I like playing Minecraft, but after playing it for a couple of hours on a small 11-inch laptop, my wrists will start to hurt. I wanted to play Minecraft using a gamepad, like any console FPS, so I updated an open-source project to support mouse emulation and released Enjoy2. I'm not very experienced with OSX programming, though, so the user interface isn't as clear as it could be: the next version of Enjoy2 should hopefully make things a lot easier to use. In the meantime, here's a tutorial on how I set up Enjoy2 to control Minecraft with my aftermarket PS3 controller. (I don't own a PS3: I bought the controller specifically for PC gaming!) Download Enjoy2 here and try it yourself:
The analog sticks are probably the weirdest part of the setup, so let's do that first. I like to have the left stick mapped to WASD and the right stick mapped to camera movement. With a controller plugged in, you should see something like this:
Minecraft Controller For Ps3 On A Mac
Move the stick slowly in the horizontal and vertical directions to figure out which one is which axis. Then, select the "Low" or "High" section of those axes. Finally, choose which key you want to press on the right side, in the box next to "Press a key:". "High" is activated when you have moved the axis far enough in one direction, and "Low" is activated for the other direction. On my controller, Axis 2 is vertical, so I have Low set to W and High set to S. Axis 1 is horizontal, so I have Low set to A and High set to D. "High" and "Low" are binary: when the axis (stick) is moved far enough, that action will activate (button will be pressed). Ignore the Analog sections.
Finally, we'll map the rest of the buttons. These are pretty easy: just press that button on your controller, and the corresponding "Button N" setting is selected. Then, as above, you simply select what you want to happen when that button is pressed. The "Toggle mouse scope" action deserves special mention, because it's quite relevant to Minecraft: Minecraft has, essentially, two mouse "modes". One is the mode where you don't have a cursor, and moving the mouse moves the camera. The other is the mode where you have the inventory or a chest or a menu open, and you can click on things with a cursor. Because of the way input works on OSX, these two modes require completely different ways of simulating mouse input. The "Toggle mouse scope" action tells Enjoy2 to switch mouse modes. I use the right bumper ("R1" in PS3 terminology, I think) for this action. Every time you open the inventory (circle/B for me), you have to remember to toggle the mouse mode (press R1). Unfortunately, I haven't found a better way to handle this mouse mode issue, but if you have any ideas, I would certainly like to hear them.
Hope you found this short tutorial useful! You can also take a look at my JSON config file, although it may not be of use to you unless you have my exact controller. Here's the download link for Enjoy2 again. Have fun playing Minecraft with a controller!
The process of connecting and using a PS3 controller with a Mac is the same with basically every version of OS X beyond Lion, including MacOS Catalina 10.15, MacOS Mojave 10.14, High Sierra 10.13, MacOS Sierra 10.12, OS X 10.11 El Capitan, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, etc.
Many Mac games support gaming with the Playstation 3 controller, and many games play better with a controller too, particularly if they were designed for a console originally. For example, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic:
If the Playstation 3 controller is not found by Mac OS X when plugging it in and turning it on, you may want to turn Bluetooth off and back on again on the Mac, this can help with the discovery process.
If you want to disconnect the PS3 controller so that you can use it again with another device, the playstation, another Mac, or to re-sync it to Mac OS X to troubleshoot the blinking lights issue, or the device constantly disconnecting and reconnecting, just do the following:
Remember that Bluetooth devices that constantly cycle between being connected or disconnected often have low battery or some exterior signal interference. You can also check the PS3 controllers battery remaining from the Bluetooth menu bar item if you suspect a low battery to be causing issues.
I have a PS3 controller and would to to be able to use it on my macbook pro(s). I have a 2009 Macbook pro and a 2014 macbook pro, one running Yosemite and the other running El Capitan. A PS3 controller does not work on either, either wired or via bluetooth.
I can get a controller to appear in the bluetooth preferences in either laptop, and I can get it to allegedly pair by pressing the PS button, but no functionality works for the controller while paired and it never appears as a viable controller under OpenEmu while connected via bluetooth. Unfortunately, it just appears dead as well while connected wired. Shame.
1) In step 4, when I connect the controller to the Mac using mini-USB, the lights on the controller blink slowly 3 times to let me know the controller is charging, then the lights go off and they do not flash again at any point.
3) After step 5, I get the controller working by completing a 6th step: unplug the mini-USB cable from the controller, at which point the controller is shown as connected in the Bluetooth menubar icon and indeed works flawlessly with OpenEmu and other software. Even though pressing the Playstation button on the controller in step 5 caused no change, that step is necessary for this 6th step to work.
Actually, I am using a PS4 controller in OS X El Capitan right now and used PS3 controllers in Yosemite and Mavericks on a regular basis following these exact instructions. Perhaps you are the problem, and you need to read the article and follow the instructions before complaining in the comments, because it works for everyone except for you. That means user error, by you.
Is it possible to use multiple wireless PS3 controllers simultaneously on a Mac game? Specifically 4 players at once for a game like Broforce? Or at least 2? And how woyld this be done set up? Thanks!
Double check that you have Bluetooth enabled on the Mac (cycling it OFF and back ON is sometimes helpful to rediscovery of devices) and that the PS3 controller is charged enough to send an adequate signal.
I just ran through the process again with two different Macs, on one MacBook Air it was not detected until the Bluetooth preference panel was open and the controller was plugged in and turned on, whereas the other found it immediately.
Many Steam games support PS3 controller, but some of them have some driver issues like Borderlands 2 where the game thinks you are constantly pressing the left arrow and your character just endlessly runs to the left.
I was able to pair mine without plugging it in by enabling Bluetooth on the Mac and then turning on the Playstation 3 controller right next to the Mac, it found it, connected, immediately usable. Easy!
Yes the Playstation 4 controller connects to OS X the same way through Bluetooth. The Xbox One and Xbox 360 controllers need a USB adapter though to work with Mac or a Windows PC for that matter, they do not sync directly like PS4 and PS4 controllers.
For instance, you can not only move the cursor using the analog sticks, but also set shortcuts to each joystick button. There are multiple options available, including brightness and media controls, Launchpad and Mission Control access, showing desktop, and changing volume. The app comes with some functions set by default for controllers, but users can change them at any time in the settings.
Native support: This should go without saying, but each and every one of the controllers mentioned here has to be officially supported on macOS and does not require any hacks to function properly.
Proven quality: Controller preferences can be subjective, but to keep this guide as relevant as possible, we only consider proven controllers with positive reviews from both professional reviewers and gamers.
Pricing: We all want quality, but pricing also plays an important role. We always keep in mind price tags and bang for your buck. Some controllers may have a more limited feature set but are much cheaper than the competition. That is worth taking into account.
Complaints on the Apple Developer Forums and Reddit suggest that some Xbox, PlayStation, and other third-party controllers are not functioning over Bluetooth. Not all users appear to be affected, as some people have said that their controllers are operating as expected, so it's not quite clear what's going on.
Those who are experiencing problems connect their controllers to their Macs using Bluetooth and then are unable to use the controllers in Mac games. Some with problematic controllers have been able to use the controllers on the web, but for some, the controllers do not work at all. From the Apple Developer Forums:
Those with controllers experiencing issues have attempted to remove the controller from the Bluetooth menu and re-connect it, but that does not appear to fix the problem. There is no known fix for problematic controllers at this time, so it may be something that Apple has to address in a future software update.
-Under "Accessory Settings" on your PS3, locate and select "Manage Bluetooth devices". Select "Register New Device." The PS3 will begin Bluetooth scanning. Simultaneously press and hold the DualShock 4's "Share" and "PS" buttons until the controller light bar starts blinking. The controller should then appear in the PS3's list as a "Wireless Controller."
The DualShock 4 can be used wirelessly on the PC. Go to the "Control Panel" in the "Start" menu. Then type in the search bar: Devices and Printers. Then click "Add new device" and hold down the Share and PS Button on the controller until the Light Bar on the controller starts flashing. The PC will recognize the device as "Wireless Controller" and then you can register it. 2ff7e9595c
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