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My First Hours With A Steam Controller

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I've been playing for years with my Xbox 360 controllers. First on my console and for the last 2 or 3 years on Linux. I really like its design and it just feels natural. The only bad thing I have to say is that with some games I had to use xboxdrv and others just works.

When Steam announced their new controller, I was really intrigued and, with time and marketing, I decided that I wanted one. As soon as I learned about the pre-order, I jumped on the occasion.

Design

It is with a lot of joy that I unpacked the controller, put the batteries in and launched it. Just having it in my hands it feels different. It seems bulkier and the controls feel quite a bit further away than my Xbox controller. The controller has 2 trackpads, one analog stick, the ABXY buttons, 4 "bumpers" and 2 buttons under it. So a lot of buttons that can be mapped.

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Fist Launch

Okay, launching Steam in Big Picture Mode, I controlled the menu with the controller. I decided my first game would be Defense Grid 2. Lucky for me that game had a recommended mapping and few community ones. I chose one, launched the game and it did not work. The game was not responding to anything. Tried other mapping, tried another game: same result. Did the workaround that Liam posted, rebooted to the same result and then I realised that my game adapter for my wireless Xbox controller was still plugged in. It seems that the adapter was taking control of the first controller. So, if yours is acting weirdly, be aware of other controllers like that.

Second First Launch

Second official launch of DG2. It worked. I felt a bit clumsy with the disposition of the controls compared to the Xbox controller, but a game designed for a controller just works no matter the controller you're using. Did the same test with Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, but this time I'm using one of the track pads; it is a bit too responsive for me and I still feel I need to adapt to the new controller but it works fine.

Second launch with a mouse and keyboard mapping

The real challenge was trying a game designed for mouse and keyboard. So I picked Kingdom Rush. A quick look in the configuration made me realize that there is no mapping, recommended or from the community, for this game and the templates did not really help. So double-challenge, mapping the buttons and making it work. Where Steam did a real good job is that anytime during the game you can pause and re-map the buttons. So I created my mapping and saved it. You can keep mappings private or you can make them public. After 2 or 3 tries I had a mapping that I like and decided to make it public and now the game has a community mapping. Yes... mine. :)

I'm really impressed with the way it worked with Kingdom Rush. I never used my keyboard, when a new feature was added, I just went in the mapping and associated it to buttons that felt natural for me.

I tried Gunpoint with the WASD template and it just worked... Up to now.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I really like the controller and I understand the reviews saying that it takes 2 or 3 days of adapting. It is not a bad experience at all, I'm just not used to the new design yet. This is the perfect controller for people looking for something new and eventually playing in front of their television. Valve did a really good job. Congratulations to them.

With this experience, I have now ordered a Steam Link too!

image Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Hardware, Steam
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24 comments
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omer666 Oct 18, 2015
Quoting: someone
Quoting: omer666Question: does the Steam Link work with a Linux host yet? I would be very interested but I just don't have a Windows partition.
I can use inhome streaming from my Ubuntu desktop to an Ubuntu laptop. So I think it should work with the Link, too.
Great news! I think I'm going to use some spare unit and try it for myself before considering buying the Link+controller...
immortel Oct 18, 2015
Quoting: PsynoKhi0You mention the wireless controller for the other pad was still plugged in, however did you use the Steam Controller wired or wireless? I'm curious about the receiver's performance and battery drain.

The controller comes with his USB dongle. I used it in wireless and the controller comes with 2 AA batteries. I cannot say for the draining of the batteries. Since I did not play a lot of hours, I had no problem yet but I will probably by rechargeable batteries.

There is a connector for a micro USB cable but I did not try it yet. So I cannot comment.
Stupendous Man Oct 18, 2015
One question: do you need to launch the games from Big Picture for the controller to work, or only for the initial setup? I have an issue with Big Picture and multiple monitors, in that I cannot configure Big Picture to run on a different monitor than the main Steam window.
STiAT Oct 18, 2015
Now I know what I'll buy myself for Christmas: Steam Controller and SteamLink (I want SteamLink for playing in the living room, don't want to move my PC there) :-).
jordicoma Oct 18, 2015
How does it work for non steam games? Can it work well without steam? I mean does linux detect it as a joystick without the steam program?
Cybolic Oct 18, 2015
Quoting: jordicomaHow does it work for non steam games? Can it work well without steam? I mean does linux detect it as a joystick without the steam program?
It will work in keyboard+mouse mode, meaning the right pad will emulate a mouse and the stick will send wasd key presses - I have not been able to have it detected as a joystick or gamepad.

UPDATE: You can setup the controller for any game launched from Steam, including non-Steam games, when running in Big Picture mode; so yes, you can use it as a joystick in Tux Racer ;)


Last edited by Cybolic on 18 October 2015 at 11:56 pm UTC
Cybolic Oct 18, 2015
Quoting: Stupendous ManOne question: do you need to launch the games from Big Picture for the controller to work, or only for the initial setup? I have an issue with Big Picture and multiple monitors, in that I cannot configure Big Picture to run on a different monitor than the main Steam window.

Unfortunately, yes.
slaapliedje Oct 19, 2015
Quoting: omer666
Quoting: someone
Quoting: omer666Question: does the Steam Link work with a Linux host yet? I would be very interested but I just don't have a Windows partition.
I can use inhome streaming from my Ubuntu desktop to an Ubuntu laptop. So I think it should work with the Link, too.
Great news! I think I'm going to use some spare unit and try it for myself before considering buying the Link+controller...

I can confirm that the Link works with a Linux host. Problem I have with it is that it tries to stream all three of my monitors (so two 1920x1080+2560x1080 squished onto a 1920x1080 screen is just odd...) but while in-game, it does go full screen and work relatively well. Played Mark of the Ninja this way.

Unfortunately the big picture mode in general is buggy with three screens, and some games can't handle it correctly (Ark won't let you choose menu options, Mark of the Ninja continuously is confused and tries to do resolution changes, Superfrog HD stretches across all three screens, and makes me ill watching it...

slaapliedje
Mohandevir Oct 19, 2015
My main gaming rig is built on SteamOS and with the controller the experience is really great. I've played The Witcher 2, Trine, Trine 2 and Portal 2 and I love this thing and the customization possibilities. Didn't get any bugs and the controler's firmware update was automaticaly handled by SteamOS (don't know if it's the same for other OSs).

The M+KB mode feels really natural to me.

I'll buy a second one for Christmas. :)
Stupendous Man Oct 19, 2015
Quoting: Cybolic
Quoting: Stupendous ManOne question: do you need to launch the games from Big Picture for the controller to work, or only for the initial setup? I have an issue with Big Picture and multiple monitors, in that I cannot configure Big Picture to run on a different monitor than the main Steam window.

Unfortunately, yes.
Well that's a bummer! In that case I'm not really sure that I want to get a Steam Controller, unless they fix it so that the Steam window and Big Picture can run on different screens.
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