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dualpad

@ dualpad @lemmy.zip

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  • Steam Controller (2026) - PCGamer Review

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  • Entire Steam client needing to be run doesn't really bother me, since some external program is running anyways and I don't see the Steam launcher as that resource heavy. Problem I have is more how difficult it can be to get Steam Input to be recognized by some non Steam games.

    Less of an issue now, since most of my non Steam purchases are DRM free GOG games. But, years back when I tried to use it in gamepass had trouble because I couldn't access the directory to add in the exe to Steam due to UWP, so I had to use an external programs like glossi that would create an invisible overlay so my config could be used in Gamepass games or other launcher/drm based games that caused me trouble.

    But, I really wish software wasn't needed at all once you set up the config and could save the configs on the controller itself to run and it'd behave the way you wanted it to. No Steam needed. No stand alone Steam Input program needed.

  • Steam Controller (2026) - PCGamer Review

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  • Yeah it may seem weird. I don't find the need for Steam Input to configure the controller weird, since I personally use it to do some unusual things with my controllers mixing mouse/keyboard/gamepad inputs on controllers ranging from the 8bitdo, playstation, to OG steam controller. When it comes to my controller use on PC I am rarely happy with the default controller setup, so need a remapper. And put in gyro into almost every game I play at the minimum.

    But, am disappointed that the new Steam Controller didn't put in support to save profiles so you don't need Steam running to use. And that the default lizard mode when Steam isn't running isn't something more logical like having all the regular controller inputs being xinput so people can just use it as a regular xbox controller and the touchpads just behaving as a mouse and the click being mouse click for desktop navigation.

  • Steam Controller (2026) - PCGamer Review

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  • Like I said.

    That said this controller for the price should have had a way to save profiles so they could be used without needing Steam running.

  • [Gamers Nexus] Valve Steam Controller Review | Latency Benchmarks, Battery Life, Repairability

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  • I do get their point. But, it's not a GamerNexus exclusive criticism though, since it's like giving a gaming mouse to someone who only uses a controller to review it then being surprised the type of insight you'd expect from a review channel centered around gaming mice. Like covering latency which is useful and general feel, but not really getting into how it translates to different grip styles and doing tracking and flick tests to see how their aim translates over.

    For a good review I would expect some coverage highlighting the unique features of the Steam Controller like the gyro, touchpads, capacitive joysticks, and grip sensors along with some basic Steam Input information on what exactly are the settings available for the grip sensors. Those are after all the features that are missing from cheaper alternatives. Coverage on that for gyro gamers interested in the controller because of that tech and how well it works as a gyro activation features has been lacking, since these are inputs that many reviewers are not familiar with. Along with how the gyro compares to existing controllers and how prone to drift it is and how smooth the gyro is when mouse is bound to it on high refresh rate monitors.

    Lot of the controller perspectives have felt like they are coming from the point of view of Xbox controller users who pick up a mouse for everything else, so not having much understanding or experience in how to really utilize these features or not having enough time in the two weeks they got to try it to really understand it. So coverage has been just some few second long clips of this feature exists and being more mentioned because it is on the spec sheet. It's like getting a review on a motorcycle from a channel that only reviews cars and hasn't driven motorcycles before.

    I guess what I'd at the minimum expect is an example like this old 10 year old clip at the 1:21 mark of someone showcasing mouse input on the touchpads, gyro being activated on touch, and then demonstrating it being used to aim at multiple targets and getting forth a lot more information in those 40 seconds than 20 minute long videos to people who hadn't seen that type of input use before and actually coming across as though they have put in time to be actually proficient at it.

  • [Gamers Nexus] Valve Steam Controller Review | Latency Benchmarks, Battery Life, Repairability

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  • You can pop off the joystick after opening up the controller and replace it with either the 8bitdo joystick or steam deck joystick. Whatever is cheapest. This video shows shows the process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH8CmCkltzY

  • Excited to announce our Steam Controller arrives on Steam May 4th at 10 a.m. PT. | Valve via Bluesky

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  • It's not ideal for mouse gamers, but gyro is ideal for controller gamers with it being the best option available that makes it possible for controller gamers to play fps games without aim assist vs mouse players.

    Though only reason I mentioned possible when it comes to the touchpad use on the new Steam Controller is since it is up in the air until I actually get to try it to see if it will be ideal to use as a touchpad gyro controller like my original Steam Controller with the different ergonomics it has.

    I'm looking at this controller more as gamepad exclusive gamer than a PC user that only sometimes uses the controller and mouse for other games on PC. Guess more similar to being from the perspective of a console player with many opting for controller even after a game gets mouse support.

  • Featured

    Steam Controller page updated: $99 USD, releases May 4th

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  • I also use eneloops and the same eneloops I used since I got my Steam Controller back in 2015 and would also use on my 360 controller still go about a month before needing a charge.

  • Excited to announce our Steam Controller arrives on Steam May 4th at 10 a.m. PT. | Valve via Bluesky

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  • I wouldn’t even say they’re good for FPS. Mouse is still gonna be king for that.

    I use them to play FPS like The Finals. My set up being gyro being activated when I touch the right touchpad, edge to edge swipe of the touchpad doing a 180, and clicking the edges/center for 5 different inputs.

    Gyro and touchpads having mouse mapped to them so no aim assist. Not sure how the ergonomics of the controller will be though for FPS, since I didn't find them comfortable to use on the Deck due to touchpads being lower than the OG Steam Controller. But, some people don't have issue with them, so it is possible.

  • Excited to announce our Steam Controller arrives on Steam May 4th at 10 a.m. PT. | Valve via Bluesky

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  • I use it for games designed for controller too. Like Pragmata preferring the touchpads for turning the camera around over joystick, and gyro to aim.

  • Steam Controller (2026) - PCGamer Review

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  • Get the wireless version. Not the bluetooth version. Reason is because the 8bitdo ultimate 2 wireless got a firmware update so it supports dinput mode when you power it on while holding down the B button. That provides full Steam Input support to rebind the extra 2 bumpers and paddles to any input you want. Wireless version does have bluetooth support, but difference is just that the one with the bluetooth name is one that connects to the Switch console over bluetooth and the wireless one made more with PC support in mind. Which is the reason it got dinput update while the bluetooth version didn't.

  • Steam Controller (2026) - PCGamer Review

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  • Doesn't have gyro. I like playing games without aim assist preferring raw input aiming with mouse bound to the gyro.

    I'd pick up other third party controllers over a Xbox these days, since hall effect and TMR sticks are standard. Extra grip buttons are common on third party controllers too without paying Xbox Elite prices, which are notorious for breaking down despite the premium price. And lot of third party controllers offer gyro too.

    My 360 controller still works and I've used them for playing through Yakuza on the PC. But, when it comes to buying a new controller Xbox is last on my list now. Too many missing features while not being cheaper than the alternatives out there.

  • Steam Controller (2026) - PCGamer Review

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  • People seem to like the idea of just having to use when they need mouse input instead of having to grab a mouse or using the touchpads to type something quickly over grabbing a keyboard. Useful if you are gaming in the living room, so more a convenience.

    For gameplay others have liked setting up touch menus. Like for retroarch on the Steam Deck I set up a touch menu with short cuts to bring up the menu, select save states, rewind and fast forward.

    And in my case I actually prefer to use the touchpads as primary inputs in FPS titles like The Finals. I set up the right touchpad so gyro is activated on touch, swiping to quickly turn, and setting up a dpad modeshift to act as a facebutton replacement by expanding the clicks from 1 to 5. So lets me not have to take my thumb off the right pad.

    Not sure the ergonomics of the new Steam Controller will be good for dual pad gaming though, since didn't find myself finding the Deck touchpads comfortable for that use case do to them being lower than the OG Steam Controller.

  • Steam Controller (2026) - PCGamer Review

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  • You'd need to use Steam Input anyways to set up unique inputs like touchpads, capacitive sticks, and grip sensors other controllers don't have.

    Those features are kind of the point of the new Steam Controller and requires user set up on a per game basis, since they aren't natively supported in games.

    So it is pointless to spend more on the Steam Controller if you are just wanting a Xbox controller experience. It's an enthusiast controller where the extra price is for the inputs other controllers don't have to set up to be used in ways devs didn't anticipate.

    That said this controller for the price should have had a way to save profiles so they could be used without needing Steam running.

  • Steam Controller (2026) - PCGamer Review

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  • Difference is that those who extensively use Steam Input like me have already been adding games to Steam to utilize Steam Input in non Steam games to set up things like gyro aim, radial menus, modeshifts, action sets, etc.

    Steam Input is a powerful remapper and free. Paid options like ReWASD ended up getting people banned, since mouse and keyboard users started using it to cheat by having their mouse emulate a joystick and the company refusing to remove support to bind controller inputs to mouse/keyboard.

    It'd come down to how good Epic's controller remapping software is in supporting advanced configs, and customization for inputs like gyro and touchpads and third party controllers.

  • Why do you need a launcher? (asking older gamers actually)

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  • I use Steam Input to set up mouse input on my controller to utilize gyro aiming, which lets me play against mouse players without utilizing aim assist.

    And I also set up keyboard inputs on my controller to be able to utilize keyboard short cuts over relying on things like the weapon/item wheel.

    Makes it so I get a controller experience that is more mouse and keyboard like that I couldn't get relying on default controller schemes.

  • steam vs gog, which game store to buy from?

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  • It's why I pointed out the omission of Steam Input and only focusing on what you find frivolous even though you yourself use Steam Input made your argument seem misleading. That one truthfulness about using Steam Input did end up hurting the initial statement, since it went from what could have been waved off to ignorance or not finding use in it to becoming a sign of intentional removal of information due fear it undermines the main thesis.

    It would have been better to state the pros of GOG which can stand on its own. Even now you seem to be undermining the utility of Steam Input choosing to keep highlighting the gimmicks which gives off the sense of still not wanting add to the idea that there is utility Steam provides beyond that. As though gimmicks negate whatever utility is provided.

    All I'm saying is it would have been a stronger argument to bring up the utility you find in combination with bring up the negatives you find about Steam, which would have given off a stronger impartiality when it came to your stance conveying to readers you can recognize both the good and the bad. That would have led to a stronger final conclusion than one that seems more overtly one sided.

  • steam vs gog, which game store to buy from?

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  • Fixating only on features you don't care about to argue your point while omitting the features of Steam you find useful due to it not strengthening your position is rather misleading. Steam workshop is another I forgot I have found useful for mods for certain games.

    GOG strengths like DRM free and install files are good enough to stand on its own without trying to make it as though Steam's feature only have things you see as worthless.

  • steam vs gog, which game store to buy from?

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  • I don't consider Steam Input to be a gimmick. I use it to turn my Steam Controller (2015) into a mouse/keyboard like experience on a controller. Setting things up like touch activate gyro with mouse bound to the touchpads and gyro. And then using a combination of modeshifts and chords to shift the touchpads into a set of 5 inputs on edge/center tap and then an additional 5 when holding down the left grip. This lets me keep my thumbs on movement and camera controls throughout the game, and have to rely less on weapon wheels. An example is where I left click on my right to reload, center click to melee, up click to switch to gadget 1, and right click to switch to gadget 2, down click to switch to gadget 3. I also use Steam Input to set a sprint on the outer edge, so I can sprint when I want to instead of having to rely on things like toggle sprint or auto sprint.

    And when I use regular dual joystick controllers like the 8bitdo Ultimate 2 Wireless I'll set the extra bumper button to act as a modeshift to turn the joystick or facebuttons into a dpad as an example, so I don't have to move my left thumb off the joystick to the dpad and temporarily lose my ability to move. This made Nier Replicant a fun experience for me setting up the dpad to switch between the 3 different weapons during combat while being able to continue to move around. Steam Input also lets me set up mouse input on the gyro while retaining analog triggers without having to bother with the much less feature rich 8bitdo controller app. People have used Steam Input to set up touch activated gyro on the dualsense and used conductive tape to set up touch activated gyro like on the Steam Deck and the upcoming Steam Controller (2026).

    Steam Input also has things like touch menus and radial menus, so it can really change the gameplay experience due to being able to set up configs for game actions devs didn't set it up to do. Like an example is Doom Eternal where people kept asking to be able to bind specific weapons to the facebuttons or dpad so people could quick switch like keyboard users instead of the weapon wheel to bypass reload animation and shoot faster. Devs finally provided that option much much later, but Steam Input users were able to do things like set up a modeshift so holding down the right bumper would shift the facebuttons into something like keyboard keys 1,2,4,4 and behave as regular XYAB when the right bumper isn't held down without need for devs to change the game.

    Steam Input changed the controller experience to one where I don't use aim assist on controllers, so when most people default to aim assist in games that just goes to show how valuable Steam Input has been for controller users who utilize it and want more from the controller experience beyond default Xbox controller setup. I would enjoy games less if Steam Input went away because of how feature rich it is compared to other controller remappers out there. Gotten to a point where even if I play non Steam games I'm trying to get Steam Input working with it, so I can customize my controller experience.

  • Valve’s Steam Machine looks like a console, but don’t expect it to be priced like one - Ars Technica

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  • I don't think their hardware sales becoming insanely profitable is their main goal and their focus on the finance side might be to at the very worst break even.

    Their main goal I believe is to try to increase Linux usage so the holdouts against it might start allowing their games to run on Linux, and devs may feel that with Stean machines out there that can run their more resource heavy games better than the Deck it is worth it to pursue proton compatibility.

    They probably learned from the mistakes they made in the past when they pushed Linux adoption attempts on to third party companies. They realized they needed to provide some standardized hardware instead of leaving the work to others if they wanted Linux to start being taken more seriously among devs with how small the userbase still is even with the Deck success.