Trouble with Gamepads

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,683
631
126
I've run out of options here. I bought Rogue Legacy since a lot of my Steam friends were raving about it and the game interested me a bit, but none of them told me you cannot map any controls to your mouse. Considering I cannot stand playing a game using just my keyboard, I broke down and attempted to get either my PS3 controller or my 360 controller to work as a gamepad for this game. After a few hours of digging, I finally realized that my wireless 360 controller needs a wireless receiver, even though I'm plugged directly into my PC using the USB wired connector. Yet another notch for me to dislike Microsoft. I then tried my PS3 controller (also wireless but was connected with the USB - Micro cable) but to no avail. I was able to get the buttons to respond, but the D-Pad and analogue sticks were unresponsive. Considering the controller plays perfectly fine on my PS3 and Galaxy S III, I figure it was a software issue. Hell, I even broke out my old PSX to USB and PS2 controller and that wouldn't even work.

Can anyone please give me some insight as to how I might get my wireless (albeit wired) PS3 controller to work on a PC as a gamepad? Comprehensive guides, software needed, etc. Anything is greatly appreciated. Normally I wouldn't waste this much time trying to use a gamepad on a PC, but I don't want to feel like I just wasted $15 on a game I cannot play due to clunky keyboard controls. If only they allowed mouse support I might be able to enjoy this game like I did Bastion.
 
Mar 11, 2004
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There's some driver/software you need to install for the PS3 controller. I don't know what it's called though, but it should let you map buttons and manage other aspects.

And yeah not being able to play via the USB cable with the wireless 360 controller is stupid.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,683
631
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There are a few different software variants for the PS3. MotionJoy is the one I tried because I could not get the others to work, but lo and behold, MotionJoy didn't work fully either (but it was closer than the rest).

It's been a pain in the ass since I first tried to get one of my controllers to work as a gamepad, but it almost seems like I have to just bite the bullet and either wait for an update that allows for mouse support or wait until the feeling of throwing my money away wears off.

However, I know I'm missing something in the process because people use their PS3 controllers for gamepads all the time. I just cannot get mine to work for some reason.
 

AdamantC

Senior member
Apr 19, 2011
478
0
76
AFAIK the cables for the wireless 360 and PS3 pads are for recharging, not input. I however have heard that the wireless 360 pads can be a bit colicky. My wired 360 pad so far has worked flawlessly on XP and Win7, so you might just want to grab one of those.
 

lord_emperor

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2009
1,380
1
0
MotionJoy works fine for me, I use my PS3 controller on two different PCs with a cheap ASUS Bluetooth USB dongle.

Xbox 360 controllers are supposed to be even easier since M$ provides drivers, but I don't have one.

I do have an Xbox controller with a USB plug hacked onto it and XBCD driver which also works great and is my preferred gamepad.
 
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Durvelle27

Diamond Member
Jun 3, 2012
4,102
0
0
I've run out of options here. I bought Rogue Legacy since a lot of my Steam friends were raving about it and the game interested me a bit, but none of them told me you cannot map any controls to your mouse. Considering I cannot stand playing a game using just my keyboard, I broke down and attempted to get either my PS3 controller or my 360 controller to work as a gamepad for this game. After a few hours of digging, I finally realized that my wireless 360 controller needs a wireless receiver, even though I'm plugged directly into my PC using the USB wired connector. Yet another notch for me to dislike Microsoft. I then tried my PS3 controller (also wireless but was connected with the USB - Micro cable) but to no avail. I was able to get the buttons to respond, but the D-Pad and analogue sticks were unresponsive. Considering the controller plays perfectly fine on my PS3 and Galaxy S III, I figure it was a software issue. Hell, I even broke out my old PSX to USB and PS2 controller and that wouldn't even work.

Can anyone please give me some insight as to how I might get my wireless (albeit wired) PS3 controller to work on a PC as a gamepad? Comprehensive guides, software needed, etc. Anything is greatly appreciated. Normally I wouldn't waste this much time trying to use a gamepad on a PC, but I don't want to feel like I just wasted $15 on a game I cannot play due to clunky keyboard controls. If only they allowed mouse support I might be able to enjoy this game like I did Bastion.
MotionJoy works fine with both my PS3 controller via USB. Did you install the drivers


Can't comment on the 360 controller as the one I use is Wired
 

fustercluck

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2002
7,402
0
71
Using controllers/gamepads can be a real bitch on a computer. The majority of them aren't supported, have trouble mapping keys. Then there are a lot of games that just scroll through menus endlessly, or your character turns around in circles endlessly, when you're not pressing anything on your controller.

Anyways, Motionjoy as mentioned is the best (possibly only) option. It comes with some adware but it's not bad, stays within the program and then opens up a webpage in your browser once in a while.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,683
631
126
Well, it seems with either one I need some sort of wireless receiver - be it a Bluetooth dongle or a wireless receiver from Microsoft.

Maybe I'll price check one of those actual PC gamepads that are featured at Best Buy. Anyone have any experience with one of those?
 

WiseUp216

Platinum Member
Mar 12, 2012
2,251
51
101
www.heatware.com
I picked up a cheap Logitech F310 a while back.

It was $25, feels pretty good, works well, and has handled every game I've tried without any need for me to fuss with any settings.

It also has a button to switch between Xbox mode and PS3 mode, but I'm not entirely sure what that does.
 

JasonCoder

Golden Member
Feb 23, 2005
1,893
1
81
Anyways, Motionjoy as mentioned is the best (possibly only) option. It comes with some adware but it's not bad, stays within the program and then opens up a webpage in your browser once in a while.

I'd hate to see what you view as bad adware. That's pretty awful.
 

fustercluck

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2002
7,402
0
71
Well, it seems with either one I need some sort of wireless receiver - be it a Bluetooth dongle or a wireless receiver from Microsoft.

Maybe I'll price check one of those actual PC gamepads that are featured at Best Buy. Anyone have any experience with one of those?

If you have a PS3 controller, don't waste money buying a PC gamepad. All you need to connect your PS3 controller is a USB cable, the same kind which you would use to charge your PS3 controller when plugged into the PS3 (one side tiny USB, the other normal). Motionjoy can also detect bluetooth but I've never tried that method.

I'd hate to see what you view as bad adware. That's pretty awful.

Well I guess it is the definition of adware. Plenty of worse stuff out there, though. The webpage it does open every once in a while is the same one everytime so you can just add the address to your hosts file so it won't actually connect to it. Someday, someone will make a program that works as well as motionjoy but has no adware, and then no one will use Motionjoy anymore. But for now, Motionjoy is the only option :)
 

Stuka87

Diamond Member
Dec 10, 2010
6,240
2,559
136
I use a 360 controller. Its not a microsoft brand one, its an Afterglow. Its wired only. But it works flawlessly. I lot of games don't even need to be setup. It just works. And 360 ports control just like they would on the 360.

I use microsofts drivers though. And have had zero issues with them.
 
Oct 20, 2005
10,978
44
91
I've run out of options here. I bought Rogue Legacy since a lot of my Steam friends were raving about it and the game interested me a bit, but none of them told me you cannot map any controls to your mouse. Considering I cannot stand playing a game using just my keyboard, I broke down and attempted to get either my PS3 controller or my 360 controller to work as a gamepad for this game. After a few hours of digging, I finally realized that my wireless 360 controller needs a wireless receiver, even though I'm plugged directly into my PC using the USB wired connector. Yet another notch for me to dislike Microsoft. I then tried my PS3 controller (also wireless but was connected with the USB - Micro cable) but to no avail. I was able to get the buttons to respond, but the D-Pad and analogue sticks were unresponsive. Considering the controller plays perfectly fine on my PS3 and Galaxy S III, I figure it was a software issue. Hell, I even broke out my old PSX to USB and PS2 controller and that wouldn't even work.

Can anyone please give me some insight as to how I might get my wireless (albeit wired) PS3 controller to work on a PC as a gamepad? Comprehensive guides, software needed, etc. Anything is greatly appreciated. Normally I wouldn't waste this much time trying to use a gamepad on a PC, but I don't want to feel like I just wasted $15 on a game I cannot play due to clunky keyboard controls. If only they allowed mouse support I might be able to enjoy this game like I did Bastion.

Regarding the xbox 360 controller, if you are just using the charge and play cable, then it won't work. That cable only charges, no data transfer. There might be another USB wire that actually has data input/output, can't remember though.
 

Stuka87

Diamond Member
Dec 10, 2010
6,240
2,559
136
Regarding the xbox 360 controller, if you are just using the charge and play cable, then it won't work. That cable only charges, no data transfer. There might be another USB wire that actually has data input/output, can't remember though.

Needs to be a wired controller in order to use one via USB.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,741
456
126
Go buy a wired 360 controller. That's seriously going to be your easiest option. With a wired 360 controller it's plug and play with any game that uses gamepads.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,683
631
126
Thanks for the additional information. I'll see what I can come up with today.
 

jhbball

Platinum Member
Mar 20, 2002
2,917
23
81
if you already have 360 controllers, you can just buy the offficial microsoft wireless usb adapter for PC (no need to buy another wired controller). It was ~$15 on amazon last time I checked. It's worked perfectly for me (tried in many modern games, as well as emulators).
 

Soundmanred

Lifer
Oct 26, 2006
10,780
6
81
if you already have 360 controllers, you can just buy the offficial microsoft wireless usb adapter for PC (no need to buy another wired controller). It was ~$15 on amazon last time I checked. It's worked perfectly for me (tried in many modern games, as well as emulators).

I've been using the wireless 360 pad for years and it works great in everything with gamepad support (except for the NFS: The Run debacle). You can also use more than one gamepad with the receiver, a lot of people don't realize that. (Up to four I think?)
There are also generic 360 receivers that have positive reviews, but I have no personal experience with them.
It's a much better idea than using junk like Motionjoy.
 

jiffylube1024

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2002
7,430
0
71
You can get a USB 2.0 Xbox 360 wireless adapter for $10-15 on Ebay. I've bought a couple and my standard wireless Xbox 360 controllers work perfectly on the PC with them.

something like this:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NEW-XBOX-360...490?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257fd53672

Most new games automatically support the Xbox 360 controller on the PC, with no control binding required.

The trickiest part is installing the drivers on the PC (doesn't go through totally automatically) but it's a one-time thing and after that it works perfectly. Follow this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CHD4M3Fw3A
 

jhbball

Platinum Member
Mar 20, 2002
2,917
23
81
I've been using the wireless 360 pad for years and it works great in everything with gamepad support (except for the NFS: The Run debacle). You can also use more than one gamepad with the receiver, a lot of people don't realize that. (Up to four I think?)
There are also generic 360 receivers that have positive reviews, but I have no personal experience with them.
It's a much better idea than using junk like Motionjoy.

Yup, I've had the same experience. I was able to sync 3 controllers without issue to one receiver, and play a 3 player SNES game.
 

Tattoedsailor

Member
Mar 22, 2013
146
3
81
360 controller works great on my PC. I've been using one with Dishonored. My only gripe with it is I wish i could kick up sensitivity on the sticks. I'm thinking about getting a Razer 360 controller.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,683
631
126
I know I can buy a wireless receiver. My opinion is that I refuse to give any more of my money to Microsoft. On my next weekend off, I'll work at getting MotionJoy to work with my PS3 controller and if that fails, I'll wait it out until Rogue Legacy offers mouse support.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
AFAIK the cables for the wireless 360 and PS3 pads are for recharging, not input. I however have heard that the wireless 360 pads can be a bit colicky. My wired 360 pad so far has worked flawlessly on XP and Win7, so you might just want to grab one of those.

This ^^