Tips; Configuring your DS4 to work on your Mac |
Jon Evans
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Besides enjoying gaming on consoles, I do dabble with Steam Games on my Macbook. Despite my background being in PC gaming, I am pretty much institutionalised into console gaming with a controller rather than a mouse these days. Sony has made The DS4 controller work with both Mac and PC out of the box. So, I thought I'd have a go configuring one with my Macbook Pro. It's a relatively simple set up, although some technical fiddling is involved before playing any games.
USB Method
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By far the easiest and cleanest method, the USB connection requires no set up. Simply plug your DS4 in with the micro-usb connector that came with your PS4 and the Macbook will recognise it. It will also charge your controller as you use it.
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Wireless Method
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This is also relatively simple.
Open your bluetooth preferences on your mac. Ensure you have enabled bluetooth on your Mac, then hold down the 'share' and 'PS' Buttons at the same time. The move light on the controller should flash white. The 'wireless controller' should appear in your devices menu. Click 'Pair' Your controller will now work with your Mac. A word of warning - although the controller paired successfully with my Mac, Joypad Mapper (see below) couldn't communicate with the DS4 and I ended up using a USB connection as my default set up. You might find you have more success than me. |
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This is, however, just the start. If you want to control your games on your Mac , you will need controller mapping software. Although the controller is paired with your Mac or attached by USB, the Mac does not know what the inputs from the controller mean. Some games on the Mac already have native controller support, but they are generally for the Xbox controller, and very few support the DS4.
I used an app from the Mac App Store called, Joystick Mapper, although other apps are also available. This allows you to manually map each input from the DS4 to keyboard buttons on your Mac, effectively using the keyboard settings in games as your controls. For this example I mapped the inputs from my DS4 to the keyboard settings in Max Payne 3. If you look at the pictures below, you can see how I used the keyboard settings in the game to help me map the controller (click on the pictures to enlarge them).
I used an app from the Mac App Store called, Joystick Mapper, although other apps are also available. This allows you to manually map each input from the DS4 to keyboard buttons on your Mac, effectively using the keyboard settings in games as your controls. For this example I mapped the inputs from my DS4 to the keyboard settings in Max Payne 3. If you look at the pictures below, you can see how I used the keyboard settings in the game to help me map the controller (click on the pictures to enlarge them).
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I did find that setting the sensitivity of the joysticks was a challenge since there was double redundancy in the settings, with both the game and Joystick Mapper having their own adjustments, doubling up any effect they had.
The beauty of Joystick mapper is that you can set up different profiles for your controllers and also for different games. This means any game you want to play on your Mac will be DS4 compatible, as long as you take the time to set them up. a companion app, Joystick Show is available to allow you to test your controller (see video below) I am yet to do the same thing on PC - but will follow this tips guide up with a PC guide at some point. In the meantime, do let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below and good luck with your set up!
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