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[capylikesgames]

I didn't really give the bumpers and face buttons much credit at first, but it's starting to set in as I play more and more games with complex controls. Honestly, I'm just now realizing how lacking single-button bind options are. All they really give is multi-input on one button, but I'd love to see more features, like:

• Double-tap bind, with a speed threshold
• Press-and-hold bind, with adjustable hold length (which could also help with face button mode shifts as a "dummy input")
• Mode-shifting, the obvious one (which I'm surprised still isn't in for singular input)

The touch menus are already a nice way to get around complex input, but I don't see why we can't have both! Is there anything here I'm missing?

 

[HungOverOnATues]

I can't for the life of me get the steam overlay to hook into Need for Speed Rivals.

Origin games used to work for me, but after one of the bigger recent updates, I can't get anything to work either.

So I stumbled across a solution for this while browsing the big picture mode bug report forums in search for some miracle solution to prevent BPM from crashing so frequently. While I still have no solution for BPM, I found a thread which seemed to indicate that the recent issue with Origin games only affects AMD users and could be solved by putting Origin in Windows 7 compatibility mode. In retrospect I feel kind of dumb for not trying that already.

Anyways, I launched Origin in Win 7 compatibility mode and then NFS:R and sure enough, the steam overlay and controller worked. One caveat: the framerate is now completely unplayable. Next I tried launching the game from desktop mode with the controller off - the steam overlay once again worked, and the framerate appeared unaffected.

I haven't tried other Origin games to see if the controller works in them or if there are any performance issues with them as I've run out of patience with this tonight, but I thought I'd throw this out there if anyone else has been experiencing issues with Origin games and wanted to fiddle with them to try to get something working.

 

[Maxwood]

I just couldn't resist that Dark Souls III bundle. I've been playing around with it for a while and i'm a bit conflicted.

First, the good things.

- The Steam Controller has the best triggers i've ever seen.
They feel wonderful and having an extra button when pushing it all the way down is great.
The people who came up with the idea of a soft-pull and making it custimizable deserve one hell of a raise. It's fantastic.

- The Pad
I was worried the trackpad would be super awkward but it feels great!
The trackball mode actually feels like a trackball, the mouse emulation feels mouse-y and my biggest surprise, the right joystick emulation feels great. I might even prefer it to the real thing.
Don't get me wrong, I still have to practice using it. A lot. But it feels good.

- Customize all the things!
It's easy to do, they made it pretty clear what every option does, there are a lot of options and it's surprisingly fun to do.

However...
How the fuck do I hold this thing?
One of the reasons why I bought this controller was it's ergonomic design. It looked super comfy and I heard some great things about it.
However, I must be doing something wrong because the darn thing starts to hurt my right hand and arm after just a couple minutes of play.
Maybe it's the face buttons. They're in a really awkward position. I keep overstretching my thumb when I want to push the X or A buttons.

Anybody else who has or had this issue? Did you get used to it?

To end on a positive note; It's such a small detail, but I love hearing This Was A Triumph when I turn off my controller.

 

[Nzyme32]

I just couldn't resist that Dark Souls III bundle. I've been playing around with it for a while and i'm a bit conflicted.

First, the good things.

- The Steam Controller has the best triggers i've ever seen.
They feel wonderful and having an extra button when pushing it all the way down is great.
The people who came up with the idea of a soft-pull and making it custimizable deserve one hell of a raise. It's fantastic.

- The Pad
I was worried the trackpad would be super awkward but it feels great!
The trackball mode actually feels like a trackball, the mouse emulation feels mouse-y and my biggest surprise, the right joystick emulation feels great. I might even prefer it to the real thing.
Don't get me wrong, I still have to practice using it. A lot. But it feels good.

- Customize all the things!
It's easy to do, they made it pretty clear what every option does, there are a lot of options and it's surprisingly fun to do.

However...
How the fuck do I hold this thing?
One of the reasons why I bought this controller was it's ergonomic design. It looked super comfy and I heard some great things about it.
However, I must be doing something wrong because the darn thing starts to hurt my right hand and arm after just a couple minutes of play.
Maybe it's the face buttons. They're in a really awkward position. I keep overstretching my thumb when I want to push the X or A buttons.

Anybody else who has or had this issue? Did you get used to it?

To end on a positive note; It's such a small detail, but I love hearing This Was A Triumph when I turn off my controller.

I do hold the controller quite differently to standard controllers. Basically thumbs end up more inward, causing my fingers to be angled to match the downward angles of the triggers and shoulder buttons. My ring fingers reach the bottom corners of the grips. My thumb tips are angled downward on the centre of the pads, with the part of my hands below the thumb resting on the elevated curves of the handles. My index finger are on the triggers, angled to match them. I just tilt my fingers up to use the shoulder buttons. That ends up feeling good to me.

 

[Nabs]

I don't grip the controller hard at all. I have my index fingers on the triggers, middle on the back grips, and thumbs in the center of the pads. My hands remain very relaxed, and the controller just sits flat.

I try to stay away from the face buttons if I can help it. B & Y get used for things like inventory/map/reload.

 

[Candescence]

Yeah, you want to avoid using the face buttons for common functions like the plague, especially if they potentially conflict with using the right pad. Functions like jumping are best served as grip button functions. Yes, I know, we're talking taking a sledgehammer to one of the oldest conventions in gaming, but putting commonly-used functions on face buttons has never gelled well with the whole dual-'analog' setup. The grip buttons are probably the controller's biggest feature for that reason alone.

 

[Branduil]

I'm doing the index fingers on bumpers/middle fingers on triggers thing. Normally I wouldn't hold a controller like that but the Steam controller lends itself to it.

 

[Roarer]

Yeah, you want to avoid using the face buttons for common functions like the plague, especially if they potentially conflict with using the right pad. Functions like jumping are best served as grip button functions. Yes, I know, we're talking taking a sledgehammer to one of the oldest conventions in gaming, but putting commonly-used functions on face buttons has never gelled well with the whole dual-'analog' setup. The grip buttons are probably the controller's biggest feature for that reason alone.

Agreed! I just wish they were a bit softer and easier to press. I feel like I have to use a lot of force to press them and I sometimes lose track of my thumb placement on the trackpad when using the paddles. Other than that, they're great. (Oh, and I wish there were two of them on each side)

 

[Durante]

I never had an issue with the Steam Controller's build quality - I find it easily sufficient.

But now that I've held the SteamVR controllers I'd actually be inclined to buy a "Steam Controller+" or something like that with those material choices and premium feel. Not for an obscene price, but perhaps up to €70.

 

[Cave Johnson]

I just couldn't resist that Dark Souls III bundle. I've been playing around with it for a while and i'm a bit conflicted.

First, the good things.

- The Steam Controller has the best triggers i've ever seen.
They feel wonderful and having an extra button when pushing it all the way down is great.
The people who came up with the idea of a soft-pull and making it custimizable deserve one hell of a raise. It's fantastic.

*ahem...

 

[zbarron]

I've been out of the loop for a while and haven't played any games for a bit. I tried booting up TF2 today and when I use gyro aiming it's really jerky and makes it look like it's running at 15fps. When I use the right pad it's smooth and perfect. Anyone else experience this or know a fix?

I got it. I got out of the Steam Beta. In the latest official release it's smooth for me.

 

[laxu]

Agreed! I just wish they were a bit softer and easier to press. I feel like I have to use a lot of force to press them and I sometimes lose track of my thumb placement on the trackpad when using the paddles. Other than that, they're great. (Oh, and I wish there were two of them on each side)

Haven't experienced that issue at all but I do seem to press them with two fingers on each side. I wish they had given us four grip buttons instead of just two.

 

[Maxwood]

I do hold the controller quite differently to standard controllers. Basically thumbs end up more inward, causing my fingers to be angled to match the downward angles of the triggers and shoulder buttons. My ring fingers reach the bottom corners of the grips. My thumb tips are angled downward on the centre of the pads, with the part of my hands below the thumb resting on the elevated curves of the handles. My index finger are on the triggers, angled to match them. I just tilt my fingers up to use the shoulder buttons. That ends up feeling good to me.

I don't grip the controller hard at all. I have my index fingers on the triggers, middle on the back grips, and thumbs in the center of the pads. My hands remain very relaxed, and the controller just sits flat.

I try to stay away from the face buttons if I can help it. B & Y get used for things like inventory/map/reload.

Yeah, you want to avoid using the face buttons for common functions like the plague, especially if they potentially conflict with using the right pad. Functions like jumping are best served as grip button functions. Yes, I know, we're talking taking a sledgehammer to one of the oldest conventions in gaming, but putting commonly-used functions on face buttons has never gelled well with the whole dual-'analog' setup. The grip buttons are probably the controller's biggest feature for that reason alone.

I'll try this. Thanks for the responses, everyone.

I spent some time playing Fez using soft-pull RT as the jump button and it felt surprisingly good. Weird, but good.

I really like a lot about this controller and what you can do with it, but it does need some getting used to. But that's alright, i've got the time. And I feel like it's worth it.
All those years using Playstation controllers are messing with my head, though.

*ahem...

I've never held a Gamecube controller before.
In that case, I really don't understand why it didn't become something standard.

 

[Soodanim]

Nice find. Interesting bits:

• 400,000 controllers with users
• Controller revision in the works with better "look and feel"; no feature changes since they don't think it is necessary

Sounds good to me.

Typical. I buy and a revision gets announced. That said, I'm happy with the controller and don't regret buying it.

 

[Quote]

I'm using this controller with Dark Souls III with one of the recommended configs. When I click on the right touch pad, it brings up this weird menu that looks like numpad but it has actions assigned to it. I just want to use it for targeting. What feature do I need to turn off?

Edit: nevermind, I'm just going to use a 360 controller. I can't stand this thing.

 

[Nzyme32]

Typical. I buy and a revision gets announced. That said, I'm happy with the controller and don't regret buying it.

I wouldn't worry too much since there is no timeframe. Can't imagine them actually releasing such a thing before the controller has been out for a full year, so maybe November at the earliest, otherwise during 2017

 

[crazysapertonight]

Can I programm controller to change it's control scheme, when I put my finger on touchpad?

(sorry for english, it is not my native)

 

[Nabs]

I LOVE the mouse in the menu/inventory in Dark Souls 3. So good!

 

[Nzyme32]

Valve's Dark Souls 3 Steam Controller Tutorial

As shown in the above video, targeting is still clicking in the right pad in the centre, akin to clicking the right stick on a 360 pad.

What you need to know about touch menus is that if you hold the button down, the menu will stay up till you move over the button you want to select. The big advantage is that all those menu buttons are absolute. So once you know where they are, like the targeting in the centre, you just press in and it will activate, without having to spend time with that touch menu

 

[Nerrel]

Typical. I buy and a revision gets announced. That said, I'm happy with the controller and don't regret buying it.

Think of it this way. If you hadn't bought, there would be no revision. I'm glad the controller was successful enough for Valve to continue their work on it. It was a pretty big risk on their part and I honestly wasn't sure how well the controller was doing for a while, so it's nice to know that it's been a success. Even if it means I've got to pony up again in the future.

 

[Nabs]

Valve's Dark Souls 3 Steam Controller Tutorial

As shown in the above video, targeting is still clicking in the right pad in the centre, akin to clicking the right stick on a 360 pad.

What you need to know about touch menus is that if you hold the button down, the menu will stay up till you move over the button you want to select. The big advantage is that all those menu buttons are absolute. So once you know where they are, like the targeting in the centre, you just press in and it will activate, without having to spend time with that touch menu

I also forgot that you can just turn down the opacity of the touch menu. Very cool stuff.

 

[broncobuster]

Valve's Dark Souls 3 Steam Controller Tutorial

As shown in the above video, targeting is still clicking in the right pad in the centre, akin to clicking the right stick on a 360 pad.

What you need to know about touch menus is that if you hold the button down, the menu will stay up till you move over the button you want to select. The big advantage is that all those menu buttons are absolute. So once you know where they are, like the targeting in the centre, you just press in and it will activate, without having to spend time with that touch menu

Interesting. I prepared to play it with my Wii U pro controller, but I'll give this setup a shot.

 

[Crayon]

I want to mod the controller to make the pad to make the pad clicks quieter. Here's what I've found so far:

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Steam+Controller+Teardown/52578

Here's a pic of the main pcb.:

Inside the white printed circles, you can see th e little buttons that recieve the downward push on the touchpad click. The touchpad rests in a sort of tray and the tray had a peg that acts on the button.

Now the button must be quite stiff and it's sharp action causes the plastics in the touch pad tray and controller body ti ring a bit and amplify the clicking sound.

If that button was modifiable or replaceable with

Spoiler

a snapple cap or

a rubber contact bladder or a cherry switch then it could be both quitee and easier.

Failing that, the sound could be dampened somewhat with the right materials added to the right places.

Any ideas? Anyone else interested?

 

[Unai]

I LOVE the mouse in the menu/inventory in Dark Souls 3. So good!

Indeed. I'm amazed that FROM went ahead and prepared this setup. It just works. We came a long way since the port of Dark Souls 1. Next time that I'm playing DS1 or DS2 I'll try something similar. Something I didn't test yet is switching targets. It doesn't work very in Dark Souls 2 using the right trackpad as a mouse.

Can I programm controller to change it's control scheme, when I put my finger on touchpad?

(sorry for english, it is not my native)

Yes. There is a modifier for the touch of the trackpad.

 

[Mechazawa]

So, does anyone if there's a way to globally "turn on" rumble for the controller?

Or at the very least, make it so that if I enable rumble in a game, I don't have to do it every time I boot the game up? Getting a little tired of that.

 

[Nzyme32]

So, does anyone if there's a way to globally "turn on" rumble for the controller?

Or at the very least, make it so that if I enable rumble in a game, I don't have to do it every time I boot the game up? Getting a little tired of that.

Probably not right now, since that feature is an experimental beta option. You'd probably have to wait for it to enter the main client for the option to show up

 

[M_A_C]

Valve's Dark Souls 3 Steam Controller Tutorial

As shown in the above video, targeting is still clicking in the right pad in the centre, akin to clicking the right stick on a 360 pad.

What you need to know about touch menus is that if you hold the button down, the menu will stay up till you move over the button you want to select. The big advantage is that all those menu buttons are absolute. So once you know where they are, like the targeting in the centre, you just press in and it will activate, without having to spend time with that touch menu

Pretty cool. This is the first game were I've been using the Steam Controller. I was using the second of the user configs, were the d-pad actually has to be clicked. I dunno if i's better than a normal controller, but not bad so far.

 

[Parsnip]

I suppose I should try the controller with dark souls 3, that's the deal I got it from after all.

 

[Unai]

Pretty cool. This is the first game were I've been using the Steam Controller. I was using the second of the user configs, were the d-pad actually has to be clicked. I dunno if i's better than a normal controller, but not bad so far.

I started using one of the oficial settings but changed a few things, among them having to click the dpad. I never got used to touch only there. Also increased the haptic feedback for the mouse. Also, I changed the grips so the left one is to hold the weapon with both hands and the dodge/run is on the right grip.

 

[Burny]

I've finally caved in and am going to replace my Logitech F510 with a Steam Controller. I sit too far away from the PC for F510's the cable, I seriously dislike the Playstation's stick and face button layout copied by Logitech and in terms of 360 pad, the Wii U Pro Controller with Mayflash adapter is nearly the perfect controller for me anyway. But I wanted to try out the Steam Controller for gyro aiming and have a controller with analogue shoulder buttons, which I can actually use.

I have one question before I get to try it out for myself: Is it possible to switch around the face buttons somehow? Preferrably physically. Does the software acommodate for this or has anybody opened up the controller before?

The Wii U Pro controller does it a lot more sensibly for my taste: A+X, the most used confirm and action buttons, sit next to the stick, not furthest away just to mirror the 360 layout, although the "stick" is not where it would be in a 360 layout.

 

[derFeef]

DS3 and the Steam Controller feel so good. Amazing even. Rumble is not working though yet, no?

 

[Nzyme32]

DS3 and the Steam Controller feel so good. Amazing even. Rumble is not working though yet, no?

Since mouse and gamepad can work simultaneously, you should be able to use a mix of both and use the experimental rumble. Not tried it myself yet though.

 

[Parsnip]

There's no way to rotate touchpad directions is there? What I mean is, when I hold the controller comfortably, my natural left to right swipe for example is more like downleft to upright swipe. So if I could rotate the right touchpad in such a way that I could align the directions better with what feels natural to me, that would be pretty rad.

 

[laxu]

Anyone got ideas for better control setup for DS3? I tried one of the default profiles and it works fine otherwise except I have a hard time locking on to targets because of the touch menu and can't figure out how to change target if there's several on screen at once.

I'm a Bloodborne veteran but a Souls newbie so it'll take me some time to learn that you can use the shield.

 

[Nabs]

There's no way to rotate touchpad directions is there? What I mean is, when I hold the controller comfortably, my natural left to right swipe for example is more like downleft to upright swipe. So if I could rotate the right touchpad in such a way that I could align the directions better with what feels natural to me, that would be pretty rad.

Look for the Rotation option, it should definitely be there.

 

[runningjoke]

There's no way to rotate touchpad directions is there? What I mean is, when I hold the controller comfortably, my natural left to right swipe for example is more like downleft to upright swipe. So if I could rotate the right touchpad in such a way that I could align the directions better with what feels natural to me, that would be pretty rad.

I'm pretty sure you can do that, but I forgot what the option is called.

 

[Parsnip]

Look for the Rotation option, it should definitely be there.

I'm pretty sure you can do that, but I forgot what the option is called.

Sweet! I couldn't find one but seems I didn't look hard enough.

 

[PeterVenkman]

I feel the opposite on DS3, one of the few games where my experience hasn't been smooth. No matter what I set my right pad to (mouse, mouse joystick, joystick) there is stuttering. There's also really weird hitching when I rotate the camera away from the direction I push on the left stick.

I tinkered in the starting area for and hour and a half and couldn't get the camera to pan as smoothly as my xbox one controller.

Bummed, but hopin I can come back to a better community setting later as I could use the extra buttons. Plus everything but camera movement was great, and I had strong / weak attack on the two stage triggers.

 

[Burny]

Here's a pic of the main pcb.:

Damn. Hadn't payed close enough attention to the PCB, but that answers my question above: the A-B-X-Y buttons probably can't be physically switched so A and X are next to the touchpad.


That leaves the question: Can the controller be reconfigured, so that those buttons are exchanged (X <-> Y, A <-> B) when it's used as XBox controller?

 

[PetriP-TNT]

Anyone else having issues with the "soft" trigger action staying as default even though it should be empty?

 

[thefil]

Damn. Hadn't payed close enough attention to the PCB, but that answers my question above: the A-B-X-Y buttons probably can't be physically switched so A and X are next to the touchpad.


That leaves the question: Can the controller be reconfigured, so that those buttons are exchanged (X <-> Y, A <-> B) when it's used as XBox controller?

I believe you would have to configure it on a per-game basis.

 

[Jinkies]

Anyone else having issues with the "soft" trigger action staying as default even though it should be empty?

You might have Analog Output still turned on?

 

[capylikesgames]

That leaves the question: Can the controller be reconfigured, so that those buttons are exchanged (X <-> Y, A <-> B) when it's used as XBox controller?

Very easily, through the config menu you'll be using often with this device. And you can base new configs off of exported configs, so you can always go find an earlier, simpler bind with the swapped buttons that you had saved to make the process faster.

However, I think it's common for most SC users to map A and X to left and right grip, respectively. It works really well, since players tend to use those buttons so frequently. I tend to keep it like that, and use Y and B for secondary actions. Play around with it, though! Find what feels most comfortable.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

You might have Analog Output still turned on?

I mean something like this:

1. Right Trigger is "strong attack",
2. Right Bumper is "fast attack"
3. Switch them around, leave soft actions empty.

Expected:

Right Trigger is now fast attack, Right bumper is strong attack

Actual:

Right Trigger is now fast attack, soft Right Trigger is now strong attack.

Right Bumper is strong attack, soft Right Bumper is now weak attack.

 

[EdLin]

I can't seem to get my Steam Controller's face buttons detected by Dark Souls 3.... Any tips? I'm using the configuration recommended by the developer.

 

[Nabs]

Do you have any other controllers plugged in?

 

[EdLin]

Do you have any other controllers plugged in?

No. I own a wired 360 controller, but it's not plugged in.

 

[Oreoleo]

DS3 and the Steam Controller feel so good. Amazing even. Rumble is not working though yet, no?

It seems very hit and miss for me. Will sometimes rumble when I take damage, but never from rolling into walls or jumping off a ledge or anything like that.

 

[Varna]

I just couldn't get use to the controller before Dark Souls 3. Kind of have a bit of buyers remorse. I like the control in theory but I'm not understand why they didn't use the 360 pad for reference and just added functionality on top of it. I could get use to using a trackpad to emulate a second analogue stick no problem, but things like the face button and trigger placement just feel very off. The analogue stick feels really bad compared to the 360 pad as well.

Some of these things I could see myself accepting with time, but the analogue stick just feels all kind of inferior.

 

[Unai]

Guys that are using the controller for the first time to play dark souls 3: Beware that the first setting recomended by the developer is very different from the usual because they put more than one function in the triggers (soft pull and full pull). I recommend trying one of the other 2 (with or without motion controls).