Has nudging with controllers been fixed?

[LeanderQuest]

Has nudging with controllers been fixed? I followed guides and videos, but cannot get nudging to work with my Switch Pro controller for Windows (but does not work with other controllers either). The ball does not move at all OR I get an immediate tilt although the ball did not even move.

Are there settings you can recommend?

I spent 2 months and several hours a day setting up a lot of tables, everything's fine BUT nudging...and playing pinball without nudging isn't fun as you cannot keep the ball from draining.

Please help!

[silver_balls]

I'm interested in seeing an update to this too. 

I'm using a PS4 controller and nudging upwards works fine, but not left/right. When using the "Nudge Test and Calibration" table, the movement indicators on the apron shows left/right movement but the balls are nudged vertically no matter what I do. 

I ended up mapping Left Nudge and Right Nudge to controller buttons instead, but it would be nice to be able to use the stick for sideways nudging and not just vertical nudging. 

[LeanderQuest]

What settings do you use? When holding the ball in a cradle, I can nudge to move the ball a bit, but saving a ball from draining never works. However, I found some threads that nudging is broken and only works when the ball interacts with an object... e.g. the ball hits the slingshot...but when the ball comes down the middle without hitting anything, you cannot nudge the ball to move the ball to the left or right.

[stevemontuno]

I know this might be a silly question but did you edit the nudge strength in the table script or is this just a controller thing?

 

If keycode = LeftTiltKey Then Nudge 90, 4:SoundNudgeLeft()
    If keycode = RightTiltKey Then Nudge 270, 4:SoundNudgeRight()
    If keycode = CenterTiltKey Then Nudge 0, 4:SoundNudgeCenter()

 

 i set mine to 4.

 

Legacy/vp9 needs to be set in key config.

 

 

[melodicmonster]

I just performed a fresh install on a new computer with the baller installer. I had to remap my left stick and dpad with AntiMicroX (free controller mapper) to get nudging to work correctly with my Xbox One controller. Otherwise, it just nudges up no matter how I configure it.

[LeanderQuest]

I also use AntimicroX...and use the dpad, but it doesn't really work. Can you please take a screenshot of your VPX settings?

[LeanderQuest]

@silver_balls

[HatsuneMikUwU]

Hi there! I've updated VPX to 10.8 recently and there is an option to "Enable Analog Nudge" in the Keys, Nudge and DOF menu. 

With analog nudge enabled: you'll be able to move the ball at the opposite direction of your joystick (if "Reverse" is checked near X axis (L/R) )

I'm still trying to figure out the perfect values for moving the ball's trajectory with nudging.

If the X-Gain and Y-Gain are too high, then the ball will move extremely fast from joystick input (even if you put the deadzone high).

As of now, when I nudge, there's a slight delay before the ball's trajectory gets moved by the joystick, so you might have to tweak the values a bit to find the sweet spot.

With that in mind, I'll post the screenshot of my controller settings below.



As for the immediate tilt issue: you'd have to disable the nudge function in the table's script. This has to be done in each table.

To do this:

• you'll open/load the table, click on View on the top-left menu bar, then click on Script
• open Find by entering Ctrl + F
• type in "nudge"
• click on "Find Next" until you find vpmNudge.TiltSwitch=(number) and add an apostrophe (') before the letter "v"
• find vpmNudge.Sensitivity=(number) and add an apostrophe (') before the letter "v"

In coding, any text added after the apostrophe is ignored and is detected as a "comment" instead of a function.

Erasing the line does the same thing but I'd personally avoid erasing it in case the developers come up with a way to fix the nudging issue. I'll post the screenshot of this example below as well.


I'm new to VPX and I'm slightly frustrated that the nudging function of VPX isn't anything like Farsight Studio's Pinball Hall of Fame (same people who made Pinball Arcade). In that game, when I nudge with the left joystick, not only does the table move but the ball moves as well. I cannot believe this couldn't be easily replicated in VPX!

Also kinda heartbreaking to see that this thread became dead. I'm not sure if my comment resolves the issue entirely but I really hope this helps! :] 

EDIT: I use AntiMicroX and programmed Left Nudge (Z) to left input of left joystick and Right Nudge (/) to right input of left joystick. and Fwd Nudge (Space) to the bottom input of the left joystick

Edited April 25 by HatsuneMikUwU
forgot to add nudging controls from antimicroX

[LeanderQuest]

On 4/25/2026 at 8:58 AM, HatsuneMikUwU said:

Hi there! I've updated VPX to 10.8 recently and there is an option to "Enable Analog Nudge" in the Keys, Nudge and DOF menu. 

With analog nudge enabled: you'll be able to move the ball at the opposite direction of your joystick (if "Reverse" is checked near X axis (L/R) )

I'm still trying to figure out the perfect values for moving the ball's trajectory with nudging.

If the X-Gain and Y-Gain are too high, then the ball will move extremely fast from joystick input (even if you put the deadzone high).

As of now, when I nudge, there's a slight delay before the ball's trajectory gets moved by the joystick, so you might have to tweak the values a bit to find the sweet spot.

With that in mind, I'll post the screenshot of my controller settings below.



As for the immediate tilt issue: you'd have to disable the nudge function in the table's script. This has to be done in each table.

To do this:

• you'll open/load the table, click on View on the top-left menu bar, then click on Script
• open Find by entering Ctrl + F
• type in "nudge"
• click on "Find Next" until you find vpmNudge.TiltSwitch=(number) and add an apostrophe (') before the letter "v"
• find vpmNudge.Sensitivity=(number) and add an apostrophe (') before the letter "v"

In coding, any text added after the apostrophe is ignored and is detected as a "comment" instead of a function.

Erasing the line does the same thing but I'd personally avoid erasing it in case the developers come up with a way to fix the nudging issue. I'll post the screenshot of this example below as well.


I'm new to VPX and I'm slightly frustrated that the nudging function of VPX isn't anything like Farsight Studio's Pinball Hall of Fame (same people who made Pinball Arcade). In that game, when I nudge with the left joystick, not only does the table move but the ball moves as well. I cannot believe this couldn't be easily replicated in VPX!

Also kinda heartbreaking to see that this thread became dead. I'm not sure if my comment resolves the issue entirely but I really hope this helps! :] 

EDIT: I use AntiMicroX and programmed Left Nudge (Z) to left input of left joystick and Right Nudge (/) to right input of left joystick. and Fwd Nudge (Space) to the bottom input of the left joystick

 

Thank you! Just saw your reply...sorry for the delay. I use the default keys for nudging in VPX, then assiging those to the analog stick in AntiMicroX WITHOUT enabling analog nudging in the VPX options....and without "reverse". The axis is disabled for X and Y...basically, I use the Y, - and space keys in VPX...and those are set to left, down and right of the left stick in AntiMicroX.

With your settings, independent of the script settings, the ball isn't slightly pushed in one direction, but it is like a rocket...I press left and the ball is fired to the right at high speed, even with 25% strength....moreover, I had used different settings before, but then I could control the ball like a 3D character...and freely move it where I wanted it to be. I cannot actively use the X and Y axis in VPX...because of this rocket effect. I have to disable it, use the preset keyboard keys, then map them to the left stick in AntimicroX....the ball is slightly pushed and it works, but only when touching an active VPX object such as the flippers...I can cradle the ball, push the stick to move the ball...but whjen it comes down the center or is near the slingshots, pushing the stick does not do ANYTHING...I read somewhere that VPX and the nudging needs the ball to actively touch a game element to be affected by physics.

[HatsuneMikUwU]

On 5/15/2026 at 7:29 PM, LeanderQuest said:

 

Thank you! Just saw your reply...sorry for the delay. I use the default keys for nudging in VPX, then assiging those to the analog stick in AntiMicroX WITHOUT enabling analog nudging in the VPX options....and without "reverse". The axis is disabled for X and Y...basically, I use the Y, - and space keys in VPX...and those are set to left, down and right of the left stick in AntiMicroX.

With your settings, independent of the script settings, the ball isn't slightly pushed in one direction, but it is like a rocket...I press left and the ball is fired to the right at high speed, even with 25% strength....moreover, I had used different settings before, but then I could control the ball like a 3D character...and freely move it where I wanted it to be. I cannot actively use the X and Y axis in VPX...because of this rocket effect. I have to disable it, use the preset keyboard keys, then map them to the left stick in AntimicroX....the ball is slightly pushed and it works, but only when touching an active VPX object such as the flippers...I can cradle the ball, push the stick to move the ball...but whjen it comes down the center or is near the slingshots, pushing the stick does not do ANYTHING...I read somewhere that VPX and the nudging needs the ball to actively touch a game element to be affected by physics.

No worries, i just saw this too. Sorry for the delay on my end 😅

Using Analog Nudging does make the ball move like a rocket, normally i'd have to set the deadzone very high, like 95-98%. But I only recommend using analog nudging if you feel like cheating the game and just make the ball hit whichever targets you want. I only really use it when I'm trying to get a feel for the playfield as I'm adjusting the table's physics like friction and table slope.

I'm used to the way nudging works from Pinball Hall of Fame for the PS2, so naturally I set the right nudge function to Left direction for the joystick, and vice versa. I set Forward nudge to both the up and down direction for the left joystick, but you can set it to however you like; there's no right or wrong answer.

I did forgot to mention one thing: if you update your VPX to 10.8, in "Keys, Nudge and DOF" menu, there's an option called "Legacy/VP9-style non-realistic Keyboard Nudge". Simply check the box next to it, and nudging should move the ball's trajectory regardless of whether the ball's touching an object or not.

The change in trajectory is pretty powerful in High Speed but doesn't move too much in Swords of Fury. I'm still trying to figure out how to adjust the trajectory-change strength. I will definitely let you know if I find out. 

I've been working on trying to make each table behave like in Pinball Arcade because I don't want the ball to travel at the speed of sound 😅

But yeah, just let me know if you have other questions 😁 
 

Edited May 28 by HatsuneMikUwU