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Controllers |OT| It's the Hall-Effect Life!

Recently got another flight sim controller. This one is the Virpil R1 rudder, which is very different from the tiny VKB rudder I was using before. There's a lot of adjustments available - I currently have the pedals set to their narrowest width, no outward camber, lowest pedal angle.

I got it with the optional damper, which makes it very smooth. It's set so it barely requires any force to keep the pedals in position, but without any pressure they will slowly return to the middle. Without the damper the pedals push back hard on your feet and want to instantly spring back to the neutral position.

The toe brakes are heavy and take a lot of getting used to. I had to remove one of the springs to make them lighter. I also had to pad the rubber stops with fabric tape, as they're slightly tacky against the metal of the pedals.

The mechanism is really simple - a trapezoid that swings back and forth, with a spring and a cam. The massive plate on the bottom is just to stop it toppling over on the floor, but it can be removed and the small box with the electronics can be bolted onto a sim rig, which would certainly be the best way to do it. It tends to slide around on my wooden floor, despite its rubber feet, so I can't raise the tension in the damper as high as I'd like. Maybe I'll find something to brace it against the wall.

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I bought an 8bitdo controller for my phone for emulators & handheld play I can also use on PC as my DS4 is going bad (even if maybe less comfy due to width).
mobile-gaming-controller.png

I will be using it via bluetooth on phone, wired on PC. It has no rumble but hall effect sticks, triggers, some back buttons and will be recognized as an Xbox pad on PC. Gamesir had various options but I couldn't find them for good prices and they were either too bulky or too compact, I liked some without analog triggers but I wanted analog triggers for Dreamcast/Saturn so I went with this (I considered Gamesir's Galileo, G8+ and X2s/X5s as well). As long as they don't come out with Ultimate Mobile 2 soon with usb c (to phone, this has usb c to PC/charge), rumble & more stuff I'm good.
 
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I was randomly browsing Time Extension and they had an article about Retro Fighters and I was like oh yeah I forgot about them I wonder what they are doing now and I saw this.



Looks like they fixed or at least have attempted to fix a lot of the complaints of the standard Defender controller. I always prefer to use original or first party options but I know a lot of people like these for PlayStation 1-3.

Edit: I also find it hilarious that they didn't bother to dust the PC :messenger_grinning_squinting:
 
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I was randomly browsing Time Extension and they had an article about Retro Fighters and I was like oh yeah I forgot about them I wonder what they are doing now and I saw this.




Looks like they fixed or at least have attempted to fix a lot of the complaints of the standard Defender controller. I always prefer to use original or first party options but I know a lot of people like these for PlayStation 1-3.

Edit: I also find it hilarious that they didn't bother to dust the PC :messenger_grinning_squinting:

Does anyone make a third-party controller that actually supports and replicates the Dualshock 2's pressure sensitive buttons? BeardSpike BeardSpike - you know if this exists?

Always wondered if someone figured that out, since the ones on my old pad don't work anymore. I end up with racing games having to bind stuff to the triggers, but some other genres on the console used them too that don't feel natural on a triggers with PCSX2.
 
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Does anyone make a third-party controller that actually supports and replicates the Dualshock 2's pressure sensitive buttons? BeardSpike BeardSpike - you know if this exists?

Always wondered if someone figured that out, since the ones on my old pad don't work anymore. I end up with racing games having to bind stuff to the triggers, but some other genres on the console used them too that don't feel natural on a triggers with PCSX2.
Apparently regular Defender from Retro Fighters had pressure sensitive buttons, dunno about Pro which hououinkyouma00 hououinkyouma00 just posted.

Edit: just read their official page and it has them https://retrofighters.com/our-collection/defender-pro-wireless-gamepad/#controllers-description

Drops in June though.
 
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I bought an 8bitdo controller for my phone for emulators & handheld play I can also use on PC as my DS4 is going bad (even if maybe less comfy due to width).
mobile-gaming-controller.png

I will be using it via bluetooth on phone, wired on PC. It has no rumble but hall effect sticks, triggers, some back buttons and will be recognized as an Xbox pad on PC. Gamesir had various options but I couldn't find them for good prices and they were either too bulky or too compact, I liked some without analog triggers but I wanted analog triggers for Dreamcast/Saturn so I went with this (I considered Gamesir's Galileo, G8+ and X2s/X5s as well). As long as they don't come out with Ultimate Mobile 2 soon with usb c (to phone, this has usb c to PC/charge), rumble & more stuff I'm good.
So I ordered the white standard one and they sent me the Xbox black. I don't think I'll bother switching it since they also took so long to ship it and stuff, got a 5 eur coupon for the mistake (which is lame but eh) and told them off a bit that's it.
mobile-gaming-controller-xbox.png

The pad seems pretty great, I tested it on my phone in emulators and it's nice and also tested it on my PC and it's recognized as an Xbox 360 pad in most stuff though retroarch and windows devices (but not device manager) do read it as 8bitdo so you can tell it apart vs other xinput pads.

It conveniently replaced the DualShock4 in my Retroarch settings where I have a different P1 and P2 gamepad per core so I don't have to mess with that which is nice, though I'll still probably have to remap some stuff like coin buttons and things here and there.

I tested with Hollow Knight to see if it's the 1st pad for an average Steam game and it is (wouldn't wanna have to faff about with disconnecting the xinput Retro-bit Saturn pad) and also tested the d-pad moving left/right near the bench, no unintended up/down directions there.

It has nice clicky shoulder buttons and d-pad and back buttons (which sadly can only be made into duplicates of other buttons but you can apparently set impossible combos like left/right d-pad and then assign that impossible combo as a key in Steam input or other settings to fake extra buttons.

About the only minor issue I see because it's made to be a mobile phone handheld controller is that you can easily touch the right stick when using the A button, the DS4 has way more room there. It's fine though, just an observation. The width is fine too without the phone slotted in.
 
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I haven't owned anything from CRKD, but a friend's kid uses the Nitro Deck for the Switch and gave it a good review.

I've got a Nitro Deck (the Switch 1 version) and like it a lot, build quality is really good. I've also got their guitar controller, which is amazing. Will definitely keep my eyes on this controller.
 
What are my options for a wireless, smooth controller (not textured like the official one) for Xbox Series S? I despise the pattern on the handles of the controller. I'm using an Xbox One controller right now on my Series S because it's completely smooth. On Design Lab it's either textured plastic or rubber.
 
I'm curious how it is. I wish it was Xbox Series compatible.
Retro Fighters Hunter 360:

Shape is extra comfy for my smallish hands.

Shell quality and grips is really good, I haven't felt any rough edges whatsoever on grips and nothing creaks.

Dpad is on microswitches and is less loose than the one on G7 Pro without Durin Durin orings mod.

Triggers are a bit stiffer than on G7 Pro, Sticks although Hall Effect have a stick tension of Alps (analog stick).

It pulls 1000Hz in Modern Mode in wired and wireless on Win11, I still have issues I haven't quite pinpointed out on Linux.

It can do 1000Hz there only through wire (Linux), wireless dongle even in XInput mode pulls 125Hz so far. Thats the only issue I have with this controller.

ABXY buttons have decent membranes. And I like the feel of them too the actual plastics on ABXY.

Bumpers could be more tactile but it is sufficient, in the ballpark of Series Elite 2.

I like the rubber on thumbcaps, it's not slippery. And feels thick.
 
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I've been using the Razer Raiju V3 Pro for the past month. An absolute god-tier controller, with 6 extra buttons, mouse-click triggers, 2000Hz polling rate and TMR sticks.

I'm never taking my thumb off left stick anymore, when in movement. Assigned d-pad left and right to the extra shoulder buttons and only need to take it off to look at map (touchpad).

It gives me access to all gadgets in The Finals and Marathon, without ever needing to stop running. Truly a gamechanger.
 
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I've been using the Razer Raiju V3 Pro for the past month. An absolute god-tier controller, with 6 extra buttons, mouse-click triggers, 2000Hz polling rate and TMR sticks.

I'm never taking my thumb off left stick anymore, when in movement. Assigned d-pad left and right to the extra shoulder buttons and only need to take it off to look at map (touchpad).

It gives me access to all gadgets in The Finals and Marathon, without ever needing to stop running. Truly a gamechanger.
Looks expensive, but 4 paddles and 2 extra shoulder buttons does open up a lot.

I'm loving the knowledge that the 8bitdo Ultimate 2 is compatible with Steam, the per-game mappings to extra buttons is exactly what I wanted. As you say, barely having to take your thumbs off the sticks in certain games makes a huge difference. Claw grip is ancient history.
 
Retro Fighters Hunter 360:

Shape is extra comfy for my smallish hands.

Shell quality and grips is really good, I haven't felt any rough edges whatsoever on grips and nothing creaks.

Dpad is on microswitches and is less loose than the one on G7 Pro without Durin Durin orings mod.

Triggers are a bit stiffer than on G7 Pro, Sticks although Hall Effect have a stick tension of Alps (analog stick).

It pulls 1000Hz in Modern Mode in wired and wireless on Win11, I still have issues I haven't quite pinpointed out on Linux.

It can do 1000Hz there only through wire (Linux), wireless dongle even in XInput mode pulls 125Hz so far. Thats the only issue I have with this controller.

ABXY buttons have decent membranes. And I like the feel of them too the actual plastics on ABXY.

Bumpers could be more tactile but it is sufficient, in the ballpark of Series Elite 2.

I like the rubber on thumbcaps, it's not slippery. And feels thick.
Nice, I'm glad you seem to like it. I really wish it was Xbox Series compatible.

I just want somebody to make a Xbox 360 replica that's wireless. I still play a lot of BC games on my Series X and while my Hyperkin Duke is fine being wired since the OG Xbox didn't have wireless controllers by the time I got a 360 I only used wireless controllers.

The bolded is a plus for me. I've used a couple hall effect/TMR controllers and never liked the way the sticks felt. They also felt too loose.
 
Nice, I'm glad you seem to like it. I really wish it was Xbox Series compatible.

I just want somebody to make a Xbox 360 replica that's wireless. I still play a lot of BC games on my Series X and while my Hyperkin Duke is fine being wired since the OG Xbox didn't have wireless controllers by the time I got a 360 I only used wireless controllers.

The bolded is a plus for me. I've used a couple hall effect/TMR controllers and never liked the way the sticks felt. They also felt too loose.
Yeah I liked the shape but I decided to return it unfortunately due to weird Linux compatibility and I felt like it didn't rumble fully. Like it did rumble but not in the same spots my other controllers were. Which was weird, like it didn't receive all the inputs, only some of them?

I decided to just order Leadjoy Xeno Plus in April and see if I will like it. Since it's priced better than Retro Fighters one and I wanna see what the former head of Mohjon (BigBigWon) is cooking with this brand.

Edit:

Xeno Plus first impressions.

 
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So my 8bitdo Ultimate 2 BT stopped working after about 9 months and probably a total of 100 hours of use.
Their customer service won't replace it unless I pay to ship the defective one out to them (even though they agree it is defective).
So I'm thinking about just buying a different controller.
Are there any good alternatives, or should I just go with the official Switch 2 Pro controller?
 
So my 8bitdo Ultimate 2 BT stopped working after about 9 months and probably a total of 100 hours of use.
Their customer service won't replace it unless I pay to ship the defective one out to them (even though they agree it is defective).
So I'm thinking about just buying a different controller.
Are there any good alternatives, or should I just go with the official Switch 2 Pro controller?
Gamesir Super Nova has Switch Pro profile (Hall Effect sticks and Membrane Buttons)



Interchangeable faceplates and you can swap ABXY to Switch layout or Xbox layout.

Gamesir G7 Pro is similar in size to 8BitDo Ultimate 2 (TMR sticks and micro switches on Dpad and ABXY).



A few of us here use G7 Pro.

Sakura Sakura
 
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Yeah I liked the shape but I decided to return it unfortunately due to weird Linux compatibility and I felt like it didn't rumble fully. Like it did rumble but not in the same spots my other controllers were. Which was weird, like it didn't receive all the inputs, only some of them?

I decided to just order Leadjoy Xeno Plus in April and see if I will like it. Since it's priced better than Retro Fighters one and I wanna see what the former head of Mohjon (BigBigWon) is cooking with this brand.

Edit:

Xeno Plus first impressions.


Its worth to mention Xeno Plus uses the same JS13 Pro TMR sticks that G7 Pro 8k uses. But without 8000Hz polling rate, just 1000Hz so no "8k tax".

Which apparently are more linear than JS16 TMRs regular G7 Pro uses.
 
Picked up a 8bitdo ultimate 2c, wireless , the wukong one.

Good controller I like it, a lot smaller than i expected.

Was just looking for a basic controller and this does the job.
 
CRKD just announced a controller of their own:



Looks like it could be a better 8Bitdo tbh, implementation still unknown though.
 
CRKD just announced a controller of their own:



Looks like it could be a better 8Bitdo tbh, implementation still unknown though.



I haven't owned anything from CRKD, but a friend's kid uses the Nitro Deck for the Switch and gave it a good review.

Looks like a pretty perfect controller on paper. I wonder how the PC software/remapping experience is.
Yeah 👍 We've been talking about it already ,😆.

Edit: looks curious anyways, lmao.

I like the retro buttons white one.

Although it kinda looks too thicc for my smallish hands.

And I already had crumbs with DualSense thickness. It wasn't really comfortable for me. So I might sit this one out.

Edit²:

I'm focusing on Leadjoy Xeno Plus instead since GadgetHyper said he has smaller hands and it's comfortable for him and it uses the same sticks G7 Pro 8K uses.

They posted new stuff on Gadget page, with AI stick curve control


I'm really curious about that one.

There also will be an PC and Phone app, so I could still map controller through my Phone while on Linux.
analog_future analog_future Durin Durin

AI Curve Tech

Stop fighting different game settings. Our AI engine detects and repairs inconsistent game curves, using 8-point customization to keep your muscle memory consistent in every title.
I'm curious if it will do this at firmware level without booting to software app on PC/Phone.

BennyBlanco BennyBlanco Astray Astray
 
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Yeah 👍 We've been talking about it already ,😆.

Edit: looks curious anyways, lmao.

I like the retro buttons white one.

Although it kinda looks too thicc for my smallish hands.

And I already had crumbs with DualSense thickness. It wasn't really comfortable for me. So I might sit this one out.

Edit²:

I'm focusing on Leadjoy Xeno Plus instead since GadgetHyper said he has smaller hands and it's comfortable for him and it uses the same sticks G7 Pro 8K uses.

They posted new stuff on Gadget page, with AI stick curve control


I'm really curious about that one.

There also will be an PC and Phone app, so I could still map controller through my Phone while on Linux.
analog_future analog_future Durin Durin


I'm curious if it will do this at firmware level without booting to software app on PC/Phone.

BennyBlanco BennyBlanco Astray Astray

Razer Wolverine V3 is still my favorite controller. Top tier materials/build quality, great ergonomics, all the functionality you'd want (TMR sticks & triggers, 4 rear paddles/buttons, etc..), great aesthetics, great battery life, AND you can map any key to any keyboard key or even keyboard key combinations. AND it works flawlessly in Linux.

Pretty much a perfect controller IMO.
 
I like the retro buttons white one.
Kinda odd that it isn't in PC layout considering that they are using the classic XB360 colorway lol.

Also lol forgot that someone posted it already.

I'm focusing on Leadjoy Xeno Plus instead since GadgetHyper said he has smaller hands and it's comfortable for him and it uses the same sticks G7 Pro 8K uses.

They posted new stuff on Gadget page, with AI stick curve control
This youtuber will be reviewing it soon, he mentioned it in this review:



(Also this might be the most relaxing controller review I've ever seen, it's like I'm getting a massage rofl)
 
Pre-ordered the Leadjoy Xeno Plus. I've been rocking the GameSir G7 Pro for a while now, feel like using something different. (as if the 100+ controllers I already own wouldn't allow that already...)
 
Pre-ordered the Leadjoy Xeno Plus. I've been rocking the GameSir G7 Pro for a while now, feel like using something different. (as if the 100+ controllers I already own wouldn't allow that already...)
I'm jumping in on Xeno Plus too. JS13 Pro/ Pro Angle are the same sticks used in G7 Pro 8k plus that AI curve linearization is curious to me.

JS16 TMR sticks regular G7 Pro I can feel non linearity in horizontal axis tbh in shooters. Monoru curve and GreedZz variant of stick curve definitely help but it still isn't ideal.

Also it's worth to note that Gamesir tired to buy LeadJoy at one point but it didn't fell through. So maybe they saw something cool in LeadJoy tech. Its worth to note that too.
 
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Diseased Yak Diseased Yak Durin Durin Astray Astray looks like BigBigWon is firing back with a new release.

I think they are gonna try to compete with Leadjoy, since it's led by OGs from Mojhon, former BigBigWon.

Looks like controller space finally gets exciting.

Steam Controller 2 is coming for sure with recent Steam Beta updates, Leadjoy is releasing it's first controller and BigBigWon is releasing something too.

And others like Beitong and ULT.

There's also 8BitDo Ultimate 3E coming soon. Hmm.
 
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Pre-ordered the Leadjoy Xeno Plus. I've been rocking the GameSir G7 Pro for a while now, feel like using something different. (as if the 100+ controllers I already own wouldn't allow that already...)
It just got a review, I'm only halfway through but it seems very positive.

Tagging BeardSpike BeardSpike too given that he's expressed his interest in it too.

 
Is Xbox the only way to go if I really value trigger feedback in Forza Horizon and Motorsport? Probably the one feature I'd be sore without and it held me back from buy non-MS controllers to replace my ancient Xbone controller that will not die in any meaningful way.
 
Is Xbox the only way to go if I really value trigger feedback in Forza Horizon and Motorsport? Probably the one feature I'd be sore without and it held me back from buy non-MS controllers to replace my ancient Xbone controller that will not die in any meaningful way.
On PC? I think lots of aftermarket controllers have the impulse trigger feature.

I know for a fact that the gamesir g7 pro I got has the feature. I think the ZD Ultimate Legend might have it too but I don't have that controller tbh.
 
On PC? I think lots of aftermarket controllers have the impulse trigger feature.

I know for a fact that the gamesir g7 pro I got has the feature. I think the ZD Ultimate Legend might have it too but I don't have that controller tbh.
They have it as a feature, but there are comments saying changing the intensity and feeling of it makes some racing games feel wrong. Like it's just punchy for shooters.
 
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