PS3 Controller on Fedora 17

Question

Fedora 17 recognizes the PS3 controller when I plug it in via USB, however, I am unable to test or use the controller. So far, I have tried to test using "joystick" and in the game Super Meat Boy.

Do I need a utility to map the buttons for games to recognize the input? Is it not enough that the device is recognized by the system and shows when running the command 'lsusb'?

I have been searching Google for many hours and have not yet found a resource for how to get the PS3 controller in a working state from within Fedora. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

After many hours of researching, I have found the solution.

The problem:

As of Fedora 17, the default kernel no longer has the 'joydev' kernel module (see: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=815168).

The solution:

Install the kernel-modules-extra package in yum:

yum install kernel-modules-extra

Now when you plug in your controller/gampad/joystick, a device node should show up as /dev/input/jsX. You can then test the device using jstest from the 'joystick' package:

jstest /dev/input/jsX

You can then use a program like 'qjoypad' to map button presses/etc on your device to simulate keyboard/mouse buttons/movements. I have posted a formal post on my website containing the above information and a how-to for installing qjoypad in Fedora 17 since it is a rather involved process.

I hope this helps others!

Answer 2

Super Meat Boy uses Xbox 360 controller, so you need some kind of mapper software. Windows users use MotionInJoy for this kind of emulation, but I'm yet oblivious how to make it work on Linux.