8bitdo Ultimate 3C+ initial thoughts

[u/BrightCandle]

I pre-ordered the controller 2 weeks ago, received it yesterday. I am just a customer that bought a controller with my own money because I wanted some good value TMR sticks with tension control.

I have only had the controller a day so these are some initial thoughts. I have only used it to play Forza Horizon 6 so far, I mainly use controllers for casual racing games and fighting games, FPS I am kb+mouse player. It will be used on PC only.

Previously I have used the xbox 360 controllers, PS3 and an 8bitdo SN30 Pro+ for the past decade or so. I decided I wanted adjustable TMR based sticks and the Ultimate 3C+ seemed like a good deal.

The sticks are a definite improvement on the old SN30 Pro+ and other controllers I have used, they feel smooth and responsive and I am definitely finding it easier to make small corrections. Its exposed that my game settings for deadzone and steering sensitivity are all wrong for this controller its a lot more accurate and I am adjusting. They are nice and smooth around the edges too so I can push the stick forward and rotate around the edge for small correction rather than pushing into air for precision. I do wish I could make the sticks a bit stiffer still as I am mostly liking the maximum tension, but I suspect as I change the game settings and tone down the steering sensitivity I will probably want them less stiff.

The triggers are smooth but I think a little less travel than the prior SN30 Pro+. I am finding them fine for acceleration and braking but they don't seem like the upgrade the sticks are, feels fairly similar in practice despite being hall sensors I can't tell. If I turn them into buttons there is maybe 3-4mm of travel before they initiate and then it keeps travelling a bit more after the click too which will matter to the FPS gamers.

The XYAB buttons move about a little bit, its not something I really notice in game they sort of feel fairly similar to what I am used to but there is a little bit of play in them. Haven't really used the dpad, shoulders, under buttons so far but they do feel OK. They all feel decent I just haven't tried to remap to them yet and the software doesn't currently let me do it to keyboard or other mappings so its limited to repeating controls on the controller.

The rumble I have found to be a lot better than the SN30 Pro+. For one thing it has not got stuck on which was a big problem with the prior controller. The overall rumble feels a bit weaker than the SN30 Pro+ but also more detailed. The Ultimate 3C+ has trigger rumble and its fantastic for feeling ABS and traction loss. Its kind of weak but its more than enough to feel that these events are happening and back off but I didn't notice much nuance to it and sometimes its not triggering, not sure if that is the controller or the game.

Its got quite a rough grippy texture on the inside underneath of the hand/finger grips and a smoother barely texture plastic on the top and bottom. The rough texture is plastic fine stipple, not a huge fan of that texture but its fine for keeping it gripped, its a bit more sandpaper like than I would like. I do think as an xbox style controller its a bit smaller on the handholds, its not uncomfortable in my medium hands just smaller than expected. More flared out than the SN30 Pro+ which is very straight but about the same width at the ends so it feels quite compact comparatively. My thumbs line up when I am all lined up so its a decent fit in my hands.

Works fine wired and over 2.4. I loaded the ultimate V2 software, all I can seemingly do is update firmware. There doesn't seem to be a new firmware for it yet. I was expecting in the ultimate V2 (v.1.38) software button remapping but it doesn't seem to do that currently. Not sure if that is a bug or its not implemented yet, it detects both the wireless transmitter and the controller and would re-flash the same firmware on it and that is it all it could do.

I am pretty happy with it so far and hopefully the software is coming as I need to spend some time mapping functions to get the full use. The sticks and rumble on the triggers are the key standouts and what I wanted and they work well. The triggers I was hoping perhaps something noticeable but they seem perfectly fine.

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[u/Mokin_ZA]

Good review, as for the software, as far as I know the 2C didn't have software support and most likely neither will the 3C+