Potato Please gamepad controls: locked bindings, stick speed and Steam Input

The movement rows look locked in Key Bindings

PCGamingWiki’s contributor found that actions in Controls > Key Bindings could be rebound while the movement rows appeared locked. If an ordinary action changes but the movement row will not enter capture, open this game’s Steam controller layout and change the movement output on the stick there. Keep the existing layout name so you can restore it. Test forward, backward and sideways from one fixed point before starting a shift.

A Potato Please player reports that their controller settings do not work ↗

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Valve: game-specific controller configuration and layout selection ↗

Adjust the gamepad without changing the mouse

Open Controls and locate Gamepad Sensitivity. Note the starting value and move it one step. Test the same quarter-turn with the right stick from a stationary spot, then repeat with the mouse. The contributor lists a separate gamepad slider. If the stick acts like a mouse because of a custom Steam layout, first return to the controller’s normal stick output and compare again.

A Potato Please player reports that their controller settings do not work ↗

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Valve: game-specific controller configuration and layout selection ↗

The editor shows Xbox letters on a PlayStation controller

The verified game-settings inspection observed Xbox-style glyphs in the Key Bindings editor. It also found configurations for PlayStation 4 and 5 pads. Identify the action name, press the physical button you mean to use, then test that action in the depot. The on-screen letter alone cannot tell you whether Steam detected the controller. If no button activates the game, test recognition in Steam separately.

A player also reports a controller that does not respond ↗

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Valve: game-specific controller configuration and layout selection ↗

Locate the shipped actions before replacing a layout

Use the game’s Steam Properties > Installed Files > Browse to open the actual install location. From there open PotatoPlease_Data, StreamingAssets, then SteamInput. The app configuration points to game_actions.vdf there. The game-file inspection lists Xbox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Steam Deck configurations. If the manifest is missing, use Steam file verification to restore the installed files. Keep personal layouts separate and leave the shipped file unchanged.

Public Steam application configuration for game 5266240 ↗

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

A Potato Please player reports that their controller settings do not work ↗

Check Steam Input initialization before changing the layout again

Launch the game from the Steam library with the controller connected. After a short test, close it and inspect Player.log under %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\GoldenHorn\PotatoPlease. Search for Steam Input and Steam initialization lines from that session. A contributor observed Steam Input initializing in this log on the retail build. If you find an explicit failure, copy its text and the pad and compatibility tool in use. If initialization succeeded, test the active per-game layout and one action instead of assuming the entire Steam interface failed.

A player also reports a controller that does not respond ↗

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Player posts their Steamworks initialization error and Proton workaround ↗

Moving .sav files alone leaves the keyboard bindings behind

The Windows retail build stores binding overrides and other options in the current user’s registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\GoldenHorn\PotatoPlease. The game’s Steam Auto-Cloud entry matches .sav files in the saves directory. That is why a transferred shift can open with different controls. On the original PC, capture your in-game bindings or export only the selected game registry key as a backup. Re-enter the controls on the other PC and test one action before changing the rest.

Steam user asks how to tell whether the settings were saved ↗

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Public Steam application configuration for game 5266240 ↗

Microsoft: export a selected registry key for backup ↗

Keep progress values when resetting a bad input setting

The Windows settings key inspected by PCGamingWiki also contained Story.Deaths and ending.best_shift_seconds. Reset the affected control from the in-game menus where possible. Before experimenting with local settings, export the selected PotatoPlease registry branch and keep your saves and profile files separately. Clearing the whole branch can affect values outside the control you are troubleshooting.

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Microsoft: export a selected registry key for backup ↗

Steam user asks how to tell whether the settings were saved ↗

Test a Deck button independently of the game

Open Steam > Settings > Controller > Test Controller Inputs on the Deck. Press and release the problem trigger while watching the test display; try a face button as a comparison. Leave the test by holding B. If the trigger appears in the system test, return to the game’s controller layout and verify which action is assigned. A trigger absent from the system test needs attention before changing the depot controls.

A player also reports a controller that does not respond ↗

Valve: Steam Deck input test, shortcuts and game-specific layouts ↗

Stop a mouse-mode trackpad overshooting after you lift your thumb

In the game-specific controller layout, locate the trackpad you use as a mouse. When Trackball Mode is enabled, a swipe can keep sending movement after you lift your thumb. Turn Trackball Mode off and try a short swipe on an unimportant potato. The pointer should stop as your thumb lifts. Use the game layout for that test; changing the Deck desktop layout alone affects a different context. This is a Steam Input adjustment for a mouse-mode pad.

Steam Deck user describes the pointer gliding after a swipe ↗

Valve: Steam Input source modes, trackball and trigger settings ↗

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Make a sustained Space press accessible on a controller

After unlocking Muscle Memory, one player described holding Space through the task. In a personal Steam Input layout, map a reachable unused button to the same digital command. If the selected activator offers Toggle, turn it on so one press holds the command and another releases it. Test the release on a spare potato before using it for a grading attempt. The layout changes how you supply the input; it does not unlock the skill or change the game’s grade calculation.

A player describes having to hold Space throughout Muscle Memory ↗

Valve: regular press, toggle and other Steam Input activators ↗

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Pressing the trigger nudges the cursor away from the intended cut

If your Steam layout drives the pointer through a mouse-like input mode, check whether that mode offers Trigger Press Mouse Dampening. Select the trigger used for the cut and try the same short motion with it released and pulled. Valve’s setting reduces the movement sent during the pull. Leave it off if the trigger itself is meant to move the cursor or if the active mode does not expose the option.

Potato Please player finds precision at the peeling bench difficult ↗

Valve: Steam Input source modes, trackball and trigger settings ↗

Test mouse emulation separately from gamepad input

One player could move a cursor after assigning a trackpad to mouse input while the recommended Steam Controller layout still did nothing. Keep that as a diagnostic result. Test one physical button in the Deck input test, then test that button with the game-specific recommended layout and the on-screen gamepad help open. Report the controller model, layout and both results. Cursor movement alone only demonstrates the mouse path.

Steam player discussion: no controls working ↗

Valve: Steam Deck input test, shortcuts and game-specific layouts ↗

Valve: game-specific controller configuration and layout selection ↗