Question Custom Gamepad for Unofficial Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (PDP)

Hi everyone,

I have a "Performance Designed Products" (PDP) nintendo switch pro controller that I use without any issue with steam and other software. It also worked normally with the old input system.

On the new input system, however, it is recognized as a joystick (as I've understood, as are all non-standard controllers). So I tried to create my own PDPSwitchProControllerHID Gamepad class, with its associated struct for the InputReport. Once I associate the class with the vendor and product id, unity recognizes it as a gamepad and gives the following debug information:

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However, I'm not even sure if that's actually displaying the HID information of my controller, or Unity's default gamepad HID info... Once I add my input report to the controller, something seems to be working as the north/east/west/south buttons get their display name changed to ABXY:

​

Here's the code I have so far, I don't really understand what's not working as this all seems a little black-box-y. (For example, where should I find information about what parameters to pass to each direction of a stick?)

Code (CSharp):

1. [InputControlLayout(stateType = typeof(PDPSwitchProControllerInputReport))]
2. #if UNITY_EDITOR
3. [InitializeOnLoad]
4. #endif
5. public class PDPSwitchProControllerHID : Gamepad
6. {
7.     static PDPSwitchProControllerHID() { // this part seems to be working correctly
8.         InputSystem.RegisterLayout<PDPSwitchProControllerHID>(
9.             "Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (PDP)",
10.             new InputDeviceMatcher()
11.                 .WithInterface("HID")
12.                 .WithCapability("vendorId", 0xE6F)
13.                 .WithCapability("productId", 0x185));
14.     }
15.  
16.     [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod]
17.     static void Init() { }
18. }
19.  
20. //I'm guessing the issue is with my InputReport, but I don't know how...
21. [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit, Size = 224)]
22. struct PDPSwitchProControllerInputReport : IInputStateTypeInfo {
23.  
24.     public FourCC format => new FourCC('H', 'I', 'D');
25.  
26.     [InputControl(name = "dpad", format = "BIT", layout = "Dpad", sizeInBits = 4)]
27.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/down", format = "BIT", bit = 1, sizeInBits = 1)]
28.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/left", format = "BIT", bit = 2, sizeInBits = 1)]
29.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/right", format = "BIT", bit = 3, sizeInBits = 1)]
30.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/up", format = "BIT", bit = 4, sizeInBits = 1)]
31.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/x", format = "BIT", layout = "DpadAxis", bit = 0, sizeInBits = 4)]
32.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/y", format = "BIT", layout = "DpadAxis", bit = 0, sizeInBits = 4)]
33.     [InputControl(name = "buttonNorth", layout = "Button", displayName = "Y", bit = 4)]
34.     [InputControl(name = "buttonEast", layout = "Button", displayName = "X", bit = 5)]
35.     [InputControl(name = "buttonSouth", layout = "Button", displayName = "A", bit = 6)]
36.     [InputControl(name = "buttonWest", layout = "Button", displayName = "B", bit = 7)]
37.     [InputControl(name = "leftStickPress", layout = "Button", bit = 8)]
38.     [InputControl(name = "rightStickPress", layout = "Button", bit = 9)]
39.     [InputControl(name = "leftShoulder", layout = "Button", bit = 10)]
40.     [InputControl(name = "rightShoulder", layout = "Button", bit = 11)]
41.     [InputControl(name = "start", layout = "Button", bit = 12)]
42.     [InputControl(name = "select", layout = "Button", bit = 13)]
43.     [FieldOffset(0)] public ushort buttons;
44.  
45.     // tried one stick with all directions explicitely defined
46.  
47.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick", layout = "Stick")]
48.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/x", format = "FLT", offset = 0, parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0,normalizeMax=1,normalizeZero=0.5")]
49.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/y", format = "FLT", offset = 4, parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0,normalizeMax=1,normalizeZero=0.5")]
50.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/up", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0,normalizeMax=1,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=2,clampMin=0,clampMax=1")]
51.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/down", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0,normalizeMax=1,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=2,clampMin=-1,clampMax=0,invert")]
52.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/left", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0,normalizeMax=1,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=2,clampMin=-1,clampMax=0,invert")]
53.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/right", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0,normalizeMax=1,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=2,clampMin=0,clampMax=1")]
54.     [FieldOffset(4)] public Vector2 leftStick;
55.  
56.     // and the other one just like that
57.  
58.     [InputControl(name = "rightStick", layout = "Stick")]
59.     [FieldOffset(12)] public Vector2 rightStick;
60.  
61.     [InputControl(name = "leftTrigger", layout = "Button")]
62.     [FieldOffset(20)] public float leftTrigger;
63.  
64.     [InputControl(name = "rightTrigger", layout = "Button")]
65.     [FieldOffset(24)] public float rightTrigger;
66. }

Let me know if you have an idea what I did wrong, or where I can find more information about how to setup the InputReport properly / find the actual data representing my controller.

Thanks,

Marie

 

If that controller has the same report format as the standard Switch Pro Controller, you should be able to simply do

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2.             InputSystem.RegisterLayoutMatcher<SwitchProControllerHID>(
3.                 new InputDeviceMatcher()
4.                     .WithInterface("HID")
5.                     .WithCapability("vendorId", 0xE6F)
6.                     .WithCapability("productId", 0x185));
7.  

 

Just tried this, and the input works as good as it's been, but the buttons are not mapped correctly (X is A, etc.) and the sticks X/Y are messed up too. To move the left stick left and right, I need to move it up and down, and to move it up and down, it's actually the right stick I need to map.

I'm guessing if I had access to the SwitchProControllerHIDInputState struct, I could copy it and change the settings to fit my controller. Probably?

 

The code for the struct is public. Copying the existing SwitchProControlllerHID along with the state struct and then modifying them and registering them as a layout is certainly one way to go. Might be the easiest one, too.

An alternative is to take the layout as is and derive a new one from it and fix specific setup problems in there.

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2. InputSystem.RegisterLayout(@"
3.    {
4.        ""name"" : ""PDPSwitchPro"",
5.        ""extend"" : ""SwitchProControllerHID"",
6.        ""controls"" : {
7.            { ""name"" : ""leftStick/x"", ... }
8.    }
9. ",
10. matches: new InputDeviceMatcher()
11.     .WithInterface("HID")
12.     .WithCapability("vendorId", 0xE6F)
13.     .WithCapability("productId", 0x185));
14.  

 

For HIDs, another way is to just hack up the auto-generated format. With the device connected (and no custom layout registered), open the input debugger and browse to the auto-generated layout (should show up somewhere under Layouts >> Specific Devices). Right-click and use "Copy Layout as JSON".

The JSON string can be edited to fix any problem in the auto-generated layout and the resulting string can be registered as a layout.

Anyway, just to mention that. Copypasting SwitchProControllerHID and adapting it is probably going to be a quicker way to get a working setup.

 

Thank you for your help! I will try modifying the InputState and will update this thread with my result; hopefully now I should be able to make this work!

 

EDIT: This leftStick y value starting at -1 is bugging me more than I thought, and I can't find a way to fix it... If anybody has any idea on why that would happen, I'd be delighted to know!

I got it all working now!

The only weird thing it that, on startup, the leftStick starts with -1 on the y axis, and resets back to 0 as soon as I press on any button. If someone can figure that one out! But for now, I'll do with it; it's not such a big deal for my testing purposes.

Here's the code, if anyone else needs to use a PDP Switch Pro Controller on a project:

Code (CSharp):

1. [InputControlLayout(stateType = typeof(PDPSwitchProControllerInputState))]
2. #if UNITY_EDITOR
3. [InitializeOnLoad]
4. #endif
5. public class PDPSwitchProControllerHID : Gamepad
6. {
7.     static PDPSwitchProControllerHID() {
8.         InputSystem.RegisterLayout<PDPSwitchProControllerHID>(
9.             "Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (PDP)",
10.             new InputDeviceMatcher()
11.                 .WithInterface("HID")
12.                 .WithCapability("vendorId", 0xE6F)
13.                 .WithCapability("productId", 0x185));
14.     }
15.  
16.     [RuntimeInitializeOnLoadMethod]
17.     static void Init() { }
18. }
19.  
20.  
21. [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit, Size = 20)]
22. struct PDPSwitchProControllerInputState : IInputStateTypeInfo {
23.  
24.     public FourCC format => new FourCC('H', 'I', 'D');
25.  
26.     [InputControl(name = "dpad", format = "BIT", layout = "Dpad", bit = 24, sizeInBits = 4, defaultState = 8)]
27.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/up", format = "BIT", layout = "DiscreteButton", parameters = "minValue=7,maxValue=1,nullValue=8,wrapAtValue=7", bit = 24, sizeInBits = 4)]
28.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/right", format = "BIT", layout = "DiscreteButton", parameters = "minValue=1,maxValue=3", bit = 24, sizeInBits = 4)]
29.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/down", format = "BIT", layout = "DiscreteButton", parameters = "minValue=3,maxValue=5", bit = 24, sizeInBits = 4)]
30.     [InputControl(name = "dpad/left", format = "BIT", layout = "DiscreteButton", parameters = "minValue=5, maxValue=7", bit = 24, sizeInBits = 4)]
31.     [InputControl(name = "buttonEast", displayName = "X", shortDisplayName = "X", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.East)]
32.     [InputControl(name = "buttonNorth", displayName = "Y", shortDisplayName = "Y", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.North, usage = "SecondaryAction")]
33.     [InputControl(name = "buttonSouth", displayName = "A", shortDisplayName = "A", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.South, usage = "PrimaryAction")]
34.     [InputControl(name = "buttonWest", displayName = "B", shortDisplayName = "B", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.West, usage = "Back")]
35.     [InputControl(name = "leftStickPress", displayName = "Left Stick", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.StickL)]
36.     [InputControl(name = "rightStickPress", displayName = "Right Stick", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.StickR)]
37.     [InputControl(name = "leftShoulder", displayName = "L", shortDisplayName = "L", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.L)]
38.     [InputControl(name = "rightShoulder", displayName = "R", shortDisplayName = "R", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.R)]
39.     [InputControl(name = "leftTrigger", displayName = "ZL", shortDisplayName = "ZL", format = "BIT", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.ZL)]
40.     [InputControl(name = "rightTrigger", displayName = "ZR", shortDisplayName = "ZR", format = "BIT", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.ZR)]
41.     [InputControl(name = "start", displayName = "Plus", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.Plus, usage = "Menu")]
42.     [InputControl(name = "select", displayName = "Minus", bit = (uint)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.Minus)]
43.     [FieldOffset(0)]
44.     public uint buttons;
45.  
46.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick", format = "VC2S", layout = "Stick")]
47.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/x", offset = 0, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5")]
48.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/left", offset = 0, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=1,clampMin=0.15,clampMax=0.5,invert")]
49.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/right", offset = 0, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=1,clampMin=0.5,clampMax=0.85")]
50.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/y", offset = 1, format = "USHT", parameters = "invert,normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5")]
51.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/up", offset = 1, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=1,clampMin=0.15,clampMax=0.5,invert")]
52.     [InputControl(name = "leftStick/down", offset = 1, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=1,clampMin=0.5,clampMax=0.85,invert=false")]
53.     [FieldOffset(3)] public ushort leftStickX;
54.     [FieldOffset(4)] public ushort leftStickY;
55.  
56.     [InputControl(name = "rightStick", format = "VC2S", layout = "Stick")]
57.     [InputControl(name = "rightStick/x", offset = 0, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5")]
58.     [InputControl(name = "rightStick/left", offset = 0, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=1,clampMin=0,clampMax=0.5,invert")]
59.     [InputControl(name = "rightStick/right", offset = 0, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=1,clampMin=0.5,clampMax=1")]
60.     [InputControl(name = "rightStick/y", offset = 1, format = "USHT", parameters = "invert,normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5")]
61.     [InputControl(name = "rightStick/up", offset = 1, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=1,clampMin=0.15,clampMax=0.5,invert")]
62.     [InputControl(name = "rightStick/down", offset = 1, format = "USHT", parameters = "normalize,normalizeMin=0.15,normalizeMax=0.85,normalizeZero=0.5,clamp=1,clampMin=0.5,clampMax=0.85,invert=false")]
63.     [FieldOffset(5)] public ushort rightStickX;
64.     [FieldOffset(6)] public ushort rightStickY;
65.  
66.     public float leftTrigger => ((buttons & (1U << (int)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.ZL)) != 0) ? 1f : 0f;
67.  
68.     public float rightTrigger => ((buttons & (1U << (int)PDPSwitchProControllerButton.ZR)) != 0) ? 1f : 0f;
69.  
70.     public enum PDPSwitchProControllerButton {
71.         North = 8,
72.         South = 10,
73.         West = 11,
74.         East = 9,
75.  
76.         StickL = 18,
77.         StickR = 19,
78.         L = 12,
79.         R = 13,
80.  
81.         ZL = 14,
82.         ZR = 15,
83.         Plus = 17,
84.         Minus = 16,
85.  
86.         X = North,
87.         B = East,
88.         Y = South,
89.         A = West,
90.     }
91. }

 

Means the default state is off. Default state for any control is 0. For [-1..1] controls that are stored in signed integer form, that will result in a -1 default value. There's a

defaultState

property on

InputControlAttribute

to initialize that to the right value.

 

Hello, I'm experiencing the same issue of switch pro controller not working properly

How can I add this patched file to the control layout ?

 

Something that make me wonder is that the input debugger register properly all the input of the controller. Am I missing something ?