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[Oreoleo]

Wat. How have you managed this? Like, when you don't even launch a game via Steam - it works?

Hm it seems you're right. Just tried launching Shadow Complex Remastered outside of Steam and even with BPM running in the background the game didn't recognize the Steam controller.

I actually have the Steam version of GTAV and the game is such a mess that it only recognizes my desktop config. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[brianmcdoogle]

I just got this, and I'm really struggling. I'm on a Mac, and I'm trying to play the Long Dark, and the controller barely functions. The right circle pad barely moves the mouse icon, and I've pressed every button on the controller to click, and nothing is registering. I'm stuck at the start screen and I cannot advance at all. I've gone and done the recommended profile for the game, but that isn't doing anything.

I mean, I have to be missing something obvious, no? What am I doing wrong?

 

[MNC]

Strider is my current pickup and play game with the steam controller. I have my favorite bindings on it:
The best part is that light attack is tapping the right pad, and heavy is double tap. Makes the game play like a blast.

How on earth do you spam light attacks then? By default it gave me the grips and X for light, I could alternate between those buttons with ease for lots of light attacking.

 

[entremet]

Has anyone played around with Wii emulation and this controller?

I wonder if can replace the pointer function.

 

[VisceralBowl]

After a few days of attempting to make this work for shooters I think I'll give up. It takes far too long to line up shots that I could easily get with a standard dual analog controller or a mouse/keyboard. It's jerky, randomly inaccurate (had to re-calibrate the pad multiple times), and uncomfortable. I still plan to use this for lazy desktop browsing and games that require much less fast and precise aiming but I'm somewhat disappointed it doesn't work for me.

I tried the following:
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Black Mesa
Fallout 4 (with a custom m+kb configuration)

 

[Randdalf]

Anyone had issues with the trigger sending a "pressed" response even if it isn't? Like, I'll take my finger off it in JC3 and Rico will continue spraying bullets everywhere. It happens in Rocket League too, but it's less egregious because you're pressing RT most of the time anyway.

 

[Durante]

After a few days of attempting to make this work for shooters I think I'll give up. It takes far too long to line up shots that I could easily get with a standard dual analog controller or a mouse/keyboard. It's jerky, randomly inaccurate (had to re-calibrate the pad multiple times), and uncomfortable. I still plan to use this for lazy desktop browsing and games that require much less fast and precise aiming but I'm somewhat disappointed it doesn't work for me.

I really cannot see how you could prefer a thumbstick for aiming over the touchpad in trackball mode :/

Are you sure your controller isn't broken? I never had to re-caliabrate mine at all. Or perhaps you just have tens of thousands of hours of practice in aiming with dual analog?

 

[VisceralBowl]

I really cannot see how you could prefer a thumbstick for aiming over the touchpad in trackball mode :/

Are you sure your controller isn't broken? I never had to re-caliabrate mine at all. Or perhaps you just have tens of thousands of hours of practice in aiming with dual analog?

I'm not sure how to tell if it's broken. It mostly works, but it seems to go haywire randomly. Maybe it's how I hold my thumb on it at different times? No idea. I'll keep experimenting and see what happens I guess.

I have tons of experience with dual analog - not sure if tens of thousands hours, but probably thousands at this point.

 

[Nete]

Has anyone played around with Wii emulation and this controller?

I wonder if can replace the pointer function.

Oh yes, it can. You can either use a trackpad for it, or the gyroscope as it's shown here.

 

[Branduil]

Yeah since mouse joystick was implemented there is pretty much no reason to use any other controller on PC for generic dual stick input games. Well, when it works - that is. Booting non-Steam games that have stupid launchers in front of them and other stuff like that is a complete crapshoot. Sometimes it works fine, other times it doesn't work at all and just registers your desktop binds when you finally end up in-game. Unfortunately, binding your desktop stuff to xinput gamepad bindings doesn't work at all, ever. Not sure what's up with that, but Valve should definitely implement a working desktop xinput mode where Windows just recognizes it as a 360 controller. Would solve a huge amount of issues where a work-around is required.

Yes, this.

 

[Rodney McKay]

I really cannot see how you could prefer a thumbstick for aiming over the touchpad in trackball mode :/

I don't know about them, but personally there are some games that (so far) I'm better at aiming with the stick than I am in trackball mode of the Steam controller.

MGS5 for example (the main game I've been playing lately switching between Steam controller and 360 pad) since the enemies usually are moving slowly along set paths, I'm more precise with the stick because it's easier for me to match their walking speed velocity by pushing the stick to match that speed. (I also prefer having full analog stick movement on the 360 controller, the emulated trackball mode just doesn't feel right when I've tried it, and the WASD movement in MGS5 just looks and feels bad to me).

With the Steam controller I can definitely aim faster, but I'm worse at keeping the cursor over a specific point on a moving target.

I'm sure with time and practice I'll get better at that (I picked up Jedi Knight 2 and Academy during the sale mainly to play with the Steam controller), but it's hard when most of the games I want to play since getting the Steam controller all have good native 360 controller support (MGS5) or don't really benefit that much with mouse aiming (Assassin's Creed).

 

[MarcoZombieCannon]

I seriously can't get over how good this is for shooters. I wasn't feeling it at first, but the gyro changes everything. Playing Battlefront with this is a dream.

Also I absolutely can't stand anything higher than low trackball friction.

 

[Bizzquik]

Really liked the YouTube video by Woodsie titled "Top 10 Games to Play on the Steam Controller"

 

[brianmcdoogle]

Can I not create a profile that is universal, and use it for random games? in Steam BPM, I created a profile, but when I launch a game, I can't select it as a profile to use, even though it would work well for the game I'm playing. Do I have to create that same profile for each game?

Also, and I can't believe I have to ask this, but is there a wiki or instructional guide for the controller that is particular to Mac/Apple users? The stuff in the OP seem to only pertain to PC users, as was that Reddit link.

 

[Crayon]

I just noticed that their is an exploded view of the controller printed on the packaging. It's on the inside surface of the blue cardboard slip.

 

[stabberThomas]

One weird controller.

I've been playing around with it recently for my own game, and even though it has no actual controller support I can still play it, which is a godsend.

my setup: 1, 2 .
result

Feels fantastic, wouldn't have felt as good with a regular controller.

I think it's a bit awkward to always use the Big Picture overlay, I'd rather not.

I'm always on the move, right now I carry it around in the box it came in, which is huge. Anyone have a transport case for it?

 

[Ucchedavāda]

While I initially bought this controller to play stuff I previously used to play with a wired 360 controller (RPGs and platformers, mainly), I've now gotten around to try a few FP games, and I am very impressed with how intuitive it was. I have very little experience playing FP games on a controller, but it was basically pick-up-and-play for me (w/ right pad in mouse mode).

So far I've played some hours of Spooky's House of Jump Scares, Slime Rancher (alpha), and Subnautica (early access), and despite any lack of official support, the only issue I've had was that SHoJS wasn't compatible with Steam overlay, which made setting up proper key-bindings a bit more difficult. These games are of course not twitch shooters, and I don't think I'll be playing any such on the SC, but the SC is definitely going to be my go-to in the future for more slow-paced FP games.

 

[Foxyone]

Does anyone only put their PC in sleep mode so that they can awaken it with the controller? I'm liking the idea of getting a bigger TV and connecting my PC to it so that I can use it like a console from a distance and boot very quickly from sleep mode, which fortunately apparently only uses a few watts in sleep mode.

Out of curiosity, how fast does a current console boot to a usable point compared to a PC in sleep mode?

 

[Big_Al]

For me I think the one thing that puts me off the controller a bit is the actual physical design. I was playing a bit of Transformers Devastation there with the Steam controller (and doing fine) but when I changed over to my 360 controller it was just immediately more comfortable and more fun to use. There's obviously my many years of 360 controller use in there too though so I'm sure that plays a part.

 

[Unai]

For me I think the one thing that puts me off the controller a bit is the actual physical design. I was playing a bit of Transformers Devastation there with the Steam controller (and doing fine) but when I changed over to my 360 controller it was just immediately more comfortable and more fun to use. There's obviously my many years of 360 controller use in there too though so I'm sure that plays a part.

It was the oposite for me. When I tried my xbox one controller again it just felt wrong.

 

[entremet]

Oh yes, it can. You can either use a trackpad for it, or the gyroscope as it's shown here.

Oh snap!

 

[Fret]

As far as I'm concerned this controller is amazing and there's no need to use a "normal" controller on my PC ever again.

There's definitely issues though, like Steam randomly crashing, configs not saving, etc.

 

[OrlanisWorks]

Messed with this controller. Some games I can tackle with it, but I think there will definitely be games I'll fall back onto ye ole X360. Played all of Blackwell Epiphany, which was really great for me to lean back and get a feel for the trackpad.

This will take some serious getting used to, but I really like the controller. My only real issue is that the buttons and joystick feel far away.

 

[Over-Run]

Is there always a way to do alt tab or Ctrl alt delete at all? Sometimes when a game freezes its hassle having to go to your PC to Ctrl alt delete or alt tab.

 

[atr0cious]

How on earth do you spam light attacks then? By default it gave me the grips and X for light, I could alternate between those buttons with ease for lots of light attacking.

You set the double tap threshold to something you're comfortable with. I also put heavy on right grip for an air attack you get later in the game.

 

[abuC]

Just bought one today, really like it so far. I'm going to give it a shot with Chivalry and Star Citizen.

 

[viveks86]

This works beautifully with Soma. Gyro lean feels really nice. Love interacting with objects using the trackball.

 

[Foxyone]

Is there always a way to do alt tab or Ctrl alt delete at all? Sometimes when a game freezes its hassle having to go to your PC to Ctrl alt delete or alt tab.

I think I managed to alt tab out of a game by setting a button for it, then relaunching the game without being in BPM so that didn't conflict. I don't think I bothered because there wasn't enough mode shifting stuff for all my shortcut wants (and I don't think touch menus worked; was a while ago).

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

Anyone else have thumb pain after using the controller for a long play session? Both of my thumbs ache pretty bad. =/

 

[hepburn3d]

Anyone else have thumb pain after using the controller for a long play session? Both of my thumbs ache pretty bad. =/

Used to get that to. Have adapted now and don't get it.

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

Used to get that to. Have adapted now and don't get it.

Well, that's encouraging. Here's hoping it clears up for me, too.

 

[Miff]

Anyone had issues with the trigger sending a "pressed" response even if it isn't? Like, I'll take my finger off it in JC3 and Rico will continue spraying bullets everywhere. It happens in Rocket League too, but it's less egregious because you're pressing RT most of the time anyway.

Yes, I'm having this issue, and it looks like others are too. For me it occurs with the touchpads, joystick, and facebuttons though. I have a support ticket in at the moment but not sure if it'll ever get looked at. Here's a clip I gave them to demonstrate what I'm experiencing. At 6 seconds in, the input sticks (at this point my thumb is completely off the controller).

I can get by with most games, as you say it's not egregious if you're repeatedly inputting. But occasionally it's infuriating and I can't play stuff that relies on very precise input

 

[Ucchedavāda]

Is there an way to see the battery-level in the current beta? It was there not too long ago, but now I can't find that information anywhere.

 

[Boombox On]

Is there an way to see the battery-level in the current beta? It was there not too long ago, but now I can't find that information anywhere.

I think they removed it. It was in the add/test part of the settings

 

[Boxuv]

Is there an way to see the battery-level in the current beta? It was there not too long ago, but now I can't find that information anywhere.

It was there but it seemed to be very inaccurate. As in it stayed on 100% for a really long time and only towards the end of battery life it started dropping. Maybe they're gathering more information on that to better work out a linear indicator.

On missed/double inputs the pad click in Rocket League sometimes seems to not register for me. Use it as camera switch and occasionally have to spam it a few times.

 

[Nzyme32]

My problem: I hate using sticks to aim when a mouse is an option. On the other hand, in third person games I also prefer analogue player control over keys. I like using touch pad aiming, and put hours into Metroid Prime: Hunters on the DS for this reason. So, would the Steam Controller be a decent solution for someone who wants precision aiming like with a pad/trackball over sticks, but still full analogue control over the player avatar?

Also, is it locked to Steam, or could I use it in a game from say Origin?

Personally I'm using the controller for practically everything other than the most frantic of RTS or when I am at a desk and have a mouse and keyboard handy. It works outside of Steam games but does require the game to be added as a non-steam game if you want to use the overlay (required for on the fly modification of the controller / bindings etc), and recently had the feature added to allow for community bindings for non-steam games (although this is part of the beta which probably needs another month to get the bugs cleaned up).

FPS with the trackpads works fantastically for me, particularly having the gyro at a lower sensitivity and used as an additional option for fine tuning. Takes a little while to adjust to, but once you have the mechanics of the trackpad down and customise it to suit your tastes and play style, it is very nice.

Big important thing to consider is that particularly with third person games, some of them will not let you mix both controller and mouse controls simultaneously. Luckily there is the mouse-like joystick option, which basically lets you play any game with mouse style controls even when it is outputting analogue controls for the camera to the game. You just have to set the in game sensitivity / camera speed to max. I've started playing Dark Souls with it, and I love it. It seems extremely intuitive to me while also mode shifting the dpad to the right trackpad using the left grip so you can keep moving around and changing weapons / using items. Also mapping the dodge / sprint / roll to the right grip is great for keep your thumbs on movement and aiming.

 

[Randdalf]

Yes, I'm having this issue, and it looks like others are too. For me it occurs with the touchpads, joystick, and facebuttons though. I have a support ticket in at the moment but not sure if it'll ever get looked at. Here's a clip I gave them to demonstrate what I'm experiencing. At 6 seconds in, the input sticks (at this point my thumb is completely off the controller).

I can get by with most games, as you say it's not egregious if you're repeatedly inputting. But occasionally it's infuriating and I can't play stuff that relies on very precise input

Nice to know it's not just me, the comments on that Steam thread suggest the beta client might have some fixes for it? I'm gonna try it out, though it was pretty broken the last time I did.

edit: alright, the beta has a new tool for testing the buttons, if i press the right trigger and release it then this is the default controller state on that page

 

[Ucchedavāda]

I think they removed it. It was in the add/test part of the settings

Yeah, as far as I can tell they took it out entirely.
I was just trying to keep an eye on the battery level to get an idea of how often I would have to change batteries when using controller, but based on what Boxuv writes that was probably pointless.

It was there but it seemed to be very inaccurate. As in it stayed on 100% for a really long time and only towards the end of battery life it started dropping. Maybe they're gathering more information on that to better work out a linear indicator.

Thanks, I was unaware of that issue.
Hopefully that gets resolved, and we get the indicator back in some form.

 

[Branduil]

Having all kinds of issues with the controller today. I have a config with the gyro set to "left pad touch" but it's just acting like the left pad is always touched. And now it's just stuck on "exporting config" without ever finishing.

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

Xcom EW is detecting the steam controller as an actual controller, and I can't load any non-controller profiles in BPM. Any ideas?

 

[catabarez]

I'm looking to get some rechargeable batteries for this controller. I'm currently looking at the AmazonBasics rechargeable batteries. Which version should I get?

 

[aScaris]

It seems like these things are pretty hard to come by in Germany.. The official retailer (GameStop) does not seem to offer shipping of the controller through their website and most stores do not have steam controllers in stock. When I asked where it was available, the guy at GameStop checked their system and there were like 20-30 stores with controllers in stock. However, most stores only had a single controller and the highest number of controllers in one store was 4... So either steam controllers are selling really well, or Valve screwed up the supply in Germany.
Anyways, I now ordered one through steam, paying the absurdly high shipping cost of 8€ on top of the 54,99€ the controller costs. Are the controllers shipped from the US?

 

[derFeef]

I'm looking to get some rechargeable batteries for this controller. I'm currently looking at the AmazonBasics rechargeable batteries. Which version should I get?

I always recommend Eneloops, work great in the Steam Controller as well.

 

[runningjoke]

It seems like these things are pretty hard to come by in Germany.. The official retailer (GameStop) does not seem to offer shipping of the controller through their website and most stores do not have steam controllers in stock. When I asked where it was available, the guy at GameStop checked their system and there were like 20-30 stores with controllers in stock. However, most stores only had a single controller and the highest number of controllers in one store was 4... So either steam controllers are selling really well, or Valve screwed up the supply in Germany.
Anyways, I now ordered one through steam, paying the absurdly high shipping cost of 8€ on top of the 54,99€ the controller costs. Are the controllers shipped from the US?

European shipments are from a distribution center in the Netherlands, or at least this was the case for the initial shipment.

 

[aScaris]

European shipments are from a distribution center in the Netherlands, or at least this was the case for the initial shipment.

OK, so there is a chance it might arrive here within the next days. Thanks!

 

[AlanOC91]

Not sure what's up with that, but Valve should definitely implement a working desktop xinput mode where Windows just recognizes it as a 360 controller. Would solve a huge amount of issues where a work-around is required.

Oh how I would love this.

I've had two games recently that will not work nicely with both steam controller and 360 controller at the same time.

Gang Beasts and Lethal League.

Really fun local MP games but when both controllers are on it seems to have the steam controller override and control both or else just have the 360 controller do absolutely nothing.

Such a shame. I've had nothing but good experiences with the controller up until I started playing some local MP games and throwing 360 controllers into the mix.

 

[Nabs]

Lovely Planet is a fun way to mess around with the trackpad and gyro. I played an hour or so last night and cut up a quick 3 minute clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O286w9LuxUg

 

[Fahzgoolin]

Can someone help me?

The Steam controller didn't work with csgo. Right when it boots up I lose all input from it and can't even press the Steam button in big picture mode.

It works for Pillars Of Eternity perfectly, but not for a Valve game....

 

[MadSexual]

I'm guessing this question gets asked a lot, but I was wondering about the L4D/CSGO promo code. I just ordered on Amazon and got a single code sent to me. I'm assuming it activates both titles. This isn't a problem for me since I already have both games. I meant to give the code to my friend who doesn't have CS yet, but I wanted to be sure it doesn't also tie some kind of hardware information or privileges about the controller to the account as well. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for that to be the case, but maybe with the controller being listed in the store like a game, it is worth checking.

 

[Branduil]

So, for the most part, Steam configs are self-explanatory, but sometimes I come across something I just can't parse.

What the heck does that mean? And I can't figure it out from clicking on the binding because it shows nothing.