Total War: Three Kingdoms on a Mac with a controller
The Total War: Three Kingdoms 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: Native Mac version on Steam, ported by Feral. Three Kingdoms has no gamepad support. This layout sends the keyboard and mouse it expects.
Yes, Total War: Three Kingdoms plays on a Mac with a controller, with this layout: it is a native Mac game from Feral with no idea what a controller is, which is exactly InputConfig's job. The pointer is on the left stick, the camera on the right, select and orders on the bumpers, and zoom on the triggers. The campaign map is a slow, clicky thing, and a controller in a lap suits it.
On this page: 9 sections
- The layout, control by control
- How the layout thinks
- Tune it
- Check that it works
- Total War: Three Kingdoms controller support: controller or keyboard
- If your controller is not working in Total War: Three Kingdoms
- Get it in two clicks
- Total War: Three Kingdoms controls: every button and the key it sends
- Questions
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Pointer and camera. The left stick moves the pointer at speed 18. The right stick pans the camera with the arrow keys.
- Select and order. The right bumper selects (left click), the left bumper moves and attacks (right click).
- Zoom. The right trigger zooms in, the left zooms out, with the mouse wheel.
- Battle commands. Pause on the bottom face button (Space), halt on the right (Backspace), toggle running on the left (R), group units on the top (G). Select every unit with the left stick click (Control A).
- Armies and turns. Army groups 1 and 2 on D-pad up and down. End the turn on Start (Return), cancel or open the menu on Back (Escape).
The battles let you pause and order, so a controller never has to keep up.
Tune it
- A slow pointer for the battle map. Duplicate the four left-stick rows, set While also holding to a spare button on the copies, and give them half the speed.
- Camera speed. The right stick sends the arrow keys, so it pans at the game's own keyboard pan speed.
Half speed behind a chord is what the battle map needs.
Check that it works
Three Kingdoms has no controller support, so nothing doubles: this layout is the controller.
- You: Start a campaign, then press Activate on this preset.
- InputConfig: Sends the clicks, scrolls and keys in the table.
- Check: Push the left stick and the pointer moves. Pull the right trigger and the map zooms in.
If the pointer moves and the map zooms, the rest of the layout works.
Total War: Three Kingdoms controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists no controller support for Total War: Three Kingdoms, 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 Total War: Three Kingdoms
When Total War: Three Kingdoms 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.
- Check the Steam Input setting for Total War: Three Kingdoms. In Steam, open Total War: Three Kingdoms, Properties, Controller, and change the Steam Input override. A controller that works in Steam but not in the game goes through each choice.
- Stop looking for a setting. Total War: Three Kingdoms 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 Total War: Three Kingdoms already reads. The layout works without Total War: Three Kingdoms 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 Total War: Three Kingdoms 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.
Total War: Three Kingdoms controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Total War: Three Kingdoms'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 left | Mouse motion left (speed 18) | Left stick left: move cursor left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 18) | Left stick right: move cursor right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 18) | Left stick up: move cursor up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 18) | Left stick down: move cursor down |
| Right stick left | Left | Right stick left: pan camera left (arrow Left) |
| Right stick right | Right | Right stick right: pan camera right (arrow Right) |
| Right stick up | Up | Right stick up: pan camera forward (arrow Up) |
| Right stick down | Down | Right stick down: pan camera back (arrow Down) |
| RB / R1 | Left click | RB: left click (select / confirm) |
| LB / L1 | Right click | LB: right click (move / attack) |
| Right trigger | Scroll up | Right trigger: zoom in (scroll up) |
| Left trigger | Scroll down | Left trigger: zoom out (scroll down) |
| A / Cross | Space | A: pause / unpause battle (Space) |
| B / Circle | Backspace | B: halt selected units (Backspace) |
| X / Square | R | X: run / toggle running (R) |
| Y / Triangle | G | Y: group selected units (G) |
| Start / Options | Return | Start: end turn (Enter) |
| Back / Share / Select | Escape | Back: cancel / open menu (Esc) |
| D-pad up | 1 | D-pad up: select army group 1 (1) |
| D-pad down | 2 | D-pad down: select army group 2 (2) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Ctrl (Left), A | L3: select all units (Ctrl+A) |
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 Total War: Three Kingdoms run on a Mac?
Yes, natively, from Feral. It has no controller support, so this layout is how a controller plays it.
Does Total War: Three Kingdoms have controller support?
No, on the Mac or on Windows: the Steam store lists none. This layout plays it through the mouse and keyboard, the same scheme as the Warhammer 3 page.
Does Total War: Three Kingdoms have controller support?
Not by itself. Steam lists no controller support for Total War: Three Kingdoms. A controller still works through a layout like this one, which sends the game's keys.
Is Total War: Three Kingdoms better with a controller or a keyboard?
It was made for a keyboard and mouse: Steam lists no controller support for Total War: Three Kingdoms. A controller still works through this layout, which sends the game's own keys and mouse movement.
Why is my controller not working in Total War: Three Kingdoms on a Mac?
Total War: Three Kingdoms 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 Total War: Three Kingdoms layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the controller.
Can I play Total War: Three Kingdoms on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Total War: Three Kingdoms has a native Mac version, and its minimum requirements are listed on its Steam store page, so check your Mac against that list. I have not tested it on each Mac. The controller layout itself works the same on any Mac that runs InputConfig.
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