darthbator

Return of the Steam Box!

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It might mostly be a case of me just not knowing how to navigate it well, but Big Picture was designed for navigation by a controller and just doesn't play well with the keyboard.  For example, if you use the controller to open up a chat window it will bring up the virtual keyboard.  You can still type a message in with a physical keyboard, but once you send the message the window will close and you have to open it up again with the keyboard.  It seems like the UI has to switch between controller mode and keyboard mode despite the fact that it's clearly accepting input from either one just fine.  Also all the UI prompts are labeled with the controller buttons so navigation is this weird act of using the controller to change windows and the keyboard to type.  For just playing games, Big Picture is fine but for any kind of interaction beyond that it's extremely awkward.

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So I got my Steam Link back in November and it appear to have already died on me. When I turn it on (plug it in) it just sits at the low res screen with a Steam Link on a blue background. I filed a support ticket a week ago and still haven't gotten a response, but from browsing Google it looks like it's going to be an RMA.

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So I was doing some reading on the Steam Link, thinking about picking it and a Steam Controller up with some reward points I've got, but is it true that the Link does not support any surround sound, just stereo?  If so, that's a major deal killer for me.

 

 

Those of you with the controller, once the novelty wore off, have you continued using it?

 

Honestly I use it way more now then when I first picked it up. It is really hard to get into and you kind of need to deprogram your assumptions about how controllers should work, but it works great once you get the hang of it.

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Honestly I use it way more now then when I first picked it up. It is really hard to get into and you kind of need to deprogram your assumptions about how controllers should work, but it works great once you get the hang of it.

 

I did end up buying one, and I use it intermittently.  I've found I like it for some games, mostly those without a lot of camera control.  But for shooters or other games where there's constant camera control usage, I just haven't been able to find settings (even in the downloadable ones) that I find I really like.  But I also haven't tried that hard, when I've sat down to play I've mostly just wanted to play and not fiddle.

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I did end up buying one, and I use it intermittently.  I've found I like it for some games, mostly those without a lot of camera control.  But for shooters or other games where there's constant camera control usage, I just haven't been able to find settings (even in the downloadable ones) that I find I really like.  But I also haven't tried that hard, when I've sat down to play I've mostly just wanted to play and not fiddle.

 

I also don't like it for shooters or third person camera control.  I tried it on a couple FPS games and I hated it, although that's probably because of my general preference for mouse+keyboard despite playing a significant amount of console shooters.  I also tried it with Batman Arkham Knight but that just didn't feel right either.  Granted that was right after I got the controller and I'm much more used to it now so maybe if I revisited that game it would feel better.  But for almost every other game where I'd normally use a controller, I really like the Steam controller, especially now that you don't have to be in Big Picture mode for the settings to apply (although you still have to be in Big Picture to make the settings in the first place).

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I have a Syber Vapor, which is (in terms of hardware) almost identical to CyberPower's Steam Machine, except comes with Windows 10 instead of SteamOS.

 

I have it set up to to launch directly into Big Picture Mode. Overall, it works pretty well. There are times when something crashes and I need to contend with the harsh realization that I am just using a PC hooked up to a TV rather than a streamlined console and need to take out the ole' wireless keyboard and mouse, but it does a decent enough job of maintaining the illusion most of the time. 

 

I should mention that it's traveled across the country twice for an RMA :-/ Bad power supply and the first time I sent it they didn't find the problem so just sent it back to me without actually doing anything. Ugh. Seem to have gotten it fixed now though, and it was all covered by warranty. 

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I've been quite happy with Steam Link so far. I've used it with Firewatch, The Witness and Broforce and everything works just great.

Well, especially after I did a minimal upgrade on cpu, memory and gpu. :P

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Are you guys still using your Steam controllers? Which games? How is it?

 

It's on -30% sale right now.

 

I don't really need it, though.

 

Maybe I shouldn't buy it.

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I use it all the time when I'm actually playing PC games that aren't Dota 2 or TF2. (Which, admittedly, isn't much lately, but that's just 'cause I've been playing other platforms instead.)

 

I love the Steam controller. I think it's a shame so many people were unwilling to give themselves the time to adjust.

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Has it replaced the twin stick controller completely for you, or do you only use it for certain types of games?

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It has replaced twin-stick controller.

 

I have never and would never willingly use a twin-stick controller for a shooter, though. For those types of games, the Steam controller is better than a twin-stick controller by a million miles, but mouse is still better than Steam controller.

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I agree with Twig.  When I play a game that calls for a controller I always reach for the Steam controller first.  There was a definite learning curve in the beginning but I feel the payoff was well worth the effort.

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I still use my 360 controller more, especially for games that rely on the right stick for camera controls. Mostly third person games like Dark Souls or GTA. It's great for xcom on the TV though!

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I feel like it's got a very steep learning curve, one that has ended up being higher than I care to mess with.  I've found a few games I've used it on, but I prefer the DS4 to it. 

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The Steam Controller is great. It requires a lot of you, though. There's the new muscle-memory you need to develop, and there's also a sometimes-amazing sometimes-daunting (depending on mood) level of minute customization. And the customization itself compounds the awkward adjustment time (configurations can feel very different from each other).

 

But like, all that's exciting! It feels very much like a new thing, and the transition period is just part of that. When you're in the mood to tinker, all the virtual configuration knobs and switches can really scratch that tinkering itch. And, ultimately, when you're used to it, it controls games quite well! 

 

But if you're looking for a frictionless way to jump in and play games like you're used to playing them, it's not gonna do that. Which means it's never gonna be the right choice for a lot of people.

 

I've tried it out on a lot of games, but so far the games I've played with the steam controller for a significant time are: Undertale, The Witness, Dark Souls. Seems to work the best on Dark Souls, believe it or not. But maybe that's because it's the most recent thing I've played and I'm the most used to the controller at this point.

 

EDIT: One thing that I'm pretty down on with the Steam Controller is that nobody who isn't me who comes over is ever gonna want to use it. So that means I'm probably gonna need to buy a second controller that's something else. Or perhaps pairing a DS3 to a Steam Link is less of a disaster than I fear!

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Steam Controller has replaced the wired 360 controller for me.

 

Using the left trackpad as a d-pad isn't ideal, but it feels better to me than the 360's mushy d-pad. The haptics give a decent amount of feedback. I even played some Crypt of the Necrodancer with it. Street Fighter was still kind of hopeless for me though.

 

Using the right trackpad as a thumbstick camera control feels awkward to me, but fortunately there's an alternate option to have it act like mouse look and that feels even better to me as a long time mouse user. 

 

The grip buttons under the controller aren't often used but they're great in some more complex action games like Rocket League and Dark Souls where you need to hold down a button while doing other things. Best thing for me was leaving behind the claw grip for running + camera control in Dark Souls.

 

Customization can be fiddly, default controls for some games aren't great, but you can often quickly find upvoted control setups that are better and it's nice to be able to tune those further to your liking. There was one game where I made my own mix of the top two control schemes. 

 

Overall I'd say that the Steam Controller isn't a must upgrade but $35 isn't bad for an extra controller. I bought it just to have a second controller and play around with Valve's new experiment. If you want the best then maybe DS4 might be a better controller in terms of the ergonomic feel to it and it looks like it's also on sale now for $45. 

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I really like it. It's especially great to have everything you need on the controller in Elite.

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Is there anyway/where to get the community steam controller mapping for a game I don't own on Steam? I just got a Steam controller and wanted to try it with System Shock 2, but I own it on GOG.

Edit: Also how do I read the full descriptions for community configurations? When browsing through them they get cut off after a few lines and I can't figure out how to read the full description.

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Is there anyway/where to get the community steam controller mapping for a game I don't own on Steam?

 

You can add a non-Steam game to Steam which will let you use the Steam controller with it, but I'm not sure if Steam will detect what game it is and let you browse community configs. Give that a shot though!

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Have any of the devs in here tried adding Steam controller support to your games? Is that something that is fairly easy to do?

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Have any of the devs in here tried adding Steam controller support to your games? Is that something that is fairly easy to do?

 

I'll assume you're talking about native support. If so, it's not an easy thing if you're developing in Unreal Engine 4; as the Steamworks SDK version used by the engine at the moment is over a year old. :(

 

Thankfully, I won't need native support for my current game.

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Holy shit, imagine Button Frenzy native Steam Controller support.. All the possible button/trackpad/gyro combinations! :tup:

 

Also, can we call the controller the Steamroller?

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