State of the steam controller for the month of August 2016

[cammelspit]

This month I will likely not be sending Valve an email. They get what we want and they aren't stupid. As with last month, if I have missed anything, PLEASE, do point it out to me and I will add it to this list as needed. For anyone interested in the last months posts, there are links below.

For those interested, here is a link to all of the other state of the SC posts to date!

May
http://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/0/364040797992723122/

June
http://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/0/357287935542287394/

July
https://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/0/358415738210730902/

As is typical for these posts, I am NOT going to be including any bug involved in the beta update. It is understood that it is beta software and is expected to be somewhat unstable and buggy.

You will notice that this has gotten a lot bigger this time, a lot of that has to do with wishes and not just broken stuff. Quite a few from last month and especially the month before are gone because they either fixed it or gave us what we needed.

1. This is the list of important updates, features and bugs that are either MAJOR or long-standing and need immediate attention.
   
   1. Holding a button is problematic because the SC has no typematic repeat capability so it does not behave like a real KB would. This makes some apps or games have problems.
      
   2. The BPM renderer is not made with any real performance in mind. Anything that uses the BPM renderer like touch menus or the display of action sets brings FPS to its knees if you don't have a VERY powerful modern PC and even then it will diminish it greatly. I have seen up to a 30% drop in FPS because of this. Absolutely NO reason why the overlay can't be cleanly disabled and not just set to be transparent when the menus close. This is one that has frustrated me for such a long time.
      
   3. We NEED to be able to map axes or it ruins compatibility for plenty of games, BloodRayne is a prime example of this. And limiting the 11 axes of the SC to the FIVE of an XBOX controller is silly and limits the SC too damn much!
      
   4. The functioning of the SC (When using BPM) is so tied into the resolution of the game and of the desktop! This is one of the things that has made many a game, especially older games, simply not work unless you use the desktop UI or another workaround. There HAS to be a better way! Use the desktop UI instead and then magically BPM won't be stealing focus from the game anymore. http://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/0/357287935542197744/
      
   5. UWP games need to be gotten working. I will never buy one but so many of you are and you need to be able to use your SCs. I am no coding expert but I can tell you there are ways to make it work using a service maybe? A real virtual GamePad device? However they decide to do it, it needs to be done.
      
   6. Gyros auto moving on themselves, a sort of drift is just unacceptable. This was worse at launch, for sure, but should NEVER be an issue for nearly a year! Ten months on but can't fix this one feature? If it weren't so darn useful it wouldn't matter so much, but it is.
      http://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/0/357288572139378554/?tscn=1468781041
      Rotation does not apply to all modes, how then can the rotation be useful to everyone? A universal, per controller rotation, would be great with the ability to override but in reality, just not having it at all for many modes makes no sense.
   
   
2. These are other assorted mixed problems. These are mostly smaller or minor, most can be worked around and some can't.
   
   1. Can't use choose roll/yaw as an axis for JMove, JCamera or mouse regions?
      
   2. Auto off is incredibly inconsistent, I know I can just turn it off manually but what if I forget? Well, battery change time way too soon since it's been running for a day!
      
   3. Lizard mode does not automatically start for me when UAC prompts come up anymore. It worked for a while but no longer. Anyone else ever get that to work aside from the few weeks after they added it? (MAY BE RELATED TO HAVING TWO SCs)
      
   4. My steam controller hasn't powered off in almost two months now and I know by the forums I am not the only one to have problems with auto power off.
   
   
3. Massive, glaring and intense oversights that should NOT be an issue in the first place!
   
   1. Removal of the 'allow launcher' option for steam games is incredibly stupid, makes literally zero sense. Let's stop taking steps backward in compatibility, please?
      
   2. STOP REMOVING OPTIONS! I have noticed that recently some of the less often used options are being removed because Valve can't fit them in the main config page and the advanced options. Don't remove them make the pages bigger or add a page two, that is just silly!
   
   
4. This is the stuff we all know we want to have, really. Not by any means a game breaker but still, would be nice.
   
   1. Radial touch menu for use with the analog stick. It would allow me to use the left pad for movement more often, as is my preference, and not lose out on the functionality that touch menus give us. Like the old daisy wheel KB that used to be the default before the SC was a thing.
      
   2. Eight way Dpad. This one is so obvious I can't get why it was taken away from the final version!
      
   3. Where the heck is the true 3 axis gyro support here? This controller has a gyro with 3 axes but we can only use 2 for analog inputs!
      
   4. Why aren't there any shake twist or flick binding options. I am not saying to make this thing a Wii remote but being able to bind a quick shake to reload seems like a no brainer for a controller with such good gyros.
      
   5. With as customizable as the steam controller is, it seems strange there is no kind of simple macro support.
      
   6. Any kind of rebinding of axes to other axes. What if I wanted to swap the left and right triggers and retain analog? Can't do it right now but seems like something I should be able to do.
      
   7. Visual aids for what certain options do in the config. (Response Curve is the start, keep it coming, Valve!) See 15 for one awesome way this visualization can be made to ROCK!
      
   8. Offline local profile saving.
      
   9. Manually being able to set haptic balance would be neat. Also, the length of haptics. For example in Oblivion, have attack and cast on the right trigger with exclusive hip fire. Have a longer haptic kick on the left pad while casting and the same shorter kick on the right pad for regular weapons. It is almost like making your own haptic rumble for certain things. That would be super cool!
      
   10. Controller HUD does not display everything, imagine how useful this would be if it displayed the majority of what you have bound.
       
   11. The community config management is terrible, the whole thing needs a rework. Especially for new users, it can be quite a pain finding anything usable. Make it like the Workshop and you have a winner.
       
   12. Three way analog to KB bindings. Outer ring AND an inverted one at the same time. Sneak, walk and sprint, sign me up!
       
   13. Some way to designate a control in one action set as "follow changes made in this other action set". So each new action set you create doesn't multiply the effort needed to tweak common controls.
       
   14. Achievments, badges = AMAZING!
       
   15. Some sort of guide like a wizard that walks you through the setup process. Say, I am a new user. I know I can make long presses and such but I don't know how so just like a tutorial in a game, BPM goes into a mode where it automatically highlights or even goes into the screen you need to do it after you select the guide/tutorial you want. From there it highlights what you need to select and disallows you to do anything else BUT what you need to select, being highlighted. A step by step kind of thing, you have seen plenty of strategy games do the same thing so you would have to know what I mean. It would be cool if there were a series of challenges to complete by configuring the controller in different ways, almost like a miniature game itself acting as a visualization. This can all be tied into the badges/card/achievements and such.
       
   16. REDORDERING ACTION SETS! I mean, really why isn't this a thing already? :D
   
   
5. With two Steam Controllers, Steam is essentially an utter failure. Sure, you can make it work 90% of the time but imagine all the little niggling things that get annoying with one controller and amplify it by SUBSTANTIALLY more than double and you will get an idea here. Managing two, three or fours SCs at the same time. Also included here are all the problems with using the SC in combination with another kind of controller, like an XBONE, 360, PS3/4 controller or any other generic controllers such as USB adapters for older console controllers and PC controllers in general.
   
   1. The SC does not keep order if one SC turns off while the others are still on. For example, while playing Monopoly on PC or emulating Mario Party the time between a player's turn can be long enough for the 5 minute shut-off to kick in. If this happens, the controller usually doesn't reconnect in the same order and so you get the players all mixed up.
      
   2. SC order does not reflect the order in which they are turned on or the order they are in the add/test menu as. Annoying as hell for games where you can't just pick a main controller or player one by simply hitting start in order.
      
   3. Why oh WHY can we not just select the Xinput port of each controller as we see fit? Some games have some real problems when mixing SC and XBOX controllers because they both will try and put themselves into Xinput port 1 and as you can imagine, this makes local multiplayer impossible. XBOX controller can't select the Xinput port so you are hosed. PS4 controllers CAN because they use third party software to even work. The reason we are mixing is because we already have these controllers so please, give us a way to use them!
      
   4. Using different configs on two different controllers that are registered to the same account is just impossible. They won't stick half the time and when they do, it sometimes sticks to the WRONG controller!? We need to be able to separate the controllers by their name just like you can when using a controller that is registered to a different account. You CAN make a dummy account or have a second account and have the second SC registered to BOTH accounts at the same time. When user one is logged into steam the controllers BOTH will default to using the same accounts configs but if you go into the all test section you can just select the second account and it will now work with the configs from that second account. This is cumbersome and FAR from ideal.
      
   5. Ever since I paired my son's controller to my dongle lizard mode does not work at all 100% broken, even when steam is not running! The second before I paired it worked fine. Seems to me like BOTH controllers should control lizard mode but instead, neither do, even when only one is powered on. UPDATE: If you power off the controller and power it back on it will start to work but is still very inconsistent.
      
   6. The controller not on top in the add/test screen will power off automatically at the prescribed time but the first controller never will!
      
   7. When two controllers are turned on and connected, the brightness of the steam button is no longer respected and will always be 100%
      
   8. Rumble emulation, when on with two controller powered causes one or the other of the controller to go completely dead for a few seconds after the rumble command is sent to the controller. With one controller it works fine but not with two, WTF!?!?
      
   9. Touch menu configs with more than one SC are abysmal! When one player has a menu up the second player cancels out their movements because both SCs input is being taken into account.
      
   10. When a config is used with touch menus, the biggest issue is there is no way to see who is actually controlling the menu. Why not have player 2 have red menus? Player 3 yellow and player 4 green. That in combnation with all the fixes here for two controllers would really help to step up SC multiplayer, a lot!
       
   11. Configs with action sets are also terrible! Sometimes it will switch both controllers to the action set and sometimes the WRONG controller will have it's action set changed!

Whatever you do, if you decide to email Valve or Lord GabeN don't just copy paste the whole post. Personalize it, be constructive and tell them how much you love your SC. The only reason I care is because I like this silly little hunk of plastic and wires. I want to see Valve succeed and this is my way of helping them keep abreast of what's going on, what we users are having the most issues with, so they can make our experiences better and entice new customers.
steamhardwarefeedback{AT}valvesoftware{DOT}com
gaben{AT}valvesoftware{DOT}com

Have fun guys! Happy Gaming!

[lagamemnon]

There's an email address? I'll forward a link to my newbie wish list.

[Cerebrum123]

Don't forget that running a game with the Steam Controller can make the Steam Client crash, and you lose all ability to control the game you are playing. Sometimes crashing the game itself too. This IS gamebreaking, and I've seen others with the same issue, but no way to resolve it.

[cammelspit]

steamhardwarefeedback{AT}valvesoftware{DOT}com
gaben{AT}valvesoftware{DOT}com

They have deleted posts before for having the real email addresses, I am sure you can figure it out.

[Cerebrum123]

Originally posted by cammelspit:

steamhardwarefeedback{AT}valvesoftware{DOT}com
gaben{AT}valvesoftware{DOT}com

They have deleted posts before for having the real email addresses, I am sure you can figure it out.

Email sent to the first, if I don't get a response I'll try the second one.

[Vagrant]

Emailing Gabe Newell won't make a difference. Did you all know Valve has no boss or CEO? Because he became a meme, it seems a lot people believe he's the boss, but he ain't.

So, the first email address is the only proper one.

A suggestion to cammelspit for threads like this: Make each point shorter and to the point with a brief description, rather than devolving each issue into emotional walls of texts. No offense or anything, but I sometimes suffer from internet ADD and skip huge paragraphs. XD

Still, each suggestions are valid in their own ways. We can only turn our eyes to the horizon and wait for more updates. Even if it's not perfect, I still like my SC. Now that I've seen the light, I can't look away.

[cammelspit]

you'll prolly never get a response from either. I never have and i have sent dozens of emails. There is someone where reading them so that's the reason it is important to let them know.

[cammelspit]

Originally posted by Vagrant:

Emailing Gabe Newell won't make a difference. Did you all know Valve has no boss or CEO? Because he became a meme, it seems a lot people believe he's the boss, but he ain't.

So, the first email address is the only proper one.

A suggestion to cammelspit for threads like this: Make each point shorter and to the point with a brief description, rather than devolving each issue into emotional walls of texts. No offense or anything, but I sometimes suffer from internet ADD and skip huge paragraphs. XD

Still, each suggestions are valid in their own ways. We can only turn our eyes to the horizon and wait for more updates. Even if it's not perfect, I still like my SC. Now that I've seen the light, I can't look away. :demoneye:

You would be surprised on the GabeN thing. Emails have actually gotten stuff done when sent to his and not JUST the hardware feedback email. Sure, Valve doesn;t have a standard structure but he is still the big cheese when it comes to Valve. In the opening to portal 2, when commentary is on he has his own little line where he gives that email and invites anyone to email him, I have simply taken him up on his offer. If all it does is spark a conversation, then it has served its purpose.

I reworded a lot of the points and haven't with others. A lot of this was copy pasted from threads as I went along. I don't really want to go and rewrite ALL of it but I have changed things as time goes on to be less "emotional". Also, a lot of the copy paste stuff wasn't even me either, some of it is tho. :D

EDIT: Gabe is also the Managing director of Valve Corporation and a co-founder so if anyone has a passion for making us not hate them, it would be him. Not that it matters either.

[RambleCan]

"UWP games need to be gotten working."

Is this... Old English?

Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
and they be gotten the Steam Controller working.

[cammelspit]

Originally posted by ExistentialEgg:

"UWP games need to be gotten working."

Is this... Old English?

Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
and they be gotten the Steam Controller working.

I utter speech not oft employed by the masses, good sir.

Or I couldst at each moment wend way backeth to the fusty timeth way of declaring... stuff and such...

[RambleCan]

And yeah, flicks are something I'm surprised we don't have considering how accurate the gyros are.. that could add quite a bit to lots of games. Imagine flicks for desktop mode that mirrored Windows touch flicks.

[ju!ce]

wow, they should hire you as project manager of steam controller dev.

[cammelspit]

Originally posted by ju!ce:

wow, they should hire you as project manager of steam controller dev.

See, this is what I have been saying all along. I wouldn't mind the title of "Steam Controller Ambassador". That would be awesome. :D

[APi]

I suggested making the rotation setting a one off setting way back in january, it boggles my mind that it's still not been implemented. I've owned the controller since last november and have never used the right pad in joystick mode for this very reason.

[Bahamut]

Maybe it´s just me, but the mouse-like analog stick needs a little improvement. In most of the games (i.e Tomb Raider) the gamepad-sensitivity in the game is on max, but you still need 4 till 5 swipes to make a 180° turn. Would it be possible to make something like a "gain-sensitivity" feature? Where you could multiply the ingame gamepad sensitivity? For example gamepad-sensitivity = max, SC "gain-sensitivity"=1.5 and you would have a 1.5 higher sensitivity then ingame. Maybe call it just acceleration feature, which could be enabled in mouselike analog stick mode. You could say: why don´t you use the mouse mode? Yeah that´s right, but then you will have problems with quick time events in several games (i.e. "Tomb Raider" again).
If anyone has a workaround i don´t know, feal free to teach me!

[LeKzero]

Mouse-like joystick really depends on the game, I never liked his performance, until I set him to Resindet Evil 6, worked perfectly.