Rayeth's First Impressions

[wingedrayeth]

Steam Controller First Impressions:

Packaging:
Out of the box, it looks nice, and there were a few surprises included that I was not expecting. If mine is standard for the final release in the box you will find:
1 Steam Controller
1 Wireless Receiver
1 4 foot USB 2.0 cable
1 Adapter brick for the receiver that connects to the cable.
2 AA batteries.

I was really surprised to find the cable in there, as the store page said that it would not come with one, and although the length is only 4 feet long, if you are like me and you sit close enough to your tower, you can easily use this to run the controller in wired mode. The micro USB port on the controller grips the cord very snugly, and I don't have a fear that it will come loose while you are using the controller, and this goes for other cables I have laying around as well. Also while it is hooked up to the controller, the USB port will supply power, so that is an option for people who don't want to shell out for batteries.

What the cable looks to be intended for is the little brick shaped stand that came with it, this is presumably so you can set the wireless receiver on top of your computer or desk so you can get better reception when using the controller in wireless mode. The brick has a nice weight to it, and doesn't look like it will slide around easily once you put it in place, and the build quality of it is really nice.

Feel:
The feel of the controller has both pros and cons to it. Even with the batteries in it, the controller does feel rather light, though this could be good or bad depending on your opinion, I personally would have liked something with more weight to it. The body of the controller feels decent in the hand, and my thumbs rest nicely on the track pads, and I can reach the buttons without straining too hard. I don't think I'll get any serious strain issues if I use this controller for long periods of time. I will say though, the textured ABS plastic used for the case just feels rather cheap to me, and while the texture does produce a nice grip, I think I'd have liked a glossy finish instead.

The buttons are where I have the most issue with the controller. The bumpers, track pads, and grip buttons all have a nice satisfying click to them when pressed and the feedback from the ABXY buttons is passable, but the other buttons do feel a bit mushy, especially the start, select, and steam jewel. The analog stick is pretty good with a nice bit of resistance to it, but it's click action also stands to be improved. A lot of people have complained that some of the buttons on the controller don't work or stick, and while I don't have that problem myself, I can see why, the build quality of the face buttons just feels rather cheap, like an afterthought while the real focus is on the track pads. Another disappointing design is the secondary buttons on the triggers that you can use when you bottom out with them, the click feel you get is okay, but it doesn't compare to the nice feel you get from the shoulder bumpers right above.

Control:
This actually is pretty good, but it also needs some work on the software side. The ability to customize your controls is great, but a few things do feel like they could be improved. The mouse emulation is really nice, and the haptic feedback on the track pads is lovely, I especially like that you can set how much feedback you want based on your own preferences. It will take some getting used to, but that feature is something I'll probably be using a lot.

What I don't like however, is the stick emulation. I find that while playing games like The Witcher, the dead zone in the center of a the pad it hard to control the camera in this mode, the same with a few other games like Borderlands that I tried, as my thumb naturally fell toward one of the edges. None of the settings were quite what I was looking for to fix it, and when compared to track ball emulation, it fell short. The trackball option didn't work too well in the witcher, as when using both the track pad and the thumb stick, the game would start stuttering rapidly, and I think part of this is because it was constantly swapping between the Keyboard and Mouse UI, and the one for a controller. One option that would be nice to fix this, would be to have the stick input start from wherever I touched the pad initially, instead of from the center of it.

Another nice thing to see would be the ability to set up macro-type commands in the customization interface. When playing Mad Max the first thing I thought would be a great use of the grip buttons, would be to bind the left or right direction on the left thumb stick as well as the X button, to the respective grip buttons. This command in the game lets you do a sideways slam into an opposing car, and it would have been nice to have a dedicated button for that maneuver. Likewise this would be useful in a dozen other games as well. There is the ability to do this with multiple digital inputs, but it would be nice if it was available for analog ones as well.

Big Picture Mode:
I finally started using this for the first time. It's not bad, but I think I'd prefer the old steam interface a bit better, with options to configure the controller in that setup. Not being able to directly access the discussion boards is a big flaw, and having multiple chat conversations with your gaming buddies is a bit of hassle too. An option to import bookmarks into the browser would be nice too, that way you don't have to return to the desktop just to view your favorite game wiki.

Another big thing that is just my personal gripe. I use the Dvorak keyboard layout, which is a lot different than the Qwerty one. It would be nice to be able to select that for the on screen presentation when I'm typing using the controller.

On the issue of batteries:
This was brought up on the steam hardware forums as well as from my own experience. The re-chargeable batteries I have are just a bit bigger than the alkaline batteries that came with the controller, and one set was VERY hard to insert and remove, I eventually had to break out my trusty micro screw driver to get the two batteries I put in, back out. I fortunately have an alternate set of rechargeables available that fit a little better, but the tolerances built into the battery compartment are way too tight.



That's about all I have right now. I still need to practice with the controller a bit, and I'm sure some of my little nit-picks will go away in time. I do think it is a pretty good piece of hardware, and the custom options are really nice. I can't really say it's quite worth $50 though, since I bought a $20 off brand 360 controller that had better over-all build quality.