I want to replace my old GameSir G3s with a controller preferably under €70-75. Initially I wanted an european gamepad but the only 2 options (ready2gaming and snakebyte) was so non existent or questionable that I had to swallow my EU nationalism.
Gaming style:
- Only use controllers where it’s highly recommended
- Preferred genre for controllers would be arcade racing and JRPGs mostly
- Will only play on wireless (2.4ghz)
Preferences:
- Either TMR or high quality HE sticks
- Doesn’t look boring (preferably it has some amounts of LED / RGB)
- Xbox stick position layout (I want to try it out)
- Linux compatibility (don’t care about consöles)
- Doesn’t have a shit QC (8bitdo’s are apparently like that)
- I have larger hands, so maybe not a small controller
Currently these are some controllers that seems to be in my range. I’m interested if you know about even better controllers.
- GameSir Cyclone 2
- GameSir Supernova
- FlyDigi Direwolf 4?
8bitdo
I just got a 8bitdo ultimate 2c they go for 30 bucks and I swear it is better than my Xbox gamepad, thy come in fun colors have extra triggers amazing hall effect sticks good face buttons. Bluetooth AND dongle. I can’t stress this enough it is purple.
I can confirm the ultimate 2C is awesome.
Did you manage to get extra buttons working? I thought no driver could handle those buttons (tried xpad and xone).
To get the extra buttons working on the ultimate 2c (on steam) turn on the controller while holding the B button
With my ultimate 2 wireless I just put it in dinput by turning it on by holding b and everything works, including gyro and accelerometer and can bind anything with antimicrox
Mhm! With the wire of the 2.4 GHz it uses xinput and you can map stuff that is already on the controller, on Bluetooth mode it connects in dinput mode and the extra buttons become programmable and detected by games as “controller unknown” iwhen I need them I use Bluetooth when not the adapter
Yeah those purple Ultimate 2 colors are sooooo catchy! I actually bought a Cyclone 2 from the comments, but honestly it just feels like this: Big hands - Cyclone 2 Small / medium hands - 8bitdo
Ah I failed to recognize the bigger hand requirement as a haver if baby hands I am super happy with ultimate 2c but if ur not the same seems like you made the right choice
Oh well I have just kinda made this conclusion whilst reading the comments in this post, but actually it seems that some big hand people feel that the ultimate 2 is still good for even big hand dudes.
I have big hands and the ultimate 2c is perfectly fine
The pro2 and pro3 are awesome too, they are PlayStation style controllers.
8bitdo, no other better answer
I have been using stadia controllers for a while now. They’re not special and don’t look special. They do come with a very good battery life and you can find them for 10 bucks a pop
Just an xbox controller?
It just works
You’ll see a lot of people suggesting 8bitDo.
I have their Ultimate 2 gamepad and I’ll give them this - it’s probably one of the most comfortable gamepads I’ve ever used. It’s great.
That being said:
- I actually bought two of them (Xbox and Switch layouts) and thank goodness I did, because one charger just broke, the USB-C cable wobbles inside like the socket itself got damaged. I know for a fact that the device didn’t fall down or anything like that.
- Every now and again the joysticks freeze and I start spinning uncontrollably, and then just stop working. Sometimes switching from Bluetooth to radio for a while and then back again help. Sometimes I have to turn the device fully off.
- More often than (2) the sticks will suddenly develop a lag. I turn the stick to one side, nothing happens. I release the stick. Then the character in the game starts moving for a while. It’s, like, 500-1000ms lag easily.
If you’re playing anything remotely competitive or punishing, I would not recommend 8bitDo products. If you’re only playing casual games with quick and easy save options, and you’re OK having to restart your gamepad every now and again, go for it.
I can’t say I share your 8bitdo experience, mine has been pretty flawless.
I’m still a huge fan if my DualShock 4. I’ve been using it for a long time now, and the battery life is still good. The track pad also comes in handy shockingly often since it acts like a normal track pad for the mouse.
Throwing a fun one in comments:
Stadia Controller.
Stadia is a cleanly pretty controller ngl
And it works as intended on Linux. Vibration in bluetooth mode and all.
Sry for hijacking but Anyone know of Any with the ability to map the back buttons on the fly? Initiale I was looking at 8bitdo but apparently you Need extra software to program extra buttons Which is kinda a bit of a Dealbreaker for me
Gullikit ones generally have this functionality
The gamesir cyclone 2 lets you do that
I have larger hands and have the Cyclone 2. Fantastic controller and my daily driver. I didn’t like the clicky face buttons but they’ve grown on me. Happy to answer any questions. No real issues across Linux or Windows.
YES I HAVE! You guys convinced me to become a Cyclone 2 enjoyer.
- Have you ever had controller support issues in any games?
- Does the GameSir software work on Linux?
- If you’ve got the white version, then how easy does it get dirty in your case?
I haven’t had any issues with controller support in any games, just the same as using an Xbox controller.
There is no native Linux software, so I use Winboat to run the software. You could also run it in a VM.
I only have the black controller, so I can’t comment on the white on
I have the GameSir Cyclone 2 and love it.
Xbox offset layout 🔛🔝🗣️
Will only play on wireless (2.4ghz)
Why are you married to that specific frequency?
I think it’s more to differentiate from Bluetooth (which amusingly also uses 2.4ghz)
It’s a common frequency used by wireless controllers. Anytime a gamepad is using 2.4ghz, its most of the time a proprietary connection and often better than Bluetooth. I also prefer 2.4ghz and don’t want to mess around with Bluetooth anymore.
I see. It’s a weird way to describe that, though, because Bluetooth is on 2.4 GHz, while non-Bluetooth controllers aren’t required to be on 2.4 GHz.
I would have understood if they just said they want to avoid Bluetooth.
deleted by creator
It might be weird if you are not used to this. It’s a common way to distinguish the propietary dongles from Bluetooth. Even all controllers itself that support both modes, has the setting labelled as
Bluetooth <> 2.4gtoggle, and marketing and data specs always use this notion too. No Bluetooth device of any kind will connect to 2.4g type of devices, if they do not support Bluetooth.So it’s not that weird from the person who said it, because that is industry standard way of distinguishing it. I give you that, that the industry should have adopted a distinct name for this kind of connection. But you can’t fault him saying that this way, in my opinion off course.
Don’t you love that existential dread inducing sound, that just pulls you down to the Mariana Trench? 🥰️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF1fZhC-eVs
I can understand some appeal to that sound, but it’s not the frequency we’re discussing.
Oh sorry, I thought your earlier comment was for fun. Yeah by 2.4ghz I truly just mean the dongle tech which is usually also referred to as just 2.4ghz.
Gulikit ES Pro is easily my favorite Xbox-style controller. It’s almost identical to the Xbox Series controller, but everything about it is a little better. The dpad is as accurate and tactile, and not as loud. It uses tmr sticks.
It uses bluetooth for wireless, but it’s kind of miraculously low latency for being bluetooth, and rivals most 2.4 controllers in latency tests.
But to be fair I have never been able to bring myself to spend $200+ on a controller. This one is only $30.
My main controller is a RetroFighters BattlerGC Pro. At $60 it has hall effect sticks and triggers, a GameCube button layout (my personal favorite of all time for ergonomics) and it comes with both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz support, plus it can be used wired for the lowest possible latency.
I use it for both Switch and PC. On PC you can set it to register as an Xbox controller so you can get full analog trigger support.
Anyhow, the brand has the best controllers for the money IMO, I’d recommend checking out their offerings.
My second favorite controller is my 8bitdo Pro 2, but the clicky d-pad on the Retrofighters controller is so much nicer IMO
I love what RetroFighters does, but I wish they would design their Dreamcast controller to fit a vmu, and add a second analog stick while they’re at it. Dreamcast still has so much homebrew potential, but the lack of dual analog inouts holds it back.
