Steam Controller

[Deleted]

how do you think it would play with games like final fantasy 13. RPG games I guess.

Under gamepad template, no difference to the regular controllers, already tested 13 with the steam controller, however i prefer the camera control with the track pad over the joystick, you can also move the movement to the 'D pad section' and move on touch since it is a touch pad anyways.

[zito]

I'll probably pick it up if reviews are pretty good. I'm waiting for my next tax return for a new computer then I can go all out.

[Remilia]

Remilla, if you set the default to game pad mode, it works exactly like a xbox controller, from there you can make adjustments as needed, only made one adjustment to FF14 because only spent like 15 min on it and was to add gyro to it for the lulz, used it for camera control, flying mounts plus gyro control is good fun .

Next job on the list for me is to integrate mouse switch into it on the right track pad and create a controller mouse hybrid system for it when I get the chance, been configuring a lot so far for wild star and I am close to what I am happy with on that, does take time to set up at first but thats what you get for being amongst the first to have these.

So far its better then a a standard console controller to me, the right track pad has better control for me that is in games where the joystick is also the camera look, the 1:1 movement is so much better to me.

I know the game pad mode, it's not really that. Dpad is hard to push unless you use the tap but that becomes too sensitive. I can't 'crab claw' the controller which I often due to the positioning of the touch pad.

To give you an idea how I play it, it's like this. Was mostly made to give some people an idea how controller play was like. Can skip to a boss or something somewhere in there, lol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKxtZVI8cco

I've tried it with Warframe and it works well for the most part, aiming isn't as easy quite honestly. Back two grip buttons are relatively hard to push with only the pinky and ring finger so it gets a tad tiring.

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how do you think it would play with games like final fantasy 13. RPG games I guess.

Haven't tried it.

[Usagi Senshi]

I ordered one last night now the real fun is playing twin stick shooters and bullet hell shmups (I doubt very much its going to be better than my arcade stick though) with it, ha ha ha!

[Terahertz]

I don't know if its been discussed before, but I vaguely recall reading (might be completely wrong) that the steam controller might not work with older games. If that's true, that's kind of a deal breaker tbh.

[kail]

The track pad isnt going to help you aim any better if your allready shit at aiming with dual analog. Practice and get better is my advice.

Sorry, the stick is objectively worse than the mouse when it comes to quick precision. It's a fact. If the track pad can replicate the mouse (which I doubt), then it will improve your potential aiming ability in first and third person shooters.

I play FPS with controllers as well on the XB1, can't use KB&M on the couch. But I won't lie to myself in thinking that dual analog can't be improved for shooter games.

[Remilia]

I don't know if its been discussed before, but I vaguely recall reading (might be completely wrong) that the steam controller might not work with older games. If that's true, that's kind of a deal breaker tbh.

How old? If it has to go through like a dos box, then yeah you are probably SOL. Current iteration it has to go through Steam's Big Picture mode overlay in order to have it configurable outside of the default.

[Cyclone Jack]

If you know the game you are going to play, you can configure the controller to work with it, since it is basically working as a keyboard interface at that point. I downloaded Mean Streets from GOG, wasn't able to launch it from Big Picture, but I launched it from the GOG launcher and was able to fly around in the hover car for a bit once I had some keys mapped. Since I wasn't able to play in Big Picture, I did not have the overlay, so I had to configure the controller before launching the game (well, launch the game, figure out what keys I needed, then quit and map the keys).

I'll try a few old Sierra adventure games in the morning, as well as some Infinity Engine games. I expect the old text parser games to be much more difficult, unless one wants to type with the controller (which I believe is possible).

I did play some Diablo 1 and it seemed to work pretty well once I got a few keys mapped.

[Zeta333]

a review from reddit.

The steam link was a bit tempermental. The supplied hdmi cable wouldn't work in my receiver so I had to use a spare.
And honestly the controller I found to be a bit lackluster. The reversed grips seemed really cool but a lifetime of gaming just makes it feel akward. And the controller can not be used for fps or rpgs. I mean it can but the "simulated joystick" is annoying g and not at all accurate. The keyboard/mouse function on it is awesome tho. And if you play games that requires mouse and keyboard it works well. Like age of empires for example. Also steam link auto boots in big picture mode. But if you have a keyboard you can alt tab to your computer and play any game you have on it, watch movies, browse the Web (in something that's not steams god awful browser.)
Any other questions comment and I'll answer.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comm...vw/it_is_time/

[zito]

a review from reddit.



https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comm...vw/it_is_time/

Basically he said it gets some getting use to because he's too use to how other controllers work. Not much of a review but first impression. Give people time to get use to the thing, edit settings and sensitivity's.

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Sorry for the confusion. When I say the simulated joystick is not good for fps it is in the "game pad" mode. I have not tried switch it to the keyboard and mouse setting for fps. I'll try that in a few hours and report back.

too soon to jump ship zeta

[Life-Binder]

do you have to set up profiles/buttons for each game separately or does it all work out of the box ?

[Cyclone Jack]

do you have to set up profiles/buttons for each game separately or does it all work out of the box ?

It depends on what you are playing. There are a few default settings that will probably work for FPS games and games that already have controller support. Anything beyond that and you'll most likely be making some adjustments. That said, other people can share their controller profiles and you can download those instead of trying to make your own. As more people share profiles for a game, the ones with the higher ratings will float to the top, so you'll know you are getting a fairly solid button configuration.

[Deleted]

do you have to set up profiles/buttons for each game separately or does it all work out of the box ?

It comes with 3 templates, gamepad mode, gamepad mode with higher accuracy and keyboard and mouse, gamepad mode is just xbox controller mapping.

You can customise these profiles as a base to what you want, you can easily use gamepad as a template and from there configure the right track pad to be simulated as a mouse.

There will be profiles to download at some point but most early adopters are currently going through a huge learning curve to set up profiles at the moment but yes it does work out of the box if you don't fancy configuring anything at first use.

Also my impression on FPS games, you can set the right track pad to behave like a mouse so it has a 1:1 movement, its far superior to joystick, its not as good as a proper mouse but its far beyond a standard xbox controller especially with the dual stage triggers and extra grip buttons for additional buttons.

I can see this being looked into by both MS and sony going forward really, it does take some getting used to but you do get a lot better at it using it, I've always personally hated the right joystick for camera look in any FPS or action game, to have it as a mouse type control is just what I personally wanted, it feels more natural.

[Cyclone Jack]

So far my only complaint is that you hold the Steam button on the controller to turn it off, but pressing the Steam Button opens Big Picture Mode. I'm sure there is a way to change that, but I haven't looked yet (too busy trying different games). I do like the text chat interface for chatting with friends in the Steam overlay, pretty clever.

[Remilia]

So far my only complaint is that you hold the Steam button on the controller to turn it off, but pressing the Steam Button opens Big Picture Mode. I'm sure there is a way to change that, but I haven't looked yet (too busy trying different games). I do like the text chat interface for chatting with friends in the Steam overlay, pretty clever.

I believe you can turn off the open overlay by pushing the button in steam big picture setting.



The steam controller isn't going to replace the DS4 for me. The touchpad is nice for FPS but if you ever want to use it as a normal analog stick, it just doesn't work that well. The emulated analog stick is extremely finicky. The emulated stick's 'center' is where you first swipe to where you go to. So say you go from bottom to top but want to quickly go back bottom, you'll hit a dead end of the touchpad and it won't do anything. It doesn't do the full stretch (or whatever you want to call it) if you start from center however. If you're playing with the need of a second stick, this isn't one you want to use.

If the game has proper game pad support I wouldn't use it unless it's an FPS or TPS where you can sort of have a hybrid mouse emulation and the normal button controls. Software wise, it'd be great if it had some functionality like xpadder to expand or limit the X, Y zones for the analog stick itself.

The touchpad can be extremely sensitive, so fat thumb syndrome does sort of apply so you can see your camera just slightly juttering if you don't place it properly.

My current thoughts are pretty much, it works well for some things and it works not so great for other things. So really, just use the ones that work with your current game.
As said before, if you claw grip, this is definitely not the controller you'd want to use though.

I do find myself way more fatigued using this for longer periods of time however. They could really reduce that handle hump.

[Zeta333]

I believe you can turn off the open overlay by pushing the button in steam big picture setting.



The steam controller isn't going to replace the DS4 for me. The touchpad is nice for FPS but if you ever want to use it as a normal analog stick, it just doesn't work that well. The emulated analog stick is extremely finicky. The emulated stick's 'center' is where you first swipe to where you go to. So say you go from bottom to top but want to quickly go back bottom, you'll hit a dead end of the touchpad and it won't do anything. It doesn't do the full stretch (or whatever you want to call it) if you start from center however. If you're playing with the need of a second stick, this isn't one you want to use.

If the game has proper game pad support I wouldn't use it unless it's an FPS or TPS where you can sort of have a hybrid mouse emulation and the normal button controls. Software wise, it'd be great if it had some functionality like xpadder to expand or limit the X, Y zones for the analog stick itself.

The touchpad can be extremely sensitive, so fat thumb syndrome does sort of apply so you can see your camera just slightly juttering if you don't place it properly.

My current thoughts are pretty much, it works well for some things and it works not so great for other things. So really, just use the ones that work with your current game.
As said before, if you claw grip, this is definitely not the controller you'd want to use though.

I do find myself way more fatigued using this for longer periods of time however. They could really reduce that handle hump.

Yeh the biggest question, is why would i swap to this over the controller i allready use. Unless the steam brand logo becomes hipster trash like apple is i see it being a small niche thing that only the valve hardcore fans get.

[Skylarking]

So you got the controller and the link to the TV. Does that mean you can join into any online steam game? What about chatting? Still need a keyboard i guess.

[Cyclone Jack]

Yeh the biggest question, is why would i swap to this over the controller i allready use. Unless the steam brand logo becomes hipster trash like apple is i see it being a small niche thing that only the valve hardcore fans get.

For me, it is the ability to play games that do not support a controller with a controller, because sometimes I just want to get comfortable on the couch and play a 4X, or grand strategy, or even and older tactical game like Jagged Alliance and XCOM (the real XCOM, not that sad, half-assed, tablet wanna-be game). I don't expect this to replace K&M for everything, and I wouldn't expect it to, but it does allow another option when there was not one before.

So you got the controller and the link to the TV. Does that mean you can join into any online steam game? What about chatting? Still need a keyboard i guess.

If you are using an in-game chat, I think keyboard is still your only option. If you are using a Steam chat window while in Big Picture, it brings up an overlay of a keyboard onto the screen where the left side of the keyboard is controlled by the left track pad, and the right for right. There are two cursors, one for each half of the keyboard, and by default the cursor is in the middle. You use each track pad to move to the different keys and then press down on the trackpad to press the key. It was weird for a moment, but after one of two short sentences I was typing fairly quickly, though not as fast as a keyboard of course.

[MisterBurkes]

Yea, I'm not sold on the Steam controller. It seems to be in an awkward spot between a controller and a mouse.

[poser765]

So I remember haptic feedback being a big deal with this thing. Anyone have any words on that?