Dyson Sphere Program on a Mac with a controller
The Dyson Sphere Program layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: No Mac version. It runs through CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, and it is on GeForce NOW's supported list. The game has no controller support, so this layout is how a pad plays it.
Yes, Dyson Sphere Program plays on a Mac with a controller, in a wrapper and with this layout. It is Factorio in space with a mech you walk around in, and it has never had a controller scheme. This layout is the pad: walk and look like a first-person game, build and remove on the triggers, and fly on the two face buttons that would be jump and crouch anywhere else.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The left stick walks, the right stick looks, and the left stick click walks faster (Shift).
- Build. The right trigger places (left click) and the left trigger removes and cancels (right click). The right stick click rotates a building (R), and the left bumper copies a building's settings (middle click).
- Fly. The bottom face button jumps and flies up (Space), the right one descends (Left Alt).
- Menus. The top face button opens the build menu (B), the left the replicator (F), and the right bumper the inventory (E). Options opens the tech tree (T) and Back is Escape.
- Overviews. D-pad up shows production statistics (P), down the star map (V).
Building is the triggers and rotating is a stick click, so a factory goes down without letting go of the sticks.
Tune it
- Build shortcuts. The build menu categories are F1 to F10. Add the four you use as chords on the D-pad.
- A slow cursor. Sorters are fiddly. Add slower right stick rows as chords on a button you can spare.
- Long belts. Set the right trigger row to Toggles on and off, and the click stays down while you lay a long belt.
A toggled click lays a long belt without a cramped finger.
The short version
- Run it. Start the game in CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit.
- Activate the layout. The game reads no controller, so nothing doubles.
- Add the build chords. They are the first thing I would add.
The game has no pad scheme to fall back on, so this layout is its controller support.
Dyson Sphere Program controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists no controller support for Dyson Sphere Program, so it was made for a keyboard and mouse, and that is how it expects to be played. A controller still works: this layout sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the pad, so to the game you are simply typing and pointing. No controller support listed means the layout does the work, not the game.
From Steam's listing, checked in October 2026. Every game's listing is in Mac games with controller support.
If your controller is not working in Dyson Sphere Program
When Dyson Sphere Program does not react to your controller on a Mac, climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
- Expect less inside a wrapper. In CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, Wine passes a controller to Dyson Sphere Program only some of the time, and the keyboard and mouse get through every time. Using a controller with CrossOver games has the checks.
- Stop looking for a setting. Dyson Sphere Program reads the keyboard and mouse here, so no option makes it see a pad. Activate this layout, and the controller sends the keys and mouse movement Dyson Sphere Program already reads. The layout works without Dyson Sphere Program ever seeing the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Dyson Sphere Program and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
To check the controller itself first, the gamepad tester shows every button and stick live in your browser.
Dyson Sphere Program controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Dyson Sphere Program's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick up | W | Left stick up: walk forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Left stick down: walk back (S) |
| Left stick left | A | Left stick left: strafe left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Left stick right: strafe right (D) |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 20) | Right stick left: look left |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 20) | Right stick right: look right |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Right stick up: look up |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Right stick down: look down |
| Right trigger | Left click | Right trigger: left click (build / place) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Left trigger: right click (cancel / remove) |
| A / Cross | Space | A: jump / fly up (Space) |
| B / Circle | Alt / Option (Left) | B: descend / fly down (Left Alt) |
| Y / Triangle | B | Y: open build menu (B) |
| X / Square | F | X: open replicator / hand-craft (F) |
| LB / L1 | Middle click | LB: pick / copy building settings (middle click) |
| RB / R1 | E | RB: open inventory (E) |
| Start / Options | T | Start: open tech tree / research (T) |
| Back / Share / Select | Escape | Back: close menu / pause (Esc) |
| D-pad up | P | D-pad up: production statistics (P) |
| D-pad down | V | D-pad down: open star map (V) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | L3: walk faster / sprint (Shift) |
| R3 (right stick click) | R | R3: rotate building / change direction (R) |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Does Dyson Sphere Program support controllers?
No. This layout is the controller support, through the keyboard and mouse the game expects.
Does Dyson Sphere Program run on a Mac?
Dyson Sphere Program does not run natively on a Mac. CrossOver and the Game Porting Toolkit run it, and it is on GeForce NOW's supported list.
Does Dyson Sphere Program have controller support?
Not by itself. Steam lists no controller support for Dyson Sphere Program. A controller still works through a layout like this one, which sends the game's keys.
Is Dyson Sphere Program better with a controller or a keyboard?
It was made for a keyboard and mouse: Steam lists no controller support for Dyson Sphere Program. A controller still works through this layout, which sends the game's own keys and mouse movement.
Why is my controller not working in Dyson Sphere Program on a Mac?
Dyson Sphere Program reads the keyboard and mouse on this route, so no setting makes it see a controller. Check the Mac sees the pad with the gamepad tester, then activate the Dyson Sphere Program layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the controller.
Can I play Dyson Sphere Program on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Dyson Sphere Program has no Mac version, so it runs through a wrapper such as CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, and how well depends on the Mac's chip and memory. I have not tested it on each Mac.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
Updated