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Steam Controller Thread | Comfy Couch Sold Separately
- Thread starter Nzyme32
- Start date
I can get this dialog to come up, and the keyboard works (though it's not aligned to window border).Greatest thing, brings it up in a little window like this:
Unfortunately, in Street Fighter V only the desktop configuration gets used. There is no Steam overlay. Is there a trick to getting custom configurations working ingame without using big picture mode?
You don't need to have big picture mode at all, but the overlay has to work, so you need to figure out how to make it work otherwise no custom configs. Also, the controller has to be turned on to that dialog appear.
Yes. Just add the game to Steam as a non steam game.
Nice. I want to play Revenge of the Tentacle Remastered with the Steam Controller.
You mean BPM? Yeah every once in a while. Very annoying!
Been playing Terraria with m+kb lately, it's like a crapshoot whether it loads with BPM, regular Steam overlay, or no overlay at all.
PeterVenkman
Member
Alright I'll try this tonight. Would not name it properly also be why the overlay wasn't showing up at all? I don't need the overlay but I assumed that was what granted full controller support like in the past.
That's not right. The name of the shortcut only makes the shared profiles appear in the community page so you can use settings that other people uploaded. It has nothing to do with not being able to edit custom settings. The Steam Overlay does. You need it working in order to use custom settings.
Edit: Unless that is what you are asking? If the controller works and you can edit your own settings but can't see community settings that's because of the name of the sortcut, yes.
Edit: Unless that is what you are asking? If the controller works and you can edit your own settings but can't see community settings that's because of the name of the sortcut, yes.
PeterVenkman
Member
No you've got it right - last night I had the name wrong so I couldn't access community profiles, but regardless I also wasn't able to get the overlay working. Pretty sure I did everything right - adding uplay to the library, changing the target to the Divisions shortcut location (or url, whatever it is that uPlay uses). No dice.
It is, had issues getting it to save properly if I didn't make a local copy, just renamed it so it would differentiate itself in the list of configs. Though I've since the image changed some mappings, I've moved attacks from the face buttons to the paddles and bumpers, modified the touch menu to have Map, the Black Spirit and a few other UI functions, moved Inventory to "Select". Overall less moving thumb away from trackpad to perform combos leading to IMO a more fluid combat.Interesting. Is that a modified version of my own configuration (everything is identically named, including the key-bound swapped autorun) you have there? Curious to know what you changed.
I've had no issues myself, it's been the same as big picture for me so far in the games I've tried (I don't own SF V though).
Let me know if you publish that configuration. I've been thinking about moving stuff around due to one big drawback with the triggers (mainly, hitting them together) so I'd be interested in trying out something else.
Did you disable the uPlay overlay? I have used the Steam Controller with Zombi, but I don't have the uPlay overlay enabled. It might be that.
PeterVenkman
Member
Oh dang good idea. I'll try that first thing tonight.
All I did was add TheDivision.exe as a shortcut.
PeterVenkman
Member
Hm, I hope it's that simple. Go figure if I complicated it and added another step!
the licensee
Neo Member
I've been having a weird issue with Wolfenstein: TNO tonight. I'm booting up from BPM with a m&k config but when the game starts, I get the desktop overlay popup and the game doesn't register inputs from the SC despite the haptics suggesting the controller is working fine. Any ideas?
Incidentally, I wanted to try Wolfenstein after playing through Fear 2 on a friends suggestion. The game itself is pretty dated but it's a great introduction to shooters with the SC. Slowmo, gyro assisted headshots are pretty damn satisfying.
Edit: Fixed. Needed to run Steam as an administrator for some reason.
Incidentally, I wanted to try Wolfenstein after playing through Fear 2 on a friends suggestion. The game itself is pretty dated but it's a great introduction to shooters with the SC. Slowmo, gyro assisted headshots are pretty damn satisfying.
Edit: Fixed. Needed to run Steam as an administrator for some reason.
Pocky4Th3Win
Member
Love my steam link but the controller is pure garbage. Had it for over two weeks and it just never felt right. The pads can never replace a stick and the build quality feels cheap.
Also the fact that you need to configure every game to work with it adds an extra layer of complexity that a standard controller doesn't have.
Also the fact that you need to configure every game to work with it adds an extra layer of complexity that a standard controller doesn't have.
Sleeping Lesson
Member
Not sure if parody post.
PeterVenkman
Member
Yup,haptic pads could never replaced my joystick for Civ V. You know, on account of it never being there in the first place.
There's someone out there who performed madness with Xpadder.
You have to configure every game to work with the Steam Controller? Here I was just picking it up, pressing start and playing.
Baleoce
Member
Are they ever thinking of adding in multiple mode shifts? Or in fact, just changing the way mode shifts are modified in general.
Seems to me it would make more sense to map them in the menu for the button that the mode shift originates from, rather than at the ones that are affected by it.
(That's probably explained really badly, so I'll try and give an example);
I want to create a FFXIV-esque control system in other MMOs. So I set about trying to create mode shifts for 3 separate scenarios.
Assume 1 is the neutral mode.
1. When the Left Trigger is fully activated, it mode shifts both the face buttons and the dpad to mode 2.
2. When the Right Trigger is fully activated, it mode shifts both the face buttons and the dpad to mode 3.
3. When both the Left and Right Triggers are activated together, it mode shifts both the face buttons and the dpad to mode 4.
Now it would make more sense for me to achieve this by doing it at the source button, rather than the one that's shifted as a result of pressing something else. Is there a way of achieving this that I don't know of?
Seems to me it would make more sense to map them in the menu for the button that the mode shift originates from, rather than at the ones that are affected by it.
(That's probably explained really badly, so I'll try and give an example);
I want to create a FFXIV-esque control system in other MMOs. So I set about trying to create mode shifts for 3 separate scenarios.
Assume 1 is the neutral mode.
1. When the Left Trigger is fully activated, it mode shifts both the face buttons and the dpad to mode 2.
2. When the Right Trigger is fully activated, it mode shifts both the face buttons and the dpad to mode 3.
3. When both the Left and Right Triggers are activated together, it mode shifts both the face buttons and the dpad to mode 4.
Now it would make more sense for me to achieve this by doing it at the source button, rather than the one that's shifted as a result of pressing something else. Is there a way of achieving this that I don't know of?
PeterVenkman
Member
I went a step further and got a wii remote "working" complete with the IR pointer and the nunchuck for hotkeys - steam controller still wins.
That probably makes more sense than Xpadder admittedly. But yeah, Steam controller WOULD win just for all the short cuts and the fact the track pad is probably a bit better of an option when you can use it with your thumb.
There's no way to do that today. That could indeed add a new set of possibilities that would make some game configurations better.
That would emulate the Dragon's Dogma controller scheme. In that game:
- X does action 1;
- LB + X do action 2;
- RB + X do action 3;
And the same for the other face buttons, of couse. A lot of games could benefit from something similar using the Steam Controller.
PeterVenkman
Member
Finally got Stsam Overlay in the Division - looks like it was adding the actual exe, not the shortcut or uPlay, that did it.
PeterVenkman
Member
It is, but I had to crank up the mouse smoothing to get it to stop stair stepping. I'm sure that makes my accuracy worse, but maybe the gyro aim on left trigger will help. Feels fine so far.
I felt comfortable with uploading my steam controller config for The Division in the community, if anyone wants to try it let me know how it is for you. Obviously the game will be in maintenance for 2 hours now but later on. I absolutely love the game with this controller and was amazed that someone said it wasn't good for this game in The Division OT. Mine is the one titled Xbox prompts, mouse + gyro, touch menu. by RED
I recorded these videos of quick encounters earlier today to show it plays.
https://youtu.be/maHIXv60Euw
https://youtu.be/NPa-Qe75yhc
Oh and I recommend turning on the experimental rumble for this game! I love it on high in this one, feels great to fight the recoil using the gyro aim.
I recorded these videos of quick encounters earlier today to show it plays.
https://youtu.be/maHIXv60Euw
https://youtu.be/NPa-Qe75yhc
Oh and I recommend turning on the experimental rumble for this game! I love it on high in this one, feels great to fight the recoil using the gyro aim.
Same I either just choose best community profile or leave it at default.
Also build quality is great, not sure what could be better about it.
shortsFortallPeople
Banned
how can i review steam configurations while away from steam? I'm trying to see if there are good configs for a game I'm interested in
Doctor Ironic
Member
Yeah I'm not sure what people are getting at when they say the controller "feels cheap." Mine is weighty but not too much, and when I try to twist the handles it's as solid as a rock. Tell you what, my Dualshock 4 certainly creaks like a motherfucker when I do that, though.
I’ve been a long time fan of the Xbox 360 and now Xbox One controllers for PC gaming. With some back pain problems from the last year making normal desktop gaming uncomfortable, I’ve gotten really into a couch PC gaming set up. I use a wireless keyboard and wireless trackball mouse for the few games I play that require it, but in general try to avoid PC games without good gamepad support. I picked up a Steam controller to see if this might be the perfect device that let me play KB + M games comfortably from a couch.
After ~3 weeks of playing around with it, I can safely say that I absolutely hate this controller.
This is going to be a long rant about my negative experience with the Steam controller, so if you aren’t looking for specific details about the problems I had, you may just want to skip to the TL;DR at the end.
I started out with some youtube tutorials recommended here and on Reddit, which all suggested easing into the controller with a slow paced game. I had the perfect candidate: Spellweaver, a trading card game on Steam that let you take turns as slowly as you wanted, and did not have native controller support. There were no community or official configs, so I dug in and started creating my own template. After over 2 hours of playing with the right-pad mouse settings that allow you to mimic a trackball or regular mouse, it still never felt right and was an extremely poor substitute for the wireless actual-trackball mouse I had sitting next to me.
Frustrated, I gave up for the night and decided to try again another time with a refreshed mind, but not before noticing that even after turning off and unplugging the dongle for my Steam controller, Windows still would no longer accept inputs from my regular keyboard until I restarted my PC without the controller. Awesome.
A few days later I decided to play something more popular that the community had already submitted several configs for, figuring that there were probably plenty of people out there who had figured out comfortable configs within the myriad of options the Steam controller lets you adjust. Onto Stardew Valley it was, where the first config I tried (the second most popular at the time with a promising description) bugged out after ~2 minutes of playing the game and would not allow me to interact with most menus or the toolbar in the game. Two other configs and an hour later, I had found a modified config that I was somewhat comfortable with but I was still unconvinced that what I was using was any more enjoyable than the default set up for an Xbox One controller.
I decided to swap over to that and test the theory, only for the Xbox One controller to no longer work either: it would turn on, be recognized by my computer, and I could navigate menus with the analog sticks but all other inputs were stuck. Oh, and my keyboard stopped working again. After unplugging the controller and restarting my PC everything was back to normal. I confirmed that yes, the Xbox One controller did work better with the game out-of-the box than any of the community configs did, and that I had in fact wasted several hours of my life again.
Finally this past weekend, I was over a friend’s house who also has a Steam controller. He has only really used his for games with regular gamepad support, nothing mimicking a KB +M. We were playing some local multiplayer stuff with a group of 4, using 3 Xbox 360 controllers and the 1 Steam controller. The controller seemed to work fine for the first game we played, Samurai Gunn, but started causing problems with Mount Your Friends. When the Xbox 360 controllers were in use, we would regularly receive a message at the bottom of the screen from the Steam UI saying the Steam controller was having problems and at that point the Xbox 360 inputs would stop working. We shut the steam controller off and started passing the 360 controllers for turns, but the Steam controller turned itself back on and started causing the same problems. Finally we removed the dongle from his PC and were able to finish our game.
TL;DR: I cannot believe that this was Valve’s answer to streamlined couch PC gaming. They created Steamboxes, plug-n-play PCs that wouldn’t have the building, configuration, or non-gaming-OS layer that made normal PC gaming allegedly inaccessible or unappealing for some of the couch gaming demographic. Then they bundled it with a controller that feels like it is straight out of 90’s PC gaming: causes non-stop hardware/driver conflicts with other components you may use, requires large amounts of time to configure for potentially every new game you play, etc.
PC gaming has made such huge strides for convenience, compatibility, and consistent experience over the last ~15 years that I had really forgotten how bad it used to be. The Steam controller reminded me.
The one redeeming feature of the device is being able to use it as a mouse in windows for games that have KB + M config menus even when launched from Big Picture Mode. That feature is also available on any other gamepad for $3 via Controller Companion on Steam, and with the added perk of not totally screwing up all your other input devices until you next restart your PC.
I am very disappointed with how this controller turned out, but I’m even more disappointed that I can’t return it and get my $50 back.
After ~3 weeks of playing around with it, I can safely say that I absolutely hate this controller.
This is going to be a long rant about my negative experience with the Steam controller, so if you aren’t looking for specific details about the problems I had, you may just want to skip to the TL;DR at the end.
I started out with some youtube tutorials recommended here and on Reddit, which all suggested easing into the controller with a slow paced game. I had the perfect candidate: Spellweaver, a trading card game on Steam that let you take turns as slowly as you wanted, and did not have native controller support. There were no community or official configs, so I dug in and started creating my own template. After over 2 hours of playing with the right-pad mouse settings that allow you to mimic a trackball or regular mouse, it still never felt right and was an extremely poor substitute for the wireless actual-trackball mouse I had sitting next to me.
Frustrated, I gave up for the night and decided to try again another time with a refreshed mind, but not before noticing that even after turning off and unplugging the dongle for my Steam controller, Windows still would no longer accept inputs from my regular keyboard until I restarted my PC without the controller. Awesome.
A few days later I decided to play something more popular that the community had already submitted several configs for, figuring that there were probably plenty of people out there who had figured out comfortable configs within the myriad of options the Steam controller lets you adjust. Onto Stardew Valley it was, where the first config I tried (the second most popular at the time with a promising description) bugged out after ~2 minutes of playing the game and would not allow me to interact with most menus or the toolbar in the game. Two other configs and an hour later, I had found a modified config that I was somewhat comfortable with but I was still unconvinced that what I was using was any more enjoyable than the default set up for an Xbox One controller.
I decided to swap over to that and test the theory, only for the Xbox One controller to no longer work either: it would turn on, be recognized by my computer, and I could navigate menus with the analog sticks but all other inputs were stuck. Oh, and my keyboard stopped working again. After unplugging the controller and restarting my PC everything was back to normal. I confirmed that yes, the Xbox One controller did work better with the game out-of-the box than any of the community configs did, and that I had in fact wasted several hours of my life again.
Finally this past weekend, I was over a friend’s house who also has a Steam controller. He has only really used his for games with regular gamepad support, nothing mimicking a KB +M. We were playing some local multiplayer stuff with a group of 4, using 3 Xbox 360 controllers and the 1 Steam controller. The controller seemed to work fine for the first game we played, Samurai Gunn, but started causing problems with Mount Your Friends. When the Xbox 360 controllers were in use, we would regularly receive a message at the bottom of the screen from the Steam UI saying the Steam controller was having problems and at that point the Xbox 360 inputs would stop working. We shut the steam controller off and started passing the 360 controllers for turns, but the Steam controller turned itself back on and started causing the same problems. Finally we removed the dongle from his PC and were able to finish our game.
TL;DR: I cannot believe that this was Valve’s answer to streamlined couch PC gaming. They created Steamboxes, plug-n-play PCs that wouldn’t have the building, configuration, or non-gaming-OS layer that made normal PC gaming allegedly inaccessible or unappealing for some of the couch gaming demographic. Then they bundled it with a controller that feels like it is straight out of 90’s PC gaming: causes non-stop hardware/driver conflicts with other components you may use, requires large amounts of time to configure for potentially every new game you play, etc.
PC gaming has made such huge strides for convenience, compatibility, and consistent experience over the last ~15 years that I had really forgotten how bad it used to be. The Steam controller reminded me.
The one redeeming feature of the device is being able to use it as a mouse in windows for games that have KB + M config menus even when launched from Big Picture Mode. That feature is also available on any other gamepad for $3 via Controller Companion on Steam, and with the added perk of not totally screwing up all your other input devices until you next restart your PC.
I am very disappointed with how this controller turned out, but I’m even more disappointed that I can’t return it and get my $50 back.
Sleeping Lesson
Member
That's a shame, but it's not very representative of most peoples' experience. Outlier technical issues aren't really valuable to someone that wants to know more about the Steam Controller.
Every new game I play with the SC reminds me how terrible traditional dual-analog gamepads are at almost everything. It's a fantastic piece of hardware.
Every new game I play with the SC reminds me how terrible traditional dual-analog gamepads are at almost everything. It's a fantastic piece of hardware.
Lister
Banned
Yep. Even with the few niggling issues I have been having with it, you'll take this controller off my dead cold hands.
Right analogue sticks are dead to me.
I would disagree that it isn't very representative of other's experiences.
I checked the Steam Controller forums on Steam just now, and see dozens of threads from the last 24 hours alone about problems the Steam controller has interacting with other hardware, specific games, and other build/functionality issues.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/#
I'm sure that with a significant investment in time, or a willingness to track down device conflicts, the Steam controller might be a great device. It's pretty clear to me that for many people it does not work well out-of-the-box, and the configuration, time, and learning requirements are antithetic to the simple couch gaming solution Valve sold this as (and should have designed it to be).
I checked the Steam Controller forums on Steam just now, and see dozens of threads from the last 24 hours alone about problems the Steam controller has interacting with other hardware, specific games, and other build/functionality issues.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/#
I'm sure that with a significant investment in time, or a willingness to track down device conflicts, the Steam controller might be a great device. It's pretty clear to me that for many people it does not work well out-of-the-box, and the configuration, time, and learning requirements are antithetic to the simple couch gaming solution Valve sold this as (and should have designed it to be).
It's hard to gauge these kinds of things based on the number of threads because people who are not having problems will also not make threads just to say that their controller is working as intended.
That being said, yeah, the Steam Controller have its issues, but I also can't go back to tradicional twin sticks anymore. I tried to play Rise of the Tomb Raider with my Xbox One controller and my god, the struggle to deal with camera control and aim is real.
That being said, yeah, the Steam Controller have its issues, but I also can't go back to tradicional twin sticks anymore. I tried to play Rise of the Tomb Raider with my Xbox One controller and my god, the struggle to deal with camera control and aim is real.
Sleeping Lesson
Member
I said it's not representative of most peoples' experience. I'm not saying the thing doesn't require any time to configure (neither did Valve, as you claim) or that there is zero issues, but what you described is far beyond the issues others are having. You may have even gotten a lemon, I don't know.
Sounds to me like your sensibilities are better suited to console gaming.
Sounds to me like your sensibilities are better suited to console gaming.
Lister
Banned
Well, it's not meant to replace your 360 pad (although, it HAS for me.), it's meant to let you play things like Cities SKylines on your couch, somthing you cnanot do with a gamepad at all.
Lister
Banned
I don't think we have to insult the fella!
But yeah maybe PC gaming with a traditional game pad is more your speed.
I avoided claiming my experience matched the experience of "most" since neither of us can realistically say what the average experience was. From the average content of the Steam forums, we can at least agree my experience was hardly unique.
Your second comment comes across as condescending. I appreciate the flexibility of PC gaming but do not appreciate the regressive effect the Steam controller has (IMO) on Valve's otherwise excellent strides over the last several years to make couch PC gaming more accessible.
Bonfires Down
Member
Yep, the Steam Controller software is still a rather buggy, inconsistent mess, and it needed more time before official release. But the hardware is fine and works great for strategy games etc.
Is it possible they're saved locally somewhere? I'm not sure what the filename would be though.
Sleeping Lesson
Member
Not meant as an insult!I don't think we have to insult the fella!
But yeah maybe PC gaming with a traditional game pad is more your speed.
Saying the controller has regressed Valve's efforts in couch gaming seems really absurd. The issues you have had certainly seem to make it basically unusable and that sucks, but I think you're letting that color your perception of the impressive tech that the Steam Controller is. My experience is equally anecdotal, but the SC has made playing games on my couch not only viable but better than I imagined it could be.
I find the effect to be anything but regressive, considering it makes so many impossible experiences now possible, and greatly enhances control vs. a prior-era gamepad.
To call it regressive is reminiscent of console gamers who don't like PC gaming because you need to interact with settings and drivers.
Nabs
Member
I remember when I thought my configs got wiped back in December, but they were just under Your Other Games.