MiSTer FPGA Forum

Hello everyone.

I'm still curious about the project and going to buy my own MiSTer soon. The problem is: how would I play it?
I have lots of controllers (ps4, Xbox one, snes wired, megadrive 2.4g joyzz, db15 famicom clone controllers).

What would you suggest? Should I buy an adapter like Daemonbite (btw, is it supported? does it support 2p? does anyone use it?) for my snes/megadrive controllers and it will cover most of platforms, or I'd better buy a low-latency controller and use it?

(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... IUrpfncXIM)


Thank you.

I use a lot of different controllers with MiSTer. Mostly from 8bitdo or Retro-bit. I also use adapters from Daemonbite for SNES and Mega Drive and they work great.

MiSTer is great because it is so flexible, there are so many input options. Odds are that if you have a USB controller then it would work, and if you want to use a wireless controller then you need a linux compatible bluetooth adapter or the wireless USB dongle. Furthermore you can use a mouse and keyboard and also there are some cores that support a native controller port via SNAC. Daemonbite is great for creating an arcade controller or as an adapter for console controllers as it is low latency and can take advantage of the 1ms USB polling. My advice is for arcade controls cannibalize a JAMMA wiring harness. Also don't buy directly from China as international shipping is way too slow at this point in time. If you want to buy a cheap and fast controller the iBuffalo SNES style controller is good. Wireless the 2.4 Ghz usb 8bit-do controllers are good as well. I like their 6 button sega inspired controller. The way 1p and 2p works is the first controller that sends a button press is 1p then the second is the 2p. I hope this clears things up for you.

Personally, I suggest not worrying about buying anything extra now, and to just use whatever controllers and/or keyboards you have on hand. The MiSTer's backend is Linux, and therefore it'll support pretty much anything you plug into it.

Once you get your MiSTer and you play around with it a bit, THEN think about what you might want to buy to enhance your experience. Using the MiSTer first will give you first-hand experience and knowledge of the MiSTer, and you will have a much better idea of what you might want or need to suit you.


That said, you mentioned having a lot of controllers, but what about keyboards? Starting out, I highly recommend having a USB keyboard on hand that you can use with the MiSTer, even if it's temporary. You'll want it for setting up your MiSTer for the first time, you'll need it for PC cores like ao486 or the MSX, and you can also use it for console and arcade games if you want. I use a Logitech K400, a wireless keyboard and trackpad combo that I've had for many years. I highly recommend it (or a K400 Plus) if you want a small wireless keyboard for anything, even beyond the MiSTer. IMO it's one of my best tech purchases ever. But I won't gush about it too much here, lol.

For my needs, I am fine with using that keyboard, and a wired Xbox One controller (which is pretty bad on the latency charts, but the latency is still imperceptible to me).


(I also recommend a USB hub and a Wi-Fi dongle. They significantly made the MiSTer easier to use once I bought them.)

A nice setup for me is a PS2 Soulcalibur Stick with MayFlash Universal adapter MF001. Works perfectly and I love this stick.

vibes wrote: ↑Sun Oct 11, 2020 3:51 am That said, you mentioned having a lot of controllers, but what about keyboards? Starting out, I highly recommend having a USB keyboard on hand that you can use with the MiSTer, even if it's temporary. You'll want it for setting up your MiSTer for the first time, you'll need it for PC cores like ao486 or the MSX, and you can also use it for console and arcade games if you want. I use a Logitech K400, a wireless keyboard and trackpad combo that I've had for many years. I highly recommend it (or a K400 Plus) if you want a small wireless keyboard for anything, even beyond the MiSTer. IMO it's one of my best tech purchases ever. But I won't gush about it too much here, lol.

I will second this, I have the same exact keyboard, actually two of them one is just for my MiSTer, it is great for updates or even the computer cores. Even beyond MiSTer, if you have a smart TV it works, if you want to play PC games on a HTPC it is great. You really can't go wrong with that keyboard. Even on the go I put the keyboard in my backpack just in case and it has saved me a bunch of times.

I have a bit of everything to cover any gaming mood I may have:

• a wireless (2.4ghz) keyboard/mouse/joypad combo device (not amazIng but good for quick tests)
• USB adapters for my legacy controllers (including paddles)
• a couple of Hori FC for fighting games
• some arcade sticks (one 4 way, one American style, one Japanese VLX style)
• a USB switch to use the same mechanical keyboard and mouse from my regular PC
• a cuatom mechanical keypad which I programmed with common keys (F12, PrintScr, etc)

...the sky is the limit

I prefer Daemonbite + Sega Saturn HSS-0101 gamepad.

Hori Fighting Commander for ps3/ps4/pc is the best controller for me. Super versatile, has a home button, shoulder buttons and a solid d-pad.

It's a wired controller which I still generally prefer when playing games

For me the best controller by far is the Sega Saturn first model in Japan, the rounded one (HSS-0101, I think it's the same as the second model in Europe) and Daemonbite controller.

I can't make the Tiger Knee (SF2') in any other controller.

Milspex wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 1:10 pm Hori Fighting Commander for ps3/ps4/pc is the best controller for me. Super versatile, has a home button, shoulder buttons and a solid d-pad.

It's a wired controller which I still generally prefer when playing games

Was going to get that but then saw reviews of it breaking within a month. That is why I went with the Daemonbite sega genesis adapter with the sega controller adapter 2.4 ghz 8bitdo M30. You get the same layout minus any joysticks and a long battery life and since it shares the same connector as the genesis I can swap it out for an OG controller anytime I want. I also made a joystick with coin mech and SNES daemon bite and NES daemonbite for OG SNES and NES controllers respectively. I don't find myself needing the home button, as I usually just map it to up and start as that isn't used in gameplay and pauses the game anyway as I do it. It also is compatible with the Sega 3 button controller so It has become second nature to me. I have come to the conclusion that a general purpose 6 button controller is good for casual play and a OG controller or something similar for most of the games. The daemonbite setup plus OG 2.4 ghz adapters seems to have the lowest lag for both wired and wireless.

redsteakraw wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 2:53 pm Hori Fighting Commander for ps3/ps4/pc is the best controller for me. Super versatile, has a home button, shoulder buttons and a solid d-pad.

It's a wired controller which I still generally prefer when playing games

Was going to get that but then saw reviews of it breaking within a month.

Glad you found something that works for you, but I’m surprised by this. I’ve had a Hori Fighting Commander for years and put dozens (hundreds?) of hours of fighting game gameplay into it and it still feels new. Ends up my go to for MiSTer because it’s super responsive and the d-pad and buttons all feel great.

THE BEST SETUP IS ALL OF THEM \,,/(>.<)\,,/ ...or near all of them

AdamM wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:11 pm Glad you found something that works for you, but I’m surprised by this. I’ve had a Hori Fighting Commander for years and put dozens (hundreds?) of hours of fighting game gameplay into it and it still feels new. Ends up my go to for MiSTer because it’s super responsive and the d-pad and buttons all feel great.

Yeah I guess it may be down to a bad batch or two but the convenience of wireless is amazing but if you have to go wireless some of the new console controllers actually are pretty good. If you ever want to expand your setup I would highly recommend the Genesis daemonbite adapter(either DIY or purchased) and the M30. That being said an very cheap and easy upgrade to your setup would be USB extension cables trust me if you are going with USB they help allot and can give you the extra walk around and flexibility that you might not have. That and those velcro cable ties you can get in big rolls at Walmart, have one around each cable so you can easily wrap up any cable or controller you have. A bunch of ziplock bags can be used to put spare controllers and wires for easy access and no rat's nets of cable issues.

AdamM wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:11 pm

redsteakraw wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 2:53 pm Hori Fighting Commander for ps3/ps4/pc is the best controller for me. Super versatile, has a home button, shoulder buttons and a solid d-pad.

It's a wired controller which I still generally prefer when playing games

Was going to get that but then saw reviews of it breaking within a month.

Glad you found something that works for you, but I’m surprised by this. I’ve had a Hori Fighting Commander for years and put dozens (hundreds?) of hours of fighting game gameplay into it and it still feels new. Ends up my go to for MiSTer because it’s super responsive and the d-pad and buttons all feel great.

Same, had mine for years and it is still perfect.

I've made an adapter with an Arduino Leonardo and it have:

• Two saturn/megadrive inputs

• One snes input

• One psx input

It serves me well. At least for single player games.
For multiplayer I do like to use multiple saturn or megadrive sticks so it works well too.
And I also have an Retropad32 that receive input from various kinds of controllers.