Game pad to buy

Robinson

Thanks.
I have just realized I would rather use a wireless gamepad, Bluetooth type, not RF because for RF dongles would have to occupy USB ports on Pi4.
I understand I can use 2 Bluetooth gamepads at the same time to play any 2-player game, right?
Are there perhaps any Bluetooth gamepads which are confirmed to work well?
Will they work from a distance of 5 metres?

lostless

@Robinson the ps5 and ps4 controllers function over Bluetooth. yes, you can use 2 Bluetooth devices at the same time. Basically any Bluetooth controller or usb controller will work on the pie. You can go as cheap or expensive as you want. As far as that much distance, your mileage may very. The pi’s Bluetooth strength Is decent, but not great. Depends on location and your case. Might have better luck with an external usb Bluetooth adapter. But give it a go and see how well it works.

Robinson

Thanks. I will probably go for DualShock 4 then.

Robinson

Update:
DualShock 4 is hardly available anywhere.
I assume Dualsense (of PS5) runs equally well with Raspberry Pi 4 on Bluetooth.
And probably the same goes for Xbox Series S/X controllers?

mitu

DualShock 4 is hardly available anywhere.

Even used ones ?

I assume Dualsense (of PS5) runs equally well with Raspberry Pi 4 on Bluetooth.

It should be working, though I don't think it's full functionality is supported by RetroPie (i.e. new rumble types, microphone/headphones).

And probably the same goes for Xbox Series S/X controllers?

They're supported, you'll need the xpadneo driver installed before pairing it via Bluetooth (available from the RetroPie-Setup drivers section of the packages).

Robinson

Thanks.

@mitu said in Game pad to buy:

Even used ones ?

I am not convinced to buying a used one. We'll see.

Addison

If you can wait a month.

alt text

$29.99 to pre-order.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Wireless-Controller-Windows-PC-Raspberry/dp/B0C2V3QPN7/

Robinson

@Addison Thanks.
I think I can wait. :)
It is not Bluetooth but wi-fi dongles will be OK too, I hope.
I just wonder if my Pi 4B will have enough power for an HDD and two game dongles. Or will a self-powered USB hub be necessary?

Addison

@Robinson

I've had horrible response times and complete dead moments with bluetooth, using many different premium controllers.

It's either WiFi or wired for me.

Addison

Also, I use all 4 USB ports with no troubles.

WiFi adapter.
Wireless controller.
Wireless keyboard.
Wired controller.

You'll be fine. :)

mitu

@Robinson said in Game pad to buy:

I just wonder if my Pi 4B will have enough power for an HDD and two game dongles. Or will a self-powered USB hub be necessary?

What kind of HDD do you have and how much power does it need ? The Pi4B can supply at most 1.2A from all USB ports, so if your external disc needs more than that, it won't be working properly without being externally powered.

Robinson

Thanks.
I do not have a HDD yet.
I'm still thinking what to get:

2.5" or 3.5" HDD
external (USB) or internal + USB-SATA converter
one with enclosure (such as WD Elements) or not
one with its own PSU or perhaps it is better to buy a separate self-powered USB hub
So many doubts.

Robinson

One more question.
Is there any difference in playing games (Raspberry Pi 4B) using USB 2.0 and 3.0? Any advantage of 3.0 for playing retro games?

lostless

@Robinson with a USB controller, defiantly no. With games on an external drive, there is no advantage. these games load slow and USB 2 can handle the bandwidth with no issue.

windg

I am running roms from a usb 2 and i never had issues with the read/write speed.
I have the WD Elements 2TB 2.5'', without separate PSU, connecting to the Pi usb ports and it is working without issues (tested with RPi3/RPi4 with official PI PSU).

Robinson

Has anyone already tried it with Raspberry Pi Retropie?

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Wireless-Controller-Windows-PC-Raspberry/dp/B0C2V3QPN7/

Skibumwi

@Robinson said in Game pad to buy:

@Addison Thanks.
I think I can wait. :)
It is not Bluetooth but wi-fi dongles will be OK too, I hope.
I just wonder if my Pi 4B will have enough power for an HDD and two game dongles. Or will a self-powered USB hub be necessary?

I've tried two externally powered USB hubs and neither worked for me. A USB powered hub seems to work just fine.

Ski

Robinson

@Addison said in Game pad to buy:

If you can wait a month.
https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Wireless-Controller-Windows-PC-Raspberry/dp/B0C2V3QPN7/

Yes, I have waited and bought two. :)
Now it seems I need to learn some bacics because I have not managed to configure neither of them yet. :(

When the light on the dongle stays solid, does it mean the dongle and the gamepad have been paired successfully?
I wonder why ABXY keys are arranged differently than what I mainly see on the internet. X and Y are swapped. Same as A/B.
When I connected the first dongle and started to configure it, it was going well until HOT KEY configuration. I pressed various keys but there was no reaction and so I could not get to "OK" to finish the configuration process. Does anyone know why?
Then I connected the other identical dongle but pressing keys did not produce any effect on the configuration screen. I assume there is a way to configure the keys using an alternative method?
Which keys would you configure as SELECT, START and HOT KEY?
https://download.8bitdo.com/Manual/Controller/Ultimate/Ultimate-C-2.4G-Wireless-Controller.pdf

Thanks for anybody's help.

Robinson

I have again run through the configuration procedure but again, no luck.
This time I stopped at "OK" button even though I did as suggested:

When you get to OK press the button you have configured as "A".

mitu

You should have started a separate topic for the issue regarding the controller configuration.

Now it seems I need to learn some bacics because I have not managed to configure neither of them yet. :(

You can look in the docs to get the basics first.

When the light on the dongle stays solid, does it mean the dongle and the gamepad have been paired successfully?

Usually yes.

I wonder why ABXY keys are arranged differently than what I mainly see on the internet. X and Y are swapped. Same as A/B.

There are 2 different layouts for controllers on the market regarding the right buttons - the original Nintendo SNES arrangement or the XBox style naming, which has the button names switched.

When I connected the first dongle and started to configure it, it was going well until HOT KEY configuration. I pressed various keys but there was no reaction and so I could not get to "OK" to finish the configuration process. Does anyone know why?

This usually means you're either trying to map a button you already configured or the button produces no input in EmulationStation - it functions internally to the gamepad to trigger other functions. Which button are you trying to map as Hotkey enable and it's not working ?

Then I connected the other identical dongle but pressing keys did not produce any effect on the configuration screen. I assume there is a way to configure the keys using an alternative method?

Is the dongle properly connected with the USB port and the controller ? Did you connect the controller in the same mode (wireless vs. wired).

Which keys would you configure as SELECT, START and HOT KEY?

Whichever you feel more confortable - looking at the diagram of the controller, you can configure the + (Menu) button as Start and the - button as Select. If the Star button is read properly, you can use it as a Hotkey Enable button, otherwise just skip the button and accept the Select button as Hotkey Enable when asked.

I have again run through the configuration procedure but again, no luck.

Are you sure you're pressing the A button or the one you mapped to the A button ?