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Steam Controller On Ubuntu, A Tweak You Need To Do

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Since some people did get in an early order (not me, doh!), you will need to do a quick fix to get it to register properly.

I am unsure if this is needed for other distributions, but it needs it on Ubuntu currently:

Edit this file (example of my preferred way to edit):
sudo gedit /lib/udev/rules.d/99-steam-controller-perms.rules

And pop this in it:
Quote# This rule is needed for basic functionality of the controller in
# Steam and keyboard/mouse emulation
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"

# This rule is necessary for gamepad emulation
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="YOURUSERNAME", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"


I thought it would probably be worth sharing until it's fixed officially, and for my own peace of mind to know exactly how to sort it when I receive mine if it's not fixed officially by next months full release.

Taken from here.

I spoke to Alan Pope, one of the lovely Ubuntu people on twitter and he confirmed they are working on the issue officially. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can also follow my personal adventures on Bluesky.
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31 comments
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Olling Oct 17, 2015
Hmm, found on Debian Stretch

/etc/udev/rules.d/90-uinput.rules

KERNEL=="uinput", GROUP="uinput-users", MODE="0660"
KERNEL=="uhid", GROUP="uinput-users", MODE="0660"

For whatever reason /dev/uinput doesn't keep settings, it's always

crw------- 1 root root 10, 223 Oct 16 20:56 /dev/uinput

Newer kernels (Linux skint 4.2.0-1-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.2.1-2 (2015-09-27) x86_64 GNU/Linux) does not have the hidraw module anymore.

I don't know where 90-uinput.rules came from. I don't see it within debian's packages (apt-file came up empty)

It seems to kind of work, but couldn't get firmware to load, or steam to detect it when I tried the 'add steam controller' button.

slaapliedje

I have the same problem. Try this as a wierd workaround:

[root@huginn ~]# ls -lath /dev/uinput
crw------- 1 root root 10, 223 17.10.2015 11:04 /dev/uinput

[root@huginn ~]# chown olling: /dev/uinput
[root@huginn ~]# ls -lath /dev/uinput
crw------- 1 olling users 10, 223 17.10.2015 11:04 /dev/uinput

[root@huginn ~]# cat /dev/uinput
cat: /dev/uinput: No such device

[root@huginn ~]# ls -lath /dev/uinput
crw-rw---- 1 root uinput 10, 223 17.10.2015 11:12 /dev/uinput


EDIT
This works for me:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="uinput", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"


Last edited by Olling on 17 October 2015 at 12:28 pm UTC
oldrocker99 Oct 17, 2015
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Never, ever used a controller, but this little baby does look worth a try; considering the price, I hope you get what you pay for. If it can replace a mouse, well, I'll definitely give it a try (when I can afford it).
slaapliedje Oct 17, 2015
I have the same problem. Try this as a wierd workaround:

[root@huginn ~]# ls -lath /dev/uinput
crw------- 1 root root 10, 223 17.10.2015 11:04 /dev/uinput

[root@huginn ~]# chown olling: /dev/uinput
[root@huginn ~]# ls -lath /dev/uinput
crw------- 1 olling users 10, 223 17.10.2015 11:04 /dev/uinput

[root@huginn ~]# cat /dev/uinput
cat: /dev/uinput: No such device

[root@huginn ~]# ls -lath /dev/uinput
crw-rw---- 1 root uinput 10, 223 17.10.2015 11:12 /dev/uinput


EDIT
This works for me:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="uinput", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"

Ha, yeah I was going to say that the Arch Linux fix works for Debian Stretch, since they both use uinput now. Unfortunately I was having other issues with my Arch Linux install (not sure if it's due to my motherboard/memory/cpu upgrade or because I bought a new monitor, even though it's the same resolution as the other one was... gdm is having issues, oh well I'll fix that later.

Now to try to find games that actually SUPPORT the steam controller... Only one I've had it work on was Mortal Kombat X through the Steam Link (before I could get it working in Linux). So far only other one I kind of got to work was Runner 2. Just tried Superfrog HD and it didn't work there either (and for some reason stretched across three monitors).
slaapliedje Oct 17, 2015
Has anyone tried playing Mark of the Ninja with the steam controller? Doesn't work for me. Guess I'll keep playing with the Logitech for now.

Going to try out Mark of the Ninja as soon as it's finished validating, I'm not sure why, but I've had to do that with three games I thought I had installed now (Chaos Engine (couldn't get it to detect anything), Superfrog (It'd move within the menus, but buttons wouldn't work) and Mark of the Ninja (currently downloading)).

Anyone else have much luck playing games under Linux with the Steam Controller? Within the controller settings in Steam itself all the buttons were tested as working.

slaapliedje

Edit: Mark of the Ninja worked for me! First one under Linux I've tried so far where the controls worked perfectly.


Last edited by slaapliedje on 17 October 2015 at 7:00 pm UTC
kellerkindt Oct 20, 2015
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Anyone got it running with Shadow of Mordor?
Contacted Feral (since I added the udev rule):
Hi Michael,

Thank you for your purchase of Shadow of Mordor.

We have checked and the Steam Controller works just fine in SteamOS (with custom prompts for the buttons etc) however on Ubuntu (another supported distro) the pad is not recognised at all.

We believe that Valve are looking into providing support for Ubuntu and other distros, but for the moment if you want to use the Steam Controller in the game you will have to use SteamOS.

Best Regards,

Gerard

EDIT: Got it working by setting myself the owner of /dev/uinput AND restarting the controller. But thats still only a workaround...


Last edited by kellerkindt on 20 October 2015 at 3:06 pm UTC
tamccullough Nov 10, 2015
I'm not having much luck with this. Using Xubuntu 15.10 which already includes the fix, but I don't believe that Xubuntu is detecting it as a gamepad.

So when I try to configure the joystick to work as "joystick move" nothing happens. The device only works when things are mapped as a keyboard and mouse configuration.

This makes the joystick sort of useless.

HELP!

EDIT:

I did add this line to the rules from here How do I get a Steam Controller working? With the suggested change.
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="users", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"

But in order to get WASD working I just assigned them to work with the D-pad configuration. Works okay now, testing configuration with TF2.


Last edited by tamccullough on 10 November 2015 at 7:37 pm UTC
OlliC Nov 10, 2015
Have sort of the same problem. Gamepad mode does not work.

Have these udev rules in place:
This rule is needed for basic functionality of the controller in Steam and keyboard/mouse emulation
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"

# This rule is necessary for gamepad emulation;
# make sure you replace 'pgriffais' with the username of the user that runs Steam
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="olli", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"

Permission on /dev/uinput are correct.

I cannot use the pads in any game. Tried various Community Bindings on Portal 2, Left 2 Dead 2, Binding of Isaac, Super Meat Boy, Towerfall, etc.

Still cannot get it to work?!

Edit: Tried it on Ubuntu 15.04 and Arch. Same problem on both.


Last edited by OlliC on 10 November 2015 at 10:08 pm UTC
ricki42 Nov 10, 2015
What worked for me on Ubuntu was what Olling posted above:

EDIT
This works for me:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="uinput", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"
OlliC Nov 10, 2015
What worked for me on Ubuntu was what Olling posted above:

EDIT
This works for me:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="uinput", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"

How would that work? Are you in group uinput?

But i have that one in place. And the permissions on /dev/uinput are ok.
Slackdog Dec 5, 2015
Mine is recognised but the controller is unusable - can't control the mouse pointer. Steam now wants big picture mode all the time - sigh. I could see me using this controller but it seems on ubuntu (at least for me) it not happening.
Arehandoro Dec 12, 2015
I post it here so more people can see it.

My perms.rules file looks like this:

# Valve USB devices
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"
# Steam Controller udev write access
KERNEL=="uinput", SUBSYSTEM=="misc", TAG+="uaccess"
# HTC Vive HID Sensor naming and permissioning
KERNEL=="hidraw*", SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bb4", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2c87", MODE="0666"

Do I still have to add something to it?

Thanks.


Last edited by Arehandoro on 12 December 2015 at 2:19 pm UTC
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