OpenPuck/docs/TESTING_GUIDE.md

What to test before merging a change

• Can you pair a controller?
• Does the controller connect?
• Does the controlelr work normally in Steam Controller mode, do the haptics work, is the gyro working?
• Can you shut the controller off using Steam + Y?
• Does the controller reconnect?
• Can you change modes via the chords? (back4 + A/B/X/Y and back4 + each D-pad direction; the chorded press must not reach the game, and a D-pad reassignment made in the panel must take effect)
• Can you change modes via webusb?
• Does rumble still work in the translated modes, and do the panel's Rumble style/strength settings change how it feels? (heavy vs light drive different motors, so they must feel clearly different; the Test rumble button must buzz and then stop on its own)
• Do the modes work as expected (including gyro in gyro modes)
• Is signal quality shown?
• Is battery level shown and correct?
• Is the polling rate and response rate the same? Is it around 250hz?

Testing the DirectInput mode (mode 11)

Windows has a built-in DirectInput tester: run joy.cpl (or Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Devices → More devices → Set up USB game controllers). Two entries should appear — that's the point of the mode; one carries the sticks/triggers/hat and 26 buttons, the other the trackpad and gyro axes. Open Properties on each and watch the axis crosshairs/sliders move. Note that joy.cpl's page only draws the first few axes; a tool like DIView or GamepadTester lists every axis a device reports. Things to confirm:

• both devices enumerate (if only one does, Windows merged the collections — see the note in mode_dinput.cpp)
• trackpad axes hold their position after you lift a finger, and re-centre when you click that pad
• gyro axes rest at centre and move with rotation
• all 26 buttons register, one per physical input, with no duplicates

DirectInput is Windows-only. On Linux the same descriptor shows up through evdev (evtest, jstest), but how the two collections are split is kernel-dependent — use SInput mode there.

Testing the SInput mode (mode 12)

SInput needs a host with SDL's SInput driver (SDL 3.4+ / a current Steam client). Practical checks:

• Steam: Settings → Controller → the device is listed; open its test/calibration page and confirm face buttons land on the right glyphs (an A/B or X/Y swap means the face bit order is wrong), Start vs Select, the paddles show as paddle1-4, both analog triggers move independently, gyro/accel report, and both trackpads show as touchpads.
• battery: the percentage/charging state comes from the controller's own 0x43 report, so it should match what the panel shows in Steam mode.
• rumble: any game/tool that rumbles (Steam's controller test has a haptic test) — SDL sends the ERM-style haptic command, which the firmware turns into the usual 0x80 rumble relay.
• SDL directly: SDL's own testgamepad (from an SDL 3.4+ build) prints axes, sensors and touchpads, and is the least ambiguous way to see exactly what the driver decoded.