"Controller-only" mode

[SpaceNavy]

According to the Steam Deck FAQ (https://www.steamdeck.com/en/faq) you are able to use the SD as a PC controller utilizing Remote Play.
I think it would be interesting if Valve added a feature to allow the Steam Deck to be used as a controller for other devices natively without relying on Remote Play.

In ways such as:
1. Bluetooth wireless
2. Wired via USB-C cable
3. Wifi wireless controller

One situation that led me to this was the following; wanting to stream from my home gaming PC to a living room utilizing Steam Link, but using the SD controls. Now this may be possible using Remote Play as mentioned, but what I am requesting is something more direct. In this case the ideal scenario would be to plug in or connect the Steam Deck to the Steam Link device (smart TV or light client PC) to take control inputs and stream them to the host PC.

I am a big fan of the Steam Controller and the Steam Deck feels like a natural extension of that, a Steam Controller "Pro" so to speak. So being able to use all the features of the SD including its gyro, back buttons, trackpads and the rest give it a distinct advantage over every other controller out there.

There is also the touchscreen display but that may be more useful for remote play, although I am open to hearing how you think Valve could utilize the touchscreen for my use case.

Edit: Found a very interesting touchscreen concept using custom-made buttons in the following reddit post:
https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamController/comments/utf6fu/my_concept_idea_for_a_controller_mode_for_steam/

[KrisFlash]

im sitting in my living room streaming mz deck to the TV and im thinking exactly the same, why isnt this picked up by Valve yet?

[SJuicebox]

Would love to see this implemented.

There is this project: https://github.com/HelloThisIsFlo/Deckpad
However its pretty janky to setup and use. Also it has issues with some SteamDecks as far as quitting the process, like mine :\

[Drak3]

Originally posted by KrisFlash:

im sitting in my living room streaming mz deck to the TV and im thinking exactly the same, why isnt this picked up by Valve yet?

USB is looking for a host and peripheral relationship, and it's not always easy getting two PCs to reliably share that relationship, especially when mixing operating systems that want to be the host.

It's doable, but it'd take some time to iron out the kinks.

[Murasakino Rin]

i think it would be better for valve to make a new steam controller that uses the deck layout for the control scheme instead of making the deck just into a controller.

[SpaceNavy]

Originally posted by Murasakino Rin:

i think it would be better for valve to make a new steam controller that uses the deck layout for the control scheme instead of making the deck just into a controller.

Or both? Why should I have to buy a whole new controller when I have it already?

[tyb]

I would love that, it doesn't seem impossible to do, it's a kind of remote play with no audio/video. Right now we can only pair(bluetooth) the SD to use it as an external speaker, maybe they could extend that to the controlller part

[deaddoof]

At this point, I wonder whether Valve should contribute to KDE Connect. KDE Connect can already do the majority of whatever you are asking.


The question is whether we should use wifi or bluetooth to implement these functions. Wifi always feel more stable, but the deck doesn't have always listening sleep modes.

[d[-_-]b]

There are a few projects out there. ive even tried implementing something myself with variable success. It involves making the USB into dual role, quitting steam and setting up a profile for reading and sending the inputs as needed.

ive seen other projects even using bluetooth but majority use a program on the pc instead of trying to emulate their fake device as the real one.

So this idea is actually very do-able

[I have mic]

Originally posted by Murasakino Rin:

i think it would be better for valve to make a new steam controller that uses the deck layout for the control scheme instead of making the deck just into a controller.

This is literally what I want, the Wii U already had this, and Sony is actually made a controller for the PS5 that does this despite being a WiFi only device: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/accessories/playstation-portal-remote-player/

[elrd5150]

Would love that, no controller on the market has all Deck's features.

With flow something like: you enable "controller mode" in the setting, Deck opens a full-screen overlay with two buttons: exit / customize controls, and while in this mode acts like a normal controller that you can connect to any device (PS5, etc). Even if it'll work only wired it's still be great feature.

[Box Of Kittens]

Yes. I wish Steam OS can go into "Controller Mode". Just like the games, you can create steam input profiles for the game consoles you connect it to.

[SuccessfulFailure]

I would love to see this happen! I love the steam deck as a controller. While I'm gaming at my desktop I sometimes like to use my steam deck as the controller. The steam decks controls are super comfortable, which makes me prefer it over other controllers, despite its oblong shape. If we could get an official way to put the steam deck that would be awesome.

Streaming the game to my steam deck just so I can use the steam deck as a controller is a bit clunky, as it is using up bandwidth on my network to stream video of the screen I am already looking at. Maybe, we could hook into that game streaming mode, just without the video stream, that would get it pretty close right?