Linux 6.3 Bringing Proper Support For The 8BitDo Pro 2 Wired Controller

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux 6.3 Bringing Proper Support For The 8BitDo Pro 2 Wired Controller

The 8BitDo Pro 2 Wired Controller as a popular ~$35 USD gaming controller will see proper support with the Linux 6.3 kernel...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.3-8BitDo-Pro-2-Wired

[M@GOid]

I broke a promise I made to myself and got the wireless one of the Pro 2, since I scored a 30% discount out of Ali Express. Getting it today, if the the delivery people are in a good mood. My primary use for it will be the D-pad, since I play a lot of 2D indie games.

[Mahboi]

Nice. I have its older brother, the SN30 Pro+, and frankly, I'll just buy the same brand when this one dies out someday.
Pleasant plastic, solid buttons, light, long battery, good connectivity, supports tons of devices. I highly recommend them.

[skeevy420]

I broke a promise I made to myself and got the wireless one of the Pro 2, since I scored a 30% discount out of Ali Express. Getting it today, if the the delivery people are in a good mood. My primary use for it will be the D-pad, since I play a lot of 2D indie games.

Mine used to frustrate the hell out of me until I learned how to disable the turbo modifier button. When using the left stick and down on the d-pad, the way my thumb naturally rests on them just happens to be exactly where that button is so I'd keep accidentally giving buttons turbo in the heat of the moment. That may or may not bother you.

The main things I don't like about it is you can't set the paddles to anything other than the existing controller buttons nor can you set game pad buttons to use keyboard/mouse input options. Their software is rather limited and, frankly, sucks if you've used a Steam Controller with Valve's software that lets you map anything to anything.

It's damn good controller, great for emulation and console-style gaming, but its software with the trigger/button input limitations really holds it back from being an excellent PC gaming controller.

[qlum]

the driver situation for their ultimate controller is a bit less rosy at the moment. It does work in switch mode without analog triggers but besides that it's a bit of a mess. Nothing to blame on linux, just 8bitdo's own messed up ways of achieving compatibility.

[M@GOid]

Mine used to frustrate the hell out of me until I learned how to disable the turbo modifier button. When using the left stick and down on the d-pad, the way my thumb naturally rests on them just happens to be exactly where that button is so I'd keep accidentally giving buttons turbo in the heat of the moment. That may or may not bother you.

The main things I don't like about it is you can't set the paddles to anything other than the existing controller buttons nor can you set game pad buttons to use keyboard/mouse input options. Their software is rather limited and, frankly, sucks if you've used a Steam Controller with Valve's software that lets you map anything to anything.

It's damn good controller, great for emulation and console-style gaming, but its software with the trigger/button input limitations really holds it back from being an excellent PC gaming controller.

After a couple ours of using it, I had got my first impressions:

- I'm curious how your left thumb rests on the controller. I had not come nowhere near of hitting the turbo button;
- The ergonomic feels good. It fit my hands nicely, with all the controls in a comfortable reach;
- The D-pad is much better than the Playstation ones. While not 100% identical to Nintendo's controllers, it still is the best one of all non-Nintendo controllers I have;
- It is on the noisy side, similar to the XBOne and Logitech F710 controllers. Curiously, the noise happens when you release the controls abruptly. Pressing them slowly, they sound quiet;
- The analog thumbsticks are the weak point. While good enough to not let you down during gameplay, the grips are (surprisingly) on the slippery side. Down the road I will see if I can use XBOne thumbstick on it for a better grip, if I can find ones from a good supplier. Also, they are closer together than what I like, the Dualshock 4.

Overall I like it, and I can see why it got such positive reviews. For me is refreshing to get a third party controller with a quality that can rivals Sony and Microsoft ones. I had never liked third party controllers, with the last one I got (for free), the Logitech F710, left a very bad taste in my mouth. Ever since the XB360 I only buy first party ones, since they are more consistent in overall quality.

From now on this will probably retire my Dualshock 4, since it is more adequate for the games I play the most nowadays. The Steam Controller is still king for FPS games, tough.

And to stop boring you, a small curiosity. A (older) Steam game that always had bad controller support, La Mulana, recognizes the Pro 2, but still refuses to accept the Dualshock 4, even with Steam Input.

[skeevy420]

- I'm curious how your left thumb rests on the controller. I had not come nowhere near of hitting the turbo button;

The length from the center of my thumb to the joint in my thumb is the same distance as it is from the stick or down dpad to the turbo button. Because I have Hitchhiker's Thumb it's really comfortable for me when my thumb joint rests on that part of the controller due to how my thumb has an extended range of motion compared to other people. I also use sticks from the side and not the center. Like, with the left stick, the bottom part of my thumb is controlling the stick from the outer left side of the stick. Using the tips of my thumbs to control sticks is awkward for me.

A picture is worth a thousand words...



Basically, my thumb bends down like that right into the turbo button. Yep, that's an SNES button mod

I need to do some dusting

And I 100% agree with the rest of what you said.

[M@GOid]

The length from the center of my thumb to the joint in my thumb is the same distance as it is from the stick or down dpad to the turbo button. Because I have Hitchhiker's Thumb it's really comfortable for me when my thumb joint rests on that part of the controller due to how my thumb has an extended range of motion compared to other people. I also use sticks from the side and not the center. Like, with the left stick, the bottom part of my thumb is controlling the stick from the outer left side of the stick. Using the tips of my thumbs to control sticks is awkward for me.

A picture is worth a thousand words...



Basically, my thumb bends down like that right into the turbo button. Yep, that's an SNES button mod

I need to do some dusting

And I 100% agree with the rest of what you said.

Oh, now I get it.

Also, let me put my "Mr. Pedant" hat on: that is a Super Famicon button mod, not a SNES.

[moriel5]

I really should be getting one of these.

I don't game, but the ergonomics really help a lot with reducing cramps in my wrists in prolonged sessions remapping the controls to commonly used mouse and keyboard inputs.

Edit: phoronix Is there anything that can be done to improve the mobile experience in the forums?

I generally have to type blind since the keyboard covers up the entire text box (and I already have it set to be rather short), plus there is no way to reliably select a specific point in the text and actually be able to expect that point to be selected, since jumps bit at the same time that the keyboard pops up, and not in a way that is connected to the appearance of the keyboard.

[kn00tcn]

A picture is worth a thousand words...

oh snap, first time seeing what skeevy looks like (*sitcom audience wooing)

The length from the center of my thumb to the joint

there's a joke in there

I don't game, but the ergonomics really help a lot with reducing cramps in my wrists in prolonged sessions remapping the controls to commonly used mouse and keyboard inputs.

Edit: phoronix Is there anything that can be done to improve the mobile experience in the forums?

I generally have to type blind since the keyboard covers up the entire text box (and I already have it set to be rather short), plus there is no way to reliably select a specific point in the text and actually be able to expect that point to be selected, since jumps bit at the same time that the keyboard pops up, and not in a way that is connected to the appearance of the keyboard.

i have had controllers cause cramps, too, plus there are other alternatives like a mouse with many buttons or extra programmable keypads made in varying shapes (now i'm wondering why pedals never became an option, what a waste of idling feet)

what about one of those ergo mice that have your hand naturally perpendicular to the table? do you use armrests and are they raised? is your table low?

certain geometry amplifies or reduces strain in my experience, definitely think it's important that hands are pivoting as downward as possible and that there is some form of elbow support (neck pain when there are no armrests? what a ridiculous side effect)

personally i prefer inputs near the edge of the table so the keyboard palm is partially resting on the table+partially on the table edge+partially in the air, mouse is claw grip half pivoting on wrist half pivoting on armrest elbow with pinky+thumb lightly touching mousepad for precision guidance

the forum (says it) uses vbulletin, i'm not sure how much control michael has or is even capable of doing (he's not a web dev is he), but that might be a keyword to search with

arent you still able to scroll to see the text box while the keyboard is open in portrait orientation? but there are a lot more variables like ios vs android, third party android keyboards, ppi or scale setting (i recently happened to increase my ppi to fit more text on screen), whether the browser scrolls to what's being typed, etc

but in general this forum is pretty bad: profile column taking up space in mobile portrait orientation, fb+tw social buttons for no reason as if anyone needs to constantly share to exclusively those old sites instead of a single share button with more options, the page buttons on the bottom dont work without javascript (yet the prev/next buttons at the top do), multiquotes dont seem to work or exist, no thumbnails/previews of attachments when not logged in (or does that require javascript again)

i would just use a notepad app as a workaround to write replies and paste quotes if it's as bad as you described, which i already have to do on desktop to multiquote, plus it's a good backup in case posting fails