[BUG] Input Lag Using Steam Controller on GTA V (Online)

[Jade Lotus]

I have recently been having an issue using the Steam Controller in GTA V (or more specifically, the Online component of the game) in which quite a bit of lag is present with SC inputs (both stick and buttons). I have come to the conclusion that the problem only exists with this combination of controller and game. I have tried an XBox One controller with GTA V without any problems, and I have tried the Steam Controller with several other games -- Watch_Dogs, Burnout Paradise, and even Secret World Legends (which is not particularly geared toward using a controller) -- and have experienced no lag problems with any of them.

It was introduced with one of the recent betas in early September (I'm not sure exactly which one, since my Steam Client wasn't updated in a timely manner due to the update bug). Because of this problem, I returned to production clients, but it is now present in the production client with the 11 October update.

The lag problem manifests itself most noticeably when driving at high speed when reaction times are critical and the SC either does not respond to a control input, often resulting in an otherwise-avoidable crash, or (and more dangerously for my character), the SC does not respond to a control input release, causing the vehicle to continue turning as if the controls had not been released, *usually* resulting in a crash into roadside objects or other vehicles. This makes it nearly impossible to drive one of the many GTA races available.

Further, the problem also affects the buttons (A/B/X/Y) as well as the D-Pad. This affects menu selections, often missing button hits or, in some cases, making the menu selection skip past the desired menu option (due to missed input cessation). This problem makes the mini-games especially difficult, because they are so timing-critical (particularly the spinning letters mini-game and the undulating bar mini-game), since one must hit the button at a specific time to advance the puzzle. When the button hit is not registered by the SC, the opportunity to hit the timing-critical event is missed and has to be attempted again on the next cycle.

Due to the way they're used (generally in a continuous mode), I haven't noticed if the problem affects the triggers or not. Also, because they are not used much, I have not noticed if there is any effect on the shoulder buttons.

I am no programmer, but I am rather technically competent, so the following observations may be totally off, however, this is how it "feels" to me. The lag seems to be in the range of about a 10th of a second or more -- that is, the controller first "notices" a change of input on the left stick or a button press in what seems like about a 10th of a second after that input is made. This feels like the "polling interval" of the SC is too high, and rather than receiving input signals every hundredth of a second (or whatever the interval once was), it's waiting for longer to look for input changes and it frequently misses those changes that occur between the poll times. Again, I'm no programmer; that's just how it "feels" to me.

Has anyone else experienced this problem using the Steam Controller while playing GTA V (Online)?

[bmw enjoyer ✪]

OIOIOIOIO

[SprayRate]

When you are issuing the Xbox controller are you opting it into configuration? Would be good to test if it is specifically trackpads that are the issue or just any configured controllers.

[Jade Lotus]

When I use the XBox controller, it is hardwired by USB cable and I don't use or change any configurations; I just use it as-is. The right stick acts as camera controls as would the trackpad on the Steam Controller.

I neglected to mention the trackpad's use in my initial post, but I have noticed problems moving the camera around with it. It seems to move "short" compared to my trackpad input. I dismissed this as being the result of changing SC configuration, but I'll have to revert to my previous configuration to see if that makes a difference. Maybe the "shortness" is once again inputs being dropped/ignored by the SC (or receiver, or Steam client software, or whatever is causing the lag in the first place).

[Jade Lotus]

I've done some further research and after returning to my original configuration, the "short" movement of the trackpad has been rectified, so that was an issue with the new configuration's settings, so not part of this input lag bug.

However, I've noticed that the input lag does affect the trackpad (not very noticable, since I don't look around all that often), as well as both the trigger buttons (more noticable when braking, since that can be more timing-sensitive than acceleration) and the shoulder buttons (mostly noticable when doing pedal turns in a helicopter). I don't know if the trackpad press is effected, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was, since everything else so far has been.

The one thing left to test would be the gyro, but I'll have to modify my configuration to do that, since I don't want to use the gyro full-time.

[Jade Lotus]

The lag seems to be gone as of the 15 October Beta update. Thanks, Valve!