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[derFeef]

Personally, I love it for Souls games. The right touchpad works better than the analog stick for camera control (even though that's not such a huge deal for Souls), and more importantly the grip buttons are a godsend for my playstyle.

Indeed. I can't imagine playing Souls games without the grips anymore and the camera control is nice.

I still have more problems with fast FPS games. Like Shadow Warrior 2 - it's fun with the Steam Controller, but vertical aiming is still off for me (I tweaked and tried for hours) and the ergonomical problems do not help with fast button presses.

 

[capylikesgames]

I'm trying real hard to think of somethign dual analog sticks are better at... twin stick shooters maybe?

Nah, SC is definitely better at those. Even when set as a gamepad, the size of the right trackpad allows for wider values on its outer region than an analog stick. I've spent time with Nuclear Throne/Enter the Gungeon/Assault Android Cactus with the device, and circling around the edge of the pad to aim worked well. I even turned off aim assist in the first two and had no trouble playing through them. Works best when there's a 1:1 cursor showing you where you're aiming, though.

I find the Steam pad falls apart with 3rd person games that do a lot of mode switching. So Rise of the Tomb Raider is kind of tough, and I don't love it with Dark Souls despite some people reporting good results.

I keep hearing that people dislike it in TPSes, which confuses me. I played through Tomb Raider with the controller and the trackpad felt really natural, especially using the bow. Would've been perfect if you could disable aim assist, because it works against me when I'm lining up shots. Not really a TPS issue though, I felt the same problem with Wolfenstein. Meanwhile, I spent a lot of time with Garden Warfare 2 (a TPS), which lets you disable aim filtering, and never felt held back.

 

[Slick Butter]

Anyone else have the issue where pressing down on the left touchpad also activates what's bound to a thumbstick click?
Know a fix? Can be really annoying.

 

[Branduil]

Does Steam no longer show how many people are using the community configurations?

 

[City 17]

Does Steam no longer show how many people are using the community configurations?

Yep, just noticed it... and there's "Show other control types" (Pressing Y in comm. configs) that shows a "Steam Controller" tag under each binding. I assume it's been added to show/hide the new PS4 (and other TBA controllers) bindings, each with its own tag?

 

[Jinkies]

I've been contemplating trying to set up my Steam controller with Dolphin, specifically to play Skyward Sword. I'd seen some folks get the game working with a KBaM, so I figure it wouldn't be a far cry from there to get the sword movement mapped to the right pad.

Might not be possible, but I'll see.

It isn't possible in any mainstream build of Dolphin.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

Then I'll have to try it in a hipster build.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Does Steam no longer show how many people are using the community configurations?

Probably because it didn't have much correlation with quality. Would be nice if they added ratings and comments though...

 

[kinggroin]

Personally, I love it for Souls games. The right touchpad works better than the analog stick for camera control (even though that's not such a huge deal for Souls), and more importantly the grip buttons are a godsend for my playstyle.

I use the grip for Z-targeting

 

[AlanOC91]

Do steam controller configurations no longer say how many users are using them?

EDIT: My bad. Should have read above.

 

[Jebral]

Am I missing something about publishing configs? I try to upload my config for Xanadu Next and it simply will not show up. Is it due to being in the beta, am I just being silly?

 

[Nabs]

Configs can take a bit of time to show up.

 

[Jinkies]

Then I'll have to try it in a hipster build.

Any which do this may not be maintained (maybe even Dolphin 3 era), and so could have bugs and poor performance.

In any case, I would be interested to hear about your experience if you go through with it.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

Any which do this may not be maintained (maybe even Dolphin 3 era), and so could have bugs and poor performance.

In any case, I would be interested to hear about your experience if you go through with it.

I'll give it a try out of curiosity. In my head I can see the Steam controller working awesome for Skyward Sword, with the sword corresponding to where you're touching on the right pad and swiping across to swing in a given direction. It's a beautiful dream.


In other news, the SC works fantastic with Titanfall 2. The game allows simultaneous controller + mouse input with the only issue being the on-screen prompts show keyboard commands if the last input was the mouse. Common issue, and not a big deal to me.

 

[Davey Cakes]

I use the Steam Controller for almost everything now, tbh. Only really for 2D games do I bust out something else.

Is it not great for 2D games? I'm REALLY interested in getting a Steam controller (I currently use an old X360 controller for my Steam games) but I'd want it as an all-around option.

 

[Knurek]

Is it not great for 2D games? I'm REALLY interested in getting a Steam controller (I currently use an old X360 controller for my Steam games) but I'd want it as an all-around option.

If you play your 2D games on a DPAD, than SC will most probably disappoint you.
(IMO Wii U Pro Pad or DualShock 4 are better fits for these games).

The analog stick can be made into a fairly functional emulation of an arcade stick with the right setup. It's not bad for 2D games this way, and definitely superior to a 360 controller. However, I have an 8bitdo SNES controller and a handful of other controllers that are ideal for playing 2D games. So I'd rather use those.
For 2D games, set the analog stick to be a directional pad with the deadzone fairly high up and haptics as high as they can go. It works very well this way.

That's... actually that's a great idea.
I tried using the left touchpad and had terrible time with it, your idea sounds like something that would work great though.

 

[Sophia]

Is it not great for 2D games? I'm REALLY interested in getting a Steam controller (I currently use an old X360 controller for my Steam games) but I'd want it as an all-around option.

The analog stick can be made into a fairly functional emulation of an arcade stick with the right setup. It's not bad for 2D games this way, and definitely superior to a 360 controller. However, I have an 8bitdo SNES controller and a handful of other controllers that are ideal for playing 2D games. So I'd rather use those.

For 2D games, set the analog stick to be a directional pad with the deadzone fairly high up and haptics as high as they can go. It works very well this way.

 

[capylikesgames]

Is it not great for 2D games? I'm REALLY interested in getting a Steam controller (I currently use an old X360 controller for my Steam games) but I'd want it as an all-around option.

Depends. How do you feel about arcade sticks? If you swear by d-pads, this might turn you off at first, but there's a really nice digital mode that you can set the analog stick to. With a high deadzone, and high haptics, it feels really snappy and responsive. I've played through a ton of platformers this way, and I've never felt at a disadvantage.

EDIT: Damn, this is practically a dupe post, haha. My bad for replying on instinct. Sentiment still stands, though.

 

[Sophia]

Depends. How do you feel about arcade sticks? If you swear by d-pads, this might turn you off at first, but there's a really nice digital mode that you can set the analog stick to. With a high deadzone, and high haptics, it feels really snappy and responsive. I've played through a ton of platformers this way, and I've never felt at a disadvantage.

EDIT: Damn, this is practically a dupe post, haha. My bad for replying on instinct. Sentiment still stands, though.

In fact. I'm almost certain you were the one to give me the idea in this very thread. XD

It really does work well, however. The analog stick is incredibly well made on the controller.

 

[Davey Cakes]

The analog stick can be made into a fairly functional emulation of an arcade stick with the right setup. It's not bad for 2D games this way, and definitely superior to a 360 controller. However, I have an 8bitdo SNES controller and a handful of other controllers that are ideal for playing 2D games. So I'd rather use those.

For 2D games, set the analog stick to be a directional pad with the deadzone fairly high up and haptics as high as they can go. It works very well this way.

Depends. How do you feel about arcade sticks? If you swear by d-pads, this might turn you off at first, but there's a really nice digital mode that you can set the analog stick to. With a high deadzone, and high haptics, it feels really snappy and responsive. I've played through a ton of platformers this way, and I've never felt at a disadvantage.

EDIT: Damn, this is practically a dupe post, haha. My bad for replying on instinct. Sentiment still stands, though.

I currently use the control stick for all my 2D gaming on Steam. Keep in mind, I play more 2D games than 3D games and the control stick has sufficed so far. Not surprising, since I'm not new to using that control method for platformers (for example). I played DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze with the Wii's control stick. I don't use the X360 D-Pad because it's an abomination. If the Steam Controller is an upgrade from the X360 control stick, even if it's not a better alternative to a better d-pad from some other compatible controller, then I may still benefit from getting one.

 

[Sophia]

I currently use the control stick for all my 2D gaming on Steam. Keep in mind, I play more 2D games than 3D games and the control stick has sufficed so far. Not surprising, since I'm not new to using that control method for platformers (for example). I played DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze with the Wii's control stick. I don't use the X360 D-Pad because it's an abomination. If the Steam Controller is an upgrade from the X360 control stick, even if it's not a better alternative to a better d-pad from some other compatible controller, then I may still benefit from getting one.

Well, the big difference between using a traditional analog stick and this method is that you'll actually get an arcade stick like gate feel when you use it. Also if set to D-Pad, the movement is digital instead of analog too. So it really does feel like a customization arcade stick or old-school computer joystick rather than genuine analog this way.

 

[joeblow]

I need help in getting the DualShock 4 to work properly with Steam's beta release. When I had the controller acting like an XInput device, it worked fine when wired after I disabled SCPToolkit.

When I uninstalled SCPToolkit and allowed my Windows 7 PC to Bluetooth detect the controller, it gave it a generic "Wireless Controller" name in the Device Manager, but the controls are all screwy.

During calibration the D-Pad and analogs are incorrectly binded, and while the PS Home button opens up Big Picture, all the controls are malfunctioning or not working (Bluetooth and wired).

Should I not have paired the DS4 with my adapter after uninstalling SCPTool Kit, or maybe there is another solution. Thanks.

 

[Rodney McKay]

Personally, I love it for Souls games. The right touchpad works better than the analog stick for camera control (even though that's not such a huge deal for Souls), and more importantly the grip buttons are a godsend for my playstyle.

I would love to use the grip buttons for more active moves (attack, jump, etc.), but I find that the grip buttons on my Steam Controller are just too stiff to use them for actions that I do often in games.

I usually end up setting them to actions usually put onto clicking in the right/left analog stick (like crouching or zooming in).

Did you just get accustom to how they are over time, or were you able to adjust fairly easily? My biggest hurdle in really diving into the Steam Controller has been the stiffness of clicking in those grip buttons and clicking in the trackpads.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

I love having grip buttons, but the specific ones on the Steam Controller aren't great. I hope the next iteration of the controller has multiple, more akin to the Xbox One Elite controller.

 

[Lork]

I wouldn't use them as main action buttons but they work great for "press and hold" or modifier functionality. In Souls I use the right grip to sprint without having to use the claw, but I wouldn't use it to dodge - that's what the B button is for! I also have it set up to turn A into the jump button while running this way. I use the left grip to kick by holding it and pushing the left stick in the direction the player character is facing.

 

[Slick Butter]

I would love to use the grip buttons for more active moves (attack, jump, etc.), but I find that the grip buttons on my Steam Controller are just too stiff to use them for actions that I do often in games.

I usually end up setting them to actions usually put onto clicking in the right/left analog stick (like crouching or zooming in).

Did you just get accustom to how they are over time, or were you able to adjust fairly easily? My biggest hurdle in really diving into the Steam Controller has been the stiffness of clicking in those grip buttons and clicking in the trackpads.

It's a combination of getting used to them and breaking them in.
The grips will wear down, and a good use for them really is using them for stick clicking actions so that you can put virtual buttons on the pads or what have you for secondary touchpad functions. In Souls, I use right grip for rolling/running and left grip for lock on.
The touchpads will pretty much allways be a little stiff though. I didn't think I could get used to the grips/bumpers/pads, but I have pretty well.

 

[Durante]

There were some updates, including this which I think people were asking for:

• Added LED Brightness/Color controller action binding. The light on the controller can now be changed via a binding. This is useful to mark changes in state such as different action sets or mode shifts, or on start/release press activators for changing while a button is pressed, for example. Light settings are reset to user preference when changing applications/configurations.

 

[PurpleMoustache]

Happy 1 year anniversary to the Steam Controller!

 

[Lister]

Happy 1 year anniversary to the Steam Controller!

Jeebus. Time flies.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

Remember how bare-bones the Steam Controller software was at launch? It has come a looooong way.

 

[pretty done]

I love having grip buttons, but the specific ones on the Steam Controller aren't great. I hope the next iteration of the controller has multiple, more akin to the Xbox One Elite controller.

Hopefully there's four non mushy back paddle buttons on the next iteration.

Spoiler

And a fucking dpad please Valve.

 

[Parsnip]

I've been thinking about what kind of improvements they could do with the next revision and I'm curious, do the trackpads have to be as big as they are?

Would a smaller trackpad still work as designed for you guys who use the controller a lot?
Is there anything that would prevent that from purely tech standpoint?

 

[Sophia]

I've been thinking about what kind of improvements they could do with the next revision and I'm curious, do the trackpads have to be as big as they are?

Would a smaller trackpad still work as designed for you guys who use the controller a lot?
Is there anything that would prevent that from purely tech standpoint?

It's hard to say. The biggest issue I've found with the trackpads, at least as far as mouse movement in a first person shooter, is that they aren't big enough compared to the range of even a standard mouse and mousepad. So I'm not sure I'd want to make them smaller.

At the same time, the left trackpad would definitely benefit from a smaller trackpad size for things like D-Pad functionality.

*shrugs*

 

[Nabs]

New beta:

Steam Controller

• Fixed a bug where action set switch binding would lose its destination set. Configurations that were saved during the Nov 9 beta may need to reset their action set bindings.
• Added controller preference setting for haptics. Haptics can now be globally disabled for a controller or default to the configuration preferences.
• Modes and bindings which are unavailable to desktop and Big Picture modes will no longer be shown in the configurator.

 

[basic_text]

Apologies if this has already been covered but I'm having issues with some FPS games especially Wolfenstein: The New Order or just games with a weapon select wheel.

If I set the track pad to 'mouse' mode then I get the sensitivity I require but the weapon wheel is unusable.

If I set the track pad to 'mouse joystick' then I can use the weapon wheel but the sensitivity is far too low, even with the in-game sensitivity put all the way to max.

Any ideas please?

 

[derFeef]

New beta:

Steam Controller

• Fixed a bug where action set switch binding would lose its destination set. Configurations that were saved during the Nov 9 beta may need to reset their action set bindings.
  [*]Added controller preference setting for haptics. Haptics can now be globally disabled for a controller or default to the configuration preferences.
• Modes and bindings which are unavailable to desktop and Big Picture modes will no longer be shown in the configurator.

This is great.

 

[Nabs]

Apologies if this has already been covered but I'm having issues with some FPS games especially Wolfenstein: The New Order or just games with a weapon select wheel.

If I set the track pad to 'mouse' mode then I get the sensitivity I require but the weapon wheel is unusable.

If I set the track pad to 'mouse joystick' then I can use the weapon wheel but the sensitivity is far too low, even with the in-game sensitivity put all the way to max.

Any ideas please?

You could create a radial menu on the left pad (or right pad w/ a mode shift), and make your own weapon wheel. Set it to always, or on release. That's probably my favorite way to switch weapons.

You can also create a mode shift that will turn the touch pad into a mouse joystick just for the weapon wheel. If the weapon wheel button is RB/LB, just use that as your mode shift button. I think that's what the DOOM/Valve devs did.

 

[basic_text]

You could create a radial menu on the left pad (or right pad w/ a mode shift), and make your own weapon wheel. Set it to always, or on release. That's probably my favorite way to switch weapons.

You can also create a mode shift that will turn the touch pad into a mouse joystick just for the weapon wheel. If the weapon wheel button is RB/LB, just use that as your mode shift button. I think that's what the DOOM/Valve devs did.

Awesome, cheers! I'll give it a go when I get home from work. I might be able to apply the same logic to the lock picking in Dying Light.

 

[j0hnny_385]

Are there any serious hardware drawbacks in the current version of the Steam Controller?
I'm asking because I'm thinking of buying it in a month or two, but I'm willing to wait if the new version is on the horizon within the next 6 months or so.
I'm thinking along the lines of "Look, the controller is great, BUT [this and this] could do some work and you're better of waiting", if you know what I mean?

Overall, how happy are you owners who had it for a considerable amount of time? Can you fully recommend it now to someone who regularly plays on XB1 controller wired to a PC?

Thanks.

 

[runningjoke]

Are there any serious hardware drawbacks in the current version of the Steam Controller?
I'm asking because I'm thinking of buying it in a month or two, but I'm willing to wait if the new version is on the horizon within the next 6 months or so.
I'm thinking along the lines of "Look, the controller is great, BUT [this and this] could do some work and you're better of waiting", if you know what I mean?

Overall, how happy are you owners who had it for a considerable amount of time? Can you fully recommend it now to someone who regularly plays on XB1 controller wired to a PC?

Thanks.

I've had one since the start and I'm still happy with it. There isn't much I'd change, I'd prefer an integrated battery and I'd copy the look and feel of the Vive wands. But there aren't any fundamental flaws with the controllers as-is.

 

[derFeef]

Are there any serious hardware drawbacks in the current version of the Steam Controller?
I'm asking because I'm thinking of buying it in a month or two, but I'm willing to wait if the new version is on the horizon within the next 6 months or so.
I'm thinking along the lines of "Look, the controller is great, BUT [this and this] could do some work and you're better of waiting", if you know what I mean?

Overall, how happy are you owners who had it for a considerable amount of time? Can you fully recommend it now to someone who regularly plays on XB1 controller wired to a PC?

Thanks.

I think the bumpers, triggers and especially the paddles on the back could use a major rework, they do not feel good. Plus an ergonomical retouch would be welcome, it's not very appealing for people with small hands.

 

[Knurek]

I think the bumpers, triggers and especially the paddles on the back could use a major rework, they do not feel good. Plus an ergonomical retouch would be welcome, it's not very appealing for people with small hands.

Triggers are okay, but bumpers and paddles are terrible. Like, Logitech-tier terrible.
Face buttons are spaced for people with small hands on a pad that's made for people for big hands for... reasons?

 

[Rathorial]

Triggers are okay, but bumpers and paddles are terrible. Like, Logitech-tier terrible.
Face buttons are spaced for people with small hands on a pad that's made for people for big hands for... reasons?

At least the paddles aren't as bad as the Xbox One Elite's.

 

[j0hnny_385]

I've had one since the start and I'm still happy with it. There isn't much I'd change, I'd prefer an integrated battery and I'd copy the look and feel of the Vive wands. But there aren't any fundamental flaws with the controllers as-is.

I think the bumpers, triggers and especially the paddles on the back could use a major rework, they do not feel good. Plus an ergonomical retouch would be welcome, it's not very appealing for people with small hands.

Triggers are okay, but bumpers and paddles are terrible. Like, Logitech-tier terrible.
Face buttons are spaced for people with small hands on a pad that's made for people for big hands for... reasons?

Thanks for the input.

I'll try and get one on sale (counting on the Autumn/Winter sale). Really want to play Civ VI and Cities: Skylines from the couch.

 

[Jon of the Wired]

Thanks for the input.

I'll try and get one on sale (counting on the Autumn/Winter sale). Really want to play Civ VI and Cities: Skylines from the couch.

Another datapoint is that Valve just released some new accessories for the current Steam Controller, which implies that any redesign may be either much farther out or much more limited than we previously believed.

That said, my only problem with the current controller is the activation force and click volume on the bumpers and touchpads (I can see the touchpads being hard to tune because you have to worry about accidental activation, but I have no idea why the bumpers are so stiff and loud).

 

[Foxyone]

Has anyone tried out a DS4 with Steam's recent software support? I feel like I've missed a right analog stick for games like Skyrim, and just that smoother looking around movement in general. Is the gyro any good for precision mouse stuff? I've been wondering if I could get a decent amount of usage out of a DS4 for regular X-input games, as well as games that only have m+kb controls. I imagine the loss of the grip buttons and gyro activating on touch would be a hindrance tho.

 

[Candescence]

Any idea why Steam can't seem to hook into Dolphin (meaning I can't use the Steam Controller with it)? It worked before, but now it's not working at all, which is bewildering.

 

[Soodanim]

Another datapoint is that Valve just released some new accessories for the current Steam Controller, which implies that any redesign may be either much farther out or much more limited than we previously believed.

That said, my only problem with the current controller is the activation force and click volume on the bumpers and touchpads (I can see the touchpads being hard to tune because you have to worry about accidental activation, but I have no idea why the bumpers are so stiff and loud).

Has anyone tried out a DS4 with Steam's recent software support? I feel like I've missed a right analog stick for games like Skyrim, and just that smoother looking around movement in general. Is the gyro any good for precision mouse stuff? I've been wondering if I could get a decent amount of usage out of a DS4 for regular X-input games, as well as games that only have m+kb controls. I imagine the loss of the grip buttons and gyro activating on touch would be a hindrance tho.

It's not often that I see people on GAF that share my views on the clicky bumpers and right stick camera control. It's why I prefer my DS4 for Dark Souls (d-pad is also a factor there) and most other controller based games. Devs usually do a pretty good job of it.

The value of the Steam controller is in the games that can be enhanced by the features it offers over a standard controller. Dual stage triggers, grips, touch menus, gyro aim, etc. It's not a good standard controller, but it's not trying to be.

I won't use it for something bumper heavy, because I don't like sending morse code as I'm playing a game.

 

[Anteater]

playing jedi academy with the controller, this game rocks =0

 

[Nabs]

Any idea why Steam can't seem to hook into Dolphin (meaning I can't use the Steam Controller with it)? It worked before, but now it's not working at all, which is bewildering.

I had a problem where I had Dolphin 5.0 installed in C:\Program Files, and that wouldn't hook in. I had to download a recent dev build and extract that to my usual emu folder for it to work.

It could also have to do with the graphical back end. I don't know.