PS3 Controller on Fedora 17

Fedora 17 recognizes the PS3 controller when I plug it in via USB, however, I am unable to test or use the controller. So far, I have tried to test using "joystick" and in the game Super Meat Boy.

Do I need a utility to map the buttons for games to recognize the input? Is it not enough that the device is recognized by the system and shows when running the command 'lsusb'?

I have been searching Google for many hours and have not yet found a resource for how to get the PS3 controller in a working state from within Fedora. Any help would be appreciated.

Solution 1:

After many hours of researching, I have found the solution.

The problem:

As of Fedora 17, the default kernel no longer has the 'joydev' kernel module (see: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=815168).

The solution:

Install the kernel-modules-extra package in yum:

yum install kernel-modules-extra

Now when you plug in your controller/gampad/joystick, a device node should show up as /dev/input/jsX. You can then test the device using jstest from the 'joystick' package:

jstest /dev/input/jsX

You can then use a program like 'qjoypad' to map button presses/etc on your device to simulate keyboard/mouse buttons/movements. I have posted a formal post on my website containing the above information and a how-to for installing qjoypad in Fedora 17 since it is a rather involved process.

I hope this helps others!