How to use game controller with tvOS simulator

Is it possible to use a Made for iOS gamecontroller with the tvOS simulator? I already have a game working on the tvOS simulator, which on iPhone works great with a controller.

I tried to go into settings of the tvOS, 'Remotes and Devices' -> 'Bluetooth'. Then I see a spinner, and my contorller does not turn up. I also tried to connect the controller first to my Mac, but that did not make it work.


Any suggestions?

Replies

Hi Joride,


Are you using the GCController with the GameController.framework to do your discovery? I've not had any success registering a controller on the simulator either...

Turns out controllers are not supported on the simulator (yet?):

https://forums.developer.apple.com/message/52316#52316


Re: iOS device as controller?

I have a Steelseries Stratus XL. I paired it with the Macbook and surprisingly it works in the tvOS simulator (at least in the menus). Dpad works like tapping the remote, and analog works like swiping. I have not tried in-app yet to see how the controller shows up. I'm hoping it shows as an extended controller but there's a possibility that it's just simulating the remote.

Interesting, I have a Steelseries strato, and I can connect it in the BlueTooth preferences with my MacBook (Running Yosemite). However, it does not control anything in the Simulator.

Maybe I am missing something. Could you give me all the steps you took to get it to work with the simalator? Does it also work with iPhone/iPad simulator?

All I did was pair the controller via Bluetooth settings. I'll check on the other sims. One difference is that I'm on the El Capitan GM seed.

The controller can control the home screen in the Apple TV simulator but I haven't been able to do anything useful with GCControllers in app. Oddly, even the simulated remote doesn't show up (I'd expect to see it as a MicroGamepad?). This is with the Game Controllers capability enabled in the app. Not sure where to go from here. Going to compile as an iPad app until I figure it out or can buy actual hardware.

Did you manage to solve this? We have the same problem. Controller works in the 'homescreen' and settings, but not in the app itself. Running El Capitan.

Support for Game Controllers and the Apple TV Remote in the tvOS Simulator requires OS X El Capitan.


If you're having issues using them in your app, I suggest looking at some of the game controllers sample code.

I'm having the same problem as you. I wrote a quick test app and what I'm seeing is 2 controllers that are registered (even when none are paired). One is the Remote, which makes sense as the simulator has a software remote, but the other is an ExtendedGamePad. I've tried working on and interrogating other properties of these controllers, but I end up getting nil values for them. I am running El Capitan and Xcode 7.2

This does not sound like the original report.


The Simulator always has one Siri Remote connected to the tvOS Simulator for the simulated remote (window) and the proxied siri remote. I find it surprixing that there is an ExtendedGamePad paired. That should only happen if you have a controller paired with your mac (which we proxy to the simulator). There should not be one if there is nothing paired with your mac.

I'm seeing this same problem: 2 controllers are "connected" to the tvOS simulator, one being the Siri Remote and the other being an "ExtendedGamepad", even though no physical hardware controllers are present.


I can't find a way to send a command to the tvOS Simulator as the ExtendedGamepad, only as the Siri Remote (by using the on-screen remote). I also cannot find a way to remove the ExtendedGamepad either.