The button-Dpad is actually interesting. Not as a actual D-pad, mind you, but how you could conceivably use it either handed. So say you're using the big touchpad on one side for one hand, and then the buttons on the other side if you really want fixed buttons.
COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
I was under the impression that the touchpad on the PS4 controller is a completely pointless gimmick. It would make sense for Valve to drop the feature on their controller.
I was under the impression that the touchpad on the PS4 controller is a completely pointless gimmick. It would make sense for Valve to drop the feature on their controller.
Only remains a "pointless gimmick" until someone finds a good use for it. Much like Kinect for XB1, though, there's little incentive to experiment if you're also targeting your game to the other platform which does not have that input option.
I was under the impression that the touchpad on the PS4 controller is a completely pointless gimmick. It would make sense for Valve to drop the feature on their controller.
Well the PS4 controller doesn't have touchpads instead of sticks so the extra pad makes a bit more sense there.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
0
Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
They removed the touchscreen after a lot of testing revealed it had very limited useability.
They were testing the controllers usability while wearing a VR headset and not being able to see the screen on the controller rendered it unusable. One of their engineers noted that they already had two touchpads, so they removed the screen, which greatly reduced the power requirements, weight and complexity of the controller.
It wasn't a touchpad on the Steam Controller (well, the circle things are touchpads) it was a touch SCREEN that was going to be on there and was subsequently dropped. Probably a smart move based on price alone.
Yeah, I thought the touch screen was neat and all but didn't see a lot of use for it. I'm more excited by the shape of the controller, the placement of the triggers and back buttons, and of course the trackpads and haptic feedback.
Look, I remember the Dreamcast and how much I loved the VMU even though it didn't really work out. A gimmick is a gimmick. Touchpad or touchscreen, the idea doesn't hold water. It makes you look away from the monitor/tv or take your fingers off other controls to use an arbitrary input.
Does SteamOS work with wireless 360 controllers via USB dongle?
Edit: Sorry, that's for regular steam. I have no idea if SteamOS recognizes the wireless dongle.
Yes. Did this for years. I lost the controller during a move so I got a wired one (which also works fine), and then found the original controller. If you connect it to either an x-box or a computer using the charge-and-play cable it'll sync to that device and not the other. This is how I swapped between xbox and PC for a while. Without the cable, there are tiny buttons to push and wait for a wireless handshake.
It wasn't a touchpad on the Steam Controller (well, the circle things are touchpads) it was a touch SCREEN that was going to be on there and was subsequently dropped. Probably a smart move based on price alone.
That and putting those buttons in will make it more familiar and inviting to the masses helping to boost interest and general sales. "It's like every controller you're used to only the joysticks have been replaced with something that doesn't suck."
TOGSolid on
+2
jeffinvaKooglercoming this summerRegistered Userregular
A touchpad in the center of a controller is a nice addition IMO, I'm bummed Valve dropped it. On the Dualshock 4 it allows for an elegant way to add additional buttons on games like Waframe and Killzone: Shadow Fall. A swipe in any individual prime direction has a different result, as does depressing the entire pad. It's like having five additional buttons that take up what was essentially empty unused surface area before.
It remains to be seen how useful or intuitive it is when functioning like a touchpad on a laptop. I don't know of any games that use it in such a fashion, but I think Final Fantasy XIV will.
0
Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
You do realize that there are two touchpads still existing on the controller, yes?
All this talk of controllers. Who cares. The real news is crytek announced native Linux support for cryengine is in the works.
Apparently those of us talking about it.
I am aware. It was more a rhetorical question as the controller is pretty secondary to the fact that a major engine is moving to be compatible with Linux and thus SteamOS natively. Which is one of the biggest barriers to the whole concept succeeding.
Its not getting much attention which is sad, because it's probably one of those pivotal points wherein other companies either follow or they shun the idea and the concept struggles with hoping for decent middleware solutions.
But yeah, I like buttons. Buttons are cool.
+3
jeffinvaKooglercoming this summerRegistered Userregular
All this talk of controllers. Who cares. The real news is crytek announced native Linux support for cryengine is in the works.
Apparently those of us talking about it.
I am aware. It was more a rhetorical question as the controller is pretty secondary to the fact that a major engine is moving to be compatible with Linux and thus SteamOS natively. Which is one of the biggest barriers to the whole concept succeeding.
Its not getting much attention which is sad, because it's probably one of those pivotal points wherein other companies either follow or they shun the idea and the concept struggles with hoping for decent middleware solutions.
But yeah, I like buttons. Buttons are cool.
Just so you know, I agree that this is awesome and important
Portal is available on Linux in beta form, finally.
Just leaves CS:GO as the last Valve game not ported.
This was completely farmed out, right? I wasn't sure this would get ported at all. as huge of a 'mistake' this would be, I'm not sure they have control over this one?
All this talk of controllers. Who cares. The real news is crytek announced native Linux support for cryengine is in the works.
I think the controller is the best part of the Steambox trinity.
Glad the got rid of the screen and replaced it with real buttons.
Wii U sucks, but my NNID is da66en. Steam is route66. 3DS is 2938-8099-8160.
Neo Geo Big Red owners club.
2009 PAX Puzzle Quest Champion
I have beat Rygar on the NES and many of you have not.
Portal is available on Linux in beta form, finally.
Just leaves CS:GO as the last Valve game not ported.
This was completely farmed out, right? I wasn't sure this would get ported at all. as huge of a 'mistake' this would be, I'm not sure they have control over this one?
It's all built with the same engine, and the developer they worked with has offices in the same city (Bellevue, WA). It'll happen.
The controller is pretty much the only SteamOS thing I really give a shit about at this point. Who cares that some game engine works on Linux now when that awesome controller is this much closer to being in my hands?
0
Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
All this talk of controllers. Who cares. The real news is crytek announced native Linux support for cryengine is in the works.
Apparently those of us talking about it.
I am aware. It was more a rhetorical question as the controller is pretty secondary to the fact that a major engine is moving to be compatible with Linux and thus SteamOS natively. Which is one of the biggest barriers to the whole concept succeeding.
Its not getting much attention which is sad, because it's probably one of those pivotal points wherein other companies either follow or they shun the idea and the concept struggles with hoping for decent middleware solutions.
But yeah, I like buttons. Buttons are cool.
Well, maybe.
Because Source 2 and Unity already have Linux support. Epic puts Unreal onto everything except toasters these days, so that'll be a lock. Cryengine getting ported is great news, but just because an engine supports a platform doesn't mean that developers will actually make games on that engine on that platform.
Portal is available on Linux in beta form, finally.
Just leaves CS:GO as the last Valve game not ported.
This was completely farmed out, right? I wasn't sure this would get ported at all. as huge of a 'mistake' this would be, I'm not sure they have control over this one?
Uh, I imagine Valve retains ownership of everything that Hidden Path does on the Counter-Strike IP.
Also, this was brought up during a recent REDDIT interview thingy
liamdawe:
"Can we please get an update on when we are likely to see Counter Strike Global Offensive for Linux?"
Gabe:
"It's being worked on but we don't have an ETA."
A touchpad in the center of a controller is a nice addition IMO, I'm bummed Valve dropped it. On the Dualshock 4 it allows for an elegant way to add additional buttons on games like Waframe and Killzone: Shadow Fall. A swipe in any individual prime direction has a different result, as does depressing the entire pad. It's like having five additional buttons that take up what was essentially empty unused surface area before.
It remains to be seen how useful or intuitive it is when functioning like a touchpad on a laptop. I don't know of any games that use it in such a fashion, but I think Final Fantasy XIV will.
I disagree. On the DS4 it just required me to take one of my thumbs away from something important. Killzone? I have to stop moving or aiming just to tell the OWL to do something. Warframe? Part of it's the game's fault, but I love that I have to stop moving/aiming to cast a power when it's already clunky enough to be/look in exactly the right spot.
The one thing I was excited about with the touchpad on the DS4 was being able to use it as a mouse everywhere. As far as I can tell, that exists...nowhere. It's kind of funny; any cross-platform game on PC has mouse support. Some games even support kb/m on console. It seems strange to me that no game allows me to just flick the touchpad around and use it as if I had a mouse plugged in. I've seen games seamlessly switch between controller input and kb/m on PC; I'd just assumed they'd start doing it on console now that there was an appropriate input device. Fuck me, I guess.
I was only excited for a touchscreen on the Steam controller because I figured it'd give me an easy way to navigate controller profiles and button bindings/mappings on the fly. It's not a huge deal though. After seeing the wizardy that Valve can work with overlays and UI's, and the abysmal failure that the DS4 gimmicks have been (despite the rest of the controller being a phenomenal improvement), I'm over it.
See, I fucking love kbam. It's my favorite control scheme ever. However, I'm also a huge sucker for new and interesting controllers/peripherals and this is definitely both new and interesting. It's also why I picked up a Razer Hydra and I'll probably be picking up the Sixense Stem too. Oh, and of course I'm going to buy the Oculus Rift as well.
Honestly for me the end-game is playing games like CK2/Civ5 on the couch. I have laptops and desktops and whatnot. But the minute I can use a Steamstick (read: Chromecast) type thing to use a controller on my couch and play from another computer?
Would anyone mind taking a look at the specs for a laptop I'm thinking about buying? It's my first since 2008 so I'm a bit out of touch, and would really have more peace of mind if I had a second set of eyes before going through with the purchase.
Yeah, for me It's not about preference, but what I can physically use. When you can't angle your hands up at the wrists and you can only accurately control your thumb, index finger, and middle finger on your right hand, and just your thumb and index finger on your left hand, KBAM is a non-starter in the vast majority of cases. The most complex game I ever beat with KBAM was Deus Ex, and that was somewhat arduous.
Anything that can actually bridge the gap would be greatly appreciated.
Hmm, alright. I'm desperate enough. It's the one on the far right. The other two are laptops I've been looking at, for comparison's sake. It's currently on some sort of St. Patrick's day promotion, and is usually $1600. Overall, it costs $130 more than the middle column, but I feel like it might be worth it for the additional (admittedly excessive) RAM, bigger SSD and dual GPUs.
Edit: The far left column is an incredible machine for the price, but I'm thinking I sort of want something something a bit beefier.
Yeah, for me It's not about preference, but what I can physically use. When you can't angle your hands up at the wrists and you can only accurately control your thumb, index finger, and middle finger on your right hand, and just your thumb and index finger on your left hand, KBAM is a non-starter in the vast majority of cases. The most complex game I ever beat with KBAM was Deus Ex, and that was somewhat arduous.
Anything that can actually bridge the gap would be greatly appreciated.
Have you thought about replacing your limbs with superior cyber-arms?
Yeah, for me It's not about preference, but what I can physically use. When you can't angle your hands up at the wrists and you can only accurately control your thumb, index finger, and middle finger on your right hand, and just your thumb and index finger on your left hand, KBAM is a non-starter in the vast majority of cases. The most complex game I ever beat with KBAM was Deus Ex, and that was somewhat arduous.
Anything that can actually bridge the gap would be greatly appreciated.
Have you thought about replacing your limbs with superior cyber-arms?
If you can get cyber-arms, couldn't you just wire the controller into your nervous system and control it with your mind?
COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
Yeah, for me It's not about preference, but what I can physically use. When you can't angle your hands up at the wrists and you can only accurately control your thumb, index finger, and middle finger on your right hand, and just your thumb and index finger on your left hand, KBAM is a non-starter in the vast majority of cases. The most complex game I ever beat with KBAM was Deus Ex, and that was somewhat arduous.
Anything that can actually bridge the gap would be greatly appreciated.
Have you thought about replacing your limbs with superior cyber-arms?
If you can get cyber-arms, couldn't you just wire the controller into your nervous system and control it with your mind?
Whoa, let's not get carried away here. We aren't living in the future... yet
+2
jeffinvaKooglercoming this summerRegistered Userregular
A touchpad in the center of a controller is a nice addition IMO, I'm bummed Valve dropped it. On the Dualshock 4 it allows for an elegant way to add additional buttons on games like Waframe and Killzone: Shadow Fall. A swipe in any individual prime direction has a different result, as does depressing the entire pad. It's like having five additional buttons that take up what was essentially empty unused surface area before.
It remains to be seen how useful or intuitive it is when functioning like a touchpad on a laptop. I don't know of any games that use it in such a fashion, but I think Final Fantasy XIV will.
I disagree. On the DS4 it just required me to take one of my thumbs away from something important. Killzone? I have to stop moving or aiming just to tell the OWL to do something. Warframe? Part of it's the game's fault, but I love that I have to stop moving/aiming to cast a power when it's already clunky enough to be/look in exactly the right spot.
The one thing I was excited about with the touchpad on the DS4 was being able to use it as a mouse everywhere. As far as I can tell, that exists...nowhere. It's kind of funny; any cross-platform game on PC has mouse support. Some games even support kb/m on console. It seems strange to me that no game allows me to just flick the touchpad around and use it as if I had a mouse plugged in. I've seen games seamlessly switch between controller input and kb/m on PC; I'd just assumed they'd start doing it on console now that there was an appropriate input device. Fuck me, I guess.
I was only excited for a touchscreen on the Steam controller because I figured it'd give me an easy way to navigate controller profiles and button bindings/mappings on the fly. It's not a huge deal though. After seeing the wizardy that Valve can work with overlays and UI's, and the abysmal failure that the DS4 gimmicks have been (despite the rest of the controller being a phenomenal improvement), I'm over it.
I don't have those problems. I just reach my right thumb over and swipe. If the buttons were mapped to the D-pad, where they probably would be typically, I would definitely have to take my thumb off of the left analog stick, but as it is now I'm able to continue moving while issue the command. Since Warframe is third person it's not really an issue, I can still line up the shot using only the left analog stick - though it did take some getting used to.
The alternative would be to do without the touchpad, reducing the number of buttons and either limiting the number of commands in those games or forcing a player to pause the action to reach a menu or use button combinations. I think the touchpad is the better option.
Plus when you press a regular face button you still gotta take your thumb off the right analog stick anyway so the whole "but I can't aim when I gotta use the trackpad!" Thing doesn't really hold.
Posts
COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
Only remains a "pointless gimmick" until someone finds a good use for it. Much like Kinect for XB1, though, there's little incentive to experiment if you're also targeting your game to the other platform which does not have that input option.
Well the PS4 controller doesn't have touchpads instead of sticks so the extra pad makes a bit more sense there.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
They removed the touchscreen after a lot of testing revealed it had very limited useability.
They were testing the controllers usability while wearing a VR headset and not being able to see the screen on the controller rendered it unusable. One of their engineers noted that they already had two touchpads, so they removed the screen, which greatly reduced the power requirements, weight and complexity of the controller.
Apparently those of us talking about it.
That and putting those buttons in will make it more familiar and inviting to the masses helping to boost interest and general sales. "It's like every controller you're used to only the joysticks have been replaced with something that doesn't suck."
It remains to be seen how useful or intuitive it is when functioning like a touchpad on a laptop. I don't know of any games that use it in such a fashion, but I think Final Fantasy XIV will.
I am aware. It was more a rhetorical question as the controller is pretty secondary to the fact that a major engine is moving to be compatible with Linux and thus SteamOS natively. Which is one of the biggest barriers to the whole concept succeeding.
Its not getting much attention which is sad, because it's probably one of those pivotal points wherein other companies either follow or they shun the idea and the concept struggles with hoping for decent middleware solutions.
But yeah, I like buttons. Buttons are cool.
Just so you know, I agree that this is awesome and important
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
This was completely farmed out, right? I wasn't sure this would get ported at all. as huge of a 'mistake' this would be, I'm not sure they have control over this one?
I think the controller is the best part of the Steambox trinity.
Glad the got rid of the screen and replaced it with real buttons.
Neo Geo Big Red owners club.
2009 PAX Puzzle Quest Champion
I have beat Rygar on the NES and many of you have not.
It's all built with the same engine, and the developer they worked with has offices in the same city (Bellevue, WA). It'll happen.
Well, maybe.
Because Source 2 and Unity already have Linux support. Epic puts Unreal onto everything except toasters these days, so that'll be a lock. Cryengine getting ported is great news, but just because an engine supports a platform doesn't mean that developers will actually make games on that engine on that platform.
Basically, we have to wait and see.
Uh, I imagine Valve retains ownership of everything that Hidden Path does on the Counter-Strike IP.
Also, this was brought up during a recent REDDIT interview thingy
I disagree. On the DS4 it just required me to take one of my thumbs away from something important. Killzone? I have to stop moving or aiming just to tell the OWL to do something. Warframe? Part of it's the game's fault, but I love that I have to stop moving/aiming to cast a power when it's already clunky enough to be/look in exactly the right spot.
The one thing I was excited about with the touchpad on the DS4 was being able to use it as a mouse everywhere. As far as I can tell, that exists...nowhere. It's kind of funny; any cross-platform game on PC has mouse support. Some games even support kb/m on console. It seems strange to me that no game allows me to just flick the touchpad around and use it as if I had a mouse plugged in. I've seen games seamlessly switch between controller input and kb/m on PC; I'd just assumed they'd start doing it on console now that there was an appropriate input device. Fuck me, I guess.
I was only excited for a touchscreen on the Steam controller because I figured it'd give me an easy way to navigate controller profiles and button bindings/mappings on the fly. It's not a huge deal though. After seeing the wizardy that Valve can work with overlays and UI's, and the abysmal failure that the DS4 gimmicks have been (despite the rest of the controller being a phenomenal improvement), I'm over it.
That's game-on, motherfucker.
Previous account
Anything that can actually bridge the gap would be greatly appreciated.
Edit: The far left column is an incredible machine for the price, but I'm thinking I sort of want something something a bit beefier.
Previous account
Have you thought about replacing your limbs with superior cyber-arms?
If you can get cyber-arms, couldn't you just wire the controller into your nervous system and control it with your mind?
COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
Whoa, let's not get carried away here. We aren't living in the future... yet
I don't have those problems. I just reach my right thumb over and swipe. If the buttons were mapped to the D-pad, where they probably would be typically, I would definitely have to take my thumb off of the left analog stick, but as it is now I'm able to continue moving while issue the command. Since Warframe is third person it's not really an issue, I can still line up the shot using only the left analog stick - though it did take some getting used to.
The alternative would be to do without the touchpad, reducing the number of buttons and either limiting the number of commands in those games or forcing a player to pause the action to reach a menu or use button combinations. I think the touchpad is the better option.