Will this improve?

[Wolf of Sparta]

I've never played on a console, only on a PC. Got my steam deck but I'm having trouble aiming with the controls. When I walk I'm all over the place with my crosshair going up to the sky etc..

Any people here who have experience/ tips from when they were a noob using consoles and saw improvement?

[DarkCrystalMethod]

If the joysticks fail remember that you can aim by tilting the unit.

[WarnerCK]

Originally posted by Wolf of Sparta:

Got my steam deck but I'm having trouble aiming with the controls. When I walk I'm all over the place with my crosshair going up to the sky etc..

That sounds exactly like you've got non-inverted y-axis when you want inverted, or vice versa. Is the time that you aren't looking at the sky spent looking at the floor?

Most (I wish I could say all) games have an option to toggle that, and you can set it in Steam's own settings on the Deck.

[Wolf of Sparta]

Originally posted by WarnerCK:

Originally posted by Wolf of Sparta:

Got my steam deck but I'm having trouble aiming with the controls. When I walk I'm all over the place with my crosshair going up to the sky etc..

That sounds exactly like you've got non-inverted y-axis when you want inverted, or vice versa. Is the time that you aren't looking at the sky spent looking at the floor?

Most (I wish I could say all) games have an option to toggle that, and you can set it in Steam's own settings on the Deck.

I don't really think it's inverted, but rather the clunky mechanic of the consoles in comparison to a mouse and keyboard?

[ugafan]

Trackpad + gyro

[Mahjik]

If the game supports it, make the X Y movements less sensitive.

[WarnerCK]

Originally posted by Wolf of Sparta:

I don't really think it's inverted, but rather the clunky mechanic of the consoles in comparison to a mouse and keyboard?

Fair enough. It's just that that's a characteristic feedback loop: you're looking a bit up (or down) so you move the control, which actually makes you look more up (or down), so you move the control... And then you're looking at the sky (or floor). Maybe give it a try, just in case.

In terms of generally adapting to controller controls, I can second the recommendations to combine the joystick (or touchpad) with gyro for added precision. You might also want to adjust the vertical sensitivity down a little bit (easy enough to do with the controller settings on the Deck) so that it's less twitchy. And spend some time on slower games till you build up some muscle memory for the interface. Also remember that the sticks are analogue: if you don't want to move as fast, don't push the sticks as far.

[invision2212]

you will get better over time. play story mode if the game has multiplayer so you get used to shooting with the analogs, that way you dont get too frustrated.

[Bee🐝]

You will get better.

My advice is to totally tweak the sensitivity and deadzones areas in the Steam Configuration. Just like a mouse, it’s a personal preference thing and they’re never perfect “out of the box”. Do not rely on default values either, rather put those in yourself; even just a few digits either way makes a huge difference.

Edit: As each trackpad and stick can work independently from the other, Some mouse users bind movement to a stick and “look” to a trackpad. Also, try all the haptics intensity levels - it makes a difference.

Oh, move the outer zones on the sticks around as well. It sometimes helps but it’s a toss up.

Basically, just mess around with the configuration menu, and see what works for you. You can always revert everything back to the defaults.

[Fraud]

this is the main reason i wont/cant buy one. it doesnt run windows so my moba mouse setup (im handicapped and dont ever touch my key board) is null and void. plus anything downgrading to controller response times and a set sensitivity with only three options all ten times slower than my mouse is a hard pass. but the moment its a portable pc with windows and a usb port im there.

[PopinFRESH]

Originally posted by Pipedragon37:

this is the main reason i wont/cant buy one. it doesnt run windows so my moba mouse setup (im handicapped and dont ever touch my key board) is null and void. plus anything downgrading to controller response times and a set sensitivity with only three options all ten times slower than my mouse is a hard pass. but the moment its a portable pc with windows and a usb port im there.

You can install Windows 10 or 11 and it has a USB-C port on it.

[Mizufluffy]

Originally posted by Wolf of Sparta:

I've never played on a console, only on a PC. Got my steam deck but I'm having trouble aiming with the controls. When I walk I'm all over the place with my crosshair going up to the sky etc..

Constantly looking at the sky (or ground) sounds like you may want less sensitivity for vertical direction than horizontal. If the game you are playing supports mouse as camera movement then something you could try is setting right trackpad behavior as mouse, set the sensitivity values to your preferences (under general section for "as mouse" settings) but also increase vertical friction scale under trackpad category (for "as mouse" settings). Higher value makes it easier for horizontal camera movement and you are less likely to look at the sky or ground all the time.

Inverting axis might come in handy depending on your preference. If you are trying to look down but are looking up and vice versa then inverting vertical axis fixes that. In my case I prefer doing "up" movement on right stick or trackpad equal to looking down and doing "down" movement equal to looking up. It's kind of the same movement as your neck does when you look down or up if you imagine yourself as the right stick. Some players may prefer the exactly opposite.

If the "as mouse" for trackpad doesn't feel right then there's also "as joystick" and "joystick" options (tbh I don't remember what's the difference between those), or you can try right stick with "joystick" or "joystick mouse" options. Both trackpad and stick have "flick stick" option which is a different type of camera control, and may require a bit more tweaking (in short, if I'm not mistaken, a down flick would rotate your camera 180 degrees in game if configured correctly).

Regardless of your preferences (stick, trackpad), it sounds like the core of the problem you are having might be related to vertical sensitivity, friction or axis.

[PopinFRESH]

Originally posted by Wolf of Sparta:

I've never played on a console, only on a PC. Got my steam deck but I'm having trouble aiming with the controls. When I walk I'm all over the place with my crosshair going up to the sky etc..

Any people here who have experience/ tips from when they were a noob using consoles and saw improvement?

There are some notable differences between the Steam Deck and the Steam Controller, however, many of the core concepts for Steam Input are the same between them. If you're using this for FPS games you should check out some of the videos from Gamer Muscle from back when the Steam Controller launched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKuO9M0WuMg

There have been a plethora of improvements to Steam Input since this video but it is a good starting point on how/what you can tune to improve the feel of your controls for and FPS.

[Wolf of Sparta]

Thanks for all your comments, guys, appreciate it!
I feel that he main problem is just my incompetence with using controller gaming in comparison to mouse and keyboard. I'm so accurate and right on target with those, but with a controller it just takes too long before I'm even on target.

I guess the reason why I made this post was to find out if more people got used to the controller handling after a while of gaming, or if it was just too much of a hassle to crossover from M & K

[Mizufluffy]

Originally posted by Wolf of Sparta:

Thanks for all your comments, guys, appreciate it!
I feel that he main problem is just my incompetence with using controller gaming in comparison to mouse and keyboard. I'm so accurate and right on target with those, but with a controller it just takes too long before I'm even on target.

I guess the reason why I made this post was to find out if more people got used to the controller handling after a while of gaming, or if it was just too much of a hassle to crossover from M & K

I'd say it's probably the same with any kind of input device. Someone who has used controllers from childhood might have similar trouble with getting used to mouse and keyboard.

I haven't used controllers that long but I've had a Steam Controller for about 5 years (since August 2017) and before that I was using a controller from Logitech although I don't remember how long but probably at least two or three years if not longer.
All I'm saying is that I don't have extensive knowledge about controllers but I have some experience using Valve's hardware (the controller and Deck) and Steam Input, and I'd say that getting used to anything new takes practice. How long? That depends on the player. Some can adapt faster than others.

FPS isn't a genre I play but camera configurations are important to other games too. Changing camera settings to suit my preferences is usually the first thing I do when I get a chance.
I believe I've heard that some players like to use something like joystick for large and wide camera movement and gyro for small and precise camera control for aiming.

Here's a video from Jibb Smart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzbZq4OjEwE
talking about gyro aiming and flick stick. The video is almost 3 years old and features CS:GO gameplay.
You can probably get more out of that video than I do. Even though the video uses DualShock 4 controller as an example the same ideas can be expanded to Steam Deck since it has gyro and flick stick in Steam Input settings.
(it was one of the results I got when I searched "Steam gyro aiming" on youtube)

I cannot really say how good gyro aiming is, since I have only a little bit experience in using gyro but I should get more familiar with it. Probably. I'm quite sure it will require some effort to learn and get good at.

[SUPERSEXYHOLY]

GYRO!!!! YES get used to it, --use sticks to get close, finish the aimning with gyro