this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2024
234 points (98.8% liked)

Steam Deck

14899 readers
69 users here now

A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.

Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.

As Lemmy doesn't have flairs yet, you can use these prefixes to indicate what type of post you have made, eg:
[Flair] My post title

The following is a list of suggested flairs:
[Discussion] - General discussion.
[Help] - A request for help or support.
[News] - News about the deck.
[PSA] - Sharing important information.
[Game] - News / info about a game on the deck.
[Update] - An update to a previous post.
[Meta] - Discussion about this community.

Some more Steam Deck specific flairs:
[Boot Screen] - Custom boot screens/videos.
[Selling] - If you are selling your deck.

These are not enforced, but they are encouraged.

Rules:

Link to our Matrix Space

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
top 39 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Kelo@lemmy.world 84 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I really hope the controller will be just a steam deck without the screen. Dual trackpads and 4 grip buttons is the best controller layout I've used

[–] Bassman1805@lemmy.world 58 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Dual trackpads but still dual joystick and a real D-pad.

I really tried to like my steam controller but the trackpads as the main control surface didn't work that well.

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 29 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They worked great for 4x games and even slower paced real time strategy games or grand strategies. And they are an excellent shim for more action oriented games that are built around M+KB and don't support a gamepad.

The problem is that this came out at the time when EVERY PC game was rapidly getting gamepad support. And with very few exceptions (Terraria and Stardew come to mind), it was a worse experience to set up your own mess rather than just use the bindings that let you play civ on an xbox controller anyway.

But yeah. If we can get both this time? That would be perfect AND encourage people to really dig deep on their setups for steam deck games. I know I would use the trackpads and even back buttons more if it wasn't learning a completely different scheme for a game I also want to play at my desk or in front of my TV.

That said, I am also very wary of fitting all those controls on a single controller. Most of the mock-ups people make have HORRIBLE ergonomics. But.. Valve knocked the Steam Deck out of the park so day one.

[–] valek879@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago

I broke my shoulder and couldn't do shit for about 4 weeks. I spent that entire time playing Civ 6, freshly released at the time, with the steam controller. It was the best thing in the world for civ. I played that game with one hand 90% of the time since my shoulder would fight me after 5 minutes with 2 hands. And the steam controller made it possible in a way my Xbox controller never has and never will.

I lost it in my move 2 years ago and hope I find it again some day because I still run into games about once a month where I think this needs a steam controller. Like playing point and click adventures on the TV with my partner.

[–] DualPad@lemmy.one 3 points 4 days ago

I use dual touchpads for games like Doom Eternal, Left 4 Dead 2, Spin Rhythm XD, The Finals, etc.

[–] ramius345@sh.itjust.works 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It would also be cool if the sticks were hall effect or upgradeable to hall effect.

[–] Fubarberry@sopuli.xyz 10 points 4 days ago

I doubt they'll come as hall effect sticks, but hopefully they'll have the same drop in design that the steam deck does, for easy replacement and upgrades.

I thought the Steam Deck was essentially the Steam Controller 2, or at least the result of the R&D put into a new Steam Controller.

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yes that's exactly what I'm hoping for too. After using it I don't want to use anything else. It's not a huge deal for every game but it's an absolute must have for some.

[–] Kelo@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Not just games. Using desktop mode in steamos is so seamless and polished, that I wouldn't be surprised if some people picked one up for Home media controller over some wireless keyboards

I use exclusively the steam controller for all hdtv and gaming from my couch. Just chefs kiss.

[–] mrfriki@lemmy.world 22 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The Steam Deck controls but with better ergonomics. Please.

[–] WereCat@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago

I prefer the ergonomics of original SC over SD but SD has better controls. I want the best of both.

[–] Mr_Blott 19 points 4 days ago

Leak

"Advert" is the word btw

[–] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 21 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I would put this rather on the "Rumor" category than "Leak". We have no evidence, because this is just an article about someone stating that someone is stating it.

[–] Fubarberry@sopuli.xyz 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Ive actually considered posting about this before, there's been several leaks leading up to this suggesting that two new controllers were in development. Basically there are some people who closely monitor files uploaded to steam, and sometimes assets and files are visible publicly for a short time. The guy who's a source on this has accurately leaked stuff before, and it's my belief we can trust him on this.

[–] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Yeah, but its still rumor. A leak would be some evidence we can confirm. I'm aware of the rumors and talks about controllers and the Deckard. But so far, nothing can be confirmed as a leak. -- Edit: Okay its not that simple. I've researched a bit about the definition and yeah, this is probably just my personal interpretation. So sorry about that.

[–] Bubs@lemm.ee 16 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'm so excited about the Deckard. I really want it to be good enough to replace my Index.

[–] jwiggler@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago

I came pretty close to buying an index off marketplace (blegh) but then I snapped myself out of it. I'm really really hoping Deckard offers some innovation over what is currently available in terms of VR, and that it is a mostly open platform.

[–] etchinghillside@reddthat.com 15 points 4 days ago (2 children)
[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago

I know right, I can't handle another round of disappointment

[–] vividspecter@lemm.ee 4 points 4 days ago

I've got two steam controllers on their last legs. I can't go back to shitty traditional controllers.

[–] DualPad@lemmy.one 14 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'm the minority that wishes the controller would have the same layout for the touchpads with it being large, circular, concave, and in the same upper positions.

I use dual touchpads on the Steam Controller to play games like Doom Eternal, Left 4 Dead 2, Spin Rhythm XD, The Finals, etc.

But, on the Deck I did not find the touchpad good for those games due to the shape, size, and placement so it turned out as being as useful as the dualsense with it becoming more a joystick controller than a touchpad controller I wanted to use in the same way I use the Steam Controller. Been hoping for years for a proper Steam Controller with upgraded gyro and 2 additional grips, but looks like it'll never happen even if Valve came out with a new controller when it comes to a dual touchpad controller I want to use. Would be more a xbox/sony controller alternative.

[–] ECB@feddit.org 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yes! The steam controller was legitimately incredible for first person games. The combination of left joystick and right touchpad was incredible once you got used to it.

I love my steam deck, but I was really disappointed with the touchpads... they are just too small too really use for much of anything other than menus. As a result, I really only play 2d games, since I hate 2-stick controls...

[–] DualPad@lemmy.one 3 points 3 days ago

Yeah, I've been playing lot of 2d platformers on my Deck or button mashers like the Yakuza collection where I'm less likely to miss touchpads.

[–] PunchingWood@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I never understood why Steam didn't just make a variant of the original Steam controller that just had the classical button layout without touchpads. I liked the touchpad version for some games but it's really clunky to use for stuff I'm otherwise used to have sticks for. I really like the Steam controller's grip.

I would've loved the same controller with an Xbox layout or something or even interchangeable parts/layouts. Although that would probably drive up the price a ton.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 23 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Why would they bother making an xbox layout when they've already gone through the effort of making the xbox controllers compatible with games? What advantage would that have over just using an actual xbox controller or one of the numerous generics?

[–] PunchingWood@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Same could be said for lots of other party controllers that are essentially the same.

Like I have a 8Bitdo Ultimate BT controller, it's essentially an Xbox controller, but it comes with a charging dock and is also compatible with the Switch. It also has hall effect sticks and motion control (for Switch). I preferred the Steam controller's grip over the Xbox controller, on top of the Steam controller having back pedal buttons as well. Plus it comes with a dongle, which has to be bought seperately for the Xbox controller unless you use Bluetooth.

So there are plenty of things that could be done different, ranging from different features to better build quality.

[–] moonlight@fedia.io 13 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Touchpad is significantly better for certain games, so it would be a shame to lose it. I hope they just copy what they did with the steam deck, best of both worlds.

[–] ECB@feddit.org 4 points 4 days ago

For me, the biggest strength of the steam controller was using the right trackpad for FPS-style games... basically a virtual trackball mouse. Once you got used to it it's incredibly responsive and a huge upgrade on a joystick.

I never managed to get my deck to work like that. The trackpads are just too small and don't seem as responsive somehow? Granted, I do have quite large hands

[–] lordnikon@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago

Agreed the track pads are far more than a pointing device. Creating virtual onscreen menus with mode shift was a Game changer. It needs to fully support steam input. I don't need to relearn my controls becase I'm going from portable to docked mode.

[–] Zombiepirate@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

The Steam controller is amazing for Elden Ring and similar games. It makes the camera so much easier to deal with.

So basically just the Xbox controller?

[–] MossyFeathers@pawb.social 5 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I personally would have loved it if they'd actually carried through with physically swappable components. While the touchpads are awesome for games that don't have normal gamepad support or require faster turn speeds, they just don't have the same feel as a physical analog stick for the games that do support it.

[–] DualPad@lemmy.one 5 points 4 days ago

Touchpad is great for turns. Example here of 180 turn demo with my Steam Controller. And I use that with gyro to play games like Doom Eternal, Left 4 Dead 2, Spin Rhythm XD, The Finals, etc without aim assist.

[–] TotesIllegit@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Honestly, I wanted to ditch the left trackpad for a D-pad and a couple more buttons on the back, but that's all I really wanted. I found myself playing more FPS titles with the Steam Controller than with K+M because the trackball mouse feature worked very well for quick coarse camera movements and gyro aiming improved my fine camera movements for lining up shots.

[–] DualPad@lemmy.one 5 points 4 days ago

I'd be sad to lose the left track pad since I use it for movement in games like Dying Light and Finals.

[–] morgan_423@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago

Like others, I'd rather see a Steam Deck Controller than an actual Steam Controller 2 that's heavily based on the original. But they'd probably sell a bazillion of either.

Personally I think a steam controller 2 should have one large touchpad, two thumbsticks, and abxy (also keep the shape and add USB c)