8BitDo SN30 Pro and Pro+ rumble strength in Switch mode

[grimesbot5000]

Hello,

I recently picked up two 8BitDo controllers to use with Steam via Bluetooth, a SN30 Pro (SN) and an SN30 Pro+ (G Classic). I have been messing around with them and they work great, big thanks to everyone for all the awesome effort into controller support! It's been a years since I've done any gaming (thank the pandemic for bringing me back haha) and it's amazing how far things have come since I last used Steam.

I've found these controllers work best in Switch mode, which is the only way I can get gyro support. However, the rumble is incredibly weak. I didn't even feel it at first and worried it wasn't working at all, I had to take a closer look/feel. Rumble seems to work fine when the controller is in xinput mode, it feels full strength, but gyro doesn't work. (I cannot get rumble OR gyro to work in dinput mode)

I made sure the Pro+ was set up for maximum rumble using the 8BitDo Ultimate Software, everything is set to defaults including rumble 5 out of 5 on both motors (the regular Pro doesn't support rumble customization).

Is there a way to customize the default rumble strength in Steam for Switch-style controllers? It clearly isn't using the controller-level setting, since it's set to strength 5 of 5 on the Pro+ in the 8BitDo software, but it feels like 1 of 5 (almost unnoticeable). I'm *guessing* these controllers expose all 5 rumble levels when in Switch mode, which could be really cool for a game that would support granular rumble strength, but I'm guessing most games (and Steam settings) only support digital rumble (just on/off). I'd like to be able to select what strength of rumble is used for this, since it appears it uses the minimum rumble setting which is nearly indiscernible.

FYI, I'm running the most recent Steam (Dec 20, 2020 build 1608507519). Also both controllers have the latest 8BitDo firmware, SN30 Pro (SN) has v1.35, SN30 Pro+ (G Classic) has v4.02. I've been testing rumble using both the "identify" button in Steam controller settings and by taking damage in the game Cuphead.

Thank you!

[DaMu]

As far as I can tell with my experience with Dualshock 4 and Xbox One controllers in Steam Input, there's no way to customize the rumble strength; all you can do is turn on the global controller's preference in Steam Controller Settings and adjust rumble preference per game, being on and off. While Steam has confirmed support for the official Switch Pro controller, documentation or forums never confirmed if the HD rumble is actually supported or if a default rumble value is given to be as close to the Xbox One controller's strength and left as is. Perhaps someone with an official Switch Pro Controller has experience with rumble strength that can disprove this.

And as far as I know, Steam doesn't quite support the 8bitdo controllers in Switch mode, categorizing it as a "3rd Party Switch Controller" which may limit things such as rumble under the hood. I'm surprised Gyro works, and I agree that you should use this mode for the input.

[grimesbot5000]

Thanks for your reply!

So I'm not talking about HD Rumble, which is totally different rumble technology implementation used in official Switch controllers; it uses linear resonant actuators. These 8BitDo controllers don't support HD Rumble (it's noted in their sales materials and documentation), they use regular rumble using traditional eccentric rotating mass vibration motors.

However, they clearly have different rumble "strengths" (e.g. how fast the eccentric shaft gear motor spins). You can customize this for the Pro+ using the Ultimate software, and it works for xinput mode; when I set it to max (5 of 5), I get a full strength rumble when testing in a game, when I set it to min (1 of 5), I can barely feel it.

What I'm saying is that these settings don't apply when I put it in Switch mode. I'm guessing Switch mode ignores the setting and exposes all 5 rumble strengths to simulate the HD Rumble. I'm guessing most (if not all) PC games don't support HD Rumble, they just do "digital" rumble (on or off). Problem is, "on" is very weak (1 of 5), and I think we should be able to customize it; I would like to set it to max (5 of 5) so it behaves the same as in xinput.

I searched and it looked like there were a handful of other posts about official Switch Pro controllers having very weak rumble, which is what makes me suspect/hope a setting could be implemented to set the default rumble strength for "digital" rumble. https://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/0/2572002906859023134/

[grimesbot5000]

I borrowed a friend's official Nintendo Switch Pro controller to test it out with Steam and compare it to my 8BitDo controllers. The rumble intensity seems totally normal on the Switch Pro controller. This would leave me to believe it's something more specific with the 8BitDo controllers. I'll reach out the 8BitDo support.

Interesting note: Clearly these 8BitDo controllers emulate a Switch Pro controller when in Switch mode; they show up in the Bluetooth menu as "Pro Controller" same as the official Nintendo controller, and Steam recognizes them as "Nintendo Switch Pro Controller," also same as the official Nintendo controller. However, Steam can tell a difference. The Nintendo Switch Pro controller has a "Haptic Feedback" setting in the Steam Controller settings that is not there for the 8BitDo controllers.

EDIT: another interesting note, right after I wrote this post, I happened to find that 8BitDo released a new major version of the Pro+ firmware that same day (v5.00 from v4.02). I upgraded and tested again, but the issue wasn't fixed. However, it does appear they're working on issues with Steam support in Switch mode and issues with vibration: the update log for v5.00 lists items "Fixed USB connectivity issue with Steam on Switch mode" and "Optimized vibration."

[grimesbot5000]

Contacted 8BitDo support, they had me try downgrading the SN30 Pro+ to V3.01 and V1.02, issue persisted after re-flashing both versions. When I let them know they said they will give the feedback to the develop team.