GameCube Adapter Unlimited

GameCube Adapter Feeder via ViGEm, with support for unlimited adapters

This feeder uses ViGEm to present GameCube controllers as DualShock 4 controllers in Windows. Unlike the alternatives, which are usually limited to a single adapter, this tool supports unlimited adapters, or at least up to the USB spec limit. This is particularly useful for massively multiplayer sessions, such as 24-player Mario Kart Wii splitscreen:

Features

• An unlimited number of controllers and adapters can be used at once, for local massively multiplayer sessions. Controllers are presented as (DirectInput) DualShock 4 controllers to avoid controller limits.
• Hotpluggable adapters and controllers: Adapters and controllers can be freely attached and detached without restarting the application. Ports maintain the same controller assignment and adapters fill in missing slots.
• Rumble support.
• Support for the GBA (via the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable and the controller-gc.gba ROM included in the "extra package" part of the Game Boy Interface).

Libraries Used

• libusb
• ViGEm

Build (optional)

1. Download and install Visual Studio 2022.
2. Clone the repository.
3. Open in Visual Studio and build the project.

Install

1. Install the ViGEm driver: https://github.com/ViGEm/ViGEmBus/releases/
2. Install the WinUSB driver using Zadig: https://dolphin-emu.org/docs/guides/how-use-official-gc-controller-adapter-wii-u/#Using_Zadig
3. (Optional) Overclock your adapters using the overclocking guide. This will improve the controller poll rate.
4. Download and extract the feeder: https://github.com/SMarioMan/gamecube-adapter-unlimited/releases

Run

1. Open GameCubeAdapterUnlimited.exe.
2. On launch, the program prints Input feeder started.
3. Attach adapters in the desired port order. The feeder notifies you when each adapter and controller is connected or disconnected.
4. If a controller or adapter is disconnected, you can reattach it and port assignments should be preserved, no restart required.

Fixing Controller Ordering

Sometimes, Windows will change the established order of the virtual controllers. This is problematic because assigned ports may correspond to different instances than originally configured. To correct this, you must remove all of the virtual controllers from the Windows device manager, then re-add the controllers. I have developed a streamlined technique to handle this.

1. Download devcon.exe from https://github.com/SMarioMan/devcon/releases. If you don't feel comfortable running my pre-built binary, you can also build it yourself, from Microsoft's source code.
2. Open a terminal as admin and run the following command: devcon.exe removeall *VID_054C*. This will remove all PS4 controllers (including the virtual controllers created by GameCube Adapter Unlimited) from the device manager.
3. Run GameCubeAdapterUnlimited.exe --det. This command slowly connects each of the virtual devices in order, ensuring proper device ordering.
4. Run GameCubeAdapterUnlimited.exe as per usual. Port orderings should be maintained, at least until the next reboot.