Gamepads do not work in Studio playtests + Xbox emulation leaves glitched UI on screen

I am able to connect my gamepad to my computer and play with it perfectly fine on the Roblox client, but when I go to test my game in Studio using the same controller, it does not detect the controller at all. This is using a Switch Pro Controller, and I have tested this both on my Windows 11 PC and my MacBook Air (M2, although I doubt this would matter given it happens on Windows too).

Additionally, selecting Xbox One under Device Emulation results in an unusual UI getting stuck on the center of the screen with no way to remove it. It displays my name twice, and I am able to interact with the UI and highlight the buttons but clicking doesn’t do anything; when I open and close the escape menu it will reappear and leave the following error:


Please look into these two issues! Not being able to test my games’ gamepad functionality in Studio has been an inconvenience.

14 Likes

I’ve been having the same issue for a while and so have some others. Hopefully Roblox puts some attention to this, because it is detrimental to development.

1 Like

This better be fixed soon, I’m getting tired of publishing my game to Roblox to test it with a controller.

3 Likes

This is an issue for me, I’m using a PS4 controller and it is not detecting in studio but works fine in game. This is an extreme inconvenience that is preventing us from working on Xbox compatibility for our game. Please acknowledge and fix this issue.

1 Like

Getting this on macOS (M2 apple silicon). Works fine in the Roblox app, but no gamepad input is registering in studio

3 Likes

Pressing Tab while on the playtest took off the UI on the screen for me.

Still, I do hope they fix issues with console playtests in Studio. Would really help with testing for console compatibility.

Hi, I’m also having this issue with a dualsense controller + windows 11. Works in the roblox game client but not in studio

Controllers used to work in studio for me, it was around 6-7 months ago it suddenly stopped working.

Would appreciate if an engineer looked into this considering it used to work before.

2 Likes

I’m also having the same issue. I can’t use my switch pro controller in studio and my xbox one s controller only works when connected via bluetooth.

1 Like

Same thing for me PS4 controller works fine in the ROBLOX client but not in the ROBLOX studio.

3 Likes

The issue should be resolved, please let us know if you run into any problems.

3 Likes

Hi,
Gamepads still do not work in studio.

Reproduction:

  1. Connect gamepad to computer
  2. Play test in Studio

I have confirmed that my gamepad is indeed detected in the Roblox client, however in Roblox Studio, the gamepad is not detected (UserInputService.GamepadEnabled is false)

Hi Fluffmiceter!

Can you please give us additional details about your setup?
We can’t reproduce any gamepad issues on production Studio.
Does your gamepad work with the Client?
Did you give the viewport input focus? (this is an oddity of Studio, you have to click into the viewport with the mouse to get focus)

I’m on a M2 Macbook Air, running macOS 14.0. My controller was a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller paired via bluetooth. The controller is natively recognized by my mac; it functions as expected in the Roblox client.

Back at the time of making this post in June of 2023, I was having this same issue occur on my Windows 11 PC (I have not tested this since but have no reason to believe it would have changed). Same controller.

I did give the viewport input focus, UserInputService would not recognize the existence of the gamepad at all.

I didn’t know we support Nintendo controllers, our gamepad support is based on the SDL. We will try to reproduce this.

2 Likes

Gamepads still do not work on studio playtests. I use an xbox controller and all my buttons work except for the left joystick which essentially makes the character immobile.

UI navigation still works, it’s just movement that doesn’t and this behaviour only replicates in studio.

The repro steps are as follows:

  • Open studio
  • Open a new baseplate
  • Click play
  • Use a controller

Controllers are currently broken in Studio due to the new Virtual Gamepad Controller Emulator feature stealing the first controller slot, Gamepad1. Making additional gamepads become 2 or 3, etc… This causes your character not to move and only your camera will move.

The workaround is:

Disable the Virtual Gamepad Controller Emulator Beta Feature. Since disabling this feature actually doesn’t disable it, you’ll have to actually rename or delete the ControlsEmulator.rbxm file. On PC this is located at %localappdata%/Roblox/Versions/<version####>/BuiltInStandalonePlugins/Optimized_Embedded_Signature/. The <version####> will be one of the latest Date Modified folders in the Versions folder. Or, you can search the entire Roblox directory for the file named ControlsEmulator.rbxm and rename it.

Linked comment where I got this information: [Studio Beta] Introducing Gamepad Controller Emulator - #81 by Rocky28447

1 Like