Update the Functionality Available with the Xbox and Steam Controller.

[DanielOS96]

Update the Functionality Available with the Xbox and Steam Controller.

Controller support could do with major improvements in my opinion so that we don’t have to use multiple application to get the best out of the xbox controller.

Benefits of Controller Companion
Controller companion offers the ability to switch monitors at a button press and map custom shortcuts to buttons. Custom shortcuts allow us to add things like button maps for sleeping computer or whatever else we want.

Controller companion also works over the windows lock screen so I don’t need a keyboard to login and I can switch screens even before I have unlocked the PC.

Image[ibb.co]

Benefits of reWASD
reWASD allows users to map functionality to multiple button presses or combo button presses for example.
Double press the xbox button to take a windows game bar screenshot (win+alt+printscreen).
Press the xbox button along with the start button to do something like start recording a video with windows game bar (win+alt+r).

Image[ibb.co]

My Setup
I had 3 apps running concurrently to achieve my desired controller functionality. Steam because yeah. Controller companion for desktop use, screen switching and sleeping. Then reWASD for mapping multiple button presses to the xbox button. One press takes steam screenshots 2 presses takes a windows screenshot holding it opens windows gamebar 3 presses steam overlay.



Issues
This worked for a while but there were some issues.

1. No matter what in big picture mode steam demands and makes It so that a press of the xbox home button when in game opens the steam overlay. This means any time I take a picture it would open the steam overlay.
   
2. Controller companion came out with a new feature in December, which is great for the most part, that disables windows navigation with the xInput controller. This was windows poopy attempt to add ‘Controller support’ to windows 10 navigation but it only worked on UWP app or things like the start menu and… the game bar. This means unfortunately because this windows feature is disabled by controller companion when I open the windows game bar on the desktop I cannot navigate it with the controller.
   
3. The other annoying thing is I had to have 3 programs running just to get basic controller functionality and things would often trip up or break.
   
4. I had to remember all the button combos. However, controller companion when on desktop does show all your mappings which is handy.
   Image[ibb.co]

My Use Case
Despite the drawbacks there were a lot of benefits to this kind of controller setup and pretty much enabled me to use my PC like a console when I wanted to.

I would wake up grab my controller press the xbox button to wake the computer from sleep mode. Because controller companion is running in the background and works over the windows 10 lock screen I could still use it. I would then press the button to swap the screens from my monitor to my 4k tv so I could play in bed. Open the controller companion on screen keyboard and input my pin to the windows lock screen.

I could then browse steam in bed on my TV like a console start up a game and have screenshot functionality or the ability to record or open steam or windows overlay mapped to a single button.

Things would often jank out and would need reconfiguring or restarting from time to time. I was running 3 application to do this though so I guess that makes sense.

Ideal Situation
The dream is to have this all done through one application. Or map macro commands to the gamebar which could run over the windows lockscreen so I could swap screens and do stuff and not have to remember all the button combos, there would be a on screen button to swap screens or whatever from the game bar or sleep the computer just having it all in one place and easy to access from the controller.

Or even if steam did something basic like allow us to use the print screen button when mapping keys to buttons so that we could map the windows 10 gamebar take screenshot key combo to a controller button.

Or if steam let us map custom shortcuts to controller buttons so we could add in any functionality we wanted like a button to sleep or swap screens.

Or is steam let the controller work over the lockscreen which I don’t get why it doesn’t I mean you can literally open big picture mode when the computer is locked by pressing the xbox button so why cant I bring up a keyboard and type in my pin.

TL;DR
I just want to be able to use the xbox controller to use my PC like a console when I want to play in bed on my big tv and not have to get up and grab a keyboard for whatever reason. Steam should add more functionality to the controller and really consider what users would need to have a good console like experience.