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I hate Steam big picture mode

Sometimes I forget that anything exists besides Big Picture Mode. My PC has launched to BPM for at least two years now.

Best thing ever for comfy couch PC's.
 
I switched back to pc a few years ago because of BPM. I was excited to see where it went. Finally I could have a console experience with the power and flexibility of a pc.

Today I kind of regret making the switch. BPM, even in the stable build, years later feels like a beta. While the consoles have gained native game recording, apps, music streaming etc. BPM has remained largely stagnant and kind of broken.

I regularly have images not load

For the past few months, I have not been able to load the store in BPM

WTF is the browser still a mess after all these years.

No apps. I don't want every app under the sun even just Youtube and Twitch would be fine.

It's 2016 and the only way to play music in BPM is to have actual mp3s on your computer. I'm 40 and even I don't have mp3s on my computer anymore.

I had to disable the native music player because it kept crashing Steam

Oh and it looks pretty dated IMO

The coolest thing they're doing is adding better controller support. PS4 support was a surprise and the Steam controller is interesting. I'd still prefer to have some of the things I listed above first though.
 
I just wish there was feature parity between both modes. Why can't I have a desktop interface to remap controllers as well.
 
Add me to the list of those who can't get Steam BPM to save the controller config. Using DS4.

The thing that stands out to me is why when clicking Settings do I have to click Back just to display all the settings? Why aren't the categories displayed at first. There's zero indication this is even the way to view all the settings, you'd think Back would return you to the screen you were on previously.
 
It works pretty flawlessly for me. Have my computer connected to both a monitor and my tv all the time, and have BPM set to start on my secondary display (TV), which causes the game launched from it to be started there as well, without having to change display in them.

The only problem I have with BPM is that it so painfully displays the need for improvements in Steams standard mode.

Using it with both an XBOX360 joypad and a Steam controller, with any particular pains.
 
This thing is annoying, some steam games launch BPM when i didn't ask it, i don't have a Xbox 360 or XB1 controller, i use Xbox Controller S, I have to use x360ce, so i don't know if that's the cause, but lets say i am playing racing game, right trigger to accelerate A button to handbreak, if i press these 2 at the same time it launches BPM..
 
To make the dualshock dpad work with bpm you simply go to the controller config settings and assign the actions for each dpad button,save the profile and you are done
 
It's atrocious for me using the steam pad, so many times I've had it go back to the game but think its still in BPM, cant do anything but close it down.

It's clunky, god forbid I have to alt tab to respond to something, just poos the bed afterwards.

Like with most Valve products, good idea, awful execution.
 
Yeah its always felt half finished to me. I just use normal interface. So many anoying niggles. Even crap like xbox button cant be used on windows 10 (unless they fixed it?) Just to many little anoying things. The ps4 interface is so much better for that sort of environment. Super simple and works pretty flawlessly.
 
I love what BPM is trying to accomplish but I sure do hate the amount of time it has taken me to set it up.

I have been fighting with BPM and my Steam Controller for a long time now to try to get a controller only PC set up in my living room. If it weren't for the instability of BPM in my experience and the pile of missing minor features it is so very close to being a perfect console replacement for me.

My largest issue has been the error "Dxgi_error_device_hung" which crashes BPM and no other programs on my PC. After running the gamut from removing factory overclocks, being mindful of temperatures and ventilation, reinstalling the OS to upgrading my motherboard, ram, processor and video card and countless other proposed solutions and still not having the error cease I wanted to pull my hair out. For me the solution was a registry change for Timeout Detection & Recovery (TDR) but I still don't know why BPM causes timeouts with GPUs.

My other large problem is for when dealing with certain crashes or when BPM gets confused and steals focus. BPM also occasionally forgets that the Steam Controller is running as a controller and switches to use a cursor within the interface. If I have to restart Steam or open a window which requires elevated permissions it is a problem because the Steam Controller runs from Steam itself and unless Steam is being run under Administrator Mode, the controller cannot interact with those windows. A solution would be for the Steam Controller to have a toggle to Lizard Mode but I don't know if it is possible with an update or not.

I currently have my computer boot straight into Steam BPM running in Administrator Mode and have UAC prompts disabled to avoid the headaches of an input device with the lack of elevated permissions. This makes the computer feel very much like a console but it is a major security risk.

Steam BPM also doesn't support group chat which is a huge inconvenience to me. If I start the group chat from the desktop then return to BPM it works for that session but it will also prevent the computer from going to sleep unless I manually close the chat window when I am done. It is all very unintuitive and annoying.

Outside of those issues I just wish there were video apps for Netflix, Hulu, etc. available made specifically with a controller controller in mind that were compatible with BPM. I currently approximate the experience by have dedicated Google Chrome links running in Kiosk mode which isn't the most polished thing but it gets the job done. One major issue with it unfortunately is that the BPM on-screen keyboard is extremely laggy when using Google Chrome in kiosk mode so specific searches are a chore. The strange thing with this is that when the Steam Controller first released BPM would run very smoothly with Chrome in kiosk mode and it was only after an update that it became laggy.

Adding non-Steam games from within BPM would be nice too.

TL;DR BPM and Steam Controller are a pain in the ass but I am not allowed to have a mouse and keyboard in the living room.

I have just been wanting to rant about this for awhile, I apologize.
 
Yeah BPM I stay away from unless absolutely needed. So much easier to just start a game from desktop mode and use my controller once in game. The entire look and layout of BPM is gross.
 
I love the BPM concept and most of its functionality. However it's really ugly, can't be customized without causing issues (and it doesn't have any simple customization options like wallpapers or colors) and it is VERY slow and clunky.

Dualshock 4 integration is really, really great and thanks to it the DS4 has replaced my XO controller as my main PC gaming input. The customization options for games that don't properly support XInput are great (looking at you, Samurai Warriors 4ii) and overall it's just so convenient.

In general I think it needs a ton of work but I think it should absolutely get said work: Totally worth it.
 
The only thing that bothers me with BPM (and Steam in general) is the awful color banding. Any way to fix this?
 
Surprised so many don't like big picture mode?

I am able to browse all my games with my old 360 controller and before launching a game it tells me if it's KB+M or Gamepad compatible. Then I just hit play.

KLfUS4j.png


I mean all you really want to do is browse a list of your games and run it on TV without a KB+M and it works.
 
I don't have any problems with BPM not working but truthfully I would prefer to just stay in the standard Steam interface. My problem with that is the fact that it doesn't scale with the rest of Windows and Valve doesn't seem to give a shit. I now game on a 4K screen and Steam's standard interface is fucking tiny. Yeah, you can edit some .INI files to adjust font sizes and such but this gets wiped out every time you update Steam (i.e. frequently) so it's a PITA. People complain to Valve all the time on the boards about the lack of DPI support but they just point to BPM as the answer. So I use BPM, but I'm not supper happy with Valve.
 
I like it. I think it needs to be more responsive to navigational button presses, but maybe that's just my 360 controller. Only thing is the UI could stand to be revamped. It's kind of soul-less. Maybe allow theming of some sort.
 
I find the lack of customization annoying. Would be nice to change the theme of BPM to something that's not blue.

Also if you don't like the start-up sound, I believe you can replace the file with another .wav file or somethin.
 
I love Big Picture mode on Steam. I use it a lot, especially on the HTPC in my room. However, it is not that perfect.

1) Some trailers make BPM crash while browsing the games by showing a green screen. This also happens when Trailer TV is set as the screen saver. I'm not sure if it happens on computers with Nvidia graphics cards, so I guess its an AMD issue.

2) Speaking of Trailer TV, they removed the option to watch Trailer TV manually. Now, it is a screen saver option. That sucks because it is my favorite feature when watching trailers of upcoming and released games.

3) Using the web browser on BPM with Steam Controller or Xbox Gamepad sucks ass.

4) Not a lot of customization (wallpaper, themes, font size, library/shop views, etc)

5) Missed massive potential to have video apps such at Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Video, etc

I still use it, but it needs some more polish.

Ricerocket said:
Surprised so many don't like big picture mode?

I am able to browse all my games with my old 360 controller and before launching a game it tells me if it's KB+M or Gamepad compatible. Then I just hit play.

KLfUS4j.png


I mean all you really want to do is browse a list of your games and run it on TV without a KB+M and it works.
Click to expand...

Too bad that they removed the ability to show Partial Controller Support games on the new BPM interface.
 
I generally really like big picture mode, but there's a couple of tiny bugs that stop me from loving it completely.

Silly things like the navigation of the screenshot library being broken for about 4 months now. It used to work fine, but now navigation with a controller or keyboard doesn't work either.
 
Ridaxan said:
I generally really like big picture mode, but there's a couple of tiny bugs that stop me from loving it completely.

Silly things like the navigation of the screenshot library being broken for about 4 months now. It used to work fine, but now navigation with a controller or keyboard doesn't work either.
Click to expand...

Yeah same. Its excellent bar the odd bug and some design things I'd like to see improve, such as better control of store videos, screenshot library etc. I have none of the issues OP describes, but the issue I do have is with full steam crashes with the BPM overlay, where the game stays open and functional but Steam will close, Steam Controller will fail, and you have to restart to get those back. Seems to be games specific. Also annoying bugs with the web browser, such as Google page not loading the keyboard / daisy wheel in the first instance, or certain webplayers like youtube going wonky at times
 
family_guy said:
Only thing is the UI could stand to be revamped. It's kind of soul-less. Maybe allow theming of some sort.
Click to expand...

This is my only issue with it too :/ The UI, while perfectly functional, is not very inviting and rather cold and dark. I wish they would allow us to change the color-scheme and add a shaded wallpaper to each section.

I can do this manually by editing the BPM files but ever since SteamOS they added a integrity check to BPM that tries to restore the original files unless I deny Steam write-access to its BPM interface files and that creates a ton of other headaches.
 
I know this is not the thread for it, but... I WANT SKINS FOR BPM! WHEN VALVE? WHEN???

Or at least color options and simple customization
 
BPM is the best console interface IMO. The pictures just look so amazing, the interface is smooth and is far more versatile than any others. Really, I don't get the complains, I never had any problems with it.
One downside though: I'd love skins for BPM.
 
This thread is almost a year old, many of the things in the OP ware fixed anyway and BPM is rather well regarded.
 
Dr. Zoidberg said:
I don't have any problems with BPM not working but truthfully I would prefer to just stay in the standard Steam interface. My problem with that is the fact that it doesn't scale with the rest of Windows and Valve doesn't seem to give a shit. I now game on a 4K screen and Steam's standard interface is fucking tiny. Yeah, you can edit some .INI files to adjust font sizes and such but this gets wiped out every time you update Steam (i.e. frequently) so it's a PITA. People complain to Valve all the time on the boards about the lack of DPI support but they just point to BPM as the answer. So I use BPM, but I'm not supper happy with Valve.
Click to expand...


I use the regular interface on a 4k tv and it all scales with windows here....didn't have to do anything special. I sit about 5 feet from a 55 inch tv.
 
I'm not a fan of Big Picture Mode either. It's really annoying that its usage is mandatory if you want to use the Steam controller properly. It ends up replacing the default Steam overlay with an oversized and buggy interface.
 
I like the general idea. It just needs to be refined into a better overall experience. That startup sound and shity background movie being defaulted to off is a start. Just start me into the interface please. I have had it crash a few times while exiting a game while reg mode has never crashed for me. There are also a few options like display fps that are not available in BPM that are available in reg mode. So no it isn't GARBAGE or GOAT. It is somewhere in between.
 
Dr. Zoidberg said:
Same here but my fonts in the standard Steam UI are too small at 4K. Everything else in Windows, including GoG Galaxy, Origin, and UPlay all look 100% fine. Wonder what I'm doing wrong.
Click to expand...

Yeah something messed up somewhere, steam should scale up fine, I like the standard interface better than BPM on my KS8000 55 inch.
 
GhostTrick said:
BPM is the best console interface IMO. The pictures just look so amazing, the interface is smooth and is far more versatile than any others. Really, I don't get the complains, I never had any problems with it.
One downside though: I'd love skins for BPM.
Click to expand...
This right here. I've been using it for a few months now when I game on my TV and it's the best console-esque interface I've used to date. It doesn't shit ads in my face like Xbox One and PS4 UI, is responsive and structured.
It also fits in perfectly in my dual monitor + TV setup since I set it to boot on my TV (which is then considered the primary display) and resets to my default screen config (Gsync primary, portrait secondary, TV tertiary) after I'm done gaming.

No idea what the hell some people in here are complaining about.
 
Mr. Smiley said:
You have to rebind it in the menu if you're using DS4 with Steam Controller benefits. In BPM go ot Options > Controller > Base Configurations > Big Picture configurations.

Edit: Oh, it doesn't let you customize in after in support mode? You've reset Steam too?
Click to expand...

Yea, Dpad works great once in game. Just can't navigate the Steam Menu with it or adjust the controls under support mode. Xbox controller just works better.
 
OmegaTreeFish said:
Yeah its always felt half finished to me. I just use normal interface. So many anoying niggles. Even crap like xbox button cant be used on windows 10 (unless they fixed it?) Just to many little anoying things. The ps4 interface is so much better for that sort of environment. Super simple and works pretty flawlessly.
Click to expand...

I was able to fix the xbox button issue by disabling Xbox DVR from popping up when playing games. You might have to turn it back on if you disabled it already to get the Game Bar menu to pop up when you play a game. Press the Xbox button and look for "Open Game Bar using home button on controller" and uncheck it. Disable Xbox DVR features again after that.
 
Weird, Big Picture Mode is still the king to me when it comes to controller-based UIs on the big screen.

It's so much faster than my PS4 and Xbone to get to basic game and social features. Not just because of its default setup, but because it's far more customize-able, and actually uses most of the buttons on the pad at any given time to shortcut stuff.

Most of the OPs points seem like a problem specific to his/her machine. It's easy to navigate, is stutter-free compared to my consoles, it's so easy to get back to desktop or close the interface, and I've yet to have the Steam Controller API fail to store my configs. Also, it's obvious why the controller is baked around Big Picture, because that's the UI that makes sense to navigate and use in the living room.

I'd just like to see Valve improve the aesthetics of the vanilla UI for when I use keyboard/mouse. Functionally it's still the best out of any game platform to me, but aesthetically it looks old. All they do is adjust the UI for the store page (which is a website really), instead of overhauling the look of the app bordering around it.
 
I dont like BPM either. I would prefer to squint at my comfy couch screen setup because BPM just doesnt seem to have all the same features or at least tehy are not easy to find.
 
I've been using it nonstop and I still like it a lot and still like it much better that the ps4 interface. On Linux, you can run BPM as a gui session so it's extra integrated and that's nice. But I like it on Windows, too.
 
One thing I'd like in BPM is for them to ask me which folder to install games to. Like many I have a smaller SSD and a huge HDD both with Steam folders. I install games to each of them depending on various factors. Regular mode always asks you where to install but in BPM you set a default and every game installs there. You can change the default as needed every time before you install but I tend to forget so it would be nice if they just prompted me. You don't need a keyboard or mouse to do this.
 
Chinbo37 said:
I dont like BPM either. I would prefer to squint at my comfy couch screen setup because BPM just doesnt seem to have all the same features or at least tehy are not easy to find.
Click to expand...

What are you looking for? Everything feels just a typical console UI, it's never hard for me to get to the major features.
 
If you want to use your PC with a Mouse after playing a game its not for you. I only play with an HTPC and I am very happy with it. Don't have to use the Mouse at all, or just every 2 weeks or so to update my drivers. The only thing I miss are Categories.

Spinifex said:
http://www.metroforsteam.com

This only helps so much though. Definitely in need of a UI overhaul.
Click to expand...

This is without any doubt the worst introduction Video I saw in my entire life. I know nothing about the UI, but heard some very, very bad jokes.
 
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