Steam Link Touch Controller Guide

[slouken]

The mobile version of Steam Link has support for an on-screen touch controller. This is enabled by default if you don't already have a controller connected to your mobile device.

When you connect with the touch controller enabled, a [ ... ] button will appear in the upper left corner of your screen, and you can click this button to change modes.

MODES

The controller has three 'modes' of operation:

MOUSE: This is the mode that Steam Link used to work in, where the touchscreen works like a mouse pointer.

CONTROLLER: This mode is exclusively a controller; touches will only be handled by controller controls laid out on the screen.

CONTROLLER/MOUSE: This is a hybrid mode, where touches that aren't on the controller controls -- e.g., touches on the 'background' -- will still be passed through as mouse input.

The controller can be easily changed on the fly between the three modes by tapping the [ ... ] button and selecting 'Change Mode'. If you have mouse active (in either MOUSE or CONTROLLER/MOUSE modes), the [ ... ] button will have a small icon of a mouse above the dots.

CONTROLS

The controller mode and on-screen controls and are customized individually for each game, and for games that support Steam Input, you can customize each actionset in the game.

The heart of the editing mode is the tray, which will pop up when you pick 'Layout Controls' from the [ ... ] button. From here, you can drag controls out of the tray to place them, select 'Edit Layout' to move/scale/remove existing controls, 'Cancel' to clear all changes since you last saved, or 'Done' to save your changes.

Only the controls which are bound are available. For instance, if there are no macros configured, the macro buttons (M1 through M8) will be grayed out. You can change bindings and add new ones using the standard Steam Big Picture controller configuration UI.

To place a control, simply touch it and begin dragging it. The tray will close, and you can place the control where you want. If you grab the button diamond or the Select/Steam/Start buttons, they will come together as a group for quick placement.

When in edit mode, the screen background will be a transparent blue over the running game, letting you know that you are in edit mode. You can touch a single control to select and drag it, use two fingers to scale, or you can use one finger alone to draw a selection box and select multiple controls to move/scale at once. If you've placed a control before, it will remember the last location and show a gray "ghost" you can drag over to snap into. If you want to remove a control, simply drag it over towards the [ ... ] button, which will turn into a trashcan.

When dragging controls around, they will also snap into default positions relative to other related controls. If you don't like that location, simply keep moving, or lift your finger and drag again to make small adjustments.

STEAM INPUT

The Steam Link touch controller is a first class citizen of the Steam Input ecosystem, which means you can bind controls, create actionsets, use touchpad areas and your device's gyro, and publish configurations just like you would for any other controller. We will also work with developers to create touch layouts for their games and add other advanced features in the future.

Please use this thread for any feedback related to the touch controls!

[Packetdancer]

I love that 'rumble' is supported by using the phone's vibration function. That's a nice touch. :)

[dj123]

yay

[Luis]

this is fantastic

[Forcen]

This is great!
My only issue with this app is that you are required to Stream audio to it, wish I could just disable that since I have a wireless headset.

[Abra]

iOS support is my feedback. ಠ_ಠ

[Packetdancer]

Originally posted by Λ b Я Λ:

iOS support is my feedback. ಠ_ಠ

I think that's up to Apple, not Valve, at this point.

[Nchi]

So now its drag to move mouse instead of tap to click? And it seems like it drags the mouse too, we need the tap to click and settings for the click control itself, try to play FTL, this helped get it halfway already with custom on screen now for spacebar/pause

[Midnight Sky ✨🌙✨]

Originally posted by Λ b Я Λ:

iOS support is my feedback. ಠ_ಠ

Apple seems to consider the Steam Link App as being an alterative store as you can technically buy games to play on your phone without giving Apple a cut, so that's not happening.

[NeptNutz]

Just curious how a game like Crayon Physics Deluxe works with this. It was originally a tablet game ("Rot in peace, lovely game.") and I think the crayon cursor was added for the benefit of using a mouse or touchpad. Unfortunately, every time I try it on touchscreen, there seems to be no obvious way to move the crayon without scribbling all over the paper.

[SunnyVale Bah5552]

Thank you valve!

[Real id Le]

the button on the upper left corner isnt showing in my steam pink app, ajy solution?

[deadfolk]

What I would really like to see is the option for a trackpad-like mode. You drag your finger to emulate mouse movement and then tap to click. The click doesn't happen where your finger is, but rather where the mouse pointer is. Just like using a trackpad.
Currently, I find it almost impossible to use mouse controls because the accuracy of the click is too low on a small screen. This mode would make it far more usuable. For an example, SCUMMVM on Android has a mode like this.

[janni9009]

Originally posted by deadfolk:

What I would really like to see is the option for a trackpad-like mode. You drag your finger to emulate mouse movement and then tap to click. The click doesn't happen where your finger is, but rather where the mouse pointer is. Just like using a trackpad.
Currently, I find it almost impossible to use mouse controls because the accuracy of the click is too low on a small screen. This mode would make it far more usuable. For an example, SCUMMVM on Android has a mode like this.

In short its called a "Relative" mouse mode, and yes, i'd love to see that too, maybe even a selector between relative and absolute.

[InquisitorAles]

Only for Android phones? Can you allow to add on-screen controls for the desktop client as well? I have tablet PC with windows and I was looking for good on-screen gamepads for ages, it would be amazing if Steam would support such functionality natively.

[deadfolk]

Originally posted by janni9009:

Originally posted by deadfolk:

What I would really like to see is the option for a trackpad-like mode. You drag your finger to emulate mouse movement and then tap to click. The click doesn't happen where your finger is, but rather where the mouse pointer is. Just like using a trackpad.
Currently, I find it almost impossible to use mouse controls because the accuracy of the click is too low on a small screen. This mode would make it far more usuable. For an example, SCUMMVM on Android has a mode like this.

In short its called a "Relative" mouse mode, and yes, i'd love to see that too, maybe even a selector between relative and absolute.

Yeah - that's the chap!