Steam will soon show better controller support details like for PlayStation controllers

I'm playing almost entirely on Steam Deck, so I got used to Gamepad controls.

I noticed that this even influence how I'm choosing the games to play. If it's difficult to play it on Steam Deck controls, I just try it and go to another one. But I don't mind playing turn-based strategies on Steam Deck, the mouse emulation is usually enough to be able to play. :-)

I prefer to play using a gamepad these days. My sofa/TV gaming setup makes keyboard and mouse gaming a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

I prefer to play using a gamepad these days. My sofa/TV gaming setup makes keyboard and mouse gaming a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

This is why we need a Steam Controller 2. Then you have the best of both worlds. If they released a Steam controller that was essentially a steam deck with no GPU/CPU/RAM/HDD/FAN etc.. but just the light weight shell + touch screen for keyboard with the exact or similar layout, maybe with replaced the right touch pad with a few physical WASD buttons and give everything PROPER rumble rather than the angry fly trapped inside the controller haptics. That would mean you could fully 'PC' from the couch in comfort.

The Steam deck is probably the most ergonomic game controller ever made, why change the formula ¯\_( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉)_/¯


(okay, okay perhaps the display can be a remote wifi6 display, but im not actually too bothered about that if it reduces the cost + weight because then you need 90% of the steam deck to make that work anyway)

The alternative is to allow for a steam deck to become a controller for a secondary PC. But id still prefer a $80 - $100 stripped out controller based on the steam deck than having to pay $349 for a single controller.

I prefer to play using a gamepad these days. My sofa/TV gaming setup makes keyboard and mouse gaming a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

This is why we need a Steam Controller 2.

Well, maybe?

I have reservations, seeing as I never could get used to the original Steam Controller.

I prefer to play using a gamepad these days. My sofa/TV gaming setup makes keyboard and mouse gaming a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

This is why we need a Steam Controller 2.

Well, maybe?

I have reservations, seeing as I never could get used to the original Steam Controller.

The issue with the original steam controller which i still use, although less than i want to ideally because it's an unfinished product was for me the lack of:

• A second analogue stick
• plastics too hard and a huge grip which ended up cramping my palms.
• Buttons that are WAY too loud for night time gameplay
(i dont own a steam deck, and im hoping the L+R and back triggers aren't as horribly clunk click as the OG steam controller, the whole thing felt cheap and hollow, cant even use it at night for fear of waking up the dead.
• Left track pad too big.
• General ergonomics.
• Haptics instead of rumble was a cheap out / hipster move, instead of putting real dual rumble in there.

So basically the steam deck fixes all these things apart from maybe the button noise as i Dont own one to test this out.

But the concept originally was a good idea.

This is why we need a Steam Controller 2. Then you have the best of both worlds. If they released a Steam controller that was essentially a steam deck with no GPU/CPU/RAM/HDD/FAN etc.. but just the light weight shell + touch screen for keyboard with the exact or similar layout, maybe with replaced the right touch pad with a few physical WASD buttons and give everything PROPER rumble rather than the angry fly trapped inside the controller haptics. That would mean you could fully 'PC' from the couch in comfort.

Do we really need another gamepad? There are plenty of gamepads out there already, Valve already tried and people didn't want it. There is absolutely no need for some weird ones with WASD layout when D-pad already exists and Steam Client let's you reconfigure everything.

The Steam deck is probably the most ergonomic game controller ever made, why change the formula ¯\_( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉)_/¯

Ergonomic? Definitely NO, it's good for handheld PC, but not as a controller. Touchpads are great for typing and gyro is great for aim-correction, but joysticks don't have hall effect sensors, rumble is weak and d-pad is not the best for fighting games. Gulikit and 8BitDo sell better controllers at $70.


Last edited by tarmo888 on 6 September 2023 at 3:26 pm UTC

[quote=tarmo888]

This is why we need a Steam Controller 2. Then you have the best of both worlds. If they released a Steam controller that was essentially a steam deck with no GPU/CPU/RAM/HDD/FAN etc.. but just the light weight shell + touch screen for keyboard with the exact or similar layout, maybe with replaced the right touch pad with a few physical WASD buttons and give everything PROPER rumble rather than the angry fly trapped inside the controller haptics. That would mean you could fully 'PC' from the couch in comfort.

Do we really need another gamepad? There are plenty of gamepads out there already,

You could apply that to literally anything.

Valve already tried and people didn't want it. There is absolutely no need for some weird ones with WASD layout when D-pad already exists and Steam Client let's you reconfigure everything.

People did want it. Im a People.

The WASD is just an idea, the right trackpad is just kind of there and not typically used much. it's not something it absolutely needs i agree, in fact Some of the new handhelds offer a switch to make the dpad WASD.

Ergonomic? Definitely NO

I think it probably is Ergonomic, given that pretty much everyone who has reviewed it claims it to be very ergonomic.

it's good for handheld PC, but not as a controller.

That doesn't make any sense.

Touchpads are great for typing and gyro is great for aim-correction, but joysticks don't have hall effect sensors and d-pad not the best for fighting games. Gulikit and 8BitDo sell better controllers at $70.

Touchpads aren't as good as a touch screen for quick typing.
Gyro is great for aim correction yes.
Joysticks could have hall effect sensors added easily, were talking about a theoretical device here.
Dpad could be improved, not sure what your point is.
8bitdo has quality control issues i own a pro2 and it's not as good as a retail xbox controller. Also they are not targeting a PC user who is also a PC gamer, i.e full desktop PC from a couch (as an example)

I used to be mouse and keyboard only, but within the past year or two I've found myself not only using but preferring a controller. I think maybe it started when I started playing through the Final Fantasy games where they felt far better than the control schemes SE came up with for PC? That and getting into more emulation lately probably had alot of influence. Of course there are some genres that don't work with one, but for most games I find myself going for a controller first now.

I generally only use keyboard mouse for first person games. 3rd person and platform games I use a controller.

As to a steam controller 2, I’d love to see something based on the steam deck controls. I don’t have nor plan to get a steam deck as gaming is something I do at home on a big screen, but the controls look very usable. Preferably something that is easy to replace the sticks would be a requirement too.

It's also a gentle nudge to get developers to use Steam Input (which provides automatic support - including appropriate glyphs - for a bazillion different controllers and makes it easier to have multi-input - such as controller and gyro mouse) rather than some Xbox-controller-only input library that might be provided by, say, Microsoft.

What's your preferred gaming input? Do you stick with a mouse? Use a controller? Let us know in the comments.

Different games benefit from different input methods. There's no way I'm playing a platformer or a driving game with a mouse. Even something otherwise desktop-friendly like a third-person game is hampered by the lack of analogue movement controls. So I'll use KB/M, controller, steering wheel, whatever's most appropriate for a given game. HOTAS if I were more into flying games.

Keyboard and mouse for most things but controller for things like platformers, space / flight sim. Saying that I was a couch controller use for the pc and tv for quite a while back in the day. I sometimes switch on the same game - eg Starfield - switch to ps5 controller when flying.

I'm glad Valve is making the effort to recognise the Playstation controller as a viable input device on PC, especially with Steam Deck actually having a mash-up of Xbox and PS button names (R1 instead of RB for instance) and it'd be nice if games actually showed that.

Coming from Playstation, and especially the Switch (inverted A/B/X/Y), it initially was an issue for me to tell which button was which. Now, a few years later, I don't care either way.

I hope this encourages more developers to support DualShock/Sense controllers natively. I feel they are the better controller for PC.

The Steam deck is probably the most ergonomic game controller ever made, why change the formula ¯\_( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉)_/¯

Completely disagree. While the Steam Deck controller isn't bad, it's far too cramped to be ideal. It's a compromise because it's being bolted onto a small form factor computing device.
The Steam Controller was my personal favourite, but then I know a lot of people found it too large. The PS4 controller is a good compromise. PS5 seems fine too. The older XBox controllers were good too. I find new ones to be oddly shaped.

The Steam deck is probably the most ergonomic game controller ever made, why change the formula ¯\_( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉)_/¯

Completely disagree. While the Steam Deck controller isn't bad, it's far too cramped to be ideal. It's a compromise because it's being bolted onto a small form factor computing device.
The Steam Controller was my personal favourite, but then I know a lot of people found it too large. The PS4 controller is a good compromise. PS5 seems fine too. The older XBox controllers were good too. I find new ones to be oddly shaped.

i guess then, everyone likes different things. which is okay 👍️

I prefer to play using a gamepad these days. My sofa/TV gaming setup makes keyboard and mouse gaming a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

This is why we need a Steam Controller 2.

I concur wholeheartedly.

This is why we need a Steam Controller 2. Then you have the best of both worlds. If they released a Steam controller that was essentially a steam deck with no GPU/CPU/RAM/HDD/FAN etc.. but just the light weight shell + touch screen for keyboard with the exact or similar layout, maybe with replaced the right touch pad with a few physical WASD buttons and give everything PROPER rumble rather than the angry fly trapped inside the controller haptics. That would mean you could fully 'PC' from the couch in comfort.

Do we really need another gamepad? There are plenty of gamepads out there already, Valve already tried and people didn't want it. There is absolutely no need for some weird ones with WASD layout when D-pad already exists and Steam Client let's you reconfigure everything.

There are plenty of gamepads but none quite like the Steam Controller which actually has a cult following meaning that some people did want it. It is a shame that many more chose more expensive gamepads with less functionality, worse battery life, and more stick drift.

Valve already tried and people didn't want it. There is absolutely no need for some weird ones with WASD layout when D-pad already exists and Steam Client let's you reconfigure everything.

The WASD is just an idea, the right trackpad is just kind of there and not typically used much. it's not something it absolutely needs i agree, in fact Some of the new handhelds offer a switch to make the dpad WASD.

I use both touch pads extensively and cannot go back to sticks. The former are just much more versatile and also do not suffer from stick drift which every console manufacturer has experienced with their gamepads.

There are plenty of gamepads but none quite like the Steam Controller which actually has a cult following meaning that some people did want it. It is a shame that many more chose more expensive gamepads with less functionality, worse battery life, and more stick drift.

Missing essentials and then claiming that others have less functionality is a weird hill to take a position on. Stick drift is non-issue for hall effect joysticks and touchpads don't replace joysticks. Cult following often have unreasonable affection for weird things, yet weird controllers most often fail. The best part of Steam Controller was its customization, which was later added to all controllers thanks to SteamInput.

There are plenty of gamepads but none quite like the Steam Controller which actually has a cult following meaning that some people did want it. It is a shame that many more chose more expensive gamepads with less functionality, worse battery life, and more stick drift.

Missing essentials and then claiming that others have less functionality is a weird hill to take a position on. Stick drift is non-issue for hall effect joysticks and touchpads don't replace joysticks. Cult following often have unreasonable affection for weird things, yet weird controllers most often fail. The best part of Steam Controller was its customization, which was later added to all controllers thanks to SteamInput.

Missing essentials like what? Another vestigial stick that would also get stick drift? Now that is a weird hill to take a position on, particularly when the Steam Controller has plenty of features compared to the console controllers while costing less to boot. That is not even debatable. The touch pads alone offer a plethora of options simply not possible on those other controllers.

Stick drift is not an issue for Hall effect sticks which are another solution, yes, but do Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft offer those on their controllers? No. Not even their incredibly expensive premium controllers do. The Elite Series had stick drift so Microsoft decided to release the Elite Series 2 which costs even more while also boasting stick drift. Sony even turned stick drift into a business by selling replacement sticks for the very expensive DualSense Edge instead of simply having it use Hall effect sticks from the start for its outrageous price. Hall effect sticks have been around for decades yet barely any controller manufacturers and no console manufacturers want to use them. Heck, I believe the Dreamcast controller used a Hall effect stick decades ago but that did not catch on which is unfortunate. Touch pads definitely do replace and most assuredly surpass sticks considering the stick drift epidemic and how much more versatile they are. I would not be surprised if more controllers out there in the hands of consumers used touch pads rather than Hall effect sticks.

An unreasonable affection for weird things is rather dismissive considering the facts. Like I said, it is a shame that many more chose more expensive gamepads with less functionality, worse battery life, and more stick drift, but to each their own. I find reports of stick drift practically every single day in the circles I frequent and just wonder how many of these people actively and perhaps even vulgarly shunned the Steam Controller for its touch pads. Would it be appropriate to say that these people shot themselves in the foot?

Yes, the customisation is excellent, but it was not exactly added to all controllers later thanks to Steam Input when said controllers miss basic features like, and let's ignore the phenomenal touch pads for a moment, back buttons. Kind of ironic since you started your comment by saying that the Steam Controller is missing features. Like I implied earlier, the Steam Controller is a monster considering the price it launched at, offering features normally seen in premium controllers.

There are plenty of gamepads but none quite like the Steam Controller which actually has a cult following meaning that some people did want it. It is a shame that many more chose more expensive gamepads with less functionality, worse battery life, and more stick drift.

Missing essentials and then claiming that others have less functionality is a weird hill to take a position on. Stick drift is non-issue for hall effect joysticks and touchpads don't replace joysticks. Cult following often have unreasonable affection for weird things, yet weird controllers most often fail. The best part of Steam Controller was its customization, which was later added to all controllers thanks to SteamInput.

Missing essentials like what? Another vestigial stick that would also get stick drift? Now that is a weird hill to take a position on, particularly when the Steam Controller has plenty of features compared to the console controllers while costing less to boot. That is not even debatable. The touch pads alone offer a plethora of options simply not possible on those other controllers.

Stick drift is not an issue for Hall effect sticks which are another solution, yes, but do Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft offer those on their controllers? No. Not even their incredibly expensive premium controllers do. The Elite Series had stick drift so Microsoft decided to release the Elite Series 2 which costs even more while also boasting stick drift. Sony even turned stick drift into a business by selling replacement sticks for the very expensive DualSense Edge instead of simply having it use Hall effect sticks from the start for its outrageous price. Hall effect sticks have been around for decades yet barely any controller manufacturers and no console manufacturers want to use them. Heck, I believe the Dreamcast controller used a Hall effect stick decades ago but that did not catch on which is unfortunate. Touch pads definitely do replace and most assuredly surpass sticks considering the stick drift epidemic and how much more versatile they are. I would not be surprised if more controllers out there in the hands of consumers used touch pads rather than Hall effect sticks.

An unreasonable affection for weird things is rather dismissive considering the facts. Like I said, it is a shame that many more chose more expensive gamepads with less functionality, worse battery life, and more stick drift, but to each their own. I find reports of stick drift practically every single day in the circles I frequent and just wonder how many of these people actively and perhaps even vulgarly shunned the Steam Controller for its touch pads. Would it be appropriate to say that these people shot themselves in the foot?

Yes, the customisation is excellent, but it was not exactly added to all controllers later thanks to Steam Input when said controllers miss basic features like, and let's ignore the phenomenal touch pads for a moment, back buttons. Kind of ironic since you started your comment by saying that the Steam Controller is missing features. Like I implied earlier, the Steam Controller is a monster considering the price it launched at, offering features normally seen in premium controllers.

LOL, you mean those back buttons that they got sued for. Back buttons are not essential, they are nice to have. 2 joysticks are essential. Only Nintendo can challenge what is essential and even they make mistakes.

Valve learned an expensive lesson from that, so Steam Deck didn't remove anything essential, just added more nice to haves. They probably could have done only 1 touchpad, but that would have looked weird. Most people really don't like weird gamepads.

Even Steam Deck has those shitty joysticks that will eventually drift, they come with huge dead-zone from start. I don't think Steam Controller had hall effect sensors either.

There could be many reasons why other gamepad makers don't use hall effect sensors for joysticks:
* Other companies have patents, which means extra cost.
* It doesn't play well when your gamepad already has hall effect sensors in triggers.
* Stick drift isn't that bad issue for large enough group of people, who played long enough to buy a new one.
* Easy remedy for early stick drift is to add little more deadzone.