Playstation Rumble
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Hey Guys.. so I'm going to try a new project and build a RetroPie inside an old Playstation case. I'd like to get it as "legit" looking as possible. So I'd like to use all original hardware (controllers) where I can. I have an OLD PSX->USB adapter that worked years ago on my computer. It worked when I had Windows XP. Now that it's running Windows 7, I've found that the driver no longer supports rumble. So I can't test to see if this adapter still works. When I connect it into my Pi 3, ES detects it and I can map all the buttons correctly. However, the rumble doesn't work inside pcsx-rearmed. I did a little digging and found a document that said in order for rumble to work, you need between 7-9v on pin 3. I dug out my multimeter and found that it's really only supplying like 1.24v. I then learned that the Pi3 is only capable of driving out 5v on USB anyway. So I think it's a bust to use an original PSX controller this way.
I'm now looking into the PS3 controllers. They're available wirelessly through Bluetooth. They can also run on USB (although I suspect it would still require that 7-9v). I'm anxious to make this work and go out and buy one. I just wanted to check in with the gang here and see if anybody has had any luck getting this to work. I found an old thread here that indicated rumble had been fixed and works, but then the latest builds of RetroArch (maybe it was RetroPie..) somewhat broke the driver and now whenever you use rumble and analog it causes lag. Was this all fixed?
I just wanted to know if the method of using a PS3 controller, wired or Bluetooth, is working with rumble. Thanks!
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@hansolo77 not sure if any updates have been made in the last few months, but several of us had lag or split second freeze issues with psx and controllers that supported rumble. This issue was so prevalent that @pjft actually created an option within the psx emulator, I am on my phone so I don't remember the exact name of the emulator but it is the default retroarch psx emulator. The update allows you to turn the rumble on and off from the retroarch options menu. With that update we turned off the rumble and the lag/stutter was completely removed.
Sorry I didn't answer your question exactly, but I can confirm a large number of us experienced performance issues with rumble activated.
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No worries. :) I'm anxious to make it work, but I'm also patient. I have the version that allows you to enable/disable the rumble. I think I read in the old forum thread that the problem was because the code in the 'core' used OLD code that hadn't been updated since rumble was made available. It was causing a problem because of the ability to use a multi-tap. I don't intend on using one. But it sounds like everybody that's having the problem also isn't using a multi-tap. Kinda bummed about that. If anything, I'd only be interested in a max of 2 players, even though I'd mostly be playing by myself anyway.
Who's Scruffy Looking?
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Yeah... I don't know much about making rumble work per se - I know some people in the forums have it working though.
All I did was to implement that setting to enable/disable it as it caused lag in some scenarios with controllers that didn't support rumble.
Sorry I can't help further!
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@pjft to continue on your post, there was also issues with generic controllers (Shawn Waun) and PS4 controllers over USB dongle. I was getting rumble st the wrong times and sometimes rumble would start and not stop. This causes lag as well. Turning off rumble fixed all of those issues as well.
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@hansolo77 the ps3 controllers support the rumble fine. It just messes up the audio and can have lag when it happens. I forget if there was an issue wirelessly or just wired.
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Well I just went to GameStop and (regretably) bought a PS3 controller. Regretably because even though it's a generation behind, it was still $40 used. Then I had to go back and buy a charging cable because I didn't have any that match it's plug design. That was another $12. So I'm up $50 for this thing, and haven't done anything with it yet. But, I have the controller, and can spend time working with it.
If there are any issues, I'll report back. Hopefully, as you suggest, its a problem with the wired funcationality and wireless works fine. I'll keep my fingers crossed and report my findings. If need be, maybe further support action can happen. I'm willing to test and do whatever is necessary within my capabilities.
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Requesting further help! :)
I have my PS3 controller fully working wirelessly through BlueTooth now. I still can't get rumble to work, either wirelessly or through the USB. Can somebody recommend a specific game to test on and what settings I should have RetroArch on?
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@hansolo77 play a driving game and slam into walls at high speed. I can barely feel the rumble when playing. It rumbles more when the controller is powering on. Doesnt rumble in regular bluetooth mode. Not sure if the driver has been updated yet. Works in sixad driver mode though.
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@edmaul69 This is my experience as well. At first I didn't think it was working at all, but I was playing a rally race in Gran Turismo to purposely feel the gravel/dirt roads. I held the controller to my ear while playing. I heard the motors but barely felt the rumble. However, like you said, the rumble is very noticeable when the controller is powered on and syncing it's bluetooth. It's almost like the power required to drive the motors isn't strong enough. But that's not the case because it works fine during power on. So I wonder if it's the driver, or maybe a tweak to the retroarch core to drive a higher power request to the motors.
Who's Scruffy Looking?
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@hansolo77 yeah i would love to have the scare the crap out of me feeling. For the longest time i thought it wasnt working for me because you cant feel anything playing resident evil 2 dual shock version or resident evil 3.
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@hansolo77 another thing i have been meaning to get around to is opening the ps3 controller and testing the motors. There are two motors. One has a smaller weight than the other. I want to test in game on the pi and if need be either swap the motors or put another big weight motor in to get more vibration.
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@edmaul69 I don't have the nerve to take it apart. Might be worth it to swap. But it seems to me, if the vibes work strongly during power on, it should be strong while playing too. That's why I think it's either the emulation (maybe the coders have the motor designations inverted?) or the driver sending the signal to the controller is misinterpreting strong vs weak. At least by having 2 people (you and me) with the same results you get a pretty good indication it's not something we're doing wrong. Unless we're 2 of the idiot's who don't know about some "yadda yadda" fix. I'd love to find out there's a simple fix like changing a config setting from 0 to 1, but I don't think there's anything like that.
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@hansolo77 yeah i searched and couldnt find anything you can do to change the force feedback. Since it doesnt vibrate very strong i have a feeling it is only triggering the smaller weight motor. So swapping the motors might give it a stronger vibration. And if i didnt spend years repairing video game consoles for a living i wouldnt want to take apart a ps3 controller either so i dont blame you. These things were built stupid with a bunch of parts that are hard to keep all in place while trying to pop back together. There are a few different renditions of the controllers and one of them is a giant pain in the butt to put back together. Microsoft designed far better controllers.
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just a shot in the dark, but have you guys tested the other input drivers besides udev?
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@chipsnblip What other drivers are there? There is the one built into the RetroPie image that works by just plugging in the controller via USB. To my knowledge, this driver does NOT support rumble at all, because it's not a dedicated PSX driver, just a generic universal one. Then there is the PS3 driver available via the RetroPie-Setup/Manage Drivers menu which I'm now using. This gives rumble, but it's very weak. The only other driver I know of is the XBOXDRV which would require manually configuring via the terminal and writing a script to launch with the runcommand. I've not tried this yet. Are there other drivers?
@edmaul69 I have taken apart 2 Xbox360 controllers in the past to clean them. They're hard enough. They must have a preform jig or something to help build the controllers on the manufacturing line. You have to have the controller face down so the buttons don't fall out, but you need the controller face up so the rumble motors don't fall out. It's a real pain.
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@hansolo77 you're confusing linux drivers with retroarch input drivers.
udev driver in retroarch supports rumble IF
- the core does (pcsx does)
- your controllers linux driver's udev implementation does (?)
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