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Steam Controller Revealed

The only place I think I saw Valve mention a compromise is when it came to needing to use something other than a kb/m due to the restrictions that the living room creates.
 
Right now the first thing I think is this thing has tried to copy the input methods of cell phones. I dunno, has not been very good on cell phones, but anyhow I will reserve judgment till I try it.
 
Well I am willing to give it a shot, but man I have my doubts.
 
I like it. But you will still need mouse+keyboard for some games. ;o There are definitely games I would much rather play with a controller like this than keyboard and mouse. :)
 
Ill settle this right now, play ANY game with a laptops trackpad and tell me how you like it
 
Cerulean said:
I like it. But you will still need mouse+keyboard for some games. ;o There are definitely games I would much rather play with a controller like this than keyboard and mouse. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm still going to stick to keyboard and mouse in certain games. RTS games I'm too used to KB/M for it. FPS games, I'm faster with the KB/M than a controller.

Some games work better with a gamepad, and I'm willing to try it for those. I may try FFXIV with this as well. Possibly 3D platform games and adventure games may work better with this.

Games like Skyrim and Metro 2033, a bit of a tossup. I'll give it a shot.
 
Also we all need to keep in mind that this IS NOT going to beat a keyboard / mouse, all it needs to do is beat a xbox / ps3 controller or whatever other controller people are using in living room type conditions'
 
VladDracule said:
how are these trackpads different?
Click to expand...

My first laptop had that thumbstick in the middle of the keyboard. I used that to play Half-Life 1. I got used to it but wasn't as good as a keyboard/mouse combo. Also, that little nub, the damn rubber on it kept wearing off.

On my other laptop with a trackpad, impossible to play Minecraft with it, Most awkward position ever-- left hand on WASD and right hand on trackpad.

rudy said:
Also we all need to keep in mind that this IS NOT going to beat a keyboard / mouse, all it needs to do is beat a xbox / ps3 controller or whatever other controller people are using in living room type conditions'
Click to expand...

And, Valve isn't forcing anyone to use this. It's going to be an option for people who don't want to use a keyboard and mouse in the living room, especially a wireless one.

It's probably moreso for people more accustomed to traditional controllers in the living room such as those that play an Xbox or Playstation console.
 
Higher sensitivity and faster tracking. Better ergonomics and not using your index finger in a tiny square. These are the differences vs. a crappy laptop trackpad.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Higher sensitivity and faster tracking. Better ergonomics and not using your index finger in a tiny square. These are the differences vs. a crappy laptop trackpad.
Click to expand...

regardless i DO NOT see the advantage, higher resolution does not solve the issue. If i want to look up am i going to have to constantly sweep my finger in an upwards direction? if so then therein lies the problem, it will be absolutely useless for a FPS
 
VladDracule said:
If i want to look up am i going to have to constantly sweep my finger in an upwards direction? if so then therein lies the problem, it will be absolutely useless for a FPS
Click to expand...

Do you have to constantly sweep upwards with your mouse? The sweeping action needed with regular trackpads is due to their lack of accuracy and resolution. Greatly improve accuracy and resolution, and now picture yourself being able to accurately and swiftly blow someone's head off with a small swipe of your thumb ;)
 
What in the hell.

I'm sorry but I don't see how that will be comfortable & fluid. All controllers are an abomination once you go mouse/keyboard but this is... I don't know. I understand they are trying to be new and fresh but everyone has been raised on the same general concept of what a controller layout is. It's like trying to learn how to write with your left hand after spending so many years writing with your write.
 
RealityCrunch said:
Do you have to constantly sweep upwards with your mouse? The sweeping action needed with regular trackpads is due to their lack of accuracy and resolution. Greatly improve accuracy and resolution, and now picture yourself being able to accurately and swiftly blow someone's head off with a small swipe of your thumb ;)
Click to expand...

For looking in directions yes i do have to constantly sweep the mouse, but for movement i do not, i use WASD. I do not see the advantage over a traditional game pad, at all
 
Yes, for movement you use the regular game-pad action (which the controllers have). For looking in directions, it has the capability to be far quicker and more accurate than what a small analog joystick can provide.
 
VladDracule said:
For looking in directions yes i do have to constantly sweep the mouse, but for movement i do not, i use WASD. I do not see the advantage over a traditional game pad, at all
Click to expand...

My question would be with the wsda clickable abilities, how does that work with the trackpad overlay-ed, how sensitive is it to multiple input. Also is it possible to do multiple key presses, for moving diagonally and such, cant tell based on this diagram
 
VladDracule said:
regardless i DO NOT see the advantage, higher resolution does not solve the issue. If i want to look up am i going to have to constantly sweep my finger in an upwards direction? if so then therein lies the problem, it will be absolutely useless for a FPS
Click to expand...

No. In effect, it will act more similarly to a pair of trackBALLS than a pair of trackpads.
 
I just dont see the reason. As far as I'm concerned, the current (non motion) form of controls are a more than adequate way to connect tv to brain via thumbs. I might be eating these words if it turns out to be as revolutionary as they claim, but for now color me unimpressed. Don't see a need to reinvent the wheel.
 
VladDracule said:
My question would be with the wsda clickable abilities, how does that work with the trackpad overlay-ed, how sensitive is it to multiple input. Also is it possible to do multiple key presses, for moving diagonally and such, cant tell based on this diagram
Click to expand...

It looks to combine the functionality of the trackpad into the actual physical button presses. So if you pressed/clicked the trackpad on the outer-ring directly over the W button, you'd get a simple W key-press. If you pressed/clicked on the middle-ring over the W button, you'd get Shift+W.

With this technology in place, it'd be pretty easy to tell exactly which angle somebody wanted to move by simply getting their location on the trackpad when pressing the buttons underneath.
 
LOCO LAPTOP said:
Here a better controller.
40440.jpg


Oh wait...
Click to expand...

I was going to say I have had a Steam controller for about 10 years or so....you beat me to it.
 
Valve should do a demo......Counter Strike - Controller VS KB/Mouse.

Wait they actually want to sell this thing so they can't do that. They'd have to do Xbox360 controller vs Steam Controller.
 
I have a friend who got pretty darn good at flying attack choppers in Battlefield games...it was all he did in his college classes on his notebook :p And the way some people use their mouse on low DPI settings just looks like they are using an over sized touch pad.
 
Won't make a judgment until i try it, but kudos for trying something new.
 
Was I the only one hoping for some like futuristic "glove" that actually tracked your entire hand/wrist movements and each finger so you had full 3d-control within games?

:(.

Woulda been sweet with the Oculus rift.
 
DPI said:
+headdesk+ they ARE attempting to improve on a standard controller by doing away with the standard controller. And if you really think the performance of the touchpads on it is nothing more than the regular shitty touchpads off a couple laptops , you'd be mistaken.

This will fall on the spectrum between imprecise analog stick aiming, and mouse. And my guess is once people get used to it they'll be just as deadly as with a mouse. There is far more bandwidth in these touchpads than the ones everyone is used to.
Click to expand...

Trackpads have one serious limitation that thumbsticks and mice do not that some of you seem to be conveniently forgetting because it is from Valve. They can respond only to 1:1 movement ratios. This is a hard limitation to touch and isn't going to be going away, ever. As such even a controller as inferior as it is to a mouse is Still vastly superior to trackpad anything. Replacing everything important on a controller with trackpads is the single dumbest idea this year for gaming. Oh don't get me wrong, I am sure the Valve fanidiots will buy it in droves just because. That won't make it anything less than a complete piece of garbage for anyone who wants to actually be good at a game.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Trackpads have one serious limitation that thumbsticks and mice do not that some of you seem to be conveniently forgetting because it is from Valve. They can respond only to 1:1 movement ratios. This is a hard limitation to touch and isn't going to be going away, ever. As such even a controller as inferior as it is to a mouse is Still vastly superior to trackpad anything. Replacing everything important on a controller with trackpads is the single dumbest idea this year for gaming. Oh don't get me wrong, I am sure the Valve fanidiots will buy it in droves just because. That won't make it anything less than a complete piece of garbage for anyone who wants to actually be good at a game.
Click to expand...

SCPQaZF.gif
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Trackpads have one serious limitation that thumbsticks and mice do not that some of you seem to be conveniently forgetting because it is from Valve. They can respond only to 1:1 movement ratios. This is a hard limitation to touch and isn't going to be going away, ever. As such even a controller as inferior as it is to a mouse is Still vastly superior to trackpad anything. Replacing everything important on a controller with trackpads is the single dumbest idea this year for gaming. Oh don't get me wrong, I am sure the Valve fanidiots will buy it in droves just because. That won't make it anything less than a complete piece of garbage for anyone who wants to actually be good at a game.
Click to expand...

But there's a dpad under the trackpads...so...it's not all touch. But not reading leads to assumptions of this kind.
 
cthulhuiscool said:
I just dont see the reason. As far as I'm concerned, the current (non motion) form of controls are a more than adequate way to connect tv to brain via thumbs.
Click to expand...
Can't say I agree with that. Joypads (and any joystick-like controller) integrate motion over time, which is a terribly imprecise and difficult thing for the brain to deal with. It's essentially two layers between what you want to do and what you have to think about to get what you want.

I like mice/keyboards quite a lot, but they too have their own interesting sets of problems. Keyboard keys respond in a completely binary form, meaning you can't smoothly ramp a character, throttle or brake in precise intervals: you're either going full tilt or you aren't going at all. Mice inevitably need to be picked up and dragged to some sort of center position as they can require an infinite amount of tracking space for some actions.

Dekoth-E- said:
Trackpads have one serious limitation that thumbsticks and mice do not that some of you seem to be conveniently forgetting because it is from Valve. They can respond only to 1:1 movement ratios.
Click to expand...
Can you define "1:1 movement ratio"?
 
I had always thought that a wireless Xbox3 controller with the the right stick replaced with a decent track ball would be the best compromise between a bulky keyboard/mouse, and a regular PS3/360 for PC gaming from the couch. But that it would always be a compromise.

Valve's new controller is not filling me with confidence. We will have to see. Hopefully they will have kiosks like Sony and MS do where you can actually try one of these things prior to buying one.
 
GORANKAR said:
I had always thought that a wireless Xbox3 controller with the the right stick replaced with a decent track ball would be the best compromise between a bulky keyboard/mouse, and a regular PS3/360 controller for PC gaming from the couch. But that it would always be a compromise.

Valve's new controller is not filling me with confidence. We will have to see. Hopefully they will have kiosks like Sony and MS do where you can actually try one of these things prior to buying one.
Click to expand...

edit in orange.
 
I think the rings on it will help a ton. Normal FPS on a touch screen tablet sucks, but this looks like it's easy for your thumbs to relay to your brain where it is at in the pad. I think this will be a great future for controllers!

Maybe they will be configurable for sensitivity, like a mouse. FPS world would open up. Normally when I play with a controller I feel like I'm look out of a box, because the thumbs sticks are slow.
 
stevedave said:
Valve should do a demo......Counter Strike - Controller VS KB/Mouse.

Wait they actually want to sell this thing so they can't do that. They'd have to do Xbox360 controller vs Steam Controller.
Click to expand...

That's not what its about. You can't kb/m from the couch and you can't have a tower case and wireless keyboard and mouse thown on the couch in the living room and have domestic harmony.

At the same time it isn't like Steam coming out with this will stop keyboards and mice everywhere from working, Or force you to tie your pc to your TV if that's not you thing.
 
i love it! i may use it once at best buy and decide i will never touch it again, but a million kudos for valve for actually trying something new. all they ever do is innovate, and they do it not for profits (though they do end up with a lot of those too) but for the customers. i love them.

fact is, if you like kb/m, use kb/m. if you like 360 controllers, use 360 controllers. if you end up liking this, use this! i dont see it really catching on personally, but i look forward to trying it and really hope i am wrong.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Trackpads have one serious limitation that thumbsticks and mice do not that some of you seem to be conveniently forgetting because it is from Valve. They can respond only to 1:1 movement ratios. This is a hard limitation to touch and isn't going to be going away, ever. As such even a controller as inferior as it is to a mouse is Still vastly superior to trackpad anything. Replacing everything important on a controller with trackpads is the single dumbest idea this year for gaming. Oh don't get me wrong, I am sure the Valve fanidiots will buy it in droves just because. That won't make it anything less than a complete piece of garbage for anyone who wants to actually be good at a game.
Click to expand...

Track pads can respond with similar algorithms to mice. I think most laptop trackpads do this by default, or maybe I don't know what you mean at all.

You have sensitivity, mouse accel etc... All 3 major input devices can do things like this. Both track pads and joy sticks are limited in travel range, where mice are not.
 
rudy said:
Track pads can respond with similar algorithms to mice. I think most laptop trackpads do this by default, or maybe I don't know what you mean at all.

You have sensitivity, mouse accel etc... All 3 major input devices can do things like this. Both track pads and joy sticks are limited in travel range, where mice are not.
Click to expand...

...well except for those of us who dont have infinitely large mousepads. :p
 
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