Sixaxis / Dualshock 3 On Pandora

[Illuminerdi]

So I was doing some thinking, and I love the idea of the Pandora becoming my portable arcade box - all I'd need would be power cord (assuming I was doing some marathon gaming...), tv out cable, and the system (which will probably never leave my side...), and I can MAME it up on just about anyone's TV...

But I'd also need a way to get up to 4 people playing on the system. As I'm all for as few wires as possible, the best possible solution I can think of would be the sixaxis/dualshock 3 controllers for the PS3, since they run on bluetooth, are rechargable out of the box, and are already more or less working in some capacity in Linux.

Has anyone investigated how easy it would be to get them running on the Pandora out of the box? I know it's *possible*, but it'd be nice if this was tested ahead of time and included out of the box.

The thought makes me very happy, since it would mean I could hook the pandora up just about anywhere, and recline on a couch with every game on my Pandora and play them on a big screen without a tether!

And yes, I know the Wiimote is also BT, but it seems much more limited in this capacity since holding it on its side only gives you NES like controls, and lugging around wiimotes and nunchucks or classic controllers somewhat defeats the purpose of the wireless/bluetooth - too cumbersome IMO.

 

[junker]

I had the same idea I'm very interested in this working also. This handheld can be a perfect portable emulator station.

 

[nubie]

Yes, this was my thought as well.

Maybe google around and see how regular Linux users can play with it in games.

Here is what "sixaxis linux" came up with

http://www.pabr.org/sixlinux/sixlinux.en.html

Edit2: according to them you simply need a new enough kernel, a patch and a utility to pair over the USB cable

QUOTE
3.1. Requirements

At the time of writing, mainstream Linux distributions do not explicitly support the SIXAXIS in wireless mode. Hence, the following customizations are required.

1. linux-2.6.21 or later . Earlier kernels do not support Bluetooth HID devices in "Report Protocol" mode.
   
2. patch-hidd-3.9-pabr3 or patch-hidd-3.19-pabr3 . This patch causes the Linux Bluetooth HIDP daemon (hidd) to send a special command to the SIXAXIS when it connects. Sony already published a similar patch for enabling reporting in USB mode.
   
3. sixpair.c. (Only required if the SIXAXIS is to be used with a non-PS3 Bluetooth master.) The SIXAXIS apparently does not support the standard Bluetooth pairing procedure; instead, pairing is done over USB, which is arguably simpler and more secure. This command-line utility searches USB buses for SIXAXIS controllers and tells them to connect to a new Bluetooth master.

Alternatively, it might be possible to support the Bluetooth HID "Report Protocol" on older kernels by using bthid instead of hidd, with a similar patch.

Besides, the new "input service" (bluetoothd-service-input), which replaces hidd in recent versions of bluez-utils, should support the SIXAXIS without any patch. However, since it does not accept connections from unknown Bluetooth devices, authorizations must be set-up by another utility, such as a udev plugin, as suggested in this discussion.


I don't know if these work on ARM linux, I hope they do The worst problem you could face is using the cord in regular USB mode until it is figured out.

 

[AireTamStorm]

I don't know if these work on ARM linux, I hope they do The worst problem you could face is using the cord in regular USB mode until it is figured out.
You don't need the patches on the Pandora kernel, the SIXAXIS merely needs to be paired (all you need is the sixpair tool, easily compilable for ARM) and you're off. I've tested this on kernels OLDER than the one on the Pandora, so we're in the green.

 

[nubie]

I don't know if these work on ARM linux, I hope they do The worst problem you could face is using the cord in regular USB mode until it is figured out.
You don't need the patches on the Pandora kernel, the SIXAXIS merely needs to be paired (all you need is the sixpair tool, easily compilable for ARM) and you're off. I've tested this on kernels OLDER than the one on the Pandora, so we're in the green.

Thanks AireTamStorm, this is pretty cool, the six-axis kinda matches the Pandora, being black silk-screened plastic

Are the controllers expensive? I might look into one if they aren't too much money.

 

[AireTamStorm]

$39-$59 USD, depending on which you get (DualShock III is more expensive).

I initially had problems in Ubuntu getting it working, but I realized that it was the bluetooth security (which was denying connections to the controller) that was the problem. As long as the controller has the O-K from the PC, it generally works fine. I'll see about compiling an ARM build of the sixpair tool when I go to work tomorrow (Ubuntu dislikes cross compiling).

 

[nubie]

$39-$59 USD, depending on which you get (DualShock III is more expensive).

I initially had problems in Ubuntu getting it working, but I realized that it was the bluetooth security (which was denying connections to the controller) that was the problem. As long as the controller has the O-K from the PC, it generally works fine. I'll see about compiling an ARM build of the sixpair tool when I go to work tomorrow (Ubuntu dislikes cross compiling).

That is a little steep (not that I would even go for a "shock" version, I don't understand how a vibrator remotely resembles anything happening on the screen, unless. . . well . . . there are Those games).

I would need to do a test drive on one and an Xbox360 one. The only difference would be the addition of the dongle, but I figure it can store with the controller when not in use.

I don't have any Bluetooth, or the PS3 controller would be the obvious choice, as it is I would need to hunt down a dongle for it to use with my PC.

Good luck with the cross-compile, if the source is out there it shouldn't be a difficult thing. (Just realized, the PSP has no chance of doing this , somehow that makes me feel good. I guess technically you could connect to a PC/PS3 and then send the controls over wifi, but that would be tacky.)

 

[benjymous]

It should be straightforward to use a Wii controller too

 

[mechanizeddeath]

Great info! I've been wondering about this myself, as last night I found my old Logitech PS2 style USB controller, and it got me thinking about the PS3 controllers. I'm personally more comfortable with Xbox/Xbox 360 controls, but the lack of a dongle and the standard charge connector make the PS3 controller a more attractive option. I'd like to see both options work though!

 

[Illuminerdi]

It should be straightforward to use a Wii controller too

Yeah, they will, but as I said, I kinda hate the Wiimote for anything non-Wii related - holding it sideways is uncomfortable, and it lacks enough buttons for anything but NES/Genesis emulation (and possibly MAME, if it's a 2 button game or less), plus it has no rechargable batteries built in.

So overall, I see the sony controllers as better solutions - they have built in recharging (and they recharge off a standard USB cable, to boot), and enough buttons to tackle emulating everything just shy of Steel Battalion...

That is a little steep (not that I would even go for a "shock" version, I don't understand how a vibrator remotely resembles anything happening on the screen, unless. . . well . . . there are Those games).

I would need to do a test drive on one and an Xbox360 one. The only difference would be the addition of the dongle, but I figure it can store with the controller when not in use.

I don't have any Bluetooth, or the PS3 controller would be the obvious choice, as it is I would need to hunt down a dongle for it to use with my PC.

Good luck with the cross-compile, if the source is out there it shouldn't be a difficult thing. (Just realized, the PSP has no chance of doing this , somehow that makes me feel good. I guess technically you could connect to a PC/PS3 and then send the controls over wifi, but that would be tacky.)



That is a bit steep...too steep. The sixaxis (non-rumble) goes for much cheaper due to its deprecated status - they'll be hard to find in a few months as they sell off, but you can find them on clearance now for decent prices. Gamedealdaily.com has them for about $22 apiece on a fairly regular basis. Dunno about retailers, but I'd be surprised to see them for more than $30 bucks, since not many people are buying anymore.

They might also go for cheaper at a used game store like EB Games, since I'm sure they got a flood of trade-ins on the sixaxis when the Dualshock 3 hit the market and the early adopters upgraded. So they'd be cheap and in pretty good condition since they're not that old. Shop around - YMMV.

$39-$59 USD, depending on which you get (DualShock III is more expensive).

I initially had problems in Ubuntu getting it working, but I realized that it was the bluetooth security (which was denying connections to the controller) that was the problem. As long as the controller has the O-K from the PC, it generally works fine. I'll see about compiling an ARM build of the sixpair tool when I go to work tomorrow (Ubuntu dislikes cross compiling).

Awesome! Thanks for doing that! I'd love to see sixaxis/dualshock support on launch, and having that would be helpful. Maybe we should try to get the ear of one of the admins and see about getting an ARM compiled version of this included with the system so that people don't have to hunt it down to get it working - I think that's a pretty cool feature to have available out of the box, esp for a system like this.

Same with Wiimote support - I'm not a huge fan of it but I can see other people being so, so it'd be a good idea to build that in with Pandora's Linux distro as well.

 

[adsharma23]

yeah i'm also looking for controllers not only for pandora but for computer as well
i've used the dualshock a lot at friends houses and nice but i've never played a game that used the dpad which is what i primary would use with the pandora so could anyone with a ps3 kind of vouch on the dpad of the Ps3 i only hope that it's better than the xbox 360's one (which i'm currently forced to use ) because that one is definitely the worst dpad i've ever used

 

[davidgutierrez]

I think out-of-the-box Wiimote support would be awesome, but I didn't thought about Sixaxis... Why choose between Sony and Nintendo when you can have in Pandora the best of both worlds ? If the Wiimote and Sixaxis support aren't built in the firmware, I hope developers add support for both of them in their games.

 

[AireTamStorm]

I'm setting up a build environment... where should I upload the sixpair tool when I'm done compiling it?

Edit: For reference, I'm using Crosstool, ( http://www.kegel.com/crosstool ) an awesome script to setup any number of arch toolchains. The Open2X toolchain (which I intended to try) hasn't been working for me, this worked fine so far. Once it is built, I hope someone with a devboard can just see if it runs for me : )

 

[Illuminerdi]

I'm setting up a build environment... where should I upload the sixpair tool when I'm done compiling it?

Edit: For reference, I'm using Crosstool, ( http://www.kegel.com/crosstool ) an awesome script to setup any number of arch toolchains. The Open2X toolchain (which I intended to try) hasn't been working for me, this worked fine so far. Once it is built, I hope someone with a devboard can just see if it runs for me : )



Just FYI - http://pandorawiki.org/Main_Page has a link to the upcoming file repository, which is located at:

http://archive.openpandora.org/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi

This may be subject to change, but hopefully not. Currently there are no files uploaded, I don't know if that's just because nobody's uploading or they aren't accepting submissions. There is a dialog box for uploading (once you register an account), so I'm assuming it's just because nothing is finalized yet and not ready to be uploaded.

This too probably shouldn't be uploaded until it's tested and confirmed working, etc. Build, test, build, and all that...

You might want to contact Craigix or MWeston about getting this tested and possibly included in the Linux distro, since I see little reason they wouldn't want it to happen - but it's ultimately their call. AFAIK the OS stuff is still being finalized, so it's not too late, though.

Thanks for doing this, I can't wait to try it out!

yeah i'm also looking for controllers not only for pandora but for computer as well
i've used the dualshock a lot at friends houses and nice but i've never played a game that used the dpad which is what i primary would use with the pandora so could anyone with a ps3 kind of vouch on the dpad of the Ps3 i only hope that it's better than the xbox 360's one (which i'm currently forced to use ) because that one is definitely the worst dpad i've ever used

I personally love the DPad on the sony line of controllers. I agree, the 360 dpad is HORRIBLE. I tend to dislike "puck" style dpads in general, but theirs is extra mushy. If you've ever used a PS1 or PS2 controller, the dpad on the sixaxis/ds3 is identical. If you haven't - I'd say it's a very good dpad - excellent feel, response, and precision.

 

[cloud858rk]

It's too bad the 360 controllers aren't bluetooth, I love how they feel in your hands. The only bad thing about them is the d-pad.

 

[AireTamStorm]

Finally got it compiled. Once it is off my test rig I'll give it a shot and upload it.

 

[AireTamStorm]

Here you go, hope it works (don't have a Pandora = no way of knowing). I've included statically and dynamically linked versions for both x86 and ARM, so you Linux desktop users with a DualShock III / SXIAXIS and bluetooth can try your controllers on your Linux desktops / laptops in the mean time.

Enjoy, and if there are any problems, PM me or respond in this thread.