Valve has announced to developers that they're going to be rolling out better ways to show off controller support for games on Steam.
In the announcement, they highlighted the additional checks they will be putting in for PlayStation DualShock and DualSense controllers. Giving developers the ability to go through a controller-support questionnaire in Steamworks, to indicate if their games play well with controllers like the DualShock or DualSense.
Valve said that starting in October, they will be rolling out new ways to show this controller support to Steam users. One way may look a bit like this:
The updates to how Steam will display new controller support will include:
- Updates to store page area that displays controller support to also specify the level of PlayStation controller usage.
- Updates to some browse pages to make it easier for players to find new games that support their controller device well.
- Updates to the Steam Desktop client to indicate a game in your library has PlayStation controller support.
- Updates to the Steam Desktop client to make it more clear when a game requires use of a controller to play.
As for why Valve are doing this they said that it has become much more common for PC players to use a controller, noting that since 2017 Steam has "seen over 87 Million users play at least once using a controller" and about 67% of them use a form of Xbox controller, with the rest being "PlayStation controllers, Switch Pro Controllers, and hundreds of other devices". However recently they've seen the most growth with PlayStation controllers noting that in 2018 they were only "about 11%" but they now see "27%" use PlayStation controllers.
Clearly using a controller on PC is popular, so it's good to see Valve are helping developers to better advertise what their games support.
With the Steam Deck out, and many other handhelds coming along, hopefully we will also see even more developers actually hook up some proper full controller support with a good UI for it.
What's your preferred gaming input? Do you stick with a mouse? Use a controller? Let us know in the comments.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
FutureSuture Nov 10, 2023
Indeed, those back buttons. Even people who do not like the Steam Controller thought that was pretty shady. At this point, I find them essential and it is quite sad that the three console manufacturers have not standardised them for their controllers yet. At least they can slap them on premium controllers and charge more, though. Two sticks are not essential for me. Heck, not even one is essential. The Steam Controller's touch pads have completely obsoleted them for me. When a technology is much more versatile plus does not suffer from a common issue the other technology suffers from, it is not even a contest for me any longer.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.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.
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.
I would use sticks again if they were Hall effect sticks, thus guaranteeing that they would not drift, but touch pads would still be my preferred input method. If a controller has two touch pads and two Hall effect sticks, I would have trouble figuring out what to use the latter for. More options are always good, though.
Those could all be reasons for the lack of Hall effect sticks on modern controllers. Truly unfortunate and disappointing. All three console manufacturers have been sued over stick drift, however, so I hope that opened some eyes.
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