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Introducing the Steam Controller

I'm pretty sure no body know shit until they tried one. And some some xbox fanboi who doesn't want to give up his precious.
 
I still say some sort of wand in your left hand with triggers/bumpers and an analog stick and a mouse in your right is the optimal FPS setup. Joy2key/Xpadder with an Xbox controller in your left hand sort of gets me there but you still lose the analog benefit of a stick, e.g. finer precision movement since you're just keybinding and not actually using any native analog controls. Plus my wife laughs at how huge of a nerd I am sitting on the couch with my controller in one hand and my mouse in the other with my headset on. Yep pretty sexy stuff right there.
 
Users of Steam controller have said it's difficult if not impossible to line up meatshots on bots that are practically standing still. In nearly every review of Steam controller, it has been panned as an unwieldy solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

I would say I'm shocked that PC gamers are drooling over this thing, but then I remembered it has a Valve logo on it and PC gamers will place on a pedestal anything related to Steam. Gabe could take a dump on a paper plate, call it a Steamer, price it at $300 and the Internets would go wild with desire.

Seriously guys, touchpads?
It's designed to be used for pc games that don't have controller support. That universal compatibility has a lot of compromises, there is no way this thing is ever going to replace the current mainstream controllers but instead fills the gap that has kept many pc games from being played on the couch.
 
I preordered a Steam Limk and 2 controllers! I think it will be awesome for my 4 and 7 year old boys to play in the living room with 1 of the 240 games I own on Steam. Ill add more during this summer sale, I cant wait!
 
I still think the Xbone controller would be a better fit for couch gaming, GTA, TW3, Sonic racing, all of the non FPS style games work really well with a controller.
 
Xbox controller sucks for camera movement. An analogue stick just isn't precise enough. I think a thumb trackpad solution is the only plausible means to use for looking around besides a mouse but kb/mouse on a couch sucks so that is why this exists.

It's not intended to make you a Quake 3 master but neither is the 360 or any anallogue controller. This will be great for adventure gaming on the couch...etc. Even first person SP games will probably be fine once they sort out any issues.

And how often do you have gamepad games but the menu screen requires a mouse? Like Uplay sometimes or maybe you need to click on a few things in the Windows OS which forces you to put the gamepad down, reach over and cumbersomely use a wireless kb/mouse solution for a moment. This steam controller is definitely a needed solution if they are to make PC gaming doable for the console crowds...that's why they stick to consoles because PC's are often too convoluted.
 
This is what impressed me most also. The idea of having an analog trigger and a digital button combined into one is actually pretty smart. I'm kinda surprised no one has thought of this before now.

Someone has thought of it before though, Nintendo 14 years ago. The Gamecube did the exact same thing, analog triggers on a spring with a digital button that clicked when fully depressed. It was a neat but totally underutilized feature and no other company has touched it since.
 
It is my understanding that many people may be confused. The steam link is like wireless HDMI, but has nothing else to do with the controller. But alot of people seem to think the steam controller requires the steam link to function. The steam controller has its own wireless dongle. But what I don't know is, can you pair multiple steam controllers to a single wireless dongle similar to logitechs unifying receiver or do you need to have many wireless dongles? Also how many is the maximum number of steam controllers that are supported on a single computer?

Also does anyone have any idea what the wireless technology used for the steam controller is, Bluetooth RF like Logitech, etc....?
 
I pre-ordered the Steam Controller... sure.. I also want Link, but I'd rather see a proper review of it...before I put money down.The Link really hasn't had much as far as people reviewing it and Steam Controller has it's share of reviews and testing.
 
I am not sold yet but I am sure eventually Valve, or someone else, will get the virtual trackball thing right. At this point it may be as good as a mouse, or even better depending on the person.
 
If using a link in the LR - Do you pair the controller to the link or the computer playing the games? How far will the controller work away from the USB dongle?
 
I still think the Xbone controller would be a better fit for couch gaming, GTA, TW3, Sonic racing, all of the non FPS style games work really well with a controller.

No, the Xbone Controller is status quo and you don't know any different because you haven't tried a steam Controller, which sits in the middle of the spectrum between standard Controller and keyboard/mouse.

Likewise all the people saying "well it can't replace my keyboard and mouse" are missing the point that it's targeting living room couch gaming. Not hardline concept here.
 
No, the Xbone Controller is status quo and you don't know any different because you haven't tried a steam Controller, which sits in the middle of the spectrum between standard Controller and keyboard/mouse.

Likewise all the people saying "well it can't replace my keyboard and mouse" are missing the point that it's targeting living room couch gaming. Not hardline concept here.

That is how I see it. Doesn't seem as good as a controller for certain games (flight, racing, vehicles) but certainly looks better for shooters. Not as good as a mouse for FPS/RTS, but much better than a traditional controller. A good in between. I am actually excited they did something different with it and think it will be another input option to complement current peripherals. I'll be interested in seeing how people like it. IMO, it is the most interesting component of Valve's hardware push.

Not interested enough to buy one myself though. Between my mouse/keyboard, 360 controller and HOTAS I think I am covered personally.
 
The PS4 and Vita touchpads are hardly utilized. I also had a touchpad controller for the 8 bit NES that was also useless.
 
I don't think a controller is ever going to beat a mouse, but the Ars guys cant be serious if they cant hit still targets because you can easily do that even with a controller. Every input device man has ever used requires a learning curve and the steam controller will too. You won't just sit down with a new touchpad input and nail it. It will take time to master just like a console user may find it foreign to use a mouse and have trouble aiming. The question that needs to be asked is simply will this device improve on FPS gaming with a controller over the cheap joysticks found on typical consoles. After one learns how to use it can they speed up there aim to a point they can beat a person with equal skill on an xbox controller.
 
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