[sharing] A Brief Review of Current-gen Game Controllers for Max Usage

MaxMSP
larme's icon

larme

So I bought all three current-gen game controllers with the idea of using them as wireless controllers for Max patches in mind. After some testing, here's my subjective conclusion. For reference I'm on a Mac with Yosemite and Max 6.

Tl;dr: if you want to use one controller, choose dualshock 4; if you want to use multiple controller, try the combination of Wii U pro controller and the third party pc adapter (http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Wii-Pro-Controller-Adapter/dp/B00E6553PW).

Sony Dualshock 4

DS4 works out of box as a wireless HID controller, just pair it with your computer via bluetooth. It feels really great in hands and the L2/R2 give you a nice feedback when pressed. However both Sixaxis and trackpad doesn't work without driver (and I don't know if there is a driver for mac).

This is the controller I will use for Max. I made a package to abstract DS4's raw inputs to Max messages. Check it here: https://github.com/larme/zsy.ds4.

Pros:
Very comfortable
Work out of box as a wireless HID controller

Cons:
Battery life
You can only use one DS4 due to the [hi] object's limitation.
No Sixaxis yet
Trackpad doesn't work except the click function.

Wii U Pro Controller

I didn't make the Wii U pro controller work as a wireless HID controller. However I have a pc adapter and it allows you to use up to 4 pro controller simultaneously as HID controllers. I don't have another pro controller to test this function but I think two pro controllers will just output different HID data so making a patch work with several pro controllers should be a simple task.

This pro controller doesn't have analog triggers. L2/R2 are digital hence you lose some inputs compare with the other 2 controllers.

I have small hands and the dpad on pro controller is too far to be comfortably reached. Otherwise it's a nice controller.

Pros:
Pair with the adapter and you may use 4 controllers at once
Long battery life
With the adapter the connection feels more stable than DS4.

Cons:
L2 and R2 are digital only, which means they only output 0s and 1s. What R U thinking Nintendo!
Not as comfortable as the other two controllers
Seems not work as a standalone wireless controller without the pc adapter (not sure about that).

Xbox one controller

I have nothing to say about this controller because currently it doesn't work wirelessly on PC/Mac at all.

Pros:
Feels good in hand
Accept AA batteries

Cons:
Doesn't work as a wireless controller at all.
L1 and R1 triggers feel surprisingly cheap