Game

Avowed on a Mac with a controller

Download on the Mac App StoreThe Avowed 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. Xbox Cloud Gaming streams it to a Mac browser, and a Windows PC you own can stream it too. Both normally pass a controller to the game's own scheme.

Yes, Avowed plays on a Mac with a controller, through Xbox Cloud Gaming in a browser or a stream from a Windows PC. Both normally pass your pad to the game. This layout is for a stream that does not, and the triggers are your two hands: wand or sword on the right, spell or shield on the left.

The layout, control by control

Click a control. Labels:

How the layout thinks

  • Move and look. The left stick walks on W, A, S and D. The right stick moves the mouse at speed 18 across and 12 up and down.
  • Two hands. The right trigger is the right hand (left click), the left trigger the left hand (right click).
  • Face buttons. Jump on the bottom (Space), sneak on the right (Ctrl), the left button sends R, activate on the top (E).
  • Shoulders and sprint. The left bumper sends Q and the right T. Sprint on the left stick click (Shift).
  • D-pad and menus. M, J, I and P on D-pad up, down, left and right. Tab on Back, Escape on Start.

It is the Skyrim layout, the closest thing to Avowed, and the row notes keep Skyrim's names: sheathe, Favorites, Wait, Magic. Check R, Q, T and P against Avowed's controls menu and change any that differ. The triggers are your two hands, so the fight itself works from the first minute.

Tune it

  • Abilities. Put the ability keys on chord rows on the face buttons, held with a spare button.
  • Dodge. The right stick click is empty. Put Avowed's dodge key there.

Abilities are the one thing to add, and a chord gives them room.

If the game sees the pad

Steam lists full controller support for Avowed, so in the cloud the controller passed through comes first, and this preset stays off.

If your controller is not working in Avowed

When Avowed does not react to your controller on a Mac, check these in order:

  1. 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.
  2. Press a button after the stream has started. A stream only picks up a controller that is paired with the Mac, and a browser shows a controller to a page only after a button press. Start Avowed, then press any button. Streaming from your own PC has its own checks, in how to stream PC games to a Mac with a controller.
  3. Play it from keys. If Avowed still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Avowed 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 Avowed ever sees the controller.

Get it in two clicks

  1. Open InputConfig and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
  2. Search for Avowed and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
  3. Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.

Avowed controls: every button and the key it sends

The Sends column is Avowed'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.

The Avowed preset in InputConfig, drawn on a DualSense Edge with each control labeled with the key or action it sends.
Figure 1. The Avowed preset drawn on a DualSense Edge in InputConfig's Live Visualizer. For example, Right trigger is labeled Right hand / attack, and Left trigger is labeled Left hand / block.
ControllerSendsWhat it does
Left stick leftAStrafe left (A)
Left stick rightDStrafe right (D)
Left stick upWMove forward (W)
Left stick downSMove back (S)
Right stick rightMouse motion right (speed 18)Look right
Right stick leftMouse motion left (speed 18)Look left
Right stick downMouse motion down (speed 12)Look down
Right stick upMouse motion up (speed 12)Look up
Right triggerLeft clickRight hand / attack
Left triggerRight clickLeft hand / block
A / CrossSpaceJump
B / CircleCtrl (Left)Sneak (Ctrl)
X / SquareRReady / sheathe (R)
Y / TriangleEActivate (E)
LB / L1QFavorites (Q)
RB / R1TWait (T)
L3 (left stick click)Shift (Left)Sprint (Shift)
D-pad upMMap (M)
D-pad downJJournal (J)
D-pad leftIInventory (I)
D-pad rightPMagic (P)
Back / Share / SelectTabMenu (Tab)
Start / OptionsEscapeSystem (Esc)

Names follow the editor's Xbox / PlayStation pair, and a Switch pad fires by position.

Questions

Does Avowed run on a Mac?

Avowed does not run natively on a Mac. Xbox Cloud Gaming streams it to a Mac browser, and a Windows PC you own can stream it too.

Is Avowed better on controller or keyboard?

Both work. Steam lists full controller support, and on a Mac, where Avowed is a stream, a controller is the simplest way to play it. This layout is for a pad the stream does not see.

Can I play Avowed on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?

Yes, through a stream. Avowed runs on the other end, on a cloud service or your own PC, so the Mac only plays the video and sends your input. An M1 MacBook Air streams it like any other Mac.

Does Avowed run in CrossOver on a Mac?

I have not tested Avowed in CrossOver. CodeWeavers keeps a compatibility list where players report how each Windows game runs. If it runs and the controller is not seen, this layout plays it from the keys and mouse.

Download on the Mac App StoreOpen source on GitHub.

Updated