Valve Changes The Steam Controller Again

[Steven Bogos]

Valve Changes The Steam Controller Again

The Steam Controller has received yet another design revision.

Well, they call it "Valve Time" for a reason. The Steam Controller, first revealed in redesigned [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128240-Valve-Reveals-the-Steam-Controller]... and then, just kind of faded away. Well now we've finally got some more news, and its that the controller is getting another minor redesign.

The new design, which you can see in the image above, confirms the analog stick that we saw on the previous iteration. In fact, it's pretty much exactly the same as that analog stick redesign [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136349-Steam-Controller-Redesign-Includes-Analog-Thumbstick], but with an additional four-point directional guide on the left touch pad.

We have no idea if this guide will be tactile, or just a design on the pad to help guide new users in the touch pad's use.

This is quite a simple redesign, which hints that Valve may be getting closer to revealing a final, retail version of the controller. It's extremely likely this new design will be shown off in public for the first time at GDC 2015, especially considering that Valve recently confirmed [http://www.valvetime.net/threads/valve-will-attend-gdc-2015-in-march.245614/] it would have a large Steam Machines presence at the show.

Meanwhile, those third-party Steam Box developers who were expecting the Steam Controller to be out this year? Alienware at least has just said "screw it" and decided to ditch the Steam Controller and Steam OS entirely, releasing a Windows-based Steam Box that uses an Xbox 360 controller.

Let's hope this one doesn't go the way of Half-life 3 and it is something that we actually see released in our lifetimes.

Source: Valve Time [http://www.valvetime.net/threads/steam-client-beta-update-reveals-latest-steam-controller-design.245634/]

Permalink

 

[Rozalia1]

Another revision eh? Glad I'm not in the business of working with Valve because that was supposed to be ready for the previous launch of "Steam machines"... is now being revised again and is no closer to being ready.
Only good thing out of all of this is the constant chatter of the "Steam Machines" being credible has decreased pretty sharply. Only the most embarrassing warriors seem to bring it up these days, and I love responding to those guys.

Anyway... I'm a nice guy well in tune with the world so I'll treat you guys to some top secret info on what the final version of the Steam controller is going to be.

Spoiler: Check it out friends

 

[blackrave]

Let me guess, the last version of Steam controller will be keyboard+mouse?

 

[martyrdrebel27]

Valve: the world's most celebrated purveyor of Vaporware. I (mostly) kid, but seriously, Xbox controllers are PC standard now, why try top reinvent the wheel for only minor (arguable) benefits? We fit controllers, we good brah.

 

[NickBrahz]

Wasn't the point of the steam controller to use track pads instead of analog sticks to make it more mouse like? what's the point of getting a steam controller over using the Xbox controller or other controller most PC gamers own.

 

[Scrythe]

More and more, this thing is starting to look like the Radica Pheonix Revolution [https://www.google.com/search?q=radica+phoenix+revolution&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=oPWQVIPkNaS_sQTOsIHwBQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg], but with vibrating trackpads instead of analog sticks.

why try to reinvent the wheel for only minor (arguable) benefits?

Exactly.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Heh. I had completely forgotten about Valve's steam machines and track pad controllers. When are they gonna get this shit goin?

What ever happened to the Ouya?

 

[Kameburger]

Well since it's Valve I was able to find an early access version but I didn't want to spoil it so....

Spoiler

Works as good as most early access things on steam...

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

All these delays and revisions are telling me that those track pads aren't really working out for them. I still say they should make a modular controller that accepts analog sticks, d-pads, buttons, and track pads in all four "quadrants." Make in x-input compatible and add keyboard emulation software to Steam to map buttons to keys to cover old games that only use the keyboard.


Or they should just let the 360 be the standard for controller games and make or re-brand one of those keyboards with a built in mouse tray.

 

[Something Amyss]

All these delays and revisions are telling me that those track pads aren't really working out for them. I still say they should make a modular controller that accepts analog sticks, d-pads, buttons, and track pads in all four "quadrants." Make in x-input compatible and add keyboard emulation software to Steam to map buttons to keys to cover old games that only use the keyboard.


Or they should just let the 360 be the standard for controller games and make or re-brand one of those keyboards with a built in mouse tray.

If I could customise the former controller, I would buy 20.

As it is, they might as well do the latter.

 

[Something Amyss]

Well since it's Valve I was able to find an early access version but I didn't want to spoil it so....

Spoiler

Works as good as most early access things on steam...

Remember, don't buy it unless you're really excited to play the current version, as it might not see updates.

 

[Strazdas]

Valve: the world's most celebrated purveyor of Vaporware. I (mostly) kid, but seriously, Xbox controllers are PC standard now, why try top reinvent the wheel for only minor (arguable) benefits? We fit controllers, we good brah.

consdering that the original Steam Controller design actually did offer things not available in 360 controller it was a good concept, however raging fans of "but i used this for years why must i upgrade" prettym uch forced valve to do nothing but another 360 knockoff and now nothing of the steam trio is worth having. SteamOS is just locked down ubuntu, Steam Machines are just prebuilds with a fancy name and steam controller is just like a controller i dont want anyway.

Or they should just let the 360 be the standard for controller games and make or re-brand one of those keyboards with a built in mouse tray.

when Microsoft isnt even capable of basic "more than one size" concepts in controllers you certianly cant make it standard.

 

[Rozalia1]

consdering that the original Steam Controller design actually did offer things not available in 360 controller it was a good concept, however raging fans of "but i used this for years why must i upgrade" prettym uch forced valve to do nothing but another 360 knockoff and now nothing of the steam trio is worth having. SteamOS is just locked down ubuntu, Steam Machines are just prebuilds with a fancy name and steam controller is just like a controller i dont want anyway.

SteamOS and "Steam Machines" were always going to be just that... what gave you ideas it'd be anything different?
The controller I suppose I'd have to give you as the initial concept is different, though different doesn't equal better and that is up for debate (though I'm not going to debate it). Valve's best bet was always a knockoff Xbox controller anyway, the purpose it serves doesn't require some grand innovation.

 

[Strazdas]

consdering that the original Steam Controller design actually did offer things not available in 360 controller it was a good concept, however raging fans of "but i used this for years why must i upgrade" prettym uch forced valve to do nothing but another 360 knockoff and now nothing of the steam trio is worth having. SteamOS is just locked down ubuntu, Steam Machines are just prebuilds with a fancy name and steam controller is just like a controller i dont want anyway.

SteamOS and "Steam Machines" were always going to be just that... what gave you ideas it'd be anything different?
The controller I suppose I'd have to give you as the initial concept is different, though different doesn't equal better and that is up for debate (though I'm not going to debate it). Valve's best bet was always a knockoff Xbox controller anyway, the purpose it serves doesn't require some grand innovation.

Nothing did. Steam controller was always the only thing out of the 3 announced that i was interested in getting, however not anymore. I dont claim it was "better", but it was different type of control that i was interested in. I do not like using the Xbox 360 controller, it is unconfortable to me, so i was interested in other option.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

All these delays and revisions are telling me that those track pads aren't really working out for them. I still say they should make a modular controller that accepts analog sticks, d-pads, buttons, and track pads in all four "quadrants." Make in x-input compatible and add keyboard emulation software to Steam to map buttons to keys to cover old games that only use the keyboard.


Or they should just let the 360 be the standard for controller games and make or re-brand one of those keyboards with a built in mouse tray.

If I could customise the former controller, I would buy 20.

As it is, they might as well do the latter.

If they do make something like that, don't get too spend happy. I've been reading about other modular controller designs and they have the problem with connections from the modules to the main board going bad[footnote]Maybe using the same pin design that plagued Apple's early magsafe plugs is a bad idea, yes?[/footnote] and some models not recognizing thumbsticks that plugged into certain slots. Valve would have a lot of testing and coding to do. (But hey, they got Valve Time on their side anyways.)

Or they should just let the 360 be the standard for controller games and make or re-brand one of those keyboards with a built in mouse tray.

when Microsoft isnt even capable of basic "more than one size" concepts in controllers you certianly cant make it standard.

Eh, what I should have said was the the Xinput/DirectInput API should be standard. (It is pretty much.) The d-pad does blow on a 360 pad. (And using a PS3 with MotioninJoy trades what I think is a comfy shape for a good d-pad.) And keyboard and mouse will probably never get replaced even by trackpad equipped controllers.

Or they should also do the keyboard/Xinput emulation for older games. Big Picture mode does make some keyboard only games work with a controller, but being able to use that feature outside of BP mode and manually remap buttons would be a nice update to Steam. The gives users who don't know about separate gamepad KB remapper programs the chance to use their non-standard controllers with older games and Xinput games.

You did add a feature to my modular controller dream: interchangeable hand grips. Implimented correctly, that could make it cheap and easy for people to get the most comfy gamepad possible. Original xbox "duce" controller sized behemoth with thumsticks in the 2 lower quadrants? Check. Tiny Gamecube handgrips with staggered thumbsticks? Check. Average sized handles with one thumbstick, d-pad and trackpad? Yep

 

[josemlopes]

when Microsoft isnt even capable of basic "more than one size" concepts in controllers you certianly cant make it standard.

What other companies that arent primarly about making acessories make controllers of multiple sizes? Because Microsoft did that with the original Xbox

 

[CrystalShadow]

All these delays and revisions are telling me that those track pads aren't really working out for them. I still say they should make a modular controller that accepts analog sticks, d-pads, buttons, and track pads in all four "quadrants." Make in x-input compatible and add keyboard emulation software to Steam to map buttons to keys to cover old games that only use the keyboard.


Or they should just let the 360 be the standard for controller games and make or re-brand one of those keyboards with a built in mouse tray.

Eh. The delays maybe. But constant revisions are standard practice for any kind of hardware product (at least if you want the result to be anything other than terrible)

The difference is, for most products you don't get to see all the revisions, modifications and changes made along the way prior to release... (Sometimes they talk about it. Like Nintendo, who at various points have mentioned that the Wii U gamepad was originally flat like a tablet, and that they were changing things about it on a daily basis at some point. Or the dozen or so concepts for the Wii controllers, including that they originally were going to be gamecube add-ons - But the gamecube was too slow to cope.)

Revision, revision, revision. That's hardware.

The oculus rift is another example. So far they've had 2 prototype devkits, and they already have a 3rd revision being worked on (which still won't be the final commercial release). But the first devkit design was changed several times because of parts availability, not to mention that it is an extention of Palmer Luckey's experimental designs, is is basically like a cleaned up mass production version of his 20th prototype...
(Yep. 20th...)

 

[Jacked Assassin]

I'm now expecting Valve to cancel making Steam Machines once Windows 10 replaces Windows 8.

And I'll be face palming because all I wanted was a PC with Steam OS.

Waste of time steam controller is a waste of time.

 

[weirdee]

See, this is the kind of thing that hardware developers have to do when everybody has a stranglehold on their own iteration of button placement. Imagine how incredibly annoying this would be if every keyboard manufacturer had to have their own letter arrangement, or if there were mice that had to avoid putting buttons at the front of the grip. We can't have nice things.

 

[Strazdas]

when Microsoft isnt even capable of basic "more than one size" concepts in controllers you certianly cant make it standard.

What other companies that arent primarly about making acessories make controllers of multiple sizes? Because Microsoft did that with the original Xbox

Didnt Razer make some? or is that accessories company to you?

Also just because noone does it does not mean that there is no market out there for differenly sized controllers, which would also solve a lot of "this is more confortable to me" problems.