Steam Controller

[Pic0o]

Howdy to anyone interested in the Steam Controller. This device works wirelessly by the dongle and 2x AA batteries in the controller, or by the micro-usb connector.

 

There is no cable that comes with it, so your phone charge cable, etc should do the trick.

The right pad of the controller is your mouse cursor. I am playing Fallout 4 with this and my biggest initial issue relates to the top trigger placement. I also find myself offset in using the face buttons, as X B A Y are further in than I am used to on my Xbox 360 controller.

 

Left pad is similar binding to the left analog stick. You will need to press down enough for it to click, to have the left pad detect your movements.

The Right pad will detect your thumb rolling over it, without the need to click. If you keep your contact on the outer-diameter of the right pad, it will continue to pan your view / movement. Swipe speed is also relevant to how fast the right stick pans. I felt comfortable pretty quickly right the right pad, probably as I am a trackball user and have the familiar feel of rolling my thumb for movement.

 

Like I said, the trigger placement is odd for anyone used to a 360 gamepad. I got better with it, but still feel my adjusting is a work in progress. Awesome buttons? Those would be the bottom click ones. Right-clicking the under button is a jump. Left-clicking is the interact / use button. If we played games online together, you know I am a jumper. Speaking of online play, there is None in Fallout 4.

 

So far, so good. I am enjoying the right pad most of all. Swipe gun aiming is pretty effective to keep my cursor straight. Fault wise, running and aiming accurately can be tricky, due to the right trigger placement.

[JeT]

I remember when you bought that thing ;)

 

I'm enjoying my controller for playing rocket league. If you go into big picture mode, you can go down a crazy rabbit hole of configuration for the controller. There are a bunch of options for each input, and then there is an entire 'advanced' area for each input as well.

 

I think the more it's out, the better custom game configs will get from the community as the tinkerers find the sweet spots for everything.

 

I also had issues coming from the 360 controller. I'm used to it now, but it was MADDENING at first -- can't blame them for that though.... just something to get used to.

[Pic0o]

I noticed playing Batman Arkham Knight, that there is a dead spot in being able to use the right pad at 12 o'clock / directly up from a weapon wheel.

 

The right stick was really odd in that game, so I just plugged back in my 360 controller. This is with the most recent firmware for the gamepad, installed on 2/3/16. Oddly enough, to update the controller firmware, you need to enter 'Big Couch Mode'.

Once the firmware is updated, a wizard will prompt you to set custom controller sounds up for power on and power off. I did not notice anything else, so far.

[Pic0o]

One of the hidden benefits of this controller, is window navigation and cursor control.
Left stick will scroll webpages / forms (similar to Arrow Keys).
Right Trigger is your Left-Click mouse / trackball button.
Right Pad works as your mouse cursor.
'A' button is Enter.
Left Trigger is Right-Click.
Back button is Tab.

As a former Projector and Nintendo 64 to USB controller user, this is a really nice window manager control device. Tested and returned these results on Windows 8.1. I will try it on OS X and Ubuntu (or) Debian-based Linux, as they also have Steam support.