Input Softlock Fix

Fixes the input softlock: WASD, ESC and other keys suddenly stop working, the mouse still works, the game keeps running, and you can't even open the menu to rebind anything because ESC is gone too.

What causes it

The game ships with a Steam Deck flag (VirtualKeyboardController.forceSteamInput) turned on. Because of it, on PC, activating a text field (case board notes, evidence windows, search, popups...) asks Steam to open its floating keyboard (a Steam Deck feature). The game then turns off all keyboard input and waits for Steam to report that the floating keyboard was closed. When that report never arrives, the keyboard stays dead until you restart.

This mod turns that flag off. A real Steam Deck still gets Steam's keyboard, because the game checks for a Steam Deck separately.

What it does

All of this is automatic:

• Prevents the Steam keyboard lock described above, with a safety net that re-enables input within 0.25s if the game ever gets into that state anyway.
• Releases stuck text fields. In keyboard/mouse mode the game drops every key while the selected UI element has a text field, without checking whether you are still typing. If a text field stays selected after its window closes, the mod clears it.
• Clears a stuck "typing" flag that blocks every interaction with objects.
• Repairs other stuck states: frozen popup animations, a stuck interaction cooldown, the key remapper still listening after the controls screen closed, and the keyboard or keyboard maps getting unassigned in Rewired.
• Watches the keyboard: if Windows sees your keys but the game's input system (Rewired) doesn't, you get an on-screen hint and a log entry.

It uses no Harmony patches. It only checks the game's state every frame, so it should not conflict with other mods.

Failsafe

Both of these are read directly from Windows, so they work even while the game is ignoring your keyboard:

• Hold ESC for 2 seconds to force every repair.
• Ctrl+Shift+K does the same. Press it twice within 4 seconds to also reinitialize Rewired's keyboard (your saved controls are reloaded).

Configuration

BepInEx/config/sod.inputsoftlockfix.cfg is created on first launch. You can change the hotkey and the ESC hold time, and turn each repair on or off.

Reporting a problem

If you still get stuck, hold ESC, then open BepInEx/LogOutput.log and look for lines tagged [Fix], [Watchdog], [Diagnostics] or [Emergency]. When ESC is pressed but the game is about to drop it, the mod writes a full snapshot of the input state, which shows exactly what was blocking input. Include that part of the log in your report.

Notes

• Requires BepInExPack IL2CPP (installed automatically by mod managers).
• Tested on the September 2024 build of the game.
• On-screen messages appear in Portuguese if Windows is set to Portuguese, otherwise in English.

Português

Corrige o softlock em que WASD, ESC e outras teclas param de funcionar enquanto o mouse continua funcionando. O jogo vem com uma flag de Steam Deck ligada que, no PC, faz os campos de texto chamarem o teclado flutuante da Steam e desligarem o teclado até a Steam avisar que ele fechou, o que pode nunca acontecer. O mod desliga essa flag e destrava automaticamente outros estados presos. Em emergência, segure ESC por 2 segundos ou aperte Ctrl+Shift+K.