Is it worth buying a Steam controller? §

[Ragnaroni]

There are a bunch for between 30 to 120 bucks. Is it worth buying one? I was thinking of having a controller for certain games for times I don't wanna use keyboard and mouse....
Please tell me

[N a v y 3 0 0 1]

I love the steam controller, I wish it was cheaper. The new Play station controller is 2nd best in my testing. Steam controller is first best. Takes a little to get used to, but when your done - you can't go back!

[Got Kevlar™]

agreed. I own 2 of them. I bought them when they were first released by valve. I love them. But once they both die, i doubt ill replace them.

[Ragnaroni]

Thanks for the replies, I found one for 45, in box with the wireless dongle. You mentioned that they die? Are they prone to dying or low quality?

[shadowboy813]

Originally posted by Ragnaroni:

Thanks for the replies, I found one for 45, in box with the wireless dongle. You mentioned that they die? Are they prone to dying or low quality?

No. All devices will die eventually. Buttons wear out, etc.

[Cerebrum123]

Originally posted by Ragnaroni:

Thanks for the replies, I found one for 45, in box with the wireless dongle. You mentioned that they die? Are they prone to dying or low quality?

Certain iterations had an issue with the shoulder buttons, but those can be repaired fairly easily for something like this. There is even a YouTube video that shows how it can be done.

Valve has released the parts info for 3D printers, so if any mechanical part breaks you might be able to get a replacement that way.

Right now I'd say your biggest issue will be the learning curve. To help I have two suggestions. Edge spin turned on any time you use mouse or mouse joystick, and using the gyroscope. Those two together can actually give you better than controller aim in FPS games, and are useful in general.

[Ragnaroni]

Thanks for the pointers, i bought one for 40 bucks it should come soon. It seems good, only been used for 5 hours according to the seller. Comes with the box and the wireless dongle.

[Snow]

Grats on the dongle! They've usually been lost by the time controllers are resold, but they help give the best responsiveness for motion controls aside from being damned convenient.

[Cerebrum123]

Originally posted by Ragnaroni:

Thanks for the pointers, i bought one for 40 bucks it should come soon. It seems good, only been used for 5 hours according to the seller. Comes with the box and the wireless dongle.

I hope you get the hang of it faster than I did. For the first week or so I was very frustrated with it. I almost gave up on learning to use it, but then I found the edge spin setting. That made things much, much more intuitive.

[Ragnaroni]

Originally posted by Snowy:

Grats on the dongle! They've usually been lost by the time controllers are resold, but they help give the best responsiveness for motion controls aside from being damned convenient.

Thanks! It looks complete to me!

Originally posted by Cerebrum123:

Originally posted by Ragnaroni:

Thanks for the pointers, i bought one for 40 bucks it should come soon. It seems good, only been used for 5 hours according to the seller. Comes with the box and the wireless dongle.

I hope you get the hang of it faster than I did. For the first week or so I was very frustrated with it. I almost gave up on learning to use it, but then I found the edge spin setting. That made things much, much more intuitive.

Don't worry, I collect old consoles so I deal with a lot of funky controllers, we'll see how well I fare.

[~ Diviad ~]

May I ask where you purchased yours?
The Gyro/Pad combo make fps games more enjoyable and immersive IMO because you actually use your your body's manipulations of 3d space.
I will say that using the Gyro/Pad at first feels really weird and unnatural at first. It does not feel intuitive. Your brain will be going back and forth between trying to use the touchpad to aim and the gyro, but once your brain adjust, it will feel like second nature.

I hope you like it once you get used to it. The SC changed my gaming and PC usage forever! I will NEVER go back to KB/M as long as I have the SC, and console controllers were never an option for me in the first place.

[Snow]

Originally posted by ~ Diviad ~:

Your brain will be going back and forth between trying to use the touchpad to aim and the gyro, but once your brain adjust, it will feel like second nature.

Bit of thread necromancy here, but I'll join you in it as it doesn't feel severe.

This is why I advocate for not having trackpad functionality, and just going all in on gyro, and play that way myself. Simpler to adjust to just the one new camera control. Having then chosen and adjusted to a middling range of gyro sensitivity swipes lose a lot of their usefulness, as gyro becomes close enough to optimal across a range of wide, quick, or precise movements.

Miixing trackpad/gyro can be damned good, but it has downsides. I do recommend it when carpal tunnel enters the discussion.

[Ragnaroni]

Originally posted by ~ Diviad ~:

May I ask where you purchased yours?
The Gyro/Pad combo make fps games more enjoyable and immersive IMO because you actually use your your body's manipulations of 3d space.
I will say that using the Gyro/Pad at first feels really weird and unnatural at first. It does not feel intuitive. Your brain will be going back and forth between trying to use the touchpad to aim and the gyro, but once your brain adjust, it will feel like second nature.

I hope you like it once you get used to it. The SC changed my gaming and PC usage forever! I will NEVER go back to KB/M as long as I have the SC, and console controllers were never an option for me in the first place.

Well I got it on Vinted, its a site for second hand stuff, mainly in western europe though. I had to do some stuff to actually get it since they don't sell where I live but I got it now!
It hasn't arrived yet but not a biggie. The gyro is the part on the right of the controller? I hope so too, people either love the thing to death or hate it with a passion

[Cerebrum123]

Originally posted by Ragnaroni:

Originally posted by ~ Diviad ~:

May I ask where you purchased yours?
The Gyro/Pad combo make fps games more enjoyable and immersive IMO because you actually use your your body's manipulations of 3d space.
I will say that using the Gyro/Pad at first feels really weird and unnatural at first. It does not feel intuitive. Your brain will be going back and forth between trying to use the touchpad to aim and the gyro, but once your brain adjust, it will feel like second nature.

I hope you like it once you get used to it. The SC changed my gaming and PC usage forever! I will NEVER go back to KB/M as long as I have the SC, and console controllers were never an option for me in the first place.

Well I got it on Vinted, its a site for second hand stuff, mainly in western europe though. I had to do some stuff to actually get it since they don't sell where I live but I got it now!
It hasn't arrived yet but not a biggie. The gyro is the part on the right of the controller? I hope so too, people either love the thing to death or hate it with a passion

The gyroscope is inside the controller, but is often activated when touching the right touchpad, which is likely the part you are asking about.

Most people who hate the Steam Controller wanted something plug and play like an Xbox controller, and the SC isn't that. It's much, much more customizable than any other controller, but takes a bit to get used to and set up a configuration that works well for you. Once you get a good customized set of controls it's something far beyond what other controllers can achieve. This is due to the extra input options. Two touchpads, grip buttons, and two stage triggers alongside a horde of options for every part of the controller means you can take nearly any game in existence and find a way to play it, even if it doesn't have native controller support. FPS games? Accuracy near a mouse and keyboard with the comfort of a controller. MMO's, MOBA's, RTS, and similar are a bit trickier, but with a bit of tinkering you can get any of them going too. Probably the game where I've gotten to show off how this thing can work the best is with Warframe. I took the official configuration, tinkered with it, and I am able to continuously surprise people that I'm using a controller at all.

[Snow]

This is the liveliest thread necromancy I've seen, please disregard the complaint I made in the earlier reply.

Originally posted by Ragnaroni:

The gyro is the part on the right of the controller?

It's a sensor inside the controller, but usually you would want it to be turned on while touching that pad on the right side like Diviad describes. Then if you move/rotate your hands too far, you would take your thumb off the pad and move the controller to the center. Rather like picking up a mouse and moving it to the center of the mousepad.

You can turn it on for the desktop or any game you like by going in to the controller settings, selecting the Gyro box displayed between the grips, selecting Action: Mouse, and Gyro Enable Button: Right Pad Touch.

[Ragnaroni]

Originally posted by Cerebrum123:

Originally posted by Ragnaroni:

Well I got it on Vinted, its a site for second hand stuff, mainly in western europe though. I had to do some stuff to actually get it since they don't sell where I live but I got it now!
It hasn't arrived yet but not a biggie. The gyro is the part on the right of the controller? I hope so too, people either love the thing to death or hate it with a passion

The gyroscope is inside the controller, but is often activated when touching the right touchpad, which is likely the part you are asking about.

Most people who hate the Steam Controller wanted something plug and play like an Xbox controller, and the SC isn't that. It's much, much more customizable than any other controller, but takes a bit to get used to and set up a configuration that works well for you. Once you get a good customized set of controls it's something far beyond what other controllers can achieve. This is due to the extra input options. Two touchpads, grip buttons, and two stage triggers alongside a horde of options for every part of the controller means you can take nearly any game in existence and find a way to play it, even if it doesn't have native controller support. FPS games? Accuracy near a mouse and keyboard with the comfort of a controller. MMO's, MOBA's, RTS, and similar are a bit trickier, but with a bit of tinkering you can get any of them going too. Probably the game where I've gotten to show off how this thing can work the best is with Warframe. I took the official configuration, tinkered with it, and I am able to continuously surprise people that I'm using a controller at all.

Originally posted by Snowy:

This is the liveliest thread necromancy I've seen, please disregard the complaint I made in the earlier reply.

Originally posted by Ragnaroni:

The gyro is the part on the right of the controller?

It's a sensor inside the controller, but usually you would want it to be turned on while touching that pad on the right side like Diviad describes. Then if you move/rotate your hands too far, you would take your thumb off the pad and move the controller to the center. Rather like picking up a mouse and moving it to the center of the mousepad.

You can turn it on for the desktop or any game you like by going in to the controller settings, selecting the Gyro box displayed between the grips, selecting Action: Mouse, and Gyro Enable Button: Right Pad Touch.

Well I'm really looking forwards to using it when it arrives!