PC [BUG] XBOX and PS4 Controller Not Working, Works in Steam and Other Games

[sergeace]

Hello,

I have individually attempted to used both a PS4 and an XBOX 360 controller (not at the same time) with and without cables and they do not work in Stardew Valley. The XBOX controller was used on another computer and was able to play Stardew Valley from the other computer.

Steam recognizes the controllers and I can use them in other Steam games. I have checked and ensured the controllers are being seen as Controller 1. I have used DS4Windows emulator and it does not fix the issue. I have checked to ensure my bluetooth is only connected to a single controller so there is no influence from other devices. I have completely deleted all Stardew Valley files from my laptop (copying my save files to another location) and completely downloaded fresh from Steam after the most recent update. The controllers still do not work.

I am at a loss as to how to fix this and there are several posts on Steam and on this forum here of others reporting the same issue without any feedback on how to fix it. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Forgot to mention I am running Windows 10 fully updated on an ASUS G751JM ROG laptop.

 

[Lymphea]

Just started having this problem, can’t play multiplayer :( I was worried it’s my mods but it won’t accept any input despite Steam clearly recognizing my controllers. Hope there’s a fix soon

 

[Kyoshiro]

Load a game with your mouse + keyboard, go to settings and check if the gamepad mode is set to force off.

 

[Deaquay]

Bump. I also have this issue on windows 10.
Some info:
First of the weirdest thing, the controller works in stardew on a windows 7 laptop that streams the game from my main computer.
So running the game on my main computer and streaming it on the laptop works with controller, but using the main computer straight away does not work.
Controller works elsewhere, but not in stardew.
Controller is a wired xbox 360 controller.
Shows up as controller in control panel devices and printers and calibrates fine.

 

[Deaquay]

Ok, so I solved it, gonna reply here since this is one of the places refered to when googleíng it.

It seems to be a problem happening with non-brand controllers.

I dug out my original xbox 360 controller thats seen better days, plugged it in, and restarted my pc. And then it worked.
Switched back to the non original controller and it still works.

Might be the pc restart that did it though.

Hope it helps someone.

 

[sammadactyl]

I have been having the same issues with no avail. It would work fine and now it refuses to. I use a wireless Xbox 360 controller and have tried using the wire that charges it and still nothing. I really hope this can be fixed soon.

 

[tramchamploo]

All approaches above tried, none works. I'm on MacOS BigSur, with DS4 controller. Does this game actually support DS4 controller on PC?

 

[kiff]

I'm copying and pasting an answer Concerned Ape posted elsewhere, plus adding a little more (because I had this problem as well). A computer/ windows update broke my controller use (it works everywhere else but Stardew).

From Concerned Ape:
"Try going into your steam controller settings for stardew valley and selecting "Enable Steam Input". If that doesn't work, then try resetting to the default gamepad controller configuration by pressing shift + tab while in game to open the steam overlay, then selecting the controller configuration from the top right, then choosing "browse configs", and then finally selecting the recommended/default config."

Added by me:
So go into Steam and RIGHT click on the game in the left hand bar and click "properties". That will pull up the Stardew properties- now click "Controller" on the left side of the new window that popped up. In the "Override for stardew valley" dropdown list select "enable steam input" then restart the game. My controller worked again after that.

Hopefully this is helpful for the people who find the thread on Google who have the same problem.

 

[Smitty18c]

I'm copying and pasting an answer Concerned Ape posted elsewhere, plus adding a little more (because I had this problem as well). A computer/ windows update broke my controller use (it works everywhere else but Stardew).

From Concerned Ape:
"Try going into your steam controller settings for stardew valley and selecting "Enable Steam Input". If that doesn't work, then try resetting to the default gamepad controller configuration by pressing shift + tab while in game to open the steam overlay, then selecting the controller configuration from the top right, then choosing "browse configs", and then finally selecting the recommended/default config."

Added by me:
So go into Steam and RIGHT click on the game in the left hand bar and click "properties". That will pull up the Stardew properties- now click "Controller" on the left side of the new window that popped up. In the "Override for stardew valley" dropdown list select "enable steam input" then restart the game. My controller worked again after that.

Hopefully this is helpful for the people who find the thread on Google who have the same problem.

Thank you so much for the exact directions!! I made an account to thank you I’m not sure if I’m replying to this correctly

 

[MysticCave]

I bought Stardew Valley via GOG Games and don't have SteamInput as an option, however, I found that the reason no controller seems to work is because SDL2 is outdated.

I managed to get my DualShock 4 (PS4) controller working by simply replacing libSDL2.dylib with a newer version. (Couldn't get the Xbox Wireless Controller working, even though I've installed the latest firmware on it, 5.7.2688.0.)

Here's how to do it with a few terminal commands on macOS. They utilize Homebrew to install SDL2, however, SDL2 can also be downloaded from https://www.libsdl.org, you only need libSDL2-2.0.0.dylib.

brew update
brew install sdl2
mv /Applications/Stardew\ Valley.app/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib /Applications/Stardew\ Valley.app/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib.original
cp -afv /usr/local/Cellar/sdl2/2.0.*/lib/libSDL2-2.0.0.dylib /Applications/Stardew\ Valley.app/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib

I still haven't been able to get vibration working on the DS4, but I'm hoping I can fix it with a smapi mod or something.

PS. With updated SDL2, the game no longer crashes when the controller disconnects.

PPS. Looks like Xbox Wireless Controller works with SDL2 2.0.16, previously I was using 2.0.14.

 

[arathald]

I bought Stardew Valley via GOG Games and don't have SteamInput as an option, however, I found that the reason no controller seems to work is because SDL2 is outdated.

I managed to get my DualShock 4 (PS4) controller working by simply replacing libSDL2.dylib with a newer version. (Couldn't get the Xbox Wireless Controller working, even though I've installed the latest firmware on it, 5.7.2688.0.)

Here's how to do it with a few terminal commands on macOS. They utilize Homebrew to install SDL2, however, SDL2 can also be downloaded from https://www.libsdl.org, you only need libSDL2-2.0.0.dylib.

brew update
brew install sdl2
mv /Applications/Stardew\ Valley.app/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib /Applications/Stardew\ Valley.app/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib.original
cp -afv /usr/local/Cellar/sdl2/2.0.*/lib/libSDL2-2.0.0.dylib /Applications/Stardew\ Valley.app/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib

I still haven't been able to get vibration working on the DS4, but I'm hoping I can fix it with a smapi mod or something.

PS. With updated SDL2, the game no longer crashes when the controller disconnects.

PPS. Looks like Xbox Wireless Controller works with SDL2 2.0.16, previously I was using 2.0.14.

This also worked with the Steam version of the game, though I had to modify the last two commands for the different install location:


mv ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Stardew\ Valley/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Stardew\ Valley/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib.original
cp -afv /usr/local/Cellar/sdl2/2.0.*/lib/libSDL2-2.0.0.dylib ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Stardew\ Valley/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib

I also had to force disable steam input for stardew.

 

[fatefulmechanic]

This also worked with the Steam version of the game, though I had to modify the last two commands for the different install location:


mv ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Stardew\ Valley/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Stardew\ Valley/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib.original
cp -afv /usr/local/Cellar/sdl2/2.0.*/lib/libSDL2-2.0.0.dylib ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Stardew\ Valley/Contents/MacOS/libSDL2.dylib

I also had to force disable steam input for stardew.

I can confirm this solved the issue for me. I'm running Stardew Valley v1.5.4 on macOS Big Sur v11.5.2 on a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017).

ConcernedApe, please could this be further investigated? Whilst the above fix is simple enough for tech-savvy players there are many who would struggle with it. If the issue is as simple as updating a dependency perhaps a hot fix is all that is needed?

 

[Taurus]

After almost two hours of fighting with xcode and homebrew I can confirm that it is working (just created account to provide faster solution and little more input on issue).

For those who don't want to install development tools on your macbook, this is the file that you need to unpack to

~/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Stardew Valley/Contents/MacOS/

I also forced disable steam input for stardew.

I removed all dev tools and it is working fine.

I didn't found libSDL2.dylib in this folder only libSDL2.dylib.original (both mentioned in terminal commands) and manually copy worked for me

I'm running Stardew Valley v1.5.4 on macOS Big Sur v11.6 on a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017)

 

[arathald]

Has anyone figured out getting controller vibration working on Mac OS? I'm still finding myself booting into windows to play because fishing in particular is far worse without it.

 

[Glowstone]

Thanks to everyone who has researched this. I actually just purchased SDV and before getting my family into the game wanted to test out controller support only to find this show stopper. We are on macOS Big Sur 11.6 and also use Xbox One controllers for every other controller game. I did reach out to Stardew Valley support with a link to this thread to get their comments on it and if they have another solution. I'm hesitant to do the extra steps like installing libraries just to get controllers to work in order to enjoy this game from the couch (which I would very much like to).

 

[MysticCave]

Has anyone figured out getting controller vibration working on Mac OS? I'm still finding myself booting into windows to play because fishing in particular is far worse without it.

Unfortunately not. I was hoping 1.5.5 would finally bring vibration to macOS but no dice. I updated SDL2 to 2.0.18 and that doesn't fix vibration either.

I believe the version of MonoGame Framework used by Stardew Valley is too old and does not support rumble on macOS. This would mean that we need to patch MonoGame to enable vibration. I tried to hack this by creating a SMAPI mod a while back but the effort has been unsuccessful so far.

 

[Raul74]

After almost two hours of fighting with xcode and homebrew I can confirm that it is working (just created account to provide faster solution and little more input on issue).

For those who don't want to install development tools on your macbook, this is the file that you need to unpack to

~/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Stardew Valley/Contents/MacOS/

I also forced disable steam input for stardew.

I removed all dev tools and it is working fine.

I didn't found libSDL2.dylib in this folder only libSDL2.dylib.original (both mentioned in terminal commands) and manually copy worked for me

I'm running Stardew Valley v1.5.4 on macOS Big Sur v11.6 on a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017)

Hi, thanx for the file, just tried it and finally the controller work but with it the audio disappear from the game, so I dunno what to do now. I just copied the file and overwrite the old one.
Hope that they can update this old file with a new patch of the game.

 

[liquid_metal]

I registered just to post in this thread that I have found a fix for the controller/audio issues for M1 macs on Monterey.

I am running a Mac M1 with Monterey and no version of libSDL posted in this thread or on reddit was able to work, the closest was the version above (..16) making controller work but disabling audio.

I am happy to announce that after a day of searching online resources, I have found a version of libSDL2 which works for both controller and audio, on mac m1 monterey with my xbox wireless controller. I do not know which version of libSDL this is, so anyone more tricky than me feel free to validate which version this is - but immediately upon using this version my game is now functioning as expected.

Source: https://github.com/ClassicUO/ClassicUO/blob/master/external/osx/libSDL2-2.0.0.dylib

 

[Raul74]

I registered just to post in this thread that I have found a fix for the controller/audio issues for M1 macs on Monterey.

...cut

THANK YOU !!!! IT WORK ! Really, thank you for your search, I hope that now the developer can fix the game.

 

[Josh]

I had trouble with xbox controller on my macbook pro Bigsur 11.6, got it working with Kiff's technique, today it started working then while loading local coop in split screen both controllers stopped working. Can't get them to work again in game or even on Steam.