EXO Script Timing

This page explains exactly when a script or Smart Action presses something, and how hard it pushes a stick. It also covers the five timing and magnitude randomness controls, with each one's range, default and the exact change it makes to the output.

The engine clock

The EXO's engine works in ticks of 1 ms. When a config carries any script, the engine runs at 1000 Hz, whatever output rate the config is set to. A script never changes the engine rate.

How often a script's main runs

A GPC script does not run every engine tick. It runs once per iteration, and the gap between iterations depends on the kind of script:

What happens in one iteration

1. Read your controller.
2. Run init (first iteration only).
3. Run main.
4. Run each running combo, in the order they are declared.
5. Apply remaps.
6. Build the output.

The output is held between iterations. On a 10 ms Zen script, a button you press at 103 ms reaches the console at 110 ms.

Waits and combos

A combo's wait() moves on once per iteration, so on a 10 ms script every wait rounds up to the next 10 ms:

A combo that main restarts loses one period before it starts again.

Worked example: rapid fire

A rapid fire written as 40 ms on and 40 ms off, restarted from main, runs on a Zen-timed script as 40 ms on and 50 ms off: the extra 10 ms is the restart gap. That is 90 ms per shot, or 11.1 presses per second.

combo Rapid {
    set_val(PS4_R2, 100);
    wait(40);          // 40 ms pressed
    set_val(PS4_R2, 0);
    wait(40);          // 40 ms released, plus one 10 ms period on restart
}

Timing models

• Zen timing (default): combos step once per iteration, as above.
• Live timing: combos step every 1 ms, which lowers latency.

Smart Actions always play on the 1 ms engine clock.

Magnitude: how hard a stick or trigger is pushed

In GPC scripts

In Smart Actions

A stick (aim) step uses a magnitude and an angle instead of X and Y:

• How far: 0 to 1 of full deflection, shown in the app as 1–100%.
• Direction: degrees, where 0 = right, 90 = up and 270 = down.
• Which stick: Aim (right) by default, or Move (left).

So "How far 20%, Direction 270" is a 20% pull straight down. You can also measure a stick step in Turn speed (1–4000 deg/s) instead of stick %.

Sensitivity scale

A Speed step scales a stick for a set time instead of pushing it. It multiplies what you do with that stick.

Smart Action timing fields

Timing and magnitude randomness

Smart Actions have five controls that vary their output from run to run. Each one changes a specific number in a specific way. Every control set to 0 draws nothing, so a Smart Action with all five at 0 plays exactly the same every time.

Worked examples

• Natural timing at full (15 ms): a 40 ms tap becomes 40–50 ms (the extra is capped at a quarter of 40, which is 10). A 3 ms step stays exactly 3 ms.
• Wait variation 15%: a 40 ms tap becomes 40–46 ms. A 1 s wait becomes 1000–1150 ms.
• Per-action variance 15 ms: an 80 ms press lasts anywhere from 65 to 95 ms.
• Stick variance 2: a 20% pull down lasts its step at somewhere between 18% and 22%.
• Aim angle variation 5°: a pull at 270° points somewhere between 265° and 275° for that step.

Randomness in GPC scripts

The script engine adds no timing randomness of its own: a script runs exactly as written. A script that wants variation uses rand() itself, for example:

int hold;
combo Tap {
    hold = 40 + (rand() % 10);   // 40 to 49 ms
    set_val(PS4_R2, 100);
    wait(hold);
    set_val(PS4_R2, 0);
    wait(40);
}

Related: GPC scripts · Smart Actions · Settings reference