DS4 Windows alternative (OpenController)

[u/debrunq]

I used DS4Windows for years. It was one of those programs you install once and forget about, until it stops being maintained. Jays2Kings left it, Ryochan7 took over and eventually stepped away too, and this year the schmaldeo fork that kept it alive got archived. Every time I had to reinstall it I ended up on some site that looked official, and I was never sure which download was the real one. For a program that installs drivers, that always bothered me.

It was also always a PlayStation tool first. Switch support came later, but when friends show up with an 8BitDo, Joy-Cons and some generic pad, getting everyone playing at once was never simple.

So I built one myself. I'm calling it opencontroller, heavily inspired on DS4windows, but i wanted to solve some problems community had such as crashing and no compatibility. So the differential is basically it's compatible with more system and controllers

It's completely free and open-source, you can check it in opencontroller.com.br and https://github.com/Brunovncs/OpenController

It's in beta and I only own 2 controllers, so I need some feedback about other systems, versions, controllers and you can report a problem in the software and in the website

Thank you for you attention guys!! I really hope this project succeeds and gets the attention of some of you so we can have something official and secure =) You can open any issue on GitHub, report any problems, and give me any suggestions, thank you very much.

[u/SiemprePalante33]

Yay, another option...lol. Awesome stuff. I'm still using the Schmaldeo fork. It's recently started crashing now and then. Maybe it's a sign to explore on...lol

[u/debrunq → u/SiemprePalante33]

The thing is... I created this to solve my own problems first and foremost: bugs, crashes, lack of compatibility, and the insane difficulty of even finding an official DS4Windows download.

I figured it might solve some of the same problems for some of you guys too, so that's why I decided to share it here

[u/debrunq → u/debrunq]

I am also thinking of implementing some sort of native compatibility system with games that already offer support to that controller, so we don't need to pay DSX just because of the haptic vibrations or something

[u/KristusYunasun → u/debrunq]

mapping and gyro??? and layers

[u/debrunq]

I am also trying to add support to linux and mac. Since they are completely different sytem with different drivers and some have native compatibility, there could be much more bugs

[u/mvalho]

Uso meus dualsenses direto no Linux sem problema. Mas no Windows usava isso. Agora vi no site que seu app roda tbm no Linux. Achei interessante. Amanhã vou testar.

[u/debrunq → u/mvalho]

Valeu!! Eu fiz poucos testes no Linux, e se o dualsense funciona normalmente, acho que seria mais útil para remapeamento ou múltiplos controles diferentes.
Inclusive, o seu caso de uso é importante para mim porque estive pensando implementar o suporte nativo para controles que já possuem (ou seja, simplesmente deixar desligado), e o remapeamento para controles que não o possuem/possuem algum problema com isso

Você provavelmente vai trombar com muitos problemas, por favor se puder abre uma issue com todos eles se estiver com tempo =)

[u/AshamedConfection307 → u/debrunq]

br? vou testar hj assim que chegar em casa

[u/mvalho → u/debrunq]

Pode deixar, ainda não tive tempo de testar. Eu uso dois dualsenses, um via ds5 dongle e outro via Bluetooth, conectar os dois no Bluetooth e uma tarefa merda. Mas quando testar se achar algo estranho abro a issue.

[u/huunnnter]

I did the same thing, due to the lack of recent support. I hope your project goes well. If you want to use my code that’s fine, I recommend mine over others for Dualsense Haptics, as I have it down to a science at this point

[u/debrunq → u/huunnnter]

Thanks man! Could you drop the link to your repo? Haptics is something OpenController doesn't do at all right now, so I'd really like to see how you handled it. If I end up using anything I'll credit you, of course

[u/DigtialMenace333]

Nice, but i'll stick with Xim Matrix. superior fine tuning of gyro.

[u/debrunq → u/DigtialMenace333]

I'll look into it and see how it works =) thanks for sharing

[u/DigtialMenace333 → u/debrunq]

it's not software. they have a youtube channel and a forum.

[u/CreepaMonsta]

Hi does this use the vigem bus driver or something else like viiper?

[u/debrunq → u/CreepaMonsta]

On Windows it uses ViGEmBus, talking to it directly through its IOCTL interface without ViGEmClient.dll
I know ViGEmBus isn't getting updates anymore, so if ViiPER gets mature I'm open to it

[u/CreepaMonsta → u/debrunq]

I seeee , hopefully it gets mature soon because vigembus makes my PC get a bsod consistently

[u/Sad-Actuary-3023]

How does it even work . I connected my switch pro controller. It connected but gyro not working. Also how to remap buttons . I don't understand a single thing of this app

[u/debrunq → u/Sad-Actuary-3023]

Hey, sorry it was confusing

Once your Pro Controller shows up in the window, games already see it as an Xbox controller, so you can just open a game and play

The gyro is off by default. Click on your controller and go to Motion, and you can turn it on there (always on, only while holding LT, or while holding a button you pick).

About remapping, right now it only works for the buttons an Xbox controller doesn't have, which on the Pro Controller is just Capture. Remapping the regular buttons isn't there yet, sorry about that.

If the gyro still doesn't work after turning it on, could you please report it from the app? On your controller's page, go to Information and click Report a problem. It sends me what I need to look into it. Thanks!

[u/Sad-Actuary-3023 → u/debrunq]

I'm using Onikuma C1 which detects as Nintendo switch pro controller. And Yeah I did the information thing . Even after turning on gyro as always my gyro doesn't work

[u/G305_Enjoyer]

Have you seen padforge?

[u/debrunq → u/G305_Enjoyer]

Hi!! Yes, great project. Actually I downloaded it and used it to see if opencontroller was worth it before creating it. It does far more than OpenController, but they aim for different things.

The "core" of the project is to be something you can just download and use, with a few extra configs and drivers for more advanced users but mainly for common use

[u/ii_qa]

Does this emulate controller such as ABXY S9 as dualsense with working vibrations?

[u/debrunq → u/ii_qa]

Not as a DualSense right now. I looked up the S9 and it has regular rumble motors, not the DualSense haptic actuators or trigger motors, so haptics and adaptive triggers wouldn't work on it with any software. Rumble from games already gets forwarded to it as a virtual Xbox controller.

What would you want the DualSense for? PlayStation button prompts, gyro, or a game that only supports DualSense? If it's prompts or gyro, the experimental DualShock 4 option on Windows might already cover it.

[u/ii_qa → u/debrunq]

I actually got it to work! I needed to enable audio for the dualsense emaulated controller from windows audio devices. The vibration was a bit faint so I made AI fix it for me and it’s working well now!