Controller Status

Use Controller Status to run your connected behaviors as soon as a physical or paired phone controller connects, disconnects, or changes players. You can use it to hide touch controls when a controller connects and show them again when it disconnects.

Find it in Interaction > Controls.

Properties

These settings listen for changes from any player in the controller-count example.

Property	Default	What it does
Player	1	Watches the controller assigned to this player. Use another positive number for another player, or 0 to watch all controllers. An assignment change also reaches the player slot the controller is leaving.
Event	Changed	Chooses which changes run your connected behaviors.

Event options

• Changed: Runs for connection, disconnection, and assignment changes.
• Connected: Runs when a controller connects.
• Disconnected: Runs when a controller disconnects.
• Assigned: Runs when a controller's player assignment changes, including unassignment.

Input and event connections

Place Controller Status at the start of a chain and connect its bottom event connection directly to your next behavior. It starts listening automatically. You do not need a Timer.

It runs the connected behavior immediately for each matching event, including while gameplay is paused. It keeps listening after the event. Disabling Controller Status stops its listener until you enable it again.

Connected and Changed also report controllers already connected when the listener starts. Use Get Controllers when you need a complete initial list, including an empty list.

Outputs

Output	What it contains
controllers	The current array of connected-controller records. A disconnected controller has already been removed from this array.
deviceID	The session ID of the controller whose status changed.
name	That controller's reported name. A name can be generic or shared by several controllers.
connected	true while the controller is connected; false for a disconnection.
playerIndex	The controller's assigned player for this event. An assignment to 0 means unassigned. A disconnection reports the player the controller was using when it disconnected.
previousPlayerIndex	The player the controller left during an assignment change. It is 0 when no previous assignment is supplied.

The controllers output uses the same record fields as Get Controllers, described below.

Controller records

Each item in controllers is a dictionary for one connected physical or paired phone controller. Read a dictionary from the array before reading a field such as deviceID.

Field	What you can read
deviceID	The controller's ID for the current play session. Use this value with Assign Controller.
name	The name supplied by the platform. Two controllers can have the same name.
vendorName	The vendor or name reported for the controller. This may match name.
connected	true for an item in this connected-controller list.
playerIndex	Its assigned player number. 0 means it is connected but unassigned.
deviceType	controller. Keyboard and mouse are outside this list.
connectionOrder	A number used to keep devices in connection order. Use deviceID to identify a device, rather than its array position.
controls	When available, an array of control identifiers such as buttonA, leftStick, and buttonMenu. Check whether this field is present before using it.

The Universal player can also supply capabilitiesKnown, standardizedProfile, and observedControls. These fields are optional across platforms. capabilitiesKnown tells you whether the full control list is confirmed. standardizedProfile tells you whether the platform recognizes a standard gamepad layout. observedControls lists controls that have produced input during this session. A recognized layout describes possible controls; it does not confirm that every button exists on the connected device.

Use the behavior's controller list for a chooser. Avoid treating a missing capability field as proof that a controller has no buttons.

Connection guide: refresh a controller count

This is an illustrative example you can add to your own controller-selection UI.

1. Create a label Object called Controller Count.
2. Add Controller Status. Set Player to 0 and Event to Changed.
3. Connect its bottom event connection to Get Controllers.
4. Connect Get Controllers to Set Label. Select your Controller Count label as Object A.
5. Drag the green count output from Get Controllers into Set Label's Text property.

The white connections decide when each behavior runs. The green drag tells Set Label which value to display. It displays 2 when two controllers are connected.

Execute Get Controllers separately when this UI first opens so the label also starts at 0 when no controller is connected. Controller Status keeps it current.

Example: hide and restore your touch joystick

1. Add Controller Status at the start of a chain. Set Player to 1 and Event to Connected.
2. Connect its bottom event connection to Set Visibility.
3. In Set Visibility, select your Joystick as Object A and choose Hide Graphic for Action.

4. Add a second Controller Status at the start of another chain. Set Player to 1 and Event to Disconnected.
5. Connect it to a second Set Visibility, selecting the same Joystick and Show Graphic.

These two chains work for a physical controller or a paired phone assigned to Player 1. They also work when you pair from the paused game menu. Use the same player number as your joystick's controller mapping.

If you let players change assignments, also listen for Assigned and check Get Controllers for that player's current device before choosing whether to show the joystick.

Controller setup

Players connect controllers through their device's supported Bluetooth, USB, or other controller setup. Controller Status observes that connection. It does not open system pairing or connect nearby hardware.

Player numbers are logical slots in your game. The number of controllers you can connect depends on the device and operating system. Their session IDs can change after a restart or reconnection.

Related

• Get Controllers
• Assign Controller
• Controller Event