That Steam Controller

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I owned one at one point and felt ripped off. The controller just failed the “feedback” check, where the controller didn’t FEEL like I was pressing anything. It just felt very fake.

Did anybody else own one? I hope somebody out there had fun with it, and if you did, share your experiences!

 

[Iguana-0]

probably a helluva lot better than the Logitech F-310 controller

 

[Gorse]

I never owned one, but me and a friend played a lot of Portal 2 co-op one summer, and I got pretty familiar with his.

The slide d-pad things are incredibly dumb and awkward to use. I know for a fact that the person designing the controller had FPS games in mind, so why he thought "Hm, I know, I'll replace the analog stick... WITH A TRACKPAD!!!!!" is beyond my comprehension. Pointing and aiming feels clumsy and awkward, just like when you're using a poor-quality trackpad on a laptop.

I also really didn't like how every button on the controller was mapped to a different in-game action. Portal is one of the simplest first-person games ever conceived, but I was making my fingers into pretzels and sliding all over the place just trying to play the game normally. I also felt that the face buttons were really, really cramped – they're tucked away in some tight corner of the controller, away from where my thumbs are during gameplay. Am I not supposed to be using them?

The Steam controller felt exactly like what it was: a console gamepad designed by a PC developer.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

That’s what I felt too. It tried too hard to be good at everything a keyboard and mouse could already do, rather than just being a cheap and solid controller for games on Steam that play better with one.

 

[VidiyaGaemer]

It has a learning curve and isn't optimal for like, 2D games because of the touch D pad. But once it clicks, it clicks. I still want more manufacturers to support gyro both in hardware and software. Gyro opened up aiming with precision in a way that never clicked with me with right analog sticks. Not just is the SC a hardware marvel imo but it birthed Steam Input which alone is worth it even if you stick with different controllers. Remapping button schemes to shareable profiles! Gimme. Mapping kb and m controls to a controller! Gimme. Its so misunderstood.....but hopefully with the Steam Deck and the upcoming SC2, those misunderstandings can lessen up.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

It has a learning curve and isn't optimal for like, 2D games because of the touch D pad. But once it clicks, it clicks. I still want more manufacturers to support gyro both in hardware and software. Gyro opened up aiming with precision in a way that never clicked with me with right analog sticks. Not just is the SC a hardware marvel imo but it birthed Steam Input which alone is worth it even if you stick with different controllers. Remapping button schemes to shareable profiles! Gimme. Mapping kb and m controls to a controller! Gimme. It’s so misunderstood.....but hopefully with the Steam Deck and the upcoming SC2, those misunderstandings can lessen up.

I agree on the gyro. It’s the best for aiming.

My problem is more that, if you’re marketing a controller, it’s going to be for people who don’t like to use a keyboard and mouse. Which means they probably play games that don’t play well with keyboard and mouse.

 

[ShadowsofCreation]

I personally love the steam controller, but only for very specific instances. I've set it up to work with Dragon Age: Origins for example and it is fantastic. It is not a replacement for first person aiming by any means in shooters though.

Post automatically merged: Mar 26, 2025

I agree on the gyro. It’s the best for aiming.

My problem is more that, if you’re marketing a controller, it’s going to be for people who don’t like to use a keyboard and mouse. Which means they probably play games that don’t play well with keyboard and mouse.

But... that was the entire point. To make a controller that could replicate what a keyboard and mouse does for those who didn't want to use a keyboard and mouse. It was to open up those games that do use keyboard and mouse to players who didn't want to use that interface. It was designed to be used along with the steam link to make a couch option. You can argue its effectiveness (Or lack there of) but your post makes it feel like you missed the point entirely xD

'People who use controllers just aren't interested in games that use keyboard and mouse' is... one hell of a take xD. You are arguing the input method alone would make someone suddenly not interested in a game, even if it is in a genre they enjoy. Feels far more likely to me that the input method would be a barrier to entry that PREVENTS people from playing said games, not one that makes them suddenly uninterested, and the Steam controller was meant to overcome that barrier.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

I never owned one, but me and a friend played a lot of Portal 2 co-op one summer, and I got pretty familiar with his.

The slide d-pad things are incredibly dumb and awkward to use. I know for a fact that the person designing the controller had FPS games in mind, so why he thought "Hm, I know, I'll replace the analog stick... WITH A TRACKPAD!!!!!" is beyond my comprehension. Pointing and aiming feels clumsy and awkward, just like when you're using a poor-quality trackpad on a laptop.

I also really didn't like how every button on the controller was mapped to a different in-game action. Portal is one of the simplest first-person games ever conceived, but I was making my fingers into pretzels and sliding all over the place just trying to play the game normally. I also felt that the face buttons were really, really cramped – they're tucked away in some tight corner of the controller, away from where my thumbs are during gameplay. Am I not supposed to be using them?

The Steam controller felt exactly like what it was: a console gamepad designed by a PC developer.

I remember seeing pics of the prototype in high school and thinking "wtf is that?"
Finally I know it was real and worked

Post automatically merged: Mar 26, 2025

It has a learning curve and isn't optimal for like, 2D games because of the touch D pad. But once it clicks, it clicks. I still want more manufacturers to support gyro both in hardware and software. Gyro opened up aiming with precision in a way that never clicked with me with right analog sticks. Not just is the SC a hardware marvel imo but it birthed Steam Input which alone is worth it even if you stick with different controllers. Remapping button schemes to shareable profiles! Gimme. Mapping kb and m controls to a controller! Gimme. Its so misunderstood.....but hopefully with the Steam Deck and the upcoming SC2, those misunderstandings can lessen up.

I'm supremely pissed off at how the ps4 controller has gyro but no games uses it yet the damn thing still costs 50 euros because of it

I met up with two firends from high school and they never played an fps game on pc and one seriously didn't know how I find fps games on a controller unplayable and how aiming with a mouse is better; I had to explain to him "Imagine moving the cursor on the ps3 browser with the analog stick, is it better than using a mouse? Would you use it at work?"

I guess I forgot that will steam made playing games on pc way more popular it's still completly uncharterted territory for normies

 

[Jeanfranc]

I'm supremely pissed off at how the ps4 controller has gyro but no games uses it yet the damn thing still costs 50 euros because of it

Damn thieves I tell you, if it were for me there would no gyro, no touchpad and no shitty adaptive triggers to make you REALLY FEEL IT when you slowly open a door in in God of War (or every every modern third-person cinematic game).
At least Nintendo uses the extra features they put in their controllers, gyro aiming is great.

 

[SLEDGE_DOG]

Steam controller is great. I ended up with three of them.
I think the big mistake people make is thinking it's a plug and play sort of device like any other controller. If you just go with whatever defaults it gives you, you'll probably have a bad time with it. There's so many different settings and options, you really need to make custom setups or use someone else's to get the most out of it. The fact you can adjust how clicky the buttons feel as a software setting is a seller for me alone.
When playing an FPS or similar, the pads should be used for big movements and gyro for small movements. Set it to only activate gyro when you aim down sights if you want even.
The squeeze buttons on the bottom of the pad are awesome and open up a lot more options. I'd use them to replace the entire face layout while they're held.
There's definitely a learning curve that average controllers won't have, but it's absolutely the closest thing to keyboard/mouse controls in pad form.

 

[ShadowsofCreation]

Steam controller is great. I ended up with three of them.
I think the big mistake people make is thinking it's a plug and play sort of device like any other controller. If you just go with whatever defaults it gives you, you'll probably have a bad time with it. There's so many different settings and options, you really need to make custom setups or use someone else's to get the most out of it. The fact you can adjust how clicky the buttons feel as a software setting is a seller for me alone.
When playing an FPS or similar, the pads should be used for big movements and gyro for small movements. Set it to only activate gyro when you aim down sights if you want even.
The squeeze buttons on the bottom of the pad are awesome and open up a lot more options. I'd use them to replace the entire face layout while they're held.
There's definitely a learning curve that average controllers won't have, but it's absolutely the closest thing to keyboard/mouse controls in pad form.

This! Absolutely everything said here is fantastic.

 

[VidiyaGaemer]

Steam controller is great. I ended up with three of them.
I think the big mistake people make is thinking it's a plug and play sort of device like any other controller. If you just go with whatever defaults it gives you, you'll probably have a bad time with it. There's so many different settings and options, you really need to make custom setups or use someone else's to get the most out of it. The fact you can adjust how clicky the buttons feel as a software setting is a seller for me alone.
When playing an FPS or similar, the pads should be used for big movements and gyro for small movements. Set it to only activate gyro when you aim down sights if you want even.
The squeeze buttons on the bottom of the pad are awesome and open up a lot more options. I'd use them to replace the entire face layout while they're held.
There's definitely a learning curve that average controllers won't have, but it's absolutely the closest thing to keyboard/mouse controls in pad form.

This exactly. Thats why in my post I said it has a learning curve, to me part of the appeal is tinkering with it and Steam Input to create your own shareable control setups

 

[Adrastia]

I remember seeing pics of the prototype in high school and thinking "wtf is that?"
Finally I know it was real and worked

Post automatically merged: Mar 26, 2025

I'm supremely pissed off at how the ps4 controller has gyro but no games uses it yet the damn thing still costs 50 euros because of it

I met up with two firends from high school and they never played an fps game on pc and one seriously didn't know how I find fps games on a controller unplayable and how aiming with a mouse is better; I had to explain to him "Imagine moving the cursor on the ps3 browser with the analog stick, is it better than using a mouse? Would you use it at work?"

I guess I forgot that will steam made playing games on pc way more popular it's still completly uncharterted territory for normies

Looks like an 80s boombox.

I just use my knockoff Xbox controller. I should get another one because I had to put electrical tape on the cord. I also have a Logitech. That dark blue one. It doesn't work for all games though. So I mostly use the Xbox controller.

 

[Don Patch]

probably a helluva lot better than the Logitech F-310 controller

I... I like the F310....
*Runs and hides

 

[Lee__Kanker]

I... I like the F310....
*Runs and hides

I use my ps1 controller with a usb adapter, unlike my dualshock it works perfectly after 20ish years and only required some cleaning