Looking for new PC gamepad

[BONKERS]

360/XBO
DS3 via Better DS3 or Mayflash wireless adapter
DS4 - some games support it directly. DS4 windows isn't bad. Input Mapper apparently adds lag though.
Buffalo SNES style controller
Wii U Pro through mayflash adapter.

Retro controllers through Raphnet/generic USB adapters

[Ed Oscuro]

I was looking at PCSX2 controller support recently and discovered the wacky world of pressure-sensitive buttons - I've thankfully delayed trying to play The Bouncer so far. For games like that (and MGS2/3, the Xbox One controller and the PlayStation DS3/DS4 are recommended.

[BuckoA51]

Seems Microsoft pushed another update for the Xbox One pad (they seem to be breaking and fixing and breaking a lot recently in the anniversary update).

Xbox one controller (wired) now works with Sonic Racing and Mini Moto Racing EVO. However, bindings are still all messed up in Binary Domain. I've not tested a lot of other games yet but it's better than it was, though still bizarrely broken in at least one title.

Really seems bizarre they can't get it right, it's just basically the same controller with a few refinements after all.

Also in the anniversary update Microsoft have broken "exclusive mode" which the DS4Windows program needs. You can still use your Dualshock 4 of course, but now it shows up as two controllers and this confuses some games.

I love PC gaming

[BazookaBen]

I think Sony will be making official drivers for Dualshock 4 now that PS Now will be available on PC.

[BuckoA51]

Yeah it will be interesting to see how they implement that. Hopefully it will have Xinput and DirectInput support and let you use the touchpad as a mouse.

[Kyle]

+1 for Wii U Pro Controller with Mayflash USB dongle

You'll never go back to an Xbox controller once you've experience the Wii U dpad. Not the cheapest solution, and not the one people probably already have on hand. But oh so nice.

The Mayflash adapter has an Xinput setting that makes it act like a 360 controller. So it works everywhere.

[Blair]

from what I read on the Amazon page for the Mayflash adapter, they released a firmware update allowing you to change the button mappings. I'll have to check it out.

[Einzelherz]

from what I read on the Amazon page for the Mayflash adapter, they released a firmware update allowing you to change the button mappings. I'll have to check it out.

I actually have come to like the mappings "reversed". If you play a game that uses the right stick ever it places the buttons correctly right next to the stick.

Probably sucks for fighters though.

[Ed Oscuro]

For what it's worth, the PDP Afterglow 360 controller seems pretty solid so far. The D-pad "clicks" into directions, I think using a buckling spring over rubber membrane. It doesn't seem to have microswitches inside, and it takes a bit of force to activate, but feels pretty decent.

The "afterglow" switch on the back shell is a bit annoying though. Make sure to press it once to turn the lights off, as somebody reported that they had heat problems in an Afterglow Xbox One controller. Happily it seems to save the setting to NVRAM or similar as it will turn back off when plugged back in again, so you could probably press the button once, disassemble the shell, and pull the button out.

It's cheap as well - $28 or so at a Best Buy, though they tried to sell me on a $8 protection plan anyway.

[Blair]

that reminds me, never used one but I've actually heard pretty good things about the D-pads and sticks on the Batman controllers (ps3 and 360) that came out a few years ago. and they also have LED effects you can turn off and on.

sometimes I see them for pretty good prices on eBay or craigslist.

Spoiler

Spoiler

[RuleSpider]

Got a steam controller been usin' it for pretty much every controller based games since I got it.

Unless I want a physical D-pad for whatever reason, it has turned into my go to controller now ...

[atheistgod1999]

Got a steam controller been usin' it for pretty much every controller based games since I got it.

Unless I want a physical D-pad for whatever reason, it has turned into my go to controller now ...

Do you still like it? Is it good for shmups?

[atheistgod1999]

I got a Steam controller in the mail and let me tell you people: it SUCKS. It's too small, the left trackpad doesn't work well as a virtual D-Pad (and even tired out my left thumb, something which has never happened to me on a real D-Pad even after a whole day of nonstop NES Ninja Gaiden), and the face buttons are awkwardly placed and microscopic. My Dualshock 4 with the DS4Windows driver is infinitely better.

[Tatsuya79]

Thanks for confirming exactly what I feared.

[SmokeMonster]

The PDP Versus is my favorite PC/360/PS3 pad. It has a microswitched d-pad and buttons, and feels in the hand like a hybrid of the Saturn and Neo Geo CD controllers. The switches are clicky and tactile, like Cherry MX blues.










They're common ground, which is great for pad-hacking. I did a write-up of one that I converted to simple Neo Geo/Jamma DB15, which gets a lot of use with my HAS supergun for certain arcade shmups.



They normally sell for around $10/shipped on Amazon. I paid $4/shipped for several of them at one point from a marketplace seller. I now own at least 6 of the things, maybe more.

[WelshMegalodon]

While those look tempting, quite a few Amazon reviews suggest that it isn't very durable. I've been using a cheap Logitech F310 myself.

How has everyone fared with increasing the USB polling rate?

[Brad251]

I just want to point out that using a PS3/PS4 controller on Windows 7 is easy. Just use the Scarlet Crush Xinput wrapper. I like it better than DS3 tool because you don't have to run special software every time you use a PS3/PS4 controller. You just install it once and your PS3/4 controller will connect to your bluetooth dongle automatically. You can get it here, http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-XInput-W ... Controller.

You can get it here, http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-XInput-W ... Controller.

[RuleSpider]

I got a Steam controller in the mail and let me tell you people: it SUCKS. It's too small, the left trackpad doesn't work well as a virtual D-Pad (and even tired out my left thumb, something which has never happened to me on a real D-Pad even after a whole day of nonstop NES Ninja Gaiden), and the face buttons are awkwardly placed and microscopic. My Dualshock 4 with the DS4Windows driver is infinitely better.

Heh to each their own personnaly it is still by and large my daily driver.

Especially since the latest updates of the steam input API and therefore the steam controller configurator where I can fine tune the sensitviy of the stick even more finely than previously possible.

[Hoagtech]

I got a Steam controller in the mail and let me tell you people: it SUCKS. It's too small, the left trackpad doesn't work well as a virtual D-Pad (and even tired out my left thumb, something which has never happened to me on a real D-Pad even after a whole day of nonstop NES Ninja Gaiden), and the face buttons are awkwardly placed and microscopic. My Dualshock 4 with the DS4Windows driver is infinitely better.

Heh to each their own personnaly it is still by and large my daily driver.

Especially since the latest updates of the steam input API and therefore the steam controller configurator where I can fine tune the sensitviy of the stick even more finely than previously possible.

It was well named as it a steamy pile of controller.

Unless the game is optimized to use the steam track-pad, It does not do a good job of translating axis motion into touch sliding.

Try playing Far Cry 3 with that thing. Unplayable IMO

Also the games that are optimized use a frustrating touch menu assigned to various sectors of both your left and right track-pads.

An example is Dark souls 3. You will be randomly hitting the 'auto target' When you are trying to run away and run smack dab into another bad guy.

Or worse in the same game you will use a potion when your are trying to rotate your camera.

and with no option to disable I had to assign "lesser used commands" to my keyboard to be able to free up the commands I wanted to move to other buttons.

When they released the controller, they promised a "hybrid" of mouse movement and analog control movement. While the idea is commendable the execution was not delivered.

But Hey.. I kinda liked it for Dark souls when I reassigned a couple buttons. I just prefer the Xbox One Elite Controller for 3D / Modern Games and use a ps1 "bone" with a psx joybox for my d-pad games

[Kez]

I have a Steam controller and I do like it a lot, but I hesitate to recommend it to people. It is really quite a departure from any other controller. Considering that almost every game with controller support was designed to be used by a normal dual-analog controller, it often is not quite the optimum choice for many games. But - surprisingly - it is usually pretty damn close once you get used to it.

The most impressive thing about the Steam controller as far as I'm concerned, and something it doesn't get lauded for enough in my opinion, is that it can be used to play pretty much any game to a reasonable level. There are many games I would never even consider picking up a 360 controller for, but the community has found a way to make it work with the Steam controller. If you do the majority of your PC gaming from a couch then it is really worth looking into.

[nmalinoski]

Quick note on using the DualShock 4 with Windows: You don't need any software to use it as a DInput controller. I have mine connected to my PC via Bluetooth, and the Steam version of The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game sees it as a PlayStation controller and shows me matching DS4 button prompts. Something like DS4 Windows is only needed if you're playing games that only support XInput.

DS3 via Better DS3 or Mayflash wireless adapter

I really liked BetterDS3; it was easier to use than the MotionInJoy program, and didn't have any of the ads and wasn't a horrible HTA program. The downside is that you still need to use the MIJ drivers, which replace your normal Bluetooth stack with theirs, and I had problems pairing my DualShock 4 until I uninstalled the MIJ drivers and reverted to the default Microsoft ones.

[Einzelherz]

I got to feel up the new mario and zelda switch wired controllers and they felt pretty good. IIRC on amazon they're reported to work with PCs. Note that I'm not talking about the one with the removable, 4 button D-pad.

[RuleSpider]

It was well named as it a steamy pile of controller.

Again that's what I thought when I first got it but once I started to acutally LEARN how to use the configurator and actually learn what each option was doing in every mode it turned in the best controller ever except for fighting games

Unless the game is optimized to use the steam track-pad, It does not do a good job of translating axis motion into touch sliding.

This here just proves my point that you didn't really took the time to learn how to use the steam configurator properly

Try playing Far Cry 3 with that thing. Unplayable IMO

I did and appreciated my time miles better than with a mouse and keyboard

Also the games that are optimized use a frustrating touch menu assigned to various sectors of both your left and right track-pads.

Every game can use another set of bindings than the ones recommended by the develloper and the entire steam controller community keeps at facepalming at the examples of bad design of control schemes that use the native mode for how bad everything is setup

An example is Dark souls 3. You will be randomly hitting the 'auto target' When you are trying to run away and run smack dab into another bad guy.

Or worse in the same game you will use a potion when your are trying to rotate your camera.

and with no option to disable I had to assign "lesser used commands" to my keyboard to be able to free up the commands I wanted to move to other buttons.

DS 3 was and still is a prime example of the devs showing a poor understanding of the strengths of the controller and a poor show of its feature set
Yet the community chimed in and speedrunners of the game made a control scheme for it that is faaaar superior and guess what nowadays it is the most used ones by DS3 players just goes to show that you didn't really dived into the configurator and the community

When they released the controller, they promised a "hybrid" of mouse movement and analog control movement. While the idea is commendable the execution was not delivered.

I finished DOOM 2016 in its hardest difficulty mode with the steam controller . Can't say the same with a keyboard and mouse setup despite having a "gaming mouse" with a configurator where I'm supposed to be able to fine tune everything and yet nothing ever feels right with it ...

But Hey.. I kinda liked it for Dark souls when I reassigned a couple buttons.

This here shows than when you take the time to think about your control scheme and spend sometime in the configurator you can end up with good results...

So all in all what I just read with your reply was what would have been my review of the steam controller if I wrote it two weeks after getting it rather than after a year of exclusive use
Just keep pushing and also look at videos made by the community that explains WAY BETTER what each options actually do than their description in the configurator. Which is in this case a legit point against it the configurator descriptions are way too obtuse and should receive far clearer explanations ...

[RuleSpider]

Quick note on using the DualShock 4 with Windows: You don't need any software to use it as a DInput controller. I have mine connected to my PC via Bluetooth, and the Steam version of The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game sees it as a PlayStation controller and shows me matching DS4 button prompts. Something like DS4 Windows is only needed if you're playing games that only support XInput.

Nope even X-input games will work just fine.

Your DS4 in that game was taken care off by the steam input API, and it activated the PS4 controller support in the steam controller configurator
You can now use the steam controller configurator to rebind everything by right clicking on the game and select "Edit the steam controller configuration"
You'll then be prompted to this :


Hell that's even how I play some games that would be great with a controller but have no controller support at all.
Some homebrew shmups that are Keyboard only and i just bind the keys of the keyboard to the controller

[bobrocks95]

Eh, it already takes long enough to set up a PC game, I don't think I'd want to add complex controller configuration onto the list.

[RuleSpider]

Eh, it already takes long enough to set up a PC game, I don't think I'd want to add complex controller configuration onto the list.

Maybe is it me but the "setup of a PC game" nowadays is click install on steam and I'm generaly good to go wether on windows or linux...
So messing around every now and then with controller setup to account for the poor controller support of some of them really is the only setup time I experience...

Plus every now on then the basic binding is just atrocious the placement of buttons makes no bloody sense and bein able to rebind all of it is just great ....