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Running SC Controller and Steam

kozec edited this page Jul 1, 2017 · 1 revision

For what it does, SC-Controller requires exclusive access to Steam Controller. Because of that, Steam is not able to recognize it while SC-Controller is active. While this is by design, it may be uncomfortable for someone who uses Steam frequently.

There are multiple solutions for this problem:

Use emulated XBox Controller in Steam

Steam and Steam games will recognize emulated Xbox Controller and allow you to use it automatically.

On plus side, there is no configuration needed for this option. On flip side, controller profiles and switching are handled by SC-Controller, so you can't use Controller Configuration and Community Profiles in Steam. Both can be enabled, but functionality will be little restricted as Steam will treat touch pads as sticks in this mode. Simply enter Big Picture Mode, go to Settings->Controller and enable Xbox Controller Configuration.

Manually turn off SC-Controller when using Steam

Simple, obvious solution. Click on Status Icon Icon and uncheck "Emulation Enabled" option. Note that closing SC-Controller will not disable emulation unless you have Automatically Disable Emulattion When Closing GUI option enabled in Settings->Advanced.

You don't have to disable SC-Controller before Steam is started, you can do it any time. Steam tries to access Steam Controller regularly and will pick it up few seconds after SC-Controller is disabled.

Automatically disable SC-Controller when starting Steam

Make following script, make it executable and use it to start Steam. If your desktop environment features menu editor, you can even edit Steam icon to start this script instead of regular Steam executable.

#!/bin/bash

scc-daemon stop
steam $@
scc-daemon start

Configure SC-Controller to disable itself when Steam is detected

SC-Controller's Autoswitcher feature can be used to disable emulation when Steam is active. To achieve this, enter SC-Controller settings, go to Autoswitcher tab, click "+" button to add new rule and enter following:

  • Match Window Class
  • Class: "Steam"
  • Action: Restart Daemon

This configuration will temporarily disable SC-Controller, giving Steam just enough time to pick up Steam Controller and gain exclusive access. Once Steam exits and releases controller device. SC-Controller will pick up it back automatically.

Note that it's important to use Class instead of Window Title here, otherwise rule may match, for example, browser visiting Steam Store page.