Valve Reveals the Steam Controller
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Looks ugly and quite uncomfortable to use and I hate the idea of gaming using a touch pad... Maybe it'll pleasantly surprise if and when I try it but my gut reaction is "hell no."
A, B, X, Y, left trackpad click, right trackpad click, four shoulder buttons, two rear buttons, three lower face buttons, and a clickable touchscreen.Simalacrum said:
So that's, let's see...yep! Sixteen.
Of course, that's not counting the near limitless keying options with the touchscreen nor the ability to code the touchpads to function as several buttons.
That looks.... horribly uncomfortable to hold. I'll reserve final judgment until I actually hold one, of course, but damn, that looks unwieldy. I'm trying to picture how I'd hold that for the trackpads and either way it just does not look comfortable.
Also, I get that they're going for the binding of buttons... but at the same time, this will lead to a confusing experience. None of those buttons are labeled in any way. What the hell do the 3 black bars at the bottom do? Are those buttons? What happens if I press one?
I'm open to trying it, but for now, color me skeptical. Looks like an ergonomic disaster.
Also, I get that they're going for the binding of buttons... but at the same time, this will lead to a confusing experience. None of those buttons are labeled in any way. What the hell do the 3 black bars at the bottom do? Are those buttons? What happens if I press one?
I'm open to trying it, but for now, color me skeptical. Looks like an ergonomic disaster.
Since reading comprehension seems to fail you, allow me to quote the big section from http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/ called "Buttons":j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
"Every button and input zone has been placed based on frequency of use, precision required and ergonomic comfort. There are a total of sixteen buttons on the Steam Controller. Half of them are accessible to the player without requiring thumbs to be lifted from the trackpads, including two on the back."
dafuq is dat? I can't even think in english because that controller is so wonky... I'm mixing cultural euphemisms in my head trying to express the incredulity and... and... state of confusion I feel looking at that controller. To be honest I don't like the idea of trackpads and this design is just wrong in my head.
It feels like the first time I saw a wii controller, though the wii seemed less daunting. Hell the Razer Naga looks less daunting and I still won't use it.
Even the N64 and Gamecube controllers somehow seem better by comparison...
I'll stick with analog sticks or wired mice and keyboard thank you.
EDIT: If I could express in one word the face you make when you smell the most rancid fart... thats what this "Steamcontroller" made me do when I first saw it. Ugly, unwieldy looking and generally seeming like a bad idea.
It feels like the first time I saw a wii controller, though the wii seemed less daunting. Hell the Razer Naga looks less daunting and I still won't use it.
Even the N64 and Gamecube controllers somehow seem better by comparison...
I'll stick with analog sticks or wired mice and keyboard thank you.
EDIT: If I could express in one word the face you make when you smell the most rancid fart... thats what this "Steamcontroller" made me do when I first saw it. Ugly, unwieldy looking and generally seeming like a bad idea.
i'm guessing it'll use a program something like xpadder for older games.
i play with a G13 and G600, so assigning fucntions is that scary to me.
hope the final version doesnt have that ugly touchpad/steam logo and goes for something more subtle
i play with a G13 and G600, so assigning fucntions is that scary to me.
hope the final version doesnt have that ugly touchpad/steam logo and goes for something more subtle
Funny, that's the face I made when I first saw the pictures for this goofy-looking thing.Andy Shandy said:
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The fanboy reaction has been humorous -- "Revolutionary design!", "It will change the industry forever!", "I'm going to buy one and shove it up my ass for pleasure!", etc. etc.
Valve can't even be bothered to confirm whether it will work outside of the confines of the Steam environment. If it's incompatible with my extensive library of non-Steam games, I've got absolutely zero fucking use for it.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have our worst official controller of the decade!
You can tell just by looking at it that it'll be good for only a few genres. It was a stupid move not to have logically placed face buttons or a Dpad.
You can tell just by looking at it that it'll be good for only a few genres. It was a stupid move not to have logically placed face buttons or a Dpad.
I love the idea. The haptic feedback sounds like technobabble, but if it provides information to your thumbs, like Braille letters, then it's pretty revolutionary. Also, my first impression was "WHERE ARE THE BUTTONS", but then I realized at least 8 buttons are right beneath your fingers at all times (4 shoulder + 2 back + 2 trackpad clicks) with another four (ABXY) just by the trackpads. In a typical controller, you'll get less immediately available, and you'll have to let go of the sticks if you want to access more. Thank Christ somebody finally realized I shouldn't have to use my thumbs for every action if I have 8 more fingers gripping the controller.
As for the "trackpads are always bad and clumsy", I don't think Valve would promise, erm, "higher fidelity input than has previously been possible," and then deliver cheap laptop trackpads from the previous decade that everyone hates.
In any case, I appreciate the attempt, even if it turns out to be unplayable.
As for the "trackpads are always bad and clumsy", I don't think Valve would promise, erm, "higher fidelity input than has previously been possible," and then deliver cheap laptop trackpads from the previous decade that everyone hates.
In any case, I appreciate the attempt, even if it turns out to be unplayable.
I don't judge controllers until I actually hold them, so I won't be too critical. Buuuuut it looks kinda off putting to me. I probably won't be getting it anyway so what do I care.
This looks absolutely terrible, but ironically I'm going to buy one simply because you can't properly hate something until you've tried it. And I'm going to need to be able to properly hate this thing for the inevitable arguments with the Valve fanboys declaring it "REVOLUTIONIZED TEH IND-DUS-TREE". On the plus side it should be fun devastating people in multiplayer games with they fumble around with this piece of crap.
CAPCHA: jerk store. I think I might start calling steam that. Thanks capcha.
CAPCHA: jerk store. I think I might start calling steam that. Thanks capcha.
Exactly, but that's it isn't it, all Valve are doing with this stuff is giving more choices, no one will be forced to use the gamepad with a Steam Machine and PC gamers, a good chunk of them will prob just stick with things as they always have. So no harm done.SonOfVoorhees said:
As long as this doesn't impose on what people already use, then it's all good. Valve know what they;'re doing, I'd be willing to at least try one.
Your mouse cursor moves in the direction you move your hand on the mouse, at the speed you move your hand. You can move your hand nice and slow or as fast as you want.Robot Number V said:
You're controller pointer moves as you hold your analogue stick at x degrees with the speed dependent on how deeply you tilt it, though it only has a limited range. Also there's going to be a very small degree of lag because when you release it's going to keep the cursor moving a few miliseconds/pixels at a decreasing speed until it's back to center.
Now obviously the trackpads you get on a laptop aren't very good, but they lean more towards the former type of control rather than the latter. So a lot here will depend on how the tactile feedbook and the ergonomic design (an indented oval or circle rather than a flat rectangle) works out, but I don't think Valve is going to release this thing if it isn't very damned good.
This controller really looks quite revolutionary. Every since the earliest days, console makers have put the directional control to your left hand and the button input on your right. Which doesn't necessarily mesh too well with keyboard & keyboard+mouse control. And ever since then, while newer consoles make heavy use a left hand analogue stick they still place most of the buttons to the right. The Steam controller on the other hand, not only does it take a lot of balls to do away with the analogue stick, and I outlined the difference between mouse and dpad controls above, it's also completely symmetrical.
The thing looks beautiful to me, and I can't wait to try it out... though I guess that means I wasted $10 buck at the Chinese Night Market this summer buying a knock off PS3-like usb controller for my PC that I only attempted to use once then quickly went back to keyboard (for Y's Origin). My gripe with traditional controllers is ever sense the NES days I've never belonged to the cult of the thumb, I've always liked having my fingers on the buttons.
The thing I like most about this is that the touchpad in the middle only clicks when you push it down rather than randomly thinking that I want to click when I press on it (I don't get on with touchpads)
Potentially good, hopefully the finished thing will be less dull looking. If the haptic feedback thing is as good as they seem to claim then this could be the next big advance in controllers... maybe.
Potentially good, hopefully the finished thing will be less dull looking. If the haptic feedback thing is as good as they seem to claim then this could be the next big advance in controllers... maybe.