XIM NEXUS FAQ

[OBsIV]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the comments and support since the announcement! A lot of of great questions and I'd like to address some of them here.

Why didn't you base this off of existing controllers with integrated motion sensors (like DualShock4 and Switch Pro controllers)?

When researching what direction to go hardware-wise for XIM NEXUS, I did build proof-of-concepts using both DS4 and Switch Pro controllers. What I found was that if I were to base things on this hardware the quality of the experience would never be able to exceed the current performance ceiling that it's at today. I needed direct access and control of all sensors in the system (motion and analog -- i.e. sticks and triggers). And, I needed to choose all the hardware used in the embedded system. This is why XIM NEXUS will likely be the most computationally powerful controller you'll ever own. It's running everything right on the controller so that input translation timing and synchronization is perfect (just like XIM APEX). The requirements for precision motion aim is the same as mouse aim. Sending batched IMU (sensor) samples down a wireless link that suffers from timing variances (and drops) for processing on a remote dongle/PC is what happens with today's solutions. You will feel this non-uniformity in your aim.

In addition to lack of perfect timing and synchronization, existing motion enabled controllers have low stick and trigger resolution with no control over analog sensor deadzone and noise suppression behavior. XIM NEXUS gives you (if you want) complete access to it's auto-calibration results. This means you can push the ranges of the sticks and triggers to the absolute limit. Existing controllers are really conservative concerning these limits (to avoid things like stick drift). XIM NEXUS' auto-calibration is also conservative. But, you don't have to be if you don't want to. I'm not aware of any other controller that offers this.

Of course, another big benefit of not using existing controllers is that the controller can be ergonomically crafted to work best for motion. A big part of this on XIM NEXUS is the back buttons. They are positioned strategically for this purpose and are light to press as to not disrupt your grip as you aim with motion. The weight of the controller and it's center of gravity are specifically designed for motion control. Even the positioning of the motion sensor inside the controller is placed centered to how your grip pivots.

Future supported platforms is another area that is important. I didn't want to limit XIM NEXUS to only the platforms it is supporting at launch. It may make sense one day to support Switch or Mobile gaming. In addition, we may decide that we want to sell a version of XIM NEXUS that doesn't come with the wireless adapter just for PC to bring the cost down. Having everything running on the controller (without the need for a wireless adapter in all cases) gives us this flexibility.

I definitely considered going the route of building a product based on DS4 and Switch Pro since it would have been a much easier and cheaper solution. But, in the end, they would have limited the product in the experiences it could produce and also how it could grow in the future.

[OBsIV]

How does the wireless adapter and console authentication controller work?

As mentioned in the reveal, the wireless adapter is only needed if you are gaming on Xbox Series, Xbox One, or PS4. As all the input experience "heavy lifting" is done on the controller itself, the wireless adapter's job is to simply forward the translated controller state to the console and send audio back. Just like past XIM products, a genuine first party console controller must be plugged into the wireless adapter at all times.

There is a picture of the wireless adapter below. If you are know about our products, it may look familiar to you. It was designed to look like it's related to XIM APEX. From the outside it does, but, on the inside it's completely different (much lower power with a much more simple purpose). Notice on the side of the adapter there is a USB C connector. This is where the console controller is plugged in. XIM NEXUS comes with all the cables you'll need.

The wireless adapter isn't needed for PC since you can pair your XIM NEXUS controller directly to it. But, if you'd like, you can use the wireless adapter if your PC doesn't have Bluetooth (or if your PC's integrated Bluetooth radio doesn't perform well). In this scenario, no console controller is plugged into the adapter.

Based on community feedback, we may decide to sell a version on XIM NEXUS that doesn't include the wireless adapter at lower cost.

[OBsIV]

Does XIM NEXUS motion aim work for driving games and flying simulators?

No, not yet. :)

I wanted to do this for launch but couldn't make it happen. But, this is something I really want to get in at some point post-launch. I'm going to look to the community for feedback on the best way to map this.

Another area I'm going to look for feedback from the community is emulating a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard using XIM NEXUS. This will, of course, make it so that you can use XIM NEXUS in PC games that don't support controllers. But, one byproduct of it is that you could use it to game on PlayStation 4 (and 5) in games that support mouse input. I'm not sure if this is a feature that our community members will want, but, I wanted to mention it so we could discuss.