As a video game enthusiast, I love the idea of having great games available to me on my android device. However, that reality is severely limited by the lack of support (in most games) for gamepad support. There are several HID bluetooth gamepads available. Unfortunately, not many games allow you to remap buttons, or even use a gamepad at all.
There are so many games that would be so much better if they let people map gamepad buttons instead of using on-screen controls.
My question to any android developer reading this... is it very difficult to include support for controller support? Why don't we see more games supporting gamepads for android?
I know that those with gamepads may not make a huge percentage of android gamers, but what kind of time/money investment is it to add that feature. Admittedly, I am clueless about how much it may cost. But it sure seems like it shouldn't be that hard for a game developer. Am i wrong? Is it a huge pain to go through the trouble of adding gamepad support to android games?
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The Xoom will be my first android device picking one up this week. My only other tablet/mobile experiences were on an iPodTouch4G. As a C++ / Java dev, I've skimmed some of the Android App Dev books (though those were written for 2x about a year ago, not 3x/HoneyComb); though, I couldn't quite see anything in the syntax that would suggest preventative measures to stop people from doing this.
I'm assuming that any particular game from the android marketplace that enables multiplayer pools users from all android devices, tablets, phones, etc. With that said, I'm sure there's a few devices that can utilize either a Bluetooth or USB keyboard/mouse combo to play in these games.
I'm assuming I just didn't see the code though, and I am curious as to if devs are taking preventative measures for this in their app code to make sure people are all using the device (let us face it, it's easier to play an FPS with a mouse/keyboard, by a mile).
I ask this question partially as a curious developer, but also as a player of these games who enjoys them, and could foresee moments playing some shooter on my xoom swiping my fingers across the screen wondering if that guy owning me is using something a bit more accurate than finger swiping.
I don't play these games so I hesitated to respond...waiting to see if anyone else would. Do you have the Xoom yet? I can say that I have and use the Moto bt keyboard a MS bt mouse. They work perfectly for the usual business applications and I have used the mouse anywhere I wanted more precision of selection. I guess it may come down to whether the gaming app supports the keyboard and mouse inputs from the Xoom.
Just now searching for app to make possible android gaming with mouse + keyboard...
Just now searching for app to make possible android gaming with mouse + keyboard... no results... i have usb wireles keyboard and mouse logitech a320 - all works nice. but in games - just one touch from mouse - keyboard buttons not works at all. rummor say that full support of mouse is in android 3.0... Now will wait for custom rom with 3.0 to my haipad m7
Hi Everyone,
Is there a maintained comprehensive list of games that natively support gamepad?
I find myself looking out for these games more than others - the ability to not have my two fat thumbs blocking half the screen is sure a welcome addition to the mobile gaming front
I found this list: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1542820 but it looks like, at the moment, it's no longer maintained.
Does anyone know of any others?
I'm sure I don't need to get anyone here up to speed on the OUYA, but one thing that does strike up interest is their partnership with Square-Enix. Ouya being a physical controller dominated consolve means that Square-Enix support is bound to upgrade their games with that all-important precision of controller-based input.
Touch input on RPGs is fairly acceptable, but what I've noticed in games like Eternal Legacy and Symphony of the Eternity is that; while touch input seems like it'd be better than gamepad input for RPGs, it's actually much slower, and much less precise.
At any rate, do you think Square-Enix being in bed with Ouya means Final Fantasy III will get native controller support in an update? I'm thinking that we may get some inadvertent Xperia Play gamepad support just from that!
Unfortunately though it seems like the API for controller support on ICS is different than what the Xperia play controls need to work. Hence why dead trigger for example needed additional work to be xplay optimized. I wouldn't hold my breath.
I agree with Rogue Leader. Many games have ICS gamepad support without Xperia Play game-pad support and I can't imagine supporting one controller medium will necessarily lead to supporting another. There is a ray of hope shining in from a different direction, Lara Croft was made by Square-Enix and features gamepad support so the company does have experience with the code and could implement it based on that if they feel that implementation will boost their sales.
Rogue Leader said:
Unfortunately though it seems like the API for controller support on ICS is different than what the Xperia play controls need to work. Hence why dead trigger for example needed additional work to be xplay optimized. I wouldn't hold my breath.
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Only the touchpad. The play uses the same hardware keys as a native controller except that X (D-Pad center) = Button A and circle (back) = button b. So this could be rectified with gamekeyboard remapper. This is the reason there was no ics for xperia play as Sony could not match touchpad (Sony framework code) to android 3.1+ native controller code. Thus making some games broken as seen in Sony's ics beta Rom.
As for FF I can't see that touchpad/ analogs would be needed so there is a good chance most buttons would work
Sent from my R800i using xda premium
I am writing this in the hopes that game developers will see this. There is a golden opportunity out there for any game developer willing to take on the challenge - Gamepads are coming out every day for Android, and everyone wants to use them. MOGA, nVidia Shield, and PS3 Gameklip are just a few of the most popular ones out there.
I personally just plug a USB xbox gamepad into my Android, and it works great, except there just aren't any gamepad-supported games. In the past few months, I have read countless threads listing gamepad games, I have downloaded and tried them all. There's even an app for Android that helps you find gamepad games.
So far, there are only TWO games that I would count as FULLY supporting ALL gamepads, and they're both made by the same company, (Madfinger Games) Dead Trigger and Shadowgun. They are the only ones that have a "gamepad controls" menu in the options that lets you go through each function and assign it a button or an axis. This is crucial. This is a huge opportunity for game developers! Why? Well have you ever been to a game expo, to the mobile gaming section, where people like MOGA demo their Android gamepads? There's dozens of different gamepad developers wanting to sell you their wares, but they are ALL playing the SAME game on their demo unit: Dead Trigger. Every where you look, it's "Look how good THIS gamepad can play Dead Trigger!" - Why? Because it's the only one that bothered to fully implement gamepad controls. Imagine how much of a free advertisement it would be if yours was the first game to break that trend, to be the only game in that expo that WASNT Dead Trigger!
While there are dozens of games out there that support MOGA, they only support MOGA, and often only one specific particular MOGA model. They don't let you change controls, and if you don't like how they're set up, you're screwed. Same goes for SHIELD. Most games that claim gamepad support only go so far as to support MOGA and Shield, and stop right there. They leave the rest of us in the dust.
There isn't a single racing game out there that supports HID gamepads like Xbox or PS3. Asphalt 8 supports them, in the way that a miser supports his mistress - secretly, hidden in some back corner. You don't get to change the controls, you are forced to use the A/B buttons for gas/brake instead of triggers, and the analog steering suffers from the "digital effect". That is to say it isn't really analog steering, it's either FULL left, or FULL right, with nothing in between. Same goes for every other big racing game out there, from GT Racing 2 to Real Racing 3.
So PLEASE devs, make us a real gamepad game! Make us lots! Make them racing, or shooters, or space sims, or sports games, whatever, and we will buy them! You will support the gamepad industry and make it thrive, like Dead Trigger is reluctantly doing right now, and in turn when they grow, they will support you. Get in on the ground floor, and there's money to be made. Get known for being THE company where EVERY game supports EVERY gamepad, and you could become the next Madfinger or Gameloft.
Tldr: need to use controller for touchscreen games
I made a similar post before requesting some help and I was pointed to Droidmote, however that's not really what I was looking for and it didn't really do the job.
I have a mad catz mojo android console and a lot of games I want to play require I use a touchscreen. I've been digging around trying some apps and searching for a fix but I haven't found anything. I need an app that will allow me to use one of my controllers to emulate the touchscreen and I think there's got to be a reliable popular app I'm just not aware of any help?
For example final fantasy 4 looks great on my tv but I can't use a controller.
Ps: mojo console forum chat isn't active so I ask here because this problem applies to any android console thank you.