Report: Steam Controller Will be in Your Hands By November

[Steven Bogos]

Report: Steam Controller Will be in Your Hands By November

A source close to PC Gamer says that the controller will be released in "October or November."

If you weren't one of the lucky few selected to take part in Valve's PC Gamer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128156-Valve-Unveils-Steam-Machines-Hardware-Beta-Coming-Soon], we, unfortunately, probably won't be getting our hands on them until November.

The source claimed to have knowledge of Valve's Steam Machines project, and said at PAX East that Valve's Steam Controller will release in October or November of 2014. It added that added that the completion of the controller is what the Steam Machine hardware manufacturers are waiting on, meaning that the machines themselves should also start shipping out around the same time.

Lastly, the source also claimed that they expect "about 500" games to be natively playable on SteamOS by the end of this year, up from the current count of 382.

The controller, which a more traditional button layout [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128240-Valve-Reveals-the-Steam-Controller]. The touchpads though, which Valve claims will give the controller precision on par with a keyboard and mouse, are still present.

Will you be picking up a Steam Controller? I will be most likely getting one for my PC, just for when I want to play a "console" type game (like Castle Crashers), as currently trying to get any non-Xbox 360 controller working with the Steam library is a nightmare.

Source: PC Gamer [http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/04/11/source-steam-controller-will-be-available-in-october-or-november/?utm_content=buffere4727&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer]

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[The White Hunter]

The d-pad looks like it will be thoroughly shit.

We'll have to wait and see I guess.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Can't wait to get one of these in my hands to find out that the touch pads are shit. I'd be genuinely surprised if they weren't. Every touch based input method I've ever used just seems so buggy that playing a fast paced game with not one but two pads is gonna be a real test of my confidence in Valve. Laptop pads and touch screens(resistive, capacitive, infrared, psychic, it don't matter) never work great for me and I gave up the 2 DS Zelda games before finishing them because of the reliance on unreliable(Oxymoron intended) controls. I'll wait for a buddy to get one of these and see how it works then. I'd doubt Gamestop will have a demo unit sitting out unless it was surrounded by Steam voucher cards and the clerk was told to constantly heckle people with "you can trade in your PS4/xbone games for these and get a bonus hat for TF2".

 

[thunderbuck]

The question has to be... How much? I have an 360 pad I use effortlessly with my Win 8 PC already. As much as I want one of these, and I do, it has to be affordable if I'm going to invest.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

Yeah, it depends on how much it will cost. I might be interested in buying a Steam Machine and one of these, as long as the price / hardware is good. I'll need to upgrade my hardware soonish anyway, if it's a good deal I'll be interested.

 

[josemlopes]

I am interested, this is supposed to "emulate" a mouse and a keyboard right? So that I can even play games that dont support controllers. (Not that I really need to but I would like to know that I could)

 

[Clowndoe]

I am interested, this is supposed to "emulate" a mouse and a keyboard right? So that I can even play games that dont support controllers. (Not that I really need to but I would like to know that I could)

That's the plan AFAIK. Your game will just take the left track pad as seperate regions representing WASD when desired.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

My body is ready for the Steam controller. Even if the SteamOS fails, I care more about the controller. I can finally have a way to play pc games with a gamepad without giving up control my desktop. And since it'll have downloadable key mappings, I can do it without spending 45 minutes mapping keys for every game

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

I'll use my own pad probably from the superior dual shock layout category.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

My body is ready for the Steam controller. Even if the SteamOS fails, I care more about the controller. I can finally have a way to play pc games with a gamepad without giving up control my desktop. And since it'll have downloadable key mappings, I can do it without spending 45 minutes mapping keys for every game

As long as those games are not 2d platformers you should be kinda okay.

Also this dose it all with current PC compatible controllers.

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/


Sure its 20 bucks but you can even set up hold down this button and it changes what the other buttons do.

 

[iniudan]

My body is ready for the Steam controller. Even if the SteamOS fails, I care more about the controller. I can finally have a way to play pc games with a gamepad without giving up control my desktop. And since it'll have downloadable key mappings, I can do it without spending 45 minutes mapping keys for every game

As long as those games are not 2d platformers you should be kinda okay.

Also this dose it all with current PC compatible controllers.

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/


Sure its 20 bucks but you can even set up hold down this button and it changes what the other buttons do.

Actually according to Tommy Refenes, the programmer of Team Meat, steam controller are fine for Super Meat Boy, although he still prefer a 360 controller, but he say it might be mostly out of habit. At least that was his opinion back when he first tested them at Valve's HQ.


------ Not part of quote reply from this point ------

He also used steam controller for Mew-genics booth, this week-end, come to make some comment about it during this interview.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

My body is ready for the Steam controller. Even if the SteamOS fails, I care more about the controller. I can finally have a way to play pc games with a gamepad without giving up control my desktop. And since it'll have downloadable key mappings, I can do it without spending 45 minutes mapping keys for every game

As long as those games are not 2d platformers you should be kinda okay.

Also this dose it all with current PC compatible controllers.

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/


Sure its 20 bucks but you can even set up hold down this button and it changes what the other buttons do.

Actually according to Tommy Refenes, the programmer of Team Meat, steam controller are fine for Super Meat Boy, although he still prefer a 360 controller, but he say it might be mostly out of habit. At least that was his opinion back when he first tested them at Valve's HQ.


------ Not part of quote reply from this point ------

He also used steam controller for Mew-genics booth, this week-end, come to make some comment about it during this interview.

Which boils down to a normal pad is better if you get past the paid advertising. The steam controller just dose nothing better than a normal control pad and is unusable on fancy AAA games like Batman..

 

[Techno Squidgy]

I'm excited to give it a try, but I have no idea if it will be any good. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. I'm quite interested in that haptic feedback (or whatever it was actually called) sounds like it would make quite the difference.

 

[iniudan]

Spoiler

My body is ready for the Steam controller. Even if the SteamOS fails, I care more about the controller. I can finally have a way to play pc games with a gamepad without giving up control my desktop. And since it'll have downloadable key mappings, I can do it without spending 45 minutes mapping keys for every game

As long as those games are not 2d platformers you should be kinda okay.

Also this dose it all with current PC compatible controllers.

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/


Sure its 20 bucks but you can even set up hold down this button and it changes what the other buttons do.

Actually according to Tommy Refenes, the programmer of Team Meat, steam controller are fine for Super Meat Boy, although he still prefer a 360 controller, but he say it might be mostly out of habit. At least that was his opinion back when he first tested them at Valve's HQ.


------ Not part of quote reply from this point ------

He also used steam controller for Mew-genics booth, this week-end, come to make some comment about it during this interview.

Which boils down to a normal pad is better if you get past the paid advertising. The steam controller just dose nothing better than a normal control pad and is unusable on fancy AAA games like Batman..

What paid advertising ? When he mentioned his opinion about Steam controller for Super Meat Boy, he was invited because Valve wanted the opinion of Team Meat as as part of development process of said controller. It was also the version of the following model at the time.

Here the blog post itself.
http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/62476523677/my-time-with-the-steam-controller

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Spoiler

My body is ready for the Steam controller. Even if the SteamOS fails, I care more about the controller. I can finally have a way to play pc games with a gamepad without giving up control my desktop. And since it'll have downloadable key mappings, I can do it without spending 45 minutes mapping keys for every game

As long as those games are not 2d platformers you should be kinda okay.

Also this dose it all with current PC compatible controllers.

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/


Sure its 20 bucks but you can even set up hold down this button and it changes what the other buttons do.

Actually according to Tommy Refenes, the programmer of Team Meat, steam controller are fine for Super Meat Boy, although he still prefer a 360 controller, but he say it might be mostly out of habit. At least that was his opinion back when he first tested them at Valve's HQ.


------ Not part of quote reply from this point ------

He also used steam controller for Mew-genics booth, this week-end, come to make some comment about it during this interview.

Which boils down to a normal pad is better if you get past the paid advertising. The steam controller just dose nothing better than a normal control pad and is unusable on fancy AAA games like Batman..

What paid advertising ? When he mentioned his opinion about Steam controller for Super Meat Boy, he was invited because Valve wanted the opinion of Team Meat as as part of development process of said controller. It was also the version of the following model at the time.

Here the blog post itself.
http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/62476523677/my-time-with-the-steam-controller

Okay it was a cheap shot my bad, but at the end of the day he aid he'd rather use a 360 pad. That tells me all I need to know, even with all the revisions the first impression of the steam controller were not all that great. Its flawed, then again all controllers are flawed to a degree but the steam controller is a bit too flawed.

 

[Foolery]

Still looks like it'd be uncomfortable and awkward to use. I'll stick with my Dualshock 4, and the Scarlet Crush tool which makes it act like a natively PC compatible 360 pad.

 

[PMAvers]

A acquaintance who's been using one says that it's currently his preferred controller for fighting games.

 

[iniudan]

Spoiler

Spoiler

My body is ready for the Steam controller. Even if the SteamOS fails, I care more about the controller. I can finally have a way to play pc games with a gamepad without giving up control my desktop. And since it'll have downloadable key mappings, I can do it without spending 45 minutes mapping keys for every game

As long as those games are not 2d platformers you should be kinda okay.

Also this dose it all with current PC compatible controllers.

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/


Sure its 20 bucks but you can even set up hold down this button and it changes what the other buttons do.

Actually according to Tommy Refenes, the programmer of Team Meat, steam controller are fine for Super Meat Boy, although he still prefer a 360 controller, but he say it might be mostly out of habit. At least that was his opinion back when he first tested them at Valve's HQ.


------ Not part of quote reply from this point ------

He also used steam controller for Mew-genics booth, this week-end, come to make some comment about it during this interview.

Which boils down to a normal pad is better if you get past the paid advertising. The steam controller just dose nothing better than a normal control pad and is unusable on fancy AAA games like Batman..

What paid advertising ? When he mentioned his opinion about Steam controller for Super Meat Boy, he was invited because Valve wanted the opinion of Team Meat as as part of development process of said controller. It was also the version of the following model at the time.

Here the blog post itself.
http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/62476523677/my-time-with-the-steam-controller

Okay it was a cheap shot my bad, but at the end of the day he aid he'd rather use a 360 pad. That tells me all I need to know, even with all the revisions the first impression of the steam controller were not all that great. Its flawed, then again all controllers are flawed to a degree but the steam controller is a bit too flawed.

Yes, but he also mention it simply because of familiarity reason, not functionality.

 

[Vigormortis]

Not surprising, really. I'm actually glad they're holding off on rushing them to market.

They've only just made a major design change. To rush them to market without further, extensive testing would be foolish.

Besides, they're attempting to create a controller; one that uses an unorthodox/nonstandard method of input and has an open-ended modding environment; that will be compatible with just about any PC game imaginable.

That's going to take some time...

As long as those games are not 2d platformers you should be kinda okay.

Except, by most accounts of those that have actually had hands-on time with the thing (even in it's early iterations), it actually works wonderfully for 2D platformers.

It often seems as though most (but certainly not all) of the negative opinions on the controller stem from people who've never laid hands on it.

Isn't that odd?

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/

I've used that service before. It's inherently flawed insofar as the platform adds a layer of latency to all controller inputs. Especially if there is any amalgam of native controller drivers.

So...it's really not an ideal "fix" for someone's controller-to-PC woes. Not all of them, anyway.

Which boils down to a normal pad is better if you get past the paid advertising.

Paid advertising?

Sheesh. Come on now. We need not sink into conspiracy theories.

The steam controller just dose nothing better than a normal control pad and is unusable on fancy AAA games like Batman..

That's one hell of an assumption, now isn't it? Especially in light of the myriad of samples of people using the thing for games just like that. And "nothing better than a 'normal' control pad"? I'm sorry, but I vehemently disagree. I've tried using a thumbstick to emulate a mouse pointer. Even the very worst of trackpads do a better job.

I also wanted to say that I think you misunderstood what Tommy Refenes said in his review. He said he only "preferred" the 360 controller. Not because it was superior or that the Steam controller was inferior but because it was more "familiar". In fact, he quite liked some of the prospective aspects of the proposed final design of the Steam controller.

You can read his review of the very early build here - http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/62476523677/my-time-with-the-steam-controller

Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on one. Whether it will live up to the promises remains to be seen; and I will judge it accordingly. Who knows? Maybe I'll hate it. Maybe it'll be the most uncomfortable controller since the VirtualBoy. I'm certainly open to that possibility. But for now all I have to go on are the opinions of those that have used one. And so far...they're sounding fairly positive.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

My body is ready for the Steam controller. Even if the SteamOS fails, I care more about the controller. I can finally have a way to play pc games with a gamepad without giving up control my desktop. And since it'll have downloadable key mappings, I can do it without spending 45 minutes mapping keys for every game

As long as those games are not 2d platformers you should be kinda okay.

Also this dose it all with current PC compatible controllers.

http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/


Sure its 20 bucks but you can even set up hold down this button and it changes what the other buttons do.

That's pretty sweet but there's two problems: its not Linux compatible and its paid. Its not that I'm cheap or have a problem with paid software, I just don't like the idea of managing protected programs on my computer more than I already do. Plus motionjoy can do most of that

Besides there's a weird issue I'm not sure it can overcome which is emulating both a gamepad and a keyboard and mouse. With motionjoy, you have to choose which means having complete control over your system and binding wasd to a stick which sucks, or using the full gamepad but I can't close out of games and select something else without getting off my ass and moving back to my desk

Actually according to Tommy Refenes, the programmer of Team Meat, steam controller are fine for Super Meat Boy, although he still prefer a 360 controller, but he say it might be mostly out of habit. At least that was his opinion back when he first tested them at Valve's HQ.

Also this^. Binding a stick to wasd is kind of sucky but I've played emulated 2d platformers on my phone and I think touch works pretty well as an emulated D-pad, so I like the Steam controllers touchpads in principle. Plus I read Refenes opinion and it sounds promising

I've used that service before. It's inherently flawed insofar as the platform adds a layer of latency to all controller inputs. Especially if there is any amalgam of native controller drivers.

So...it's really not an ideal "fix" for someone's controller-to-PC woes. Not all of them, anyway

And this too. 3rd party software adds extra steps which I hope won't be a problem with the Steam controller's config