So we have just had a new firmware release, and in the following video I will show you what features this new firmware is introducing. The main feature of this firmware is the new SAB 2.0 introduction, which is a big improvement over the previous SAB implementation. It offers more customization options and has been reworked from the scratch. Now before we go into the details of the changes, let’s quickly address what SAB stands for. SAB refers to Simulate Analog Behavior, which is an exclusive algorithm for XIM devices that will make your mouse and keyboard inputs appear like those of a controller player. To understand what I mean by that, think about how you can move your character with a keyboard. You can only walk into 8 directions, just like a D-Pad. It is not possible to cover the full range of an analog stick. You can only move forward, backwards, or into any of the other 6 directions. And it will never be possible to achieve a value in-between those. Next to that the signal of a keyboard is also either 0, or 100%. There is no ramp up time, so you either move at full speed into that direction, or you don’t.

Now a controller stick does this quite differently. You can peg the stick into any direction, so you are not limited by the 8 directions of a keyboard. Any direction is possible, which is a major advantage of analog sticks. Also unlike with a keyboard it takes time to move the stick from the center to the side. So the walking speed has a ramp up duration, in which it goes from 0 to 100%. And that is of course another major difference to keyboards.

Now the idea of SAB is to remove these limitations from your keyboard. So, not only will your keyboard signals start to have a ramp up time, but you will also no longer be restricted to the previous 8 directions anymore. So your keyboard inputs will become identical to those of a controller player.

But that is of course not everything. SAB also applies to your mouse movements. So for the first time ever it will be possible to have your mouse movements be identical to a controller stick. I will not go into any details here because this is quite ground breaking, and any detail could be used by competitor to copy it. But the bottom line is that you will now be able to achieve the same aim assist as a controller player. If you are veteran XIM user, then you will know that mouse and keyboard do not get the same amount of aim assist as a controller stick. This is because the aim assist has been programmed for analog sticks. But thanks to SAB 2.0 your mouse and keyboard inputs will now be identical to a controller stick.

But SAB is also a balancing feature. Without SAB it is technically possible to move the mouse at a speed that is above the achievable peg velocity of an analog stick. By that I mean that a stick cannot be pegged as fast as you can move the mouse to the side. So the SAB 2.0 feature is also a step into a more balanced playing field.

But that is of course not everything yet. SAB also apply to your trigger inputs, which normally are bound to your mouse buttons. So you get the same ramp up time as analog sticks. Now the new SAB feature is available to all new XIM devices, and here you can see where to find it.
As you can see you can individually adjust the three major SAB areas which are stick, movement and triggers. So it is possible to only use SAB for your character movement, your aiming, or your triggers. And you can raise or lower the effect by changing the value of your desired SAB option.

Overall this might be one of the biggest firmware drops in the recent years, and basically any game can benefit from using it. Now in the video description you can find the download links for this firmware drop. And if you like this feature, then please share your feedback in the XIM Forum. Since this is a work in progress the dev team would really like to know what you think about it.