Looking for a good controller

[Supertzar]

I own a MacBook Pro 2011, OS High Sierra. I would like to find a gamepad controller to play my videogames. Any suggestions considering my technology? Thanks.

[KromeHWI]

likewise.

ive read some about a few, but its hard to know how compatable they will be with the various games.

the Apple MFi Certified Bluetooth Gamepad seems decent, but is it compatable with mac computers as well as with iphones? will it work with steam?

xbox controlers seem like they will work but apparently they take some setting up before they can be used. ive heard mixed reviews of this process.

the steam controler seems promising as well, but you have to use it in big picture mode (which i hate), and it is also unlcear how mac compatable it really is.

has anyone used any of these devices on a mac?

i run an iMac late 2015 with pretty decent specs (capable of playing most of the good games available on the platform). i mostly prefer keybord and mouse in my gaming, but some games really want to use a controler (especially anything with driving).

[Stormchild]

I have a SteelSeries Nimbus (MFi controller). It's easy to connect to a Mac; just pair it over Bluetooth…no additional software or configuration needed. It works very well in Steam and other apps like OpenEmu. The main downside is the analog sticks are not clickable, so if you're playing a game that expects you to use L3 or R3 you might be out of luck. It also doesn't support vibration, but that usually doesn't matter. Note that it charges via Lightning cable rather than micro USB. Since I also have an iPhone and iPad, charging is really convenient, but if you don't have any iOS devices, you'll need to buy a USB-Lightning cable.

If you happen to have a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, you can also pair that over Bluetooth and it works perfectly in Steam and OpenEmu. It's pricey, and the triggers aren't analog (which might be a deal breaker, depending on what kind of racing games you like), so I wouldn't recommend buying one just for Steam, but if you already own one, it's a good option. It also works great in Windows — the Nimbus requires third-party software.

But I'm currently thinking about picking up either an Xbox One controller or DualShock 4, mostly because I want one dedicated to the computer so I don't have to keep re-pairing the Pro Controller. If you aren't planning to boot into Windows and only want to use it with Mac games, the DS4 is clearly the better option. You can pair it over Bluetooth and it just works. It also supports vibration, and (unlike Xbox controllers) has motion controls and even a clickable touchpad.

As you said, the situation with Xbox controllers on macOS is a bit more complicated. You can either use 360Controller, which works well but requires you to connect it via USB (no wireless support), or you can get one of the newer Xbox One Wireless controllers (the latest version) and connect it via Bluetooth. From what I can tell, getting it to pair is easy, but whether it actually works in each game is another matter. If it doesn't, you can either use 360 Controller emulation or manually remap the controls in Steam, or just plug it in and use 360Controller. But even if you get it to work, it seems like the vibration feature doesn't work at all. I don't know…I can't find any clear, reliable information.

I'm still on the fence about that, but if you like the feel of DS4 it seems like the best option of the bunch.

[KromeHWI]

hey, thanks for the info!

a question about the steelseries nibus. you say there is no software of configuration needed, but does that mean you can not always customize your controls? are you locked into whatever default(s) the game you are playing is using?

one thing i love so much about my logitec gaming mouse is that i can customize all its buttons to do just about anything i could want them to do, just they way i want them to do it, in a way that fits my own play style. i would hope that whatever controller i get would have an equal amount of customization.

DS4 sounds encouraging. do you know how customizable is it?

[Stormchild]

If we're just talking about Steam, you can pretty much reconfigure any controller any way you want. Now that I think about it, I might have had to manually configure the Nimbus in Steam the first time…just to tell it which button is which. You can also configure it differently for specific games (this is true for all controllers, not just the Nimbus). But most games also allow you to customize the controls within the game, and this is the recommended way to do it (since the in-game prompts will show the correct buttons).

That said, I still don't recommend the Nimbus (unless you already have one) because of the lack of clickable sticks. DS4 is probably your best bet.

[KromeHWI]

werd. preciate the advice. ill look in to the ds4.

[Stormchild]

Update on the Nimbus: it worked perfectly fine until today, but now the Y axis is inverted on both analog sticks and there doesn't seem to be any way to fix it. The official site also says it doesn't support Steam. Honestly just avoid the Nimbus.

[Stormchild]

Well, I ended up going out and buying a DS4 after all. It’s working great, but I ran into a few problems getting it set up.

First, you probably need to charge it before you can use it (maybe that’s obvious, but every Apple product I’ve ever bought was charged and ready to use out of the box). Since it doesn’t come with a cable, you’ll need your own USB-A to micro-USB cable.

You might think you can plug that into an iPhone charger (some people say it works), but that didn’t work for me. I had to plug it into my Mac, at which point it started charging (the light pulsates orange when it’s actually charging).

I couldn’t get it to successfully connect via Bluetooth until it had charged for awhile. Again, that might seem obvious, but when it’s low on charge it does allow you to put it in pairing mode, and it shows up in the Bluetooth preferences…but it will just keep disconnecting and turning back off.

Fortunately, when it’s plugged into your Mac it functions as a wired controller, so you can use it right away while waiting for it to charge (without having to pair it first).

I did eventually get it to pair after it had charged for awhile, and I had no issues with the Bluetooth connection after that.

When you set it up in Steam, you’ll probably want to enable DS4 Configuration Support in Steam’s controller preferences. This lets you map every function of the controller to your liking (including the touch pad and gyroscope). If you want customizability you’ll be very happy with what you can do here.

The main thing to be aware of is Steam is handling all the input, and it makes your controller “look like” an Xbox controller in games. In-game button prompts will say A, B, X, Y instead of the PS4 icons. It’s easy enough to just memorize which is which.

Some games directly support the DS4, but if you’re playing through Steam with DS4 Configuration enabled, the game will see your controller as an Xbox controller. If you *disable* DS4 Configuration in Steam, games that fully support the DS4 will show the correct buttons. The downside is you have to globally enable or disable DS4 support in Steam (you can’t do it per-game), and you have to shut down the controller (by holding the PS button for 10 seconds) and start it up again each time you turn this on or off. If every game supported the DS4 directly that would be fine, but a lot of games don’t.

It doesn’t seem worth the hassle to do all that just to see the correct button prompts in games. I think it’s better to just memorize ABXY.

Anyway, despite a couple initial snags this is a fantastic controller. I’m now using it in both Steam and OpenEmu without needing any additional software.

I even managed to set it up in Euro Truck Simulator 2, which is not designed for controllers. It took some fiddling around, but it works very well. I’m using tilt (gyro) for steering and the analog triggers for gas and brake. Takes some getting used to, but it’s quite good.

[KromeHWI]

excellent! that is great to hear!
sounds like the DS4 is the winner!
i hadnt even realized steam had controller customization built in. very cool!
thanks for testing this out and reporting what you found.
if anything else interesting comes up this is a good place to post it.
cheers!

[ust1N]

nice

[REEEEEEEEEEEEE!]

Thanks for the info Stormchild. I didn't realise the PS DS4 had gyro's. That's what I love about the Steam Controller. I use gyros for steering and analog triggers for braking/acceleration as well and could never go back to fiddly analog thumb sticks.

Does the DS4 support rumble/vibration emulation with Mac OS X/Steam games? That's the thing that doesn't work for me with a Steam Controller on macOS.

[alfanse]

I can vouch for a wired xbox 360 controller. Currently using it to play Tomb Raider and its a treat.
I tried the nimbus but there were too many missing buttons to make it enjoyable to play.
ps on mac book pro 2018, using usbc to usb converter to plug the controller in.

[Stormchild]

I've only tried a few Mac games in Steam with the DS4 so far, but so far there's no rumble in any of them. When I go to the Controller settings in Steam, select my controller, then "Identify", the controller vibrates as expected. I also have rumble enabled in the controller settings. Two of the games I tried — Tomb Raider (2013) and Sleeping Dogs (Definitive Edition) — have a "Vibration" setting, which is on in both cases, but the controller never vibrates in-game.

I emailed Feral support today about the lack of vibration in Tomb Raider. Will let you guys know what they say.

Supposedly the official Sony DualShock USB adapter is required to support all the features of the controller (such as vibration, sending audio to the headphone jack, and configuring the light color of the light bar), but:

- Steam (both Mac and Windows) lets me choose the color and brightness of the light bar
- Vibration works in several Windows games I've played in Steam
- As I said, the Mac version of Steam is at least able to vibrate the controller when I click "Identify", so I'm not sure where the disconnect is

Although the official Sony adapter is mostly an overpriced Bluetooth dongle, there is one potential advantage for someone who regularly switches between Mac and Windows — it might avoid the Bluetooth unpair/re-pair dance I have to do every time I switch from one to the other. I have no idea if it avoids that problem, but if it does, and if it also makes vibration work in Mac games, I might bite the bullet and buy one.

The one thing I haven't tried yet is playing Mac games with the DS4 connected via USB instead of Bluetooth. That might work, but I didn't buy a wireless controller just to end up tethering it to my Mac.

[KromeHWI]

awesome!
really appreciate you keeping us all updated on your experiences here. very valuable information and we thank you for being the guinea pig for the rest of us! keep telling us what you find!
cheers!

[Supertzar]

Thank you everybody for contributing to this topic. I could get a DS4 and test it. It works great and I will definitely use it to play. I have tested it for "Wizard of Legend". Has anyone played this game? Is it that hard for you guys or is just me?

[Stormchild]

Feral support replied to let me know Tomb Raider (2013) predates their modern DS4 support and as such doesn't support vibration. They said their newer games should support vibration, though probably only when the DS4 is plugged in via USB.

So I plugged in my DS4 (after turning it off to disconnect it from Bluetooth first) and tested it with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, but there doesn't seem to be any vibration. I also tried two non-Feral games — Borderlands 2 and Cuphead — no vibration.

One possibility: it might be necessary to disable DS4 Configuration in Steam to allow games to talk directly to the controller. Perhaps Steam itself is not properly sending vibration commands to the controller and the only way to get it to work is to remove the middleman.

Anyway I'll test a few more games over USB with DS4 Config disabled and see how that goes.