Google Stadia controller does not work

[Mr White]

Hey boys and girlzz, I am trying to use my Stadia controller with No Man's Sky on my Macbook Pro M2 but it doesn't work. I have used this controller in plenty other (non-steam) games and it works within Steam Big Picture as well. I can launch No Man's sky with my controller from Big Picture but it never works in game. Does anybody know why? Thanks x

[wkitty42]

perhaps this procedure will help? the X, A, and B buttons in steps 9-11 are the face buttons on xbox controller... if they are not the same on your controller, look to the UI on-screen and it should tell you which buttons to use...

Originally posted by wkitty42:

1. load into the game
   
2. open Options on the first screen OR go to the Options tab in-game
   
3. select Controls
   
4. at the top select Remap Controls
   
5. bottom left Configure Gamepad via Steam - this loads the steam controller tool.
   if you get a black box here, click the Maximize button and then you can hit the Restore button to return to a window.
   
6. at the top, where it says Current Layout, click the selector below (just above the View Layout and Edit Layout options)
   
7. select the Recommended tab at the top
   
8. select the proper Official Configuration for No Man's Sky that matches your controller
   
9. hit the A button to select that config
   
10. hit the X button to apply that config
    
11. hit B for done and to back out - this returns you to the game
    
12. now your controller should be using the latest layout template and everything should be operational again.

[FURUIT]

Did you figure this out? Having the same issue.

[Johnny in the Clouds]

A similar thread may help:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/275850/discussions/0/6516193260168028342/

Controllers are best set up through Steam Big Picture Mode which seems more stable. There you can set up the General settings to globally manage a controller, even calibrating them. On a per game basis you can then manage your game's official download and customise them. If configuration has been updated following a major game update then download the Ofiicial Setup again from Hello Games for your favoured controller (generic or proprietory). That will replace any older setup that may have broken because of changes. Use the new official setups to start a new custom setup for your style of play if preferred. Save your setup or share it for others.

[FURUIT]

Hey man i've tried all the things you mentioned I have set the stadia controller, downloaded the config used big picture mode but when I boot the game it doesn't recognize there's a controller. I can't even move anything. I can only use my mouse and keyboard. There's not even an option to switch input like many other games. I even get the steam overlay when booting that steam detects my controller but there's no input from NMS.

I'm using an m1 MacBook with a stadia Bluetooth unlocked controller.

[wkitty42]

Originally posted by FURUIT:

I'm using an m1 MacBook with a stadia Bluetooth unlocked controller.

another mac having problems with different controllers... i don't know what HG tested with but you should report this issue on the HG zendesk if you haven't already...
https://hellogames.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013870118-I-have-an-issue-to-report-in-NMS

[Johnny in the Clouds]

Originally posted by FURUIT:

Hey man i've tried all the things you mentioned I have set the stadia controller, downloaded the config used big picture mode but when I boot the game it doesn't recognize there's a controller. I can't even move anything. I can only use my mouse and keyboard. There's not even an option to switch input like many other games. I even get the steam overlay when booting that steam detects my controller but there's no input from NMS.

I'm using an m1 MacBook with a stadia Bluetooth unlocked controller.

Sorry to hear you still can't get your controller to work with the game. I'm not familiar with the Stadia controller but use a third party Logitech controller. Mine works with the Steam Generic controller option enabled. The controller is based on an old PS2 design so I have the PS input also enabled. In fact I leave Steam General configuration inputs at default and so all controller inputs are available. The Logitech controller is wireless and has a dongle receiver connected to the PC by USB.

I wonder if bluetooth is an issue? Or would it be the stadia controller software interfering and causing conflicts? I have removed Logitech's third party controller software as I did discover it would cause conflicts with the steam configuration, both trying to drive the controller. Since removing the Logitech driver software, the Steam configuration software recognises it correctly. Also I have far more superior config options today using steam configuration than I would with the original driver. Definitely check no other controller driver software is in use except maybe the very basic OS software that may recognise plugged in devices to your Mac. Any underlying OS device software is best rest to defaults while troubleshooting conflicts.

On Windows 11 the operating system by default recognises any controller connected as a device and provides a pop up UI to calibrate a controller connected to PC. If ever there is a conflict, make sure Steam is not in use and make sure third party software is disabled or removed. Then first test and make sure the controller OS device defaults are reset and buttons and joysticks are calibrated correctly using the OS driver UI. Then set up the controller with Steam knowing the underlying OS is at default and calibrated. Steam calibration is then rarely needed. Without the third party drivers potentially causing conflict Steam config should function as expected. If Valves Steam configuration software does not recognise the Stadia controller Valve needs to be notified. Possibly Hello Games might be notified too on their website help line. In game Hello Game have an option to set up controllers using Steam so they rely on Valve to provide software for various controller types.

[Trepolus]

Hey folks, I also ran into the same issue. I can navigate in Steam Big Picture, but my Stadia controller does not get recognised in game.
I run it on my MacBook M1 Pro, macOS Ventura 13.5.2

I tried multiple things:
- using the controller in wired mode
- using community layouts from steam
- enable steam input

also I could not find the official recommended controller layout that is recommended here:
https://hellogames.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003976558-Controller-input-not-working-correctly-Steam-

I opened up a ticket with them, hope they come back to me or include a fix in future patches.
Did anyone figure out a solution yet? 😊

[Trepolus]

Originally posted by FURUIT:

Hey man i've tried all the things you mentioned I have set the stadia controller, downloaded the config used big picture mode but when I boot the game it doesn't recognize there's a controller. I can't even move anything. I can only use my mouse and keyboard. There's not even an option to switch input like many other games. I even get the steam overlay when booting that steam detects my controller but there's no input from NMS.

I'm using an m1 MacBook with a stadia Bluetooth unlocked controller.

did you have any success?

[Lord Nelson]

Has anyone managed getting it to work?

[Retrolicious]

Google deleted the stadia project.

Why not simply get a proper gamepad like the PS5 dualsense?
Or literally any other gamepad i'm sure is better. On used market u get them already for like 20 bucks anyway....

[Trepolus]

I agree with you of course, but it just would be nice if we'd be able to use stadia controllers which are already collecting dust in our homes.
They are great controllers, but obiously NMS will not prioritise the integration of stadia controllers since it is very much an edge case..

[SirProsik]

Netflix seems to think they can do better than google. Best to not buy their crap either :p

[Bitwize]

Just jumping on this thread to +1 that this is still a problem (Stadia + mac user).

Also it is ridiculous to try to call this an "edge case" for why it's not supported, or to suggest that getting a different controller should be the solution. The communication protocol is effectively standardized, for one -- so it shouldn't matter whether the "controller" is a PS5 controller, a Stadia Controller, or hell, the Donkey Kong Bongos -- it all appears as a generic input device for developers. But it's even easier than that here -- the "Steam Input" API already does all this for the developer, and negotiates the controller mapping *for them*.

If they were using the API correctly, it would 'just work' -- which is how other indy developer game companies are handling this perfectly fine. Games developed by smaller teams already get this right, which allows Stadia controllers to work -- it just seems that Hello Games isn't one of them -- which is a shame. Hopefully they figure it out correctly for their _next_ announced game.

[Mandrake]

Originally posted by Bitwize:

Just jumping on this thread to +1 that this is still a problem (Stadia + mac user).

Also it is ridiculous to try to call this an "edge case" for why it's not supported, or to suggest that getting a different controller should be the solution. The communication protocol is effectively standardized, for one -- so it shouldn't matter whether the "controller" is a PS5 controller, a Stadia Controller, or hell, the Donkey Kong Bongos -- it all appears as a generic input device for developers. But it's even easier than that here -- the "Steam Input" API already does all this for the developer, and negotiates the controller mapping *for them*.

If they were using the API correctly, it would 'just work' -- which is how other indy developer game companies are handling this perfectly fine. Games developed by smaller teams already get this right, which allows Stadia controllers to work -- it just seems that Hello Games isn't one of them -- which is a shame. Hopefully they figure it out correctly for their _next_ announced game.

Not all controllers utilize the Steam API the same, and that is why some controllers work better than others in a LOT of games, not just NMS. I'm sure there are plenty of people in here that play other games besides NMS that can attest to this.
HG and plenty of other people do indeed simply utilize the Steam API services (on steam versions anyway) to negotiate commands. Therefore, your argument belies itself on why there is a problem.
All you have to do is google 'stadia controller sont work on mac with steam', and watch the pages upon pages of problems go by.
Also, if it were a NMS problem with the Steam API, then why would other controllers work flawlessly? Exactly, the stadia has it's own wonky comms that isn't designed to work out of the box with Steam. That's not HG's fault. Steam has been fighting with controller support forever. That's why there are so many options of different kinds to force different modes, etc.