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Updated Steam controller design leaked via Valvetime

alr1ght said:
Shouldn't the left touchpad replace the analog stick? They should put a d-pad underneath instead of an analog.
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This is exactly what I've been thinking all along. Let me use the trackpad for kb&m games, and use a D-pad for 2D games.

ashecitism said:
https://twitter.com/Marlamin/status/545223214759428097

various config states for the pad(s)
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Well that potentially makes things much better.

A MadCatz controller does something like this too, but that controller is also $100.
 
I got a feeling that lefties, as myself, are gonna get shafted in the end :(

I really liked the symmetrical design as I could try out what works best for me. I do now use default controller options, but always feel I would aim better with my left. (But now moving with my right feels weird, I am fucked I guess, whycantallgamebeRE4).

I really hope they keep the two track-pads identically.

Who knows, they earlier said the controller was very customize-able + the coming of 3d printing is maybe an option. Hell; maybe they offer a lefty/mirror controller as stand-alone contoller (are not holding my breath).

But are anyway looking forward to the PC-comfy-couch-with-games-without-controller-support revolution :)
 
Roto13 said:
Those touchpads are still completely stupid.
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In what way? They offer potentially better accuracy then controller counter-parts + all mouse driven old (and new) pc-game can be played with it.

If you don't like them you already got an alternative; the 360controller or DS4 (and about every 3.party knock-off).
 
Dolor said:
Love these threads where the people afraid of change come out of the woodwork.

No one is forcing anyone to use it.

I'd love to be able to play Civ on the big screen though.
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That's the big advantage of the steam controller. It's meant to be versatile enough to act as a standard controller, a m&k hybrid, or a bit of both. I've been looking forward to it from the start, I think it's an excellent concept and I hope the execution holds up.
 
conweller said:
I'm always torn between being impressed or extremely depressed when someone sets out to make something totally revolutionary, and it slowly comes into picture that what we have now is basically the best there can be (Xbox 360/DS4/Xbox One controllers for controllers, a mouse for free screen navigation.) Improvements can be made, but that revolutionary device that bridges the gap perfectly? May not be possible.
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We did get the device that bridged the gap perfectly:

The Wii Remote.

But we all failed there. A lot of the dedicated consumers didn't support the device and the big manufacturers (Sony, MS and Nintendo themsleves) failed to keep producing iterations on the basic design to polish the concept. But it seems to be the setup with most potential for VR, so it might come back.

On topic, this seems to be the best solution. That groove to emulate a Dpad and the analog stick for movement where the missing pieces. This controller will be great to emulate PC style controls on a traditional pad.
 
ashecitism said:
It's been designed to be compatible with the entire Steam catalog, not just kb&m games...
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They must be smoking some good shit if they honestly believe that. That thing will be useless for any remotely involved RTS, let alone other numerous input dependent games.
 
Principate said:
They must be smoking some good shit if they honestly believe that. That thing will be useless for any remotely involved RTS, let alone other numerous input dependent games.
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I'm sure you are fully aware of what mode switching and ghost mode are, and how they have evolved over the past year, and have used this all yourself. Please spill the beans ;)
 
Khaz said:
You'd be better at quake with these touchpads than with traditional sticks.
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I guess, but then again if you're playing quake with a controller at all, why bother... Unless you and your friends are all playing with controllers... that might be fun for a while


I really want to try this thing out on a few rounds of TF2, including jump/surf maps
 
epmode said:
As far as I can tell, this thing is designed to allow you to play mouse+keyboard games on a controller, not necessarily to compete with a regular console controller. So I guess I don't understand all of the LOL DOA comments.
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It's missing about 20 buttons (and modifier keys) to be able to act as a keyboard in games...

I hate this thing, and I hate it because it's going to cripple the shit out of any pc game that's trying to cater to it.

You know how shit attempts at UI's for traditional PC rpgs and RTS games were on consoles?
Remember how badly pc centric games suffer design and gameplay wise when they are turned multiplatform? (e.g far cry 3 : sprint, ads, not enough binds to bind the syringes, can't hold more weaps than you can fit on a dpad to select)

Comin to a pc exclusive franchise you used to love soon, courtesy of the steam controller.

May this thing die the miserable death it deserves before it can do any lasting damage to how games are designed on PC
 
SneakyStephan said:
It's missing about 20 buttons (and modifier keys) to be able to act as a keyboard in games...

I hate this thing, and I hate it because it's going to cripple the shit out of any pc game that's trying to cater to it.

You know how shit attempts at UI's for traditional PC rpgs and RTS games were on consoles?
Remember how badly pc centric games suffer design and gameplay wise when they are turned multiplatform? (e.g far cry 3 : sprint, ads, not enough binds to bind the syringes, can't hold more weaps than you can fit on a dpad to select)

Comin to a pc exclusive franchise you used to love soon, courtesy of the steam controller.

May this thing die the miserable death it deserves before it can do any lasting damage to how games are designed on PC
Click to expand...

I actually want to play my character action games with this thing....
 
orava said:
No. "Standard controller" would be too limited in this case. Steam and steamos still support all current controllers though if you want to use them.
Click to expand...

CaptainAhab said:
Yeah I have tons of controllers with 2 big touchpads like that.
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My point was it was a really unique controller with cool ideas, but now it has a D-Pad and analogue stick. Granted, it's going to be good - but still.

EDIT: I see the touchpads now. I still liked the one posted on Page 2 the best.
 
RandomExpletive said:
I guess, but then again if you're playing quake with a controller at all, why bother... Unless you and your friends are all playing with controllers... that might be fun for a while


I really want to try this thing out on a few rounds of TF2, including jump/surf maps
Click to expand...

If you want to be competitive, why play in your living room at all? Stick to your desktop and kbm. This is a device made to comfortably play kbm games in a couch in a living room. I have no doubt you won't be world champion in such a setup, but it's designed to hold well, and be much better than sticks inputs.
 
Elitist1945 said:
My point was it was a really unique controller with cool ideas, but now it has a D-Pad and analogue stick. Granted, it's going to be good - but still.

EDIT: I see the touchpads now. I still liked the one posted on Page 2 the best.
Click to expand...

I wish Valve took the bold route and decided against a universal controller. Design the GabePad as a KBM replacement while also advertising 360 controllers for console-like TPS and Saturn controllers for 2D retro / indie gaming.

Sell everything on Steam, profit.

The original design is best, imho.
 
To people doubting the trackpads, they seem to work really well in games. One of the engineers had a demo of Portal on youtube and it was almost like he was using a mouse and keyboard to play.
If they pull this off, it can be better than a thumbstick controller for games which use aiming or mouse control for precise selections of things on-screen.
 
A stick is best suited input to control 2-axis velocity/intensity (moving a character, turning a car, piloting a plane) while a touchpad/mouse/pointer is best suited to control 2-axis coordinates/displacement (aiming, moving a cursor, scrolling). The latest controller has both.
 
I'm glad their taking their time with the controller. The analogue stick will be better for movement but I really love the idea of using the touchpad for controlling the camera in FP/TP. Using analogue stick for this has never felt right, too imprecise to do fine aiming and too sluggish to do quick 180 degree turns.

It's one of the big reasons I'm looking forward to seriously trying out pc gaming next year.
 
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