Force Feedback Effects
Unreal has its own way to describe controller feedback: Force Feedback Effect assets, with rumble curves and a list of Device Properties for adaptive triggers and the light colour. The plugin supports them, so you can author feedback as assets, preview it in the editor and play it with the engine's nodes.
What is supported
| Device Property (in the asset) | Effect on the DualSense |
|---|---|
| Trigger Resistance | Resistance that ramps from Start Strength to End Strength between Start and End position (a Slope Feedback). Both strengths at 0 turns the trigger off. |
| Trigger Feedback | Constant resistance from a position (Feedback). |
| Trigger Vibration | Vibration from a position with amplitude and frequency (Vibration). |
| Device Color | Lightbar colour. |
| Trigger Reset | Gives the trigger back to the game. |
Other properties (gyro, dead zones...) are ignored. The units are the same as the DS nodes: positions are zones 0–9, strengths 0–8, frequency in Hz.
Creating an effect
Create the asset
Right-click in the Content Browser and create a Force Feedback Effect (type it in the search box of the menu).
Add the rumble (optional)
Add channels and draw the curves for the large and small motors.
Add Device Properties
In Device Properties, add for example a Trigger Resistance property, choose the trigger (Right), and set positions and strengths. Tick Reset After Completion if the trigger should go back to normal at the end.
Preview it
Press the play button on the asset thumbnail with a controller connected: the plugin applies the effect in the editor too, without starting PIE.
Playing it
Use Client Play Force Feedback on the Player Controller, the same node you use for rumble.
How it combines with the DS nodes
Device Properties are a layer on top of what the game set with the DS nodes, not a replacement:
- While a property is active, it wins over the game's trigger effect or lightbar colour.
- When it ends (or its trigger is reset), the controller goes back to what the game had set, not to "off".
- Changing the game state with
DS Set Trigger Effectwhile the property is active is fine: it shows up as soon as the property ends.
Example: the player has a Weapon effect on R2 and an orange lightbar. A Force Feedback Effect makes R2 a heavy ramp for 3 seconds and the lightbar magenta. After 3 seconds R2 is a Weapon trigger again and the lightbar is orange again.
Demo assets
The demo project includes two ready-made assets in /Game/DualSenseDemo/ForceFeedback:
| Asset | What it does | In the demo |
|---|---|---|
FFE_DS_TriggerResistance | 3 s of light rumble plus a resistance ramp on R2 | D-pad Up (or 1) |
FFE_DS_LightColor | 3 s of magenta lightbar, no rumble | D-pad Right (or 2) |