• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Steam Controller/Machines/Link hands-on impressions. Final reviews: Nov 10

M

mntorankusu

Member
Bizzquik said:
Wow, the Alienware Steam Machine has an HDMI input, so you can pass-through cable TV, etc. How did I miss reading up on that...?
Sounds similar to the Xbox One pass-through, but hopefully without lag.

Apparently Alienware had this imbedded into SteamOS, as mentioned here.

Anyone know of an HDMI-input card/adapter that can pull this off (...for an existing HTPC)? Would love to install something like that in my computer and then be able to access it in Big Picture Mode on my Windows 10 HTPC. (....if that is even possible)
Click to expand...

I've got this set up with a cheap (~$35) no-name internal HDMI card. If the program you're using to display the input uses a compatible renderer, then the Steam Overlay and in-home streaming will work fine. This card doesn't support 1080p at 60hz, though.

It's pretty cool to stream my game consoles to my laptop screen through Steam. The lag is minimal. And since the recent streaming update, controller range becomes an issue way before I even start getting dropped frames.
 
K

Kamakazie!

Member
Miff said:
Hmm... that's disappointing to hear. Sounds like I'm going to have to fiddle around the back of my PC/TV each night. This is an issue for me as I'll be moving my gaming up/downstairs regularly to accommodate the times my partner wants to watch TV. If that's the case it would be nice if there was a way of ordering an additional dongle at reasonable (not-Sony) prices.
Click to expand...

Yeah, when I preordered the link it definitely gavegave the impression that it had built in controller pairing capability.

That said, you could use the extender cable & stand to move the receiver somewhere more easily accessible so it's easy for you to move it between systems.
 
G

general_garcia

Member
Smushroomed said:
Has anybody tried powerline adapters with steam link?

Seems like a good solution vs wireless
Click to expand...

I have done this with Steam In-Home Streaming via a little Brix Mini PC and it worked well. I can't imagine the Steam Link being any different.

For context, I get a ping of between 2-3ms from my PC upstairs to the router downstairs via Powerline, and the adaptors can happily sustain a huge amount of bandwidth without crapping out.

The wiring in our house dates back to the 70s I believe, but I picked up the TP-Link AV1200 on the basis of good reviews in older properties, and they seem brilliant thus far.
 
Z

Z3M0G

Member
ashecitism said:
No, others have mentioned it as well. Impressions aren't final, because Valve will update these till the proper launch. For ex. the BPM UI will undergo changes.
Click to expand...

ashecitism said:
Updated OP a bit and asked for a title change to reflect the final review dates. Though with Gaffers and other people getting it in their hands this week, it might not matter in the end.
Click to expand...

Ah, thanks!

Looking forward to that.

People who never embraced dual sticks may love this. People who did embrace dual sticks may suffer. But either way it's a learning curve... dual sticks was pretty tough to get accustomed to in the PSX days.
 
X

XaosWolf

Member
Got my Link and Controller through today.

I've been trying to set up Portal 2 to test that out but no matter what I do or what configuration I choose the game just ignores all input from the Steam Controller.

What the hell am I doing wrong? =
 
A

ashecitism

Member
Eurogamer video: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-10-16-watch-hands-on-with-the-steam-controller It's actually based on today. Very first impressions.

XaosWolf said:
Got my Link and Controller through today.

I've been trying to set up Portal 2 to test that out but no matter what I do or what configuration I choose the game just ignores all input from the Steam Controller.

What the hell am I doing wrong? =
Click to expand...

The experience is currently rough. Endgadget also couldn't do it on their stream at first, but later could.

Here's the official thread btw: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1125470
 
A

ashecitism

Member
Yes (as in it has a browser where you can watch Netflix). It's shown in the Polygon video and somewhere in the Endgadget stream.
 
J

jimmypop

Banned
For those who asked:

I have a 500Mbps powerline adapter. Works with Steam Link as well as it did with my NVidia streaming devices, which is to say "just fine".
 
A

Astral/H3X

Member
Ha! For those who were in the previous thread, where I was wishing I could have a "center click" on the facebuttons, it turns out I CAN! Mwuahahahaha. All I had to do was set it up as a Dpad, set it to buttons instead of directions, and then the outer ring function adjusted so that it was inverted. So now I can have 5 face buttons, which is awesome.
 
Sevenfold

Sevenfold

Member
UK Gaf. Steam machines will feature on tonight's Gadget Show on Channel 5 at 7pm, and to be honest is the only reason I'll be watching. It's been crap for years.
 
T

Tenebrous

Member
Got my Steam Link (and controller) today. The thing is amazing... I've only tried it wired so far, but I'm able to play Portal on my TV without any sort of noticeable input lag and without any drop in visual quality. The UI is smooth, and the device is powerful enough that it doesn't hitch or anything like that. The build quality is also great.

An absolute bargain.
 
A

Astral/H3X

Member
Just took this thing to CSGO, and after minimal time to get acclimated to it, jump into a casual match. Went 6:8, and the last two deaths were me being retarded.

For a little bit of background, I have *never* been good at CS, and getting almost as many kills as deaths in my first match back ever would be surprising to me, using a mouse. I think this controller is fucking sweet, once you turn on the Gyro.
 
B

Boombox On

Member
ashecitism said:
Yeah, it seems they messed around with the defaults, didn't like it and then didn't mess around with the settings to try and make it better.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling that's a common thread with all known people doing reviews of this controller. Reviewers, especially during this time of year, review one thing for a succinct amount of time and then keep it moving to the next game or product. A Lack of accessibility then becomes damning no matter the context or reward.

Maybe it's confirmation bias, but I can't help but feel like reviews will never do this thing justice, I say even though mine hasn't arrived yet.
 
P

Phil4000

Member
Picked up my Steam Link and Steam Controller on Friday, it seems to work quite well with PC games once the controls are customized, not as well as advertised, but good enough for me to use this thing over a say a bluetooth keyboard and mouse on the comfy couch. I do have one major gripe with the Link though.... only Stereo audio support, no surround sound support whatsoever... :(

Pretty pathetic considering the Shield TV streams 4k 60fps video and 5.1 audio
gfe-5.jpg
 
T

Tenebrous

Member
What's everyone using for In-Home streaming settings? So far I've only tried Unlimited Bandwidth and "Beautiful" but I did notice minor frame drops on two occasions in MGR:R.
 
A

ashecitism

Member
Boombox On said:
I have a feeling that's a common thread with all known people doing reviews of this controller. Reviewers, especially during this time of year, review one thing for a succinct amount of time and then keep it moving to the next game or product. A Lack of accessibility then becomes damning no matter the context or reward.

Maybe it's confirmation bias, but I can't help but feel like reviews will never do this thing justice, I say even though mine hasn't arrived yet.
Click to expand...

To be fair this was first impressions, so they might stick with it for a bit, till Nov 10 at least and then post their verdict. But it sounds like they wrote it off already, because their initial impression was so poor.
 
Maiden Voyage

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Tenebrous said:
What's everyone using for In-Home streaming settings? So far I've only tried Unlimited Bandwidth and "Beautiful" but I did notice minor frame drops on two occasions in MGR:R.
Click to expand...

I'm currently doing balanced. I haven't had many drops running at 1080 and 60fps on wifi.
 
Sevenfold

Sevenfold

Member
alexandros said:
Will it be available online later?
Click to expand...

http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-gadget-show/episodes/episode-5-623 if you're in the UK.
About 10 minutes in. It's nothing more than a glimpse of it with barely anything useful info-wise. The whole segment is typically cringey and in true GS style they pit (as gaming machines with a 700 quid budget) some tiny thing with integrated graphics running Bioshock 3 in what looked like software mode haha The second, the new Nvidia Shield console. Whilst undoubtedly cool it was also way out budget-wise and was reliant on a rock-solid internet connection to get what they wanted (which I think was 1080p sofa gaming but I'm not totally sure. It was dressed up as 'viewer dilemma' but the guy should've laughed them all off the face of the earth with their first pick)
The Scan Computers Steambox was the third shown. A pound under budget (handy that) and easily the sexiest but other than it's upgradable that was about it. Sure they mentioned processors and RAM amounts, but they failed to distinguish between the three in any meaningful way and as usual made it weird. Repeating the word graphics whilst comparing hardware with a price difference of £500. This could've been a great introduction into PC gaming given its popularity and vast hardware landscape but GS crappified it as per.
 
K

kinn

Member
Sevenfold said:
UK Gaf. Steam machines will feature on tonight's Gadget Show on Channel 5 at 7pm, and to be honest is the only reason I'll be watching. It's been crap for years.
Click to expand...

Ive not seen it for years. No more Suzy Perry(I think that was her name!)?
 
B

Boombox On

Member
ashecitism said:
To be fair this was first impressions, so they might stick with it for a bit, till Nov 10 at least and then post their verdict. But it sounds like they wrote it off already, because their initial impression was so poor.
Click to expand...

Certainly, but that's sort of my point.

It's clear that the Steam Controller has a huge learning curve, and first impressions altogether seem to be more mixed than positive. That's not to say it's not good or even necessary, it's just not the kind of product that it suitable for the way news media typically does coverage.
 
W

Wowfunhappy

Member
This might seem wierd, but how does this controller work without Steam? I try to buy everything from GOG or DRM-free Humble Bundle whenever humanly possible, and whenever I reinstall Windows (which happens much more often than is probably necessary), I always kind of try to see how long I can go before I need to install Steam for some reason or another.

How does this controller work on a Steam-free computer?
 
B

Boombox On

Member
Wowfunhappy said:
This might seem wierd, but how does this controller work without Steam? I try to buy everything from GOG or DRM-free Humble Bundle whenever humanly possible, and whenever I reinstall Windows (much, much more often than is probably necessary), I always kind of try to see how long I can go before I need to install Steam for some reason or another.

How does this controller work on a Steam-free computer?
Click to expand...

It has a default configuration that works everywhere but you can't customize it.
 
W

Wowfunhappy

Member
How good is the default?

Edit: I guess what I'm getting at is, would the controller still be worth it with that limitation? Really not into the idea of needing to customize a controller for different games anyway.
 
J

Jinkies

Member
Wowfunhappy said:
This might seem wierd, but how does this controller work without Steam? I try to buy everything from GOG or DRM-free Humble Bundle whenever humanly possible, and whenever I reinstall Windows (which happens much more often than is probably necessary), I always kind of try to see how long I can go before I need to install Steam for some reason or another.

How does this controller work on a Steam-free computer?
Click to expand...

You don't need to buy games through Steam to use the controller. Any game can be added to your Steam library manually, at which point you can configure it for use with the controller. If you do not do this, you can't really use the controller for gaming.

The controller barely does anything when Steam is not running. Just basic functionality so that you can open up Steam.

Wowfunhappy said:
How good is the default?

Edit: I guess what I'm getting at is, would the controller still be worth it with that limitation? Really not into the idea of needing to customize a controller for different games anyway.
Click to expand...

You can use pre-made templates (of which there are currently 3), or online configs published by other users.

There is very little chance you will be able to use this controller without any configuration.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The Steam Machines launch was fake and intricately connected to the assassination of JFK.
31
3K
Crayon replied
Steam Deck OLED | Review Thread
Analysis Review Hardware 2 3
122
11K
Panajev2001a replied
Forbes: Steam reviews are a weapon, but one of the only ones players can wield
35
1K
Bkdk replied
  • Poll
[The Verge] It’s time for Microsoft to build an Xbox Steam Deck
2 3 4
189
14K
Xion_Stellar replied
  • Poll
Palworld has, once again, highlighted the on going deficiencies in PC Game Pass and the Xbox app on Windows 11 (Windows Central)
Hardware Platform 2 3
111
12K
Unknown Soldier replied
Top Bottom