PS5 controller not working on MacOS

[76561198997776927]

I recently bought a PS5 controller. I connected it to my M1 MacBook Air via Bluetooth and it works fine. I can navigate Steam in big picture mode. However, for some reason, I can't get it to work in-game. The game that I tested it on is Hollow Knight and it seems to support controllers fine as it has a section for it in the settings. So, my question is, How do I get the controller to be used instead of my keyboard and mouse in-game?

[tintingaroo]

Hmm, if you have PlayStation Configuration Support enabled, disable it:
Steam > Preferences > Controller > General Controller Settings

(Question: On this screen, is Steam showing any Xbox 360 controllers under Detected Controllers?)

Power cycle the controller if you had it connected via Bluetooth

See if it now functions in the game.

[nathanlau07]

It worked that time! It now functions in the game! Thanks so much for your help! Its really awesome that you spend your free time sharing your knowledge with others like this. I super appreciate it and I'm stoked to play!

Originally posted by tintingaroo:

Hmm, if you have PlayStation Configuration Support enabled, disable it:
Steam > Preferences > Controller > General Controller Settings

(Question: On this screen, is Steam showing any Xbox 360 controllers under Detected Controllers?)

Power cycle the controller if you had it connected via Bluetooth

See if it now functions in the game.

[tintingaroo]

Perfect! I'm happy to help - it's been how I learned this stuff and thanks to yours and others feedback I get to learn what works and what doesn't.
Also, it was good you tried the encoding variable - shows you are willing to try and figure stuff out and experiment, I've done the same - doesn't matter if it's near the mark or far (as long as you can get things back to a vanilla state xD).

[nathanlau07]

Right on man! I hope one day I can learn enough to help out too!

New question for you. I also got Black Ops 3 and I am running into the same issue of my controller not being recognized. Since BO3 was released to long before the PS5 I am assuming it is a similar support issue. Do you happen to have any advice for altering code in this game to support the controller? I tried to follow the steps as in Tomb Raider but I couldn't find the same code files to alter

Originally posted by tintingaroo:

Perfect! I'm happy to help - it's been how I learned this stuff and thanks to yours and others feedback I get to learn what works and what doesn't.
Also, it was good you tried the encoding variable - shows you are willing to try and figure stuff out and experiment, I've done the same - doesn't matter if it's near the mark or far (as long as you can get things back to a vanilla state xD).

[tintingaroo]

Nothing in the file list has stood out to me so far (I use the site steamdb.info to see it for games I don't own/don't have installed).

So for now we see how it goes with Steam's support - you may have already done this with PS Config Support.
When you enable PlayStation Configuration Support/Steam Input, Steam takes the controller input and presents it to the game as if it was an Xbox 360 controller (sometimes keyboard/mouse or Steam Input device).
I don't know how well Steam's Xbox 360 emulation on M1 Mac's functions but we try it.
Set it from the game's override: Right-click the game in your Steam Library > Properties > Controller > select Enable Steam Input. Then try out the game.
(It's the same things as enabling PS Config Support, but sometimes it can work differently...)

[nathanlau07]

It didn't take to that solution. I also tried to run Tomb Raider after changing that setting to see if it would affect it and it wouldn't work until I changed it back. Not sure if it matters (again, well beyond novice here 😅) but I don't usually run steam in big picture mode tho I did try it in both formats and no dice

[tintingaroo]

I'll take that to mean Steam's Xbox emulation still needs work for M1's (perhaps it's OK with some games???). Keyboard/mouse emulation should work though...

Trying Big Picture is perfect, I have done the exact same thing to see how things could work.

Let's complete the test and try BO3 with the override set to Disable Steam Input. I believe it won't change anything but then we'll know.

To try out kb/m emulation, set the override back to Enable Steam Input. Then right-click BO3 in Steam Library > Manage > Controller layout.
Then Browse Configs > Templates > Keyboard (WASD) & Mouse > Import Config > Apply Configuration > Done

It's something that requires configuring, and someone may have already created a config mapped to keybaord/mouse but you can use the template just to see if it functions.

[nathanlau07]

If I follow these steps I get one of two outcomes. 1, I start in the small screen and it redirects to big screen but doesn't load. 2. I start in big screen and go to library > manage game > Controller configuration which then doesn't have a place to browse configurations. I could manually select what I want buttons to emulate but I also can't figure out how to get everything to do the right thing. i.e. I can't get the left joystick to run WASD, it will only allow me to select one letter.

[tintingaroo]

For Browse Configs press square on the configurator screen (it should show that command on the bottom of the window/screen but if you don't see it, it might be broken.)

When you select left stick, set Style of Input to Directional Pad, then you can select the directions from the dpad image to map to WASD.
For right stick, try Style of Input set to Mouse.

[tintingaroo]

Also which macOS are you running? I'm gonna ask the Aspyr guys about DS5 support - perhaps they'll provide a file, say what to mod or give some other info.

[nathanlau07]

Ok I was able to pull in a kb+m emulator but I'm not sure if it applied it. I couldn't figure out a way to apply it but if I leave the page and come back the configuration is saved. I had to use square to get to the configs page. It didn't show any buttons on the page outside of the controller.

I am running Monterey 12.4.0

[tintingaroo]

Are you on the Steam beta or stable? It sounds like you're describing the issues I and others have been encountering on the beta this past month. For certain configs, after choosing Apply Configuration it remains on the preview screen. Back out and it shows the config that one had attempted to apply. I found if I made a change somewhere then the config applied and persisted after I closed it. If I made no change and just left the config, when I re-open it, it'd be the original config.


My communications with Aspyr:

Originally posted by tintingaroo:

Hi,

I'm trying to help a Steam user get the game to work with their DualSense controller. Is it possible to add DS5 support? Is there a file we can mod to swap the DS4 ProductID with the DS5's so it's recognised? Or a file you could provide? Or advice if I'm missing something.


We also tried Steam's controller support but looks like it's gamepad emulation on M1 Macs still requires work. Steam's KB/M emulation should work but if we can get the gamepad functioning it would be great. :)

Thanks!

Originally posted by Support Response:

Hello there, tintingaroo!

Thank you for your message.

Black Ops 3 has controller support but not all controllers are supported - the DualSense controller is not. Here's a full list of the supported models:

• Microsoft® Xbox® 360 Controller for Windows® (Wired) (10.14 only at launch)
  
• Xbox® One Controller (Wired) (10.14 only at launch)
  
• PS4 DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller
  
• SONY® PS3 DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller
  
• Logitech RumblePad™ 2
  
• Logitech Dual Action™

Still, you may try this: allow Steam to control your computer. To do so, please navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Accessibility > Enable Steam.

Next, please launch Steam and navigate to Steam (top-left corner menu) > Preferences > Controller > General Controller Settings.

If you have any other concerns or doubts, don't hesitate to get back to us.

Have a great day!

Soooo... the permission step is something we didn't try. Might already be enabled but check it out, see if it helps any.

[nathanlau07]

It looks like enabling accessibility allowed the kb + m to take effect and it worked in-game! I've got some settings to dial in but as far as I can tell I am able to access everything the game has through the controller now! Anything, in particular, you would suggest while trying to dial this in?

[tintingaroo]

Hey, alright! Try gyro aiming!
I'm not good with a gamepad so for aiming I have to play with a mouse (it's still poor accuracy xD) but people have got ridiculous with gyro aiming.

Gyro is the box immediately below the controller image.
Set Style of Input to Mouse,
Gyro Enable Button to Left Trigger Soft Pull (whatever you use to aim down sight)
Under Additional Settings you'll see Trigger Press Mouse Dampening, I would think you'd want that On. Gyro is definitely something that'll take configuring but see if you enjoy it.

[tintingaroo]

There's also Flick Stick which I see gets mentioned as a great addition to gyro aiming.
The inventor of Flick Stick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzbZq4OjEwE

His thoughts on Steam's beta implementation of Flick Stick (back in 2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzuwD7ZlRdQ