(PS3 controller) Rumble Ubuntu 12.04

[Spirrwell]

Alright, I know there's a VERY similar thread that was posted recently HERE

The main difference being that I am using a PS3 controller. I wasn't sure whether or not it would be appropriate to hijack somebody else's thread, so sorry if I should posted there instead.

Moving on, I too have also read that you need to have SDL 1.3 (AKA SDL 2.0) in order for rumble to be supported. I do indeed have SDL 2.0 installed as I have compiled it myself for my own program development in C++... Although what I am unsure of is whether or not I truly compiled Dolphin with SDL 2.0 or SDL 1.2. I followed the instructions on the Wiki and I'm not sure if cmake auto-detects whether or not to use SDL 2.0, so perhaps I made a mistake building there as I don't know the proper command to explicitly build it with SDL 2.0 as I have both version of SDL installed.

Anyway, I've gotten it to work just fine under Windows using Constant, but the only options available on Ubuntu 12.04 are Sine, Square, and Triangle. Neither of them work. Also I know that the rumble on the PS3 controller actually works under Ubuntu, as when the controller connects it automatically rumbles and cycles through the LEDs to let you know it was connected. I also know that every other function of the controller works just fine, even the sensible buttons, it just took a bit more work. The only thing I'm hung up on right now is the motor.


I'm almost sure I built Dolphin wrong, but perhaps the "Constant" motor isn't supported on Linux, I don't know, this isn't my area of expertise.

I don't think that this matters, but the version of Dolphin that I am using is 3.5-417. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[ulao]

Most all controllers use the HID type of rumble (PID). Even if the controller has a driver, 9 times out of ten its still a hack solution of HID's PID. The issue with Ubuntu is that it's not set up in the kernal to support FFB (by way of constant force) and in order to fix it you have to rebuild the kernel. I have tried so many attempts to make rumble work but it always comes down to recompiling the kernel. Granted its not the end of the world but my aim is to find a solution for all not just me.

Also if you want to continue try this the way you are doing it. know this. I have never seen a controller that supports rumble use anything but constant force. So you are going to need to make constant show up. Does the ps3 respond to Sine, Square, or Triangle in windows? If not, no point in even trying those options.

My guess is constant is missing from the kernel and thus not working with any device that support rumble via constant force ( pretty much meaning the kernel does not work with any controller with rumble support). I guess one way of fixing this for a solution in dolphin would be to build a sign to constant wrapper MOD. Never tried that my self but it may work. It would have to be a virtual joystick that shows up as supporting FFB-sign, then you just map all the buttons over.

Here is how you do driver mappings. Its a lot to read but once it clicks you will see that it all makes sense ( assuming you dont already know all of this ).
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1917359&page=1
I'm not sure the xboxdrv will support sign but its worth a try. That way you wont have to write a new driver

[Spirrwell]

The PS3 controller responds to none of them.

So how would one go about rebuilding the kernel with FFB? (force feedback I'm assuming) I don't suppose there's any kernel patch instead of completely rebuilding the kernel... So then is there a guide to rebuilding the kernel with FFB? I'm well aware of the risks, and if my Ubuntu crashes, well I kind of wanted to switch to Linux Mint anyway and I actually need to reinstall GRUB anyway for another purpose, so if it fails, I don't really care, so how do I do it?

Woohoo! I'm getting somewhere, well not with Dolphin, but I can make the controller rumble upon command using fftest:




As you can see I'm playing four and five, those are the only types of rumble it will respond to, strong and weak. It will not respond to constant. This is the output I get when I run fftest though:

Quote:Device /dev/input/event14 opened
Axes query:
Effects: Periodic Rumble
Number of simultaneous effects: 16
Upload effects[1]: Invalid argument
Upload effects[2]: Invalid argument
Upload effects[3]: Invalid argument

Now, I will be perfectly honest, I have no idea what this means, I just need to be able to get this option in Dolphin...

[ulao]

make it work without constant and it may be the best method. If you want help with the kernel ask on the ubuntu forums not here Its talked about all over the place. Google for FFB recompile kernel ubuntu.

saw this, looks a bit vague to me...
http://wiki.vdrift.net/index.php?title=Enabling_force_feedback_in_kernel