Larian Studios Forums Divinity II The Dragon Knight Saga / Flames of Vengeance (English) Technical problems Inverting Y-axis does not apply to flight

Hey everyone. I've been enjoying the game so far but just hit into a serious snag after getting my dragon form. Even though I have the Y-axis inverted, flight controls are not inverted. This is a huge problem for players like me because it makes the game almost unplayable. I have heard from a few other threads like this one that the 360 version has, or used to have, separate inversion options for in-flight and regular controls, but the PC version, which I am playing, does not (Divinity 2 Developer's Cut v1.4.700.38 from GOG.com). So what I want to know is when I can expect a fix for this. I honestly have no desire to continue playing if I can't play in a manner which is comfortable and intuitive to me. Thanks.

The Xbox version of D2:ED had two options to invert the camera (both needed to be checked to invert the camera for dragon form). The Xbox version of DKS has a single option, which works in human and dragon form. I don't recall anyone reporting this problem with the PC version of DKS.

I tried inverting the Y axis in D2:DC and confirmed it works in human form, but not dragon.



EDIT to copy a post from below, so it is near the top of the topic:

Here is a download link for replacement D2:DC executable files with a Y-axis 'hotfix'.
This is an unofficial update (no formal QA procedure, etc), specifically to fix the Y-axis invert problem in dragon form; if you don't want to invert the camera controls during flight, then you don't need this hotfix.

Rename the Divinity2.exe and Divinity2-debug.exe files in the install folder (add a .bak extension, or something) and copy the updated versions extracted from the hotfix zip file. I don't know if Steam will have a problem with the changed executables (it likely will if the cache is verified for the game), but the game can be started directly, rather than through the Steam client.

If there is a patch released for D2:DC at some point, then this fix will be officially included.

Confirmed. This is a game-ruining bug, and will affect anyone who plays on PC (considering the recent Steam release, this is a large number of people). I have seen several people, like the OP, who have stated they cannot or will not continue playing until this issue is resolved. I have to include myself in this list; I cannot effectively control my Dragon Form without an inverted Y-axis.

Very unfortunate - I was having a lot of fun playing this game. No longer.

There is an option in the game to invert the Y axis in dragon form, but unfortunately not exposed in the options, and not in a configuration file that could be manually edited. There would need to be a patch to fix this.

As a workaround [EDIT: doesn't work ], you could switch the game back to an un-inverted camera, and use something like Polynomial's Mouse Inverter to give you the desired controls in dragon form [EDIT: except it doesn't effect camera controls]. That would make control awkward in the menu and inventory, but at least there slow response time wouldn't be a critical issue. If you have a second USB mouse or are on a laptop you may be able to invert the axis of one mouse to use for combat, and switch to another mouse or trackpad for the game menu and inventory management, etc.

Ok, I'll copy my post from GoG, too:

Firstly, this is an excellent game, and I have very much enjoyed it thus far.

Raze_Larian: not a very common problem? Wrong. It will affect EVERY SINGLE PERSON who plays it for PC and uses inverted Y-axis controls for flying/character control - which is most people. Considering its recent Steam release, the number of people affected by this bug relative to the number of people who play it is huge.

Frankly, the fact that this exists is a little ridiculous. They remove the separate settings for Y-axis for On Foot and in Dragon Form, but don't properly test the functionality of the new, combined-effect option before releasing it (i.e. simply using it On Foot and in Dragon Form)? That's called poor programming (as testing is part of that process), and considering how long the base title has been out, it is inexcusable.

This is something which needs to be patched immediately, even if it's the only fix included in the update - this is a game-ruining bug. In my ~hour of searching for a fix, I've seen several people who cannot/refuse to continue playing upon discovering this bug, and frankly, I am... very disappointed. I was SO looking forward to attaining dragon form. I get there and it's basically unplayable for me. Considering the fact that this is an incredibly simple problem, I see no reason Larian can't release a small patch to address it.

Also, the inverter program you mentioned (Polynomial's) doesn't work for this problem. It inverts the cursor in Windows and in-game menus, but character control is unaffected by the third-party program. This needs to be fixed by Larian - a fix SHOULD already be in the works. To say that they're too busy to fix something as simple as this is, honestly, an excuse, and a poor one at that.

EDIT: I've done a lot of searching for another way to invert the mouse y-axis, but in Windows 7 64-bit, one's options are severly limited. Again, this is something which needs to be addressed by the company which created the software in question: Larian.

EDIT 2: I apologize if my tone is a little abrasive... it's just that this situation is incredibly disappointing/frustrating to me, made so by the fact that it's such a [small but] major piece of the game and there's nothing to be done except wait for a patch. And it's not even the kind of bug which is only a possibility and might not happen in certain circumstances (like Derk's Important NPC map marker getting stuck On (if you kill the farmer before delivering the letter, this happens)). It's a failure of our ability to effectively interact with a major part of the game, and it's unavoidable. It wouldn't be such a big deal if the game weren't so good otherwise. I really want to play it, but can't even finish the Battle Tower.

EDIT 3: I shouldn't say "can't", as I'd be lying. I am still trying to play, but flying is not a fun experience. If it is anything, it is frustrating. I've been playing with inverted Y-axis since Half-Life released 14 years ago. Playing with "normal" Y-axis is like playing with my monitor upside-down. "Duh," you might think, but imagine that. Possible, but not fun. On foot, though, things are awesome. I want to say that despite this, I am a fan, and Divine Divinity is one of my favorite games.

It will affect EVERY SINGLE PERSON who plays it for PC and uses inverted Y-axis controls for flying/character control

That is correct. I'm used to a non-inverted camera, and switching it in the Xbox version of DKS made flight very hard to control. While I started getting used to it a bit, I doubt I would be very effective during combat.

- which is most people.

This I have to disagree with. Nobody in the forum reported a problem in the PC version of DKS, and only a few since D2:DC was released.


Considering the fact that this is an incredibly simple problem, I see no reason Larian can't release a small patch to address it.

The patch process is fairly involved, including QA across all the different language versions (and you're right that QA for DKS or D2:DC should have caught this), and then updates for everywhere it was released, etc. I suggested a hotfix for those effected rather than an official patch, but quick fixes are not necessarily quick, and that would cause extra complexity for any future patches.


Also, the inverter program you mentioned (Polynomial's) doesn't work for this problem.

Sorry about that.

Here is a download link for replacement D2:DC executable files with a Y-axis 'hotfix'.
This is an unofficial update (no formal QA procedure, etc), specifically to fix the Y-axis invert problem in dragon form; if you don't want to invert the camera controls during flight, then you don't need this hotfix.

Rename the Divinity2.exe and Divinity2-debug.exe files in the install folder (add a .bak extension, or something) and copy the updated versions extracted from the hotfix zip file. I don't know if Steam will have a problem with the changed executables (it likely will if the cache is verified for the game), but the game can be started directly, rather than through the Steam client.

If there is a patch released for D2:DC at some point, then this fix will be officially included.

Thanks for following through, Raze. The fix seems to work well.

I registered for this forum just to say thanks for this. The control change every time I changed form was driving me nuts! Much appreciated.

Hello, what sprcow said. Long time gamer as original poster, owned the divinity series and just revisiting it again. The lack of inverted y was irritating and taking the fun out of the game for me. Going to give the patch a try...and...Thank you very much! I really enjoy this game and looking forward to their next release

Thanks for the fix. Yesterday, I was playing the Steam version and got the dragon for the first time and it was almost unplayable

Hi, I bought the game yesterday and I loved it. I would pay a fair amount of the price just to hear the soundtrack, and then I found myself loving the gameplay as well. It knocked spots off some much more recent, and bigger games...

...UNTIL I got my first Dragon transformation, and hit the Y-axis not inverting problem. I have learned how to use my mouse left-handed for office work, I could swap between my car and my Dad's which had the indicators on opposite sides (well, mostly....) but it seems I simply cannot adapt between inverted and non-inverted mouse control. It's like trying to sneeze without closing your eyes.

I have tried the Y-axis hotfix, and somehow it is not working. I have copied the new files twice and even flat-out deleted the old ones instead of renaming them, but the problem persists.

I am afraid I will have to refund the game today due to the Steam time limit, but if you release a fix for this problem I will definately re-buy it!

What is the game version shown in the main menu?

Do you have the option checked in the Controls section of the options to invert the Y axis?

There should also be utilities that allow you to invert mouse movement, or you can use something like AntiMicro to map mouse and keyboard finctions to a gamepad. The fix should work, though.

Bad news: there's no game version number that I can find in the main menu

Good news: I had not realised there is now an additional "Invert Y-axis in flight" option that you have to check separately to the other one, and it's now working fine.

Thank you, particularly for quick response! I'd put in a dragon smiley if you had one.

Glad you got it working. The closest 'smiley' would be:

It doesn't matter now, but the version number should be in the bottom right corner of the main menu.

Ah yes... there it is, small and grey but in full view.

Heavens, what you must go through dealing with the public....!