Gamepads etc

[reddingmyst]

Hi was just wondering what controllers etc everyone is using I've just come back to emulating?!? After quite a few years used to use a single X arcade stick with mame then Been on the consoles since but launchbox got me back haha I'm using a Xbox 360 controller currently as it seems to work well with retro arch, mame, fusion etc I am thinking of getting an X arcade dual tank stick for mame tho But don't want to get too complicated and would like torun big box completely with out keyboard and mouse one day Sorry for essay This front end has reinvigorated my gaming habits so thanks !!

[SentaiBrad]

I greatly prefer the PS4 controller for almost everything. I used a 360 controller previously because it's all I had, but the PS4 controller is greatly superior in my opinion, that D-Pad is so good. The Xbox One Controller I've heard great things about as well. I also use a USB N64 and GameCube controller for the respective consoles because of their uniqueness, and I would for the Wii too if I had a USB Wii Dolphin Bar. Otherwise that's pretty much it. An Arcade stick would be cool too, but it's less of a priority for me.

[reddingmyst]

Thank u for the response It's funny because I've come from ps4 to this never had an Xbox ever but I've found that the 360 controller better for my emulators don't know why though haha. I did use a n64 controller With adaptor for n64 before but it's just a chore to keep changing controllers so trying to keep it simple. I must admit mame with an arcade stick is awesome so I need to get one again! I've never really thought of emulating past ps1 either I'm old or they don't feel retro enough to me How powerful must ur of be to run GameCube or wii emulators ?

[Lordmonkus]

For general purpose I use an XBox 360 controller. But for more specialized tasks I have an X-Arcade Tank Stick which is pretty decent and I have a Hori Fight Commander which is amazing for pure digital control and fighting games, the d-pad on it is damn near perfection. I've been thinking of picking up a Qanba fight stick link just to have for single player games clamped to my desk though. From what I have seen and read about this stick is that it is pretty good for the price and the clamp comes off easily if needed.

[SentaiBrad]

To be able to run them at good speeds, you need a fairly decent PC. Let's put it this way, the SNES is now considered to be perfectly emulated, 100% compatability and there are no speed hacks being run on an emulator like bsnes accuracy / higan or the Bsnes accuracy core in RetroArch. To run the accuracy core competently you need at least a 3Ghz CPU. Now not all CPU's are made equal, My 2016 i7 beats any Octa Core CPU or other i7 CPU's from even last year. I would say at least an i3 Dual Core 3Ghz from within the last few years for the SNES. So emulation requires an extremely more powerful PC, that said, most emulators employ a lot of speed hacks to make things run smoothly on lower end systems and early on in development when they are trying to get things right. So PCSX2 I could run on my older PC (same with GameCube and Wii), but sometimes it wasn't all that pretty. I had an i7 930 (from 2009) and a GTX 970 with 12GB of DDR3 ram. Now I have a i7 6700, a GTX 970 and 32GB of DDR4 RAM and I can play those systems really well. It also depends on the emulator and how far along they are or how sophisticated they are. The 3DS and Wii U emulator run very poorly because they are new (ignoring the fact that I personally think no one should really be emulating these unless they legit own the games because these are still readily available at affordable prices... but hey). For the controller, if you did try your PS4 controller and it didn't work that might have been because you need Input Mapper which allows the PS4 controller to work. That is one upside to the Xbox 360 and One controllers, they pretty much just work right away. The Xbox One and PS4 are the best controllers possible though. Better D-Pad's than the 360 controller and better sticks and triggers than the PS3 controller. https://www.inputmapper.com/

[fromlostdays]

You can search the forums too, plenty on this. It all depends on what you want to emulate, and personal preference. If you're going the wireless route, I don't know of anything that beats the PS4 controller for the Dpad and in terms of ease of use with windows (the software you use will trick windows into thinking its an xbox controller, and that makes life easier.) If you're doing wired, I mean, the sky is the limit. You can use anything, but I'd really recommend using something that will at least mimic xbox controller functionality in windows. It really is a lifesaver. I personally splurged on an xbox elite controller and for a wonder the Dpad is pretty good. I wouldn't say its the end all be all. I'd give that title to some of the wii pro controllers. (These would be the ideal solution for anything dpad related, but even with the mayflash dolphin bar I had a lot of problems and eventually gave up.) For me, a couch potato, the xbox one controller's dpad made it a no no, but with the elite, I use it for everything. From nes right up to wii. Launchbox + RetroArch + Xbox (Or mimicked) controller is probably the easiest way to emulate dozens, maybe even over 100 systems, and, bonus, autosync with steam big picture and a lot of pc games. I also use Kodi, and I have front ends launching front ends sometimes, haha. It really is a sickness.

[firion]

To me it seems like there's no perfect solution yet, without spending an arm and a leg. Xbone controller comes the closest from what I hear (haven't had the chance to try it myself sadly) but if you want wireless and rechargable batteries (which I imagine you would in 2016) its gunna cost $100 unless you get paart of it on sale. Theres 360 controllers + adapter which aren't too expensive but then there's the terrible dpad. The Dualshock 3 requires third party drivers and a lot of people don't like the ergonomics (though it has pressure sensitive buttons as a bonus). There's the dualshock 4 but it requires third party drivers and has terrible battery life. And there's the Wii U Pro Controller which requires an adapter and has digital triggers so can't be used for racing games. Of course if you don't mind wired then its a bit different. My personal preference is for the Wii U Pro Controller because it works really well with the adapter has an insanely long battery life and I don't care much about racing games and actually prefer digital triggers, find them less tiresome.

[SentaiBrad]

The software needing to be installed for the PS4 controllers to work (and PS3) is minor, but it also helps you control the light bar, the track pad, etc. With the Light Bar turned off too, the battery life is a bit better, but I have mine wired.