Discussions and news about gaming on the GNU/Linux family of operating systems (including the Steam Deck). Potentially a $HOME away from home for disgruntled /r/linux_gaming denizens of the redditarian demesne.
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Original /r/linux_gaming pengwing by uoou.
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That behavior in Steam is normal. That's the steam-input library mapping your controller for use in Big Picture Mode before starting a game. That means your OS detects the controller.
Are you using this on USB or Bluetooth? Did you get the native joystick calibration?
It may be 'norman behaviour' now, but a couple of years ago it worked actually great. I was able to control the full desktop OS with right joystick + R2/L2 for mouse move + clicks respectively, all while Steam was minimized in the background.
I tried both via USB and bluetooth. About the native joystick calibration I don't know what that means.
Is anybody able to move the desktop cursor with the joystick outside Steam or games?
Well it's the default, so something broke on your end.
Joystick calibration: depended what desktop you're using. Just search up your DE and joystick calibration ". Might solve your issue.
Go to the Steam Settings, Controller Settings and check the Desktop layout, that's where you configure the behaviour you're describing.
It might have reset from the default Valve layout (joystick mouse move and clicks on triggers), but you can just apply the layout again. Happened to me sometime ago.
I use a DualShock 4 on Arch with Hyprland.
By default for libinput, the controller touchpad always controls the mouse cursor. So I needed to disable that.
In my desktop configuration, my mouse cursor hides itself after 5 seconds of inactivity. I’ve found that Steam Input doesn’t register as mouse movement, despite successfully moving the cursor, so the cursor remains invisible. I have a (Hyprland specific) command I run to disable that config option temporarily, so that way I can use Steam Input to control the mouse cursor.
The right joystick mapping to it sounds like Steam Input’s default “Desktop Configuration”. I’d check that to see. I personally have the desktop configuration pretty much empty, but I have the touchpad set to control my mouse cursor under “Guide Button Chord Configuration”, so if I hold the PS Logo I can move my cursor with that.
Oh yeah, I do that myself. It's fully functional on CachyOS for me.
Able to move the cursor with the joystick outside Steam or games?
I can do that, except with the touchpad.
Yes.
Worked for me on Kubuntu, Arch and now on Manjaro.
Are you able to move the cursor with the joystick outside Steam or games?
No, the desktop isn’t supposed to react to controller inputs anyway.
If you want to use your joystick as a mouse (and do other things too) you can use AntiMicroX. Note that you’ll have to close the app or disable remapping once you want to use the controller for a game.
Yes!
So my main issue has been bluetooth. My dangle is a cheapo. Wired up, the controller works amazing. Get jstest for checking inputs.
I do, I use it as my one and only controller and have on the past three distros I've used with no issue. I quite literally used it last night in Steam, so I bet some setting got changed within Steam somehow.
Edit: I see in your other comments that you're using your gamepad to control the mouse cursor. That's definitely not a default behavior, I think you should have been more clear in your post that you're using the gamepad for not actual gamepad things.
Yeah, works OOTB for me, on arch though. Have you tried the ds4drv program? And checked it's not dodgey steam controller settings?
So you control the mouse with the joystick outside Steam or games?
Newest Ubuntu didn't allow me to install/use ds4drv 😑 so I can't tell if that's the problem or the Steam controller settings, which I tried on dozens of different configurations.
Managed to get them working on a steam deck but not on my arch installation. I may have fucked up somewhere.