game controller hardware

[woodsmoke]

Hi
I apologize for not posting more but the financial chaos of the last 6 years, with part time retired teachers haveing to desperately seek other jobs has now been SOMEWHAT fixed as much as it will ever be fixed and i'm now financially stable with teaching two sections of the sciences per semester, for two semesters a year.

A BIG LONG REST OF THE POST DELETED

So, I have decided to actually TRY TO PLAY SOME FIRST PERSON SHOOTER games and the whole flying an airplane on a computer thing.

I've had several very nice joysticks that use the old "plug with a usb plug" and an x-box usb controller, both used but couldn't get the xbox contoller to map well and the new video cards don't use the old plugins for joysticks ...so they are gone.

I have always played stuff that uses the mouse and keyboard and the game were fine.

BUT now that I have a LOT OF TIME ON MY HANDS. I thought I would give FPS and flying an airplane, etc, a try.

My neighbor kid ( he is 23 and living with his single mom, and NO WE WILL NOT GO THERE ) literally plays online games 24 / 7 or is asleep on the couch and I asked him to let me try his stuff, he runs Xbox and has the controller and I kind of did ok but was killed almost immediately.

So...given the above...I am asking for help in purchasing the HARDWARE controller that might work best for LINUX...

I will be playing only Linux games.

The distance between where I will be sitting and the computer will ALWAYS be approximately ...10 feet.

SO...EITHER a wifi USB controller OR a bluetooth controller are ok.

A wired controller is not out of the question but WILL need to have a usb extension wire so if it has problems with an extension wire then well...but I use a wired gaming mouse and a wired gaming keyboard so that is ok but they both have extension cables. Don't know that I need ANOTHER cable hidden under a floor cover but it would be ok depending on other stuff.

My hands are slightly under "average" in size but I have great manual dexterity and the musculature to hold a controller.

I don't know about wanting to MAP the controller in settings. I did that with the x-box controller and did not have good luck, but IF a person knows of a controller that DOES map EASILY ...that would be ok.

OF course "calibrating" it in settings is fine, usually... lol ...

Of course, one would prefer to have something like ..."hey, install this using Synaptic and you are good to go". lol

So...to that end...

Here is a list of the top 42 Linux Games some of which I already have installed, the ones controlled easily with a mouse and keyboard. I will install the FPS and airplane game if I get a ga good controller.

IF SOMEONE WANTS TO RECOMMEND ANOTHER GAME...that would be great!

Here is a list of game hardware which MIGHT run well on an Ubuntu system.

I searched and could not really find anything about "Ubuntu game controllers"... or "Linux game controllers". Of course there is sometimes a mention of being compatible with Linux.

I'm not sure about the STEAM controller, since I will probably not be playing Windblows games ...but

If you kind folks could recommend something from the list...OR...your personal favourite that is not on the list I would be MUCH APPRECIATIVE!

woodtryingsomethingnewsmoke

[Don B. Cilly]

I realise it's not much help, but,
for flight simulators, I find a joystick - the kind you wrap your hand around, as opposed to the one you twiddle with your thumb - much better.
I have used one for years on Kubuntu, and it was absolutely plug-and-play on all installations.

I don't know the make and model, someone gave it to me years ago, he was using it on Windows, I never worried about compatibility.

Actually, the only peripheral I've ever had problems with in Kubuntu was a DVB-T stick, but I found a driver for it.
It still freezes the system if I unplug it, but I only use it like three times a year...

[woodsmoke]

Hi Don!
Thanks for the reply.
I'll ask around at a local shoppe for a used joystick with the ability to return it for the flight sim.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS BY ANYBODY PLEASE POST THEM.

woodsmoke

[woodsmoke]

well, in doing a lot of searching around it seems that going back for several years, that the Xbox 360 is the "all around" most compatible for a really ...well...odd reason.

A) It is considered to be a defacto standard in Linux games in terms of it working with the game.
B) Some games provide a setup before you actually use the controller so that the buttons are mapped properly
C) a "lot" of games do not even recognize any controller so a controller is useless, the game assumes using the mouse and keys.

However,

the "airplane" sims in Linux assume the use of a joystick, but one can use keys etc.

So, it would SEEM that...
The best option for a "game controller" might be the xbox 360.

NOW one comes to wireless and wired. Apparently, back when many articles were written the whole bluetooth was a problem and sometimes the usb dongle and the game pad weren't recognized.

So...anyone care to coment on the whole bluetooth thing or the wireless and dongle thing with an Xbox360 or other controller?

thanks

woodsmoke

[sithlord48]

To do wireless with a xbox 360 controller you need their special adapter. I have use PS3 controllers over bluetooth for years . it works fine but you must pair the controller via usb first. I can't remember if i have ever used a PS4 controller over Bt since i tend to plug it to the hub on my desk , same with the switch pro controller. I currently use an XBOX arcade stick for my arcade games XBOX controllers are usb with a different connector I just replaced the cable with a standard usb cable and instant Linux controller.

If your playing FPS games use the keyboard and mouse its much better input for those types of games.

[woodsmoke]

If your playing FPS games use the keyboard and mouse its much better input for those types of games.

Hi sith
And thankee for the advice.
The information about wireless etc. is quite helpful.
as to the advice about kb and mouse for FPS, I had kind of thought the same but, since i am NOT a big gamer, I always kind of thought that the reason I couldn't get past the first level or even the FIRST SCREEN was because I was using...lol...the keyboard and mouse!

So, now I know... it is probably that I am just not cut out for FPS... lol... I mean I can type 60 wpm even today but... now wait a minute...

omg...

I had purchased back in my Windblows days the first version of a Lord of the Rings game, and could not "get down and around" a bridge...just could not do it... and I was using a joystick because that was what was recommended... But then also that was 2005... the plethora of controllers now available was not happening then.

So...OKAY!!! I'm going to have a go at games that I "thought" needed a joystick or controller and just use the mouse and kb.

And, depending on how well things work out get a really nice joystick for the flight sim!

Thank you!

woody