Hey! I finally got this Steam controller, and it is really great! I love it! The ability to customize and bind inputs is unparalleled. And it adds instant game controller support to your entire Steam game collection, including all Steam games that otherwise have little to no gamepad support whatsoever. And if you don't want to waste time binding all of the controls yourself, take advantage of the hive mind and use a config created by the community. And the built-in "Six Axis" feature of the Steam Controller is far more useful here than those lousy implementations in PS3 and PS4 games. But there are also some serious issues that come with the benefits...
This gamepad is only great for some types of games, good for others, and can be atrocious for everything else. For games like Stardew Valley, OMG is it amazing! Setting up the left pad to activate the touchpad UI for quick selection of the number row for items. But for games requiring fast and precise movements like shooters, it is a disaster.
I play a game called Attack on Titan Tribute Game regularly, and for this game, no matter how hard I tried, could not get a feasible setup for the controller. The game requires fast and precise mouse movements back and forth constantly. I have to right-click and drag the mouse to move the camera as well as release the right-click so I can do some aiming with the cursor. It's way more complicated for a Steam controller than it sounds, but a keyboard and mouse can do it just fine. Also, when I use a keyboard, I have to operate multiple keys and very often hold down and release a slew of key combinations of up to five or six keys at any given time to complete maneuvers, "W, Q, E, Shift, L-Click, Side-Click, R-Click, and Mouse Scroll, etc" all the while I'm aiming the mouse too. Imagine holding down five buttons on a gamepad while also working two joysticks. It's just not possible. And macros won't work because I need to also release some of these keys whenever needed during different stages of my attacks. I never realized how versatile the keyboard and mouse setup is until now. It's just crazy.
And the gyro feature is really good however. It can be programmed to make small mouse movements for added higher precision control, benefiting shooters but moreso RTS games. I found myself using the gyro in every game possible because it really does a decent job. I like using it for 3D horror games because they I can't freak out or else the camera will spaz. It's actually pretty good for this, albeit still a just tad cumbersome when compared to just using an actual mouse. "It gets the job done" would be the best way to put it. I don't play FPS shooters, so I can't comment too much on that, but I've heard it also "gets the job done" so long as you don't play competitively online.
Your ability to configure your controller however is endless. You can make the controller do almost anything you want. And you can literally configure the controller to have 200 unique inputs to any given time. But you have to do all of this configuring in "Big Picture Mode" which is a disappointment. And as said, the controller is instantly compatible with your entire Steam collection thanks to solid keyboard emulation along with community configurations making it easy to jump into a game with minimal hassle. The controller also has a lot of haptic feedback. The controller will use the rumble to produce small and large "popping" sensations to help you understand what you are doing to the touchpad. The left touchpad can even have a "pop" effect when you move from the outer ring trigger to the inner and vice versa. The haptic feedback really helps make the touchpads less of a touchpad and more of a legitimate way of controlling your game.
This controller is actually really great. It's just that it really only makes sense for half the games in existence like MMO/RTS or already-controller-oriented games and the other half being all of your fast-pace mouse-moving games like competitive shooters and Attack on Titan Tribute Game that are just better off with a standard keyboard and mouse, even if you prefer going "couch mode." Community configs make jumping into a game fast and easy, but be prepared to make your own configs if your favorite game just happens to be niche and unknown to the majority of gamers out there. And the software still feels "beta-ish" even months after release with your desktop profile being active over the actual game profiles because the Steam software hasn't realized you left the desktop and are currently in a game. And the whole fact that you have to use Big Picture Mode to do this customization. Steam says they are working to fix these things, but Valve operates on "Valve time" and so it may never happen.
This gamepad is only great for some types of games, good for others, and can be atrocious for everything else. For games like Stardew Valley, OMG is it amazing! Setting up the left pad to activate the touchpad UI for quick selection of the number row for items. But for games requiring fast and precise movements like shooters, it is a disaster.
I play a game called Attack on Titan Tribute Game regularly, and for this game, no matter how hard I tried, could not get a feasible setup for the controller. The game requires fast and precise mouse movements back and forth constantly. I have to right-click and drag the mouse to move the camera as well as release the right-click so I can do some aiming with the cursor. It's way more complicated for a Steam controller than it sounds, but a keyboard and mouse can do it just fine. Also, when I use a keyboard, I have to operate multiple keys and very often hold down and release a slew of key combinations of up to five or six keys at any given time to complete maneuvers, "W, Q, E, Shift, L-Click, Side-Click, R-Click, and Mouse Scroll, etc" all the while I'm aiming the mouse too. Imagine holding down five buttons on a gamepad while also working two joysticks. It's just not possible. And macros won't work because I need to also release some of these keys whenever needed during different stages of my attacks. I never realized how versatile the keyboard and mouse setup is until now. It's just crazy.
And the gyro feature is really good however. It can be programmed to make small mouse movements for added higher precision control, benefiting shooters but moreso RTS games. I found myself using the gyro in every game possible because it really does a decent job. I like using it for 3D horror games because they I can't freak out or else the camera will spaz. It's actually pretty good for this, albeit still a just tad cumbersome when compared to just using an actual mouse. "It gets the job done" would be the best way to put it. I don't play FPS shooters, so I can't comment too much on that, but I've heard it also "gets the job done" so long as you don't play competitively online.
Your ability to configure your controller however is endless. You can make the controller do almost anything you want. And you can literally configure the controller to have 200 unique inputs to any given time. But you have to do all of this configuring in "Big Picture Mode" which is a disappointment. And as said, the controller is instantly compatible with your entire Steam collection thanks to solid keyboard emulation along with community configurations making it easy to jump into a game with minimal hassle. The controller also has a lot of haptic feedback. The controller will use the rumble to produce small and large "popping" sensations to help you understand what you are doing to the touchpad. The left touchpad can even have a "pop" effect when you move from the outer ring trigger to the inner and vice versa. The haptic feedback really helps make the touchpads less of a touchpad and more of a legitimate way of controlling your game.
This controller is actually really great. It's just that it really only makes sense for half the games in existence like MMO/RTS or already-controller-oriented games and the other half being all of your fast-pace mouse-moving games like competitive shooters and Attack on Titan Tribute Game that are just better off with a standard keyboard and mouse, even if you prefer going "couch mode." Community configs make jumping into a game fast and easy, but be prepared to make your own configs if your favorite game just happens to be niche and unknown to the majority of gamers out there. And the software still feels "beta-ish" even months after release with your desktop profile being active over the actual game profiles because the Steam software hasn't realized you left the desktop and are currently in a game. And the whole fact that you have to use Big Picture Mode to do this customization. Steam says they are working to fix these things, but Valve operates on "Valve time" and so it may never happen.
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