick thrusts forward, back, left and right, and the right stick looks.
- Up and down. The left trigger is up thrust and the jetpack rise (Left Shift). The right face button is down thrust (Left Ctrl).
- The big button. Jump, jetpack boost and match velocity (Space).
- Tools. The right trigger is contextual: launch the Scout, use the Signalscope, translate. The left bumper takes out the Signalscope (Y), the right bumper locks on and rolls (left click), interact (E) is the left face button, and the flashlight (F) the top.
- Ship. The left stick click is cockpit free look (Left Option) and the right stick click autopilot (X). D-pad up is the landing camera (C), down the rearview Scout snapshot (R), and left the ship log (Z).
- Menus. The map (Tab) is on Create and pause on Options.
Match velocity is the big button, and it is the one that saves you.
Tune it
- Deadzone. Give the thrust rows a generous one. A ship drifting in orbit is not what you want.
- Look. Slow it down: lower the look rows' Speed from 16 to about 12 and 9.
A big deadzone on the thrust rows stops a resting thumb from firing the engines.
If the wrapper passes your controller
Steam lists full controller support, so if the game reacts to the pad on its own, play that way and keep this preset off, or every press lands twice. Using a controller with CrossOver games covers the wrapper side. Fire the jetpack once with the preset off, and if you lift, the wrapper already passed the pad.
If your controller is not working in Outer Wilds
When Outer Wilds does not react to your controller on a Mac, climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
- Expect less inside a wrapper. In CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, Wine passes a controller to Outer Wilds only some of the time, and the keyboard and mouse get through every time. Using a controller with CrossOver games has the checks.
- Play it from keys. If Outer Wilds still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Outer Wilds already reads. Turn the game's own controller option off while it runs, or a press can arrive twice. The layout works whether or not Outer Wilds ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Outer Wilds and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
To check the controller itself first, the gamepad tester shows every button and stick live in your browser.
Outer Wilds controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Outer Wilds's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | A | Strafe / thrust left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Strafe / thrust right (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Thrust forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Thrust back (S) |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Look left |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Look right |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Look up |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Look down |
| Right trigger | Right click | Launch scout / Signalscope / Translate (contextual) |
| Left trigger | Shift (Left) | Up thrust / jetpack rise (LShift) |
| A / Cross | Space | Jump / jetpack boost / match velocity (Space) |
| B / Circle | Ctrl (Left) | Down thrust / descend (LCtrl) |
| X / Square | E | Interact (E) |
| Y / Triangle | F | Flashlight (F) |
| LB / L1 | Y | Signalscope (Y) |
| RB / R1 | Left click | Lock on / roll (Left Mouse) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Alt / Option (Left) | Cockpit free look (LAlt) |
| R3 (right stick click) | X | Autopilot (X) |
| D-pad up | C | Landing camera (C) |
| D-pad down | R | Rearview scout snapshot (R) |
| D-pad left | Z | Ship log mode (Z) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Pause (Esc) |
| Back / Share / Select | Tab | View map (Tab) |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Does Outer Wilds run on a Mac?
Outer Wilds does not run natively on a Mac. CrossOver and the Game Porting Toolkit run it. This layout is for wrappers that do not pass the controller.
Is Outer Wilds better with a controller or keyboard?
Many players prefer a controller for flying the ship, and Steam lists full controller support. On a Mac the game runs in a wrapper, and the pad is the part that often goes missing there. This layout keeps the controller in your hands while it sends the keyboard game.
Why is my controller not working in Outer Wilds on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Outer Wilds still ignores it, activate the Outer Wilds layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Outer Wilds on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Outer Wilds has no Mac version, so it runs through a wrapper such as CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, and how well depends on the Mac's chip and memory. I have not tested it on each Mac.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
Updated