inpLeftStickHitX

Returns left analog stick horizontal axis value with direction parameter. Takes controller (controller handle from inpCreateController, positive integer), direction (0=left, 1=right, controls return value sign/interpretation). Returns integer axis value (-32768 to +32767 range, sign depends on direction parameter). Queries left stick X-axis for analog movement input.

Axis value: returns analog stick position on X-axis, -32768=full left, 0=centered/neutral, +32767=full right, magnitude indicates how far stick pushed (32767=maximum displacement, 16384=half displacement), includes deadzone filtering (small movements near center ignored to prevent drift).

Direction parameter: 0=left (returns positive value when stick pushed left, negative when right), 1=right (returns positive value when stick pushed right, negative when left), allows checking specific direction (If inpLeftStickHitX(ctrl%, 0)>threshold Then moving left), different from reading raw axis (raw would require sign checking).

Use cases: (1) Character movement (analog walking/running speed based on stick displacement), (2) Camera control (smooth camera rotation proportional to stick position), (3) Vehicle steering (analog steering angle based on stick), (4) Menu navigation (analog stick for cursor movement or selection), (5) Aiming (fine-tuned aiming with analog precision).

Common patterns: movement = xSpeed#=inpLeftStickHitX(controller%, 1)/32767.0*maxSpeed# (normalize to 0.0-1.0 range); direction check = If inpLeftStickHitX(controller%, 0)>8000 Then moving left; dead zone = stickX%=inpLeftStickHitX(controller%, 1): If mathAbs(stickX%)<4000 Then stickX%=0 (custom deadzone); camera = cameraYaw#=cameraYaw#+inpLeftStickHitX(controller%, 1)/32767.0*rotSpeed#.

Normalization: convert to -1.0 to +1.0 float range (value# = axis% / 32767.0), useful for speed/rotation calculations (speed# = normalizedAxis# * maxSpeed#), preserves analog precision (full range of stick movement).

Deadzone: built-in deadzone filtering applied (small values near center returned as 0), prevents stick drift (worn controllers report non-zero when centered), typical deadzone ~8000-10000 (about 25% of full range), apply additional deadzone if needed (If mathAbs(value%)<threshold% Then value%=0).

Controller requirements: requires inpUpdateController called each frame (updates stick state from hardware), returns 0 if controller disconnected (check inpIsControllerConnected first), left stick typically used for movement (right stick for camera in FPS games).

Performance: fast query (~0.001ms, simple state lookup), safe for per-frame calls (intended usage pattern), no controller update required (reads cached state from last inpUpdateController).

Axis range: -32768 to +32767 (16-bit signed integer, standard XInput range), 0=neutral/centered (stick not pushed), positive/negative depends on direction parameter (0=left positive, 1=right positive), magnitude indicates displacement (larger absolute value=farther from center).

Return values: -32768 to +32767 analog axis value (sign depends on direction), 0 if stick centered or disconnected, 0 on error (invalid controller handle).

Related: inpLeftStickHitY reads vertical axis (up/down movement), inpRightStickHitX/Y read right stick (camera control), inpUpdateController updates controller state, inpIsControllerConnected checks connection.