Ps4 Controller and Steam Big Picture

[Nargubyte]

What's the point of using Ps4 Configuration support if it forces you to use Xbox button prompts?

You can use a Ps4 controller with Steam games, and if you do NOT enable Ps4 Configuration support, games that natively contain PS button prompts will display them. Problem is, if you want rumble functionality and light bar functionality back, you MUST enable Ps4 Configuration support via the settings menu in Big Picture. Unfortunately, as soon as you enable it, the Dualshock 4 controller is treated as a Steam controller and you get Xbox button prompts instead.

In other words: Using a Ps4 Controller with Steam games that natively support the controller in many cases displays the proper PS button prompts, but the controller will not have rumble functionality or lightbar funtionality. Enabling Ps4 Configuration support in the Big Picture settings menu restores rumble and lightbar funtionality, at the cost of forcing games to treat the controller as a Steam controller rather than a Dualshock 4 controller (and thus losing the PS button prompts). In some cases, games will not recognize the Ps4 controller without Ps4 Configuration support, which is fine, because PS button prompts are not be possible at all in that case.

So to Steam: Why the hell isn't there an option to use Ps4 Configuration support without treating the controller like a Steam Controller? I want to see PS button prompts for the games that support them.

[Kaldaien]

It doesn't do this. There's something wrong with your system, very likely the addition of third-party software that is translating your PS4 controller to XInput before Steam gets a chance to see the real controller. Remove stuff like DS4Windows if you want to use this feature correctly.

Games can use Scepad.dll to natively communicate with a PS4 controller. They also continue to see your PS4 controller as a PS4 controller if they use HID. There might be problems with games that only use DirectInput, but I don't know how many of these exist in the wild. My experience has been that games with support for DualShock button prompts will use HID to identify the controller, and Steam doesn't mess with that.

[Nargubyte]

Originally posted by Kaldaien:

It doesn't do this. There's something wrong with your system, very likely the addition of third-party software that is translating your PS4 controller to XInput before Steam gets a chance to see the real controller. Remove stuff like DS4Windows if you want to use this feature correctly.

Games can use Scepad.dll to natively communicate with a PS4 controller. They also continue to see your PS4 controller as a PS4 controller if they use HID. There might be problems with games that only use DirectInput, but I don't know how many of these exist in the wild. My experience has been that games with support for DualShock button prompts will use HID to identify the controller, and Steam doesn't mess with that.

I do not have any of the aforementioned 3rd party programs (DS4Windows or otherwise) installed. Which games specifically do you have in mind that use HID and therefore do not revert to Xbox button prompts? If what you say is in fact the problem, it would be good to know of some games that use HID in case I end up buying any of them.

[Kaldaien]

The biggest titles that come to mind are The Witcher 3, anything using Unreal Engine 4, Torment: Tides of Numenera.

Many other games use texture mods to give you your buttons, which you're probably familiar with ;)

[Nargubyte]

Originally posted by Kaldaien:

The biggest titles that come to mind are The Witcher 3, anything using Unreal Engine 4, Torment: Tides of Numenera.

Many other games use texture mods to give you your buttons, which you're probably familiar with ;)

It's interesting that you mention The Witcher 3, because that was one of the ames that I had this problem with. I'll double check sometime tomorrow, but I think it did.

[Kaldaien]

In the case of The Witcher 3, it has early "native" support for Steam controllers. Much of its problem is that it sees your DualShock 4 as a Steam controller as soon as you turn the feature to use "Steam controller configuration" on, not an Xbox controller. You may be confused because the icons are somewhat similar.

To give you proper context, allow me to display the button icons in their full glory :)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1118727969

I've moved my mouse over the Xbox prompts. Very easy to mistake Steam for Xbox.


In any case, this problem is due to The Witcher 3 adding Steam controller detection early in the lifecycle. There are better ways through SteamAPI of detecting a Steam controller now that CD Projekt should be using. As soon as you turn the custom mapping off, The Witcher 3 immediately recognizes the PlayStation controller icons again.

[Nargubyte]

Originally posted by Kaldaien:

In the case of The Witcher 3, it has early "native" support for Steam controllers. Much of its problem is that it sees your DualShock 4 as a Steam controller as soon as you turn the feature to use "Steam controller configuration" on, not an Xbox controller. You may be confused because the icons are somewhat similar.

To give you proper context, allow me to display the button icons in their full glory :)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1118727969

I've moved my mouse over the Xbox prompts. Very easy to mistake Steam for Xbox.


In any case, this problem is due to The Witcher 3 adding Steam controller detection early in the lifecycle. There are better ways through SteamAPI of detecting a Steam controller now that CD Projekt should be using. As soon as you turn the custom mapping off, The Witcher 3 immediately recognizes the PlayStation controller icons again.

Right, which was my problem to start with. I suppose there're too many factors involved for it to be given a simple fix.

[Kaldaien]

Well, you can just modify this texture if it really bothers you =P

But I have to admit, I misunderstood your problem because you originally mentioned Xbox buttons. The game's not confusing your controller for an Xbox controller, it's confusing it for a Steam controller and you're seeing the similar buttons and calling them Xbox :)

[Nargubyte]

Originally posted by Kaldaien:

Well, you can just modify this texture if it really bothers you =P

But I have to admit, I misunderstood your problem because you originally mentioned Xbox buttons. The game's not confusing your controller for an Xbox controller, it's confusing it for a Steam controller and you're seeing the similar buttons and calling them Xbox :)

I don't think there's a vey distinct difference. The Steam controller is set up just like an Xbox controller, which came first. Dualshock controllers and nintendo controllers have very different designs. Steam and Xbox controllers are very similar. I'm just nitpicking, though :p

I did mention that my problem was that enabling Configuration support made games recognize my Ps4 controller as a Steam controller, too.

Thanks for the help, in any case.

[feneco]

I have exactly the same issue, even after uninstalling the DS4Windows and its driver. I gotta choose between having the PS4 buttons in game/no rumble or XBOX buttons/rumble.

[Pla]

I dont get it. I even dont get the PS button prompts in big picture when I deactivate the PS4 Controller support.

Do I have to make a specific setting?

As addition I try to play through Steam Link. Both PC and Steam Link are connected with wires.

The games I want to play are Rocket League and Mad Max.

When I am on the PC I get the PS button prompts. When I start Big Picture on the PC they change to the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ A/X/Y/B buttons. So it must be a problem with Big Pictures.

Can someone help me?

[Skuidius]

Steam really needs to add that option, we wanna see PS buttons and have light and rumble in our hands!

[zaphod]

Here's the deal.

If the game supports the current version of SteamInput natively, then the game WILL use the correct button prompts.

If it supports the steam controller directly, but not the new SteamInput, and you run it with configuration, Steam Big Picture will remap your ps4 controller into a steam controller, with it's prompts. This is the Witcher III problem. it's advertising steam controller support specifically.

If the game supports neither, steam will try to impersonate an xbox controller, using it's prompts.

if the game has native ps4 controller support (using libscepad.dll) then if you DISable steams control configurator, it will see your DS4 fine, and if it's programmed to use rumble with the native support, it will work, and if not, it won't. That's not steam's fault.

The problem is if you use big picture controller configuration with a game that does NOT natively support SteamInput, then it will pick a controller type that the game is known to support to impersonate. If it's impersonating another controller, you get the button prompts that belong to the impersonated controller.

What can be improved.

1) have the launcher check the game directory for libscepad.dll. if it's there, AND your controller is indeed a DS4, be nice and shut yourself off, so the program will detect your DS4 properly.
2) if a game supports mutiple controller types, have the option to select how your controller is presented to the game, instead of it always using xinput or steam controller if the game supports it.