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The Valve Thread

NecroMorrius

By NecroMorrius
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jonathanhoey

jonathanhoey

Posted
Posted (edited)

Can I be the first to suggest that there is no point speculating about whether this will or won't be any good until we've had the chance to try one?

I think we won't really know if it's a success until (a) we get to use one with our own hands, and (b) games start coming out that actually require it.

Edit: I just quoted myself, Pretty sure that's a dick move. Sorry!

Edited by beenabadbunny
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jonathanhoey

jonathanhoey

Posted
Posted

Tell you what. When I get one of the 300 beta controllers with my beta Steam Machine, I'll let everyone come round and try it out for as long as they want.

It might happen. I'm in the draw...

In seriousness I'm genuinely looking forward to getting my hands on one of these.

I just hope it's not too expensive. A new official Wiimote Plus and nunchuck still add up to north of £50 though, and those don't have any fancy state-of-the-art never-before-seen technology in them. I'd be surprised if this comes in for much less than £60, and that's just too much for me to take a chance on one.

In short, let's hope we're pleasantly surprised by both the price and the quality.

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Sprite Machine

Sprite Machine

Posted
Posted (edited)

The user-sharable key-binding thing is fantastic. I said they should do something like this ages ago. (Like, at least two years ago, probably :P ). Although I figured at the time they'd simply make their own version of X-padder and map it to 360 controllers. This is arguably loads better.

There will be compromises, there have to be. This is a controller not built for a single purpose but for emulating a multitude of functions. Retroactively supporting the entire Steam catalogue is no mean feat. If it actually works, I will be very impressed. No, I don't think it will pull avid KB&M fans away from their desks, I don't think that's the point. It's simply a way to support a load of games that will otherwise be unplayable on the TV. If they can also work on a screen res / text size solution, all the better!

I hope it's nice to use. At first glance, it looks ridiculous, but I'm eager to try it for myself. Proof of the pudding is in the... fingering, or something.

Edited by Sprite Machine
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snowbind

snowbind

Posted
Posted

Edit: I just quoted myself, Pretty sure that's a dick move. Sorry!

I was before you. That makes me betterer.

I think this looks great. It's an excellent take on the 360 controller that keeps the ergonomics that make it excellent, whilst addressing the issues inherent with controllers. I don't think Valve will have implemented anything lightly and there seems to be a big consensus on customisation, which is great in my book. I will however, reserve my judgement until I get one in my hands and can play with it. Like I did with the DS4, which is fucking excellent.
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Uzi

Uzi

Posted
Posted

<p>At first I thought it was mental. And that it looked awful. But that was because it didn't look like a 360 pad. I thought about that. I was sad that it didn't look like a souped up 360 pad. How lacking in imagination is that?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Pad players cannot compete with M/K players online. If you want to play stuff like battlefield etc on PC and not feel hobbled- you're forced to use the locked to a desk method of mouse and keyboard. If this can fill in the gap between m/k and the traditional pad, it will make help unchain PC multiplayer from the desk and present everyone with more options. Plus I think the feedback/sticks/clicking in sounds like it would really work,</p>

<p> </p>

<p>AWESOME.</p>

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Goose

Goose

Posted
Posted

Wasn't sure about it at first, but it certainly looks very interesting and not quite what I was expecting. But let's have some dates and prices, Valve.

Has the potential to be the next big thing.

So we've got SteamOS, a console and the controller. Any chance of some new games to put them altogether? :)

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Siri

Siri

Posted
Posted

I look forward to giving this controller a go. I'm not entirely sold by haptic feedback being the flexible solution to legacy PC Gaming from a comfy couch, but I'm extremely interested in Valve providing a community-driven backbone for older PC titles, configuration software built-in and all.

I'd probably be happy with the Dualshock 4's touchpad for PC shenanigans after playing with it at Eurogamer, but this would be an excellent compliment if it's as precise and tactile as the newer technology suggests.

Oh, and as long as it doesn't cost the earth.

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PK

PK

Posted
Posted

That's OK, for games that need a d-pad you can just use your 360 contr... oh wait.

I was under the impression you could use one of the "touchpads" as a d-pad, just pressing down on the places where the buttons would be?

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Plums

Plums

Posted
Posted

Oh, OK, I'll deal with that (to MID) - Do you think there might be some kind of reason why no platform games put jump on a shoulder button? Thumbs are far more sensitive and active than fingers, that's why pads have all the main buttons for them. Jump on a shoulder button or stick-click might be barely acceptable for an FPS like Portal where you don't jump very often, but in a game where you do it frequently it simply won't work.

Mirror's Edge?

EDIT: WAY too late.

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revlob

revlob

Posted
Posted

I was under the impression you could use one of the "touchpads" as a d-pad, just pressing down on the places where the buttons would be?

I guess it's hard too know without actually using one whether that really works or not. You'd hope so, but there are just so many bad non-d-pad d-pads that I can't help but feel sceptical.
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futureshock

futureshock

Posted
Posted

Some developers have had a chance to use it -

Tabar said the configuration map for the controller allows you to do "pretty much anything." For example, developers can slice up a pad into quarters, each one representing a different input, or even into eight radial sections, again, each section representing whatever you want, mapping to key combinations, or to the mouse.


The most prominent, and for some developers and players off-putting feature of the controller are those circular trackpads. But developers who we spoke with essentially said to drop your expectations of what a trackpad is capable (or not capable) of.

"These are not like laptop trackpads," Tabar said. "Everyone is like, 'Oh we're replacing thumbsticks with trackpads, oh shit.' [laughs] But this is not at all like a laptop trackpad. It just feels good. It's a challenge to verbally describe it.

"We just plugged it in, and it worked," he said. "We didn't have special support for it or anything. It worked really, really well. I was really impressed with the mouse imitation. It doesn't feel like a trackpad."

Remo said the controller has a tiny speaker in it that offers audio feedback – a subtle "tick" sound that increases and decreases in speed (he compared it to the Wheel of Fortune wheel's sound), depending on how you use the track pad. If you "fling" your thumb across the trackpad – if it's mapped to the mouse – the ticking increases in speed, and slows down as the virtual momentum of your action slows.


"It sounds like there's actually a mechanical device in there, which really makes it feel mechanical, but not in a clunky way," Remo said. "It just feels really high-tech and precise. … I can't stand trackpads on laptops, and this felt really good to me. There was almost no learning curve as far as accuracy goes."

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/201195/Select_game_developers_used_the_Steam_Controller_Heres_what_they_said.php

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