Taipei GTA With a Controller: Setup and Button Checks

There is no download and no driver ritual to expect here. A modern browser talks to standard gamepads directly, and the game asks the browser for that input. Most controller problems are therefore one of two things: the browser never saw the device, or the mapping is different from the one you assumed.

First, check that the browser recognises the pad

Before judging the game, prove the browser can see the controller at all. Plug the pad in, or pair it over Bluetooth, then press a button and check that the system and the browser respond somewhere outside the game. If a system panel or a browser test page shows the device and its buttons, the browser is receiving input. If nothing anywhere reacts, the problem is below the game, and no in-game setting will fix it.

Connect the pad and press a button
Plug it in with a cable, or pair it over Bluetooth, and press a face button. Wired connections remove one variable; if wireless fails, try a cable before anything else.
Check the browser, not just the game
Open a page that displays connected controllers, or check that the browser's own settings recognise the device. What matters is that some part of the browser sees the buttons, not that the game does.
Click inside the page once
Input only reaches the page you last clicked, the same as with the keyboard. Click the game area so it has focus before you test a single button.
If the browser sees it but the game does not
Reload the page with the pad already connected. Some browsers only hand a newly connected device to the page on load, so connecting before the refresh often settles it.

The main menu's controller tab is the authority

The game's main menu carries its own controller tab, and that page is the authoritative description of how this build treats a pad. Read it inside the game you are actually playing rather than trusting a table written for a different version or a different device. Builds change; bindings can change with them; the game's own menu is the version that matters for your session.

Treat that tab as the source of truth and everything else as a starting point. If a written reference and the in-game menu disagree, the menu wins for your build, full stop. Where the game decides which buttons do what, saying so is more honest than inventing a fixed list that may not match what you see.

Keyboard shortcuts are not button mappings

A written control table for the keyboard tells you what an action is called and which key triggers it on a keyboard. It does not tell you which controller button carries the same action, because the controller is a different input path with its own layout. Reading 'F enters a vehicle' and then pressing a random face button is guesswork, not configuration.

Use the keyboard reference for the meaning of the action — enter vehicle, open map, open phone — and use the in-game controller tab for the physical button. Keeping those two roles separate removes most of the confusion. The controls page documents the keyboard and touch sets in full, and the game's own menu handles the pad.

Sticks versus keyboard while driving

The biggest difference a pad makes is not extra buttons; it is the left stick. A keyboard steers by holding or releasing digital keys, so a turn is closer to on or off. A stick gives you a range, which changes how a scooter or car behaves in traffic and how much correction you need mid-corner.

Small, early stick inputs beat large late ones; the vehicle starts turning before you feel it.
The triggers or shoulder buttons, where the build maps them, suit acceleration and braking better than clicking keys.
Keep the right stick for the camera and let it settle rather than fighting it while the vehicle is moving.
If the car feels twitchy, ease the stick instead of tapping it; the input range is the reason the pad feels different, not a fault.

On foot, the difference is smaller, and many players keep the keyboard for menus and the pad for driving. Mixing is fine as long as you know which device currently has focus.

Verify the mapping one action at a time

Do not try to learn every button in traffic. Test in a quiet spot, one action at a time, and note what actually happens instead of what a table promised. A short, boring test at the start saves a session of pressing the wrong thing.

Start stationary on foot
With the character standing still and the game focused, press one button and watch what changes. Move, look, jump: one button each, one at a time.
Then test the interaction button
Walk next to a vehicle and find which button enters it. This is the action most worth confirming early, because it gates the rest of the session.
Test the menu and map buttons
Open and close the map and the in-game phone with the pad. If a menu does not open, note whether the keyboard does instead, which tells you the pad path is incomplete for that action.
Write down only what you confirmed
Keep a short list of the buttons you actually verified this build. Anything you did not test is a guess, and the in-game controller tab is still the authority.

When to fall back to keyboard and mouse

A pad is optional. If the browser never recognises the device, if the build maps an essential action awkwardly, or if aiming and looking around simply feel better on a mouse, switch and keep playing. There is no penalty for mixing a controller for driving with a keyboard for menus, and there is nothing to prove by forcing a device that is fighting you.

The keyboard set is fully documented on the controls page, and the devices guide covers how input differs across desktop, laptop and mobile, including the touch layout on phones. If a pad is not cooperating, those two pages are enough to get a full session out of the game.

Key reference

Type an action or a key to filter. This table is the same data the game guide pages use.

Filter controls

Key reference
Action	Key	When to use it	Context
Move the character	`WASD`	Explore on foot and line up with anything you want to touch.	On foot
Look around	`Mouse`	Swing the camera and set the direction you are facing.	On foot
Sprint	`Shift`	Cross an open stretch faster — it does nothing while driving.	On foot
Jump	`Space`	On foot this jumps. The same key is the handbrake once you are in a vehicle.	On foot
Interact	`E`	Follow the prompt that appears when you face something usable.	On foot
Switch weapon / Reload	`TabR`	Read the in-game prompt the first time; bindings can differ by build.	On foot
Enter / Exit a vehicle	`F`	Stand close to the scooter or car and wait for the prompt before pressing.	Driving
Accelerate	`W`	Tap it in short bursts until you can feel how fast the vehicle picks up.	Driving
Brake / Reverse	`S`	Brake before the corner. Keep holding it at a stop and you will back up.	Driving
Steer left / right	`AD`	Look at the junction, not at the vehicle, and steer early.	Driving
Handbrake / Drift	`Space`	Driving only. On foot the same key jumps, so practise it on an empty road first.	Driving
Horn / Radio	`HQ`	Sound controls that only exist while you are in a vehicle.	Driving
Change camera / Look behind	`VC`	Use it when the vehicle hides the road ahead — the fix is usually the camera, not the steering.	Driving
Open the map and set a destination	`M`	Pick a nearby destination the first time and get used to reading the map against the street.	Menus
Open the in-game phone	`T`	Missions, the metro and the other in-game apps live here.	Menus
Pause menu	`Esc`	Some browsers take the first Esc to leave fullscreen or release the mouse. Press it again.	Menus
Move	`Left stick`	A virtual stick on the left side of the screen.	On foot
Look around	`Right swipe`	Swipe on the right side of the screen while on foot.	On foot
Accelerate / Brake	`On-screen buttons`	Shown while driving. Landscape orientation leaves room for both thumbs.	On foot

Frequently asked questions

Does Taipei GTA support controllers?

Yes, through the browser's standard gamepad support, and the game's main menu has a controller tab that describes the mapping for the build you are playing. That tab is the authoritative reference.

My controller does nothing in the game. What first?

Check that the browser itself recognises the pad before blaming the game. If the browser never sees the device, no in-game setting will help. Connect the pad, then reload the page with it already connected.

Can I use keyboard shortcuts as button mappings?

No. Keyboard shortcuts describe actions, not controller buttons. Use the keyboard reference to understand what an action does, then check the in-game controller tab for the physical button on your build.

Is a controller better than the keyboard for driving?

The left stick gives a range of steering rather than on-or-off keys, which many players find smoother in traffic. It is a preference, not a requirement, and mixing a pad for driving with a keyboard for menus works fine.

When should I just use keyboard and mouse?

When the browser does not recognise the pad, when a needed action is mapped awkwardly, or when looking around feels better on a mouse. Switching costs nothing and keeps the session going.