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Valve Demonstrates New Handheld Gaming Controller, Will Be Compatible With Steam for Mac

Praise Lord GabeN
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How are they planning on letting us try before buying? I wasn't sold on the Wii U's controller before I tried it at GameStop... Will Valve similarly have demo stands set up at GameStops nation wide for their controller, or will I have to go to a convention of some sort to try it out?
 
MentalFloss said:
Funny that Steam would go down just after someone posts this. Soon we will be able to experience the unbelievably stable Steam network in all its glory also in our living rooms.

BTW, a few years ago, Valve was the most-hated Software company for forcing their business model onto the community. Nowadays, Valve is universally beloved. Just goes to show what a short-term memory the Internet has. ;)
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A few years ago, Steam was junk. If you've used it in the last 18 months you'd know that it's a hell of a lot better, and very stable/fast on OS X. You can't beat their daily deals and regular sales either.

Oh and if we're going down the network reliability, we best not start talking about iCloud...
 
OrangeSVTguy said:
The Six Axis already works pretty good out of the box in OSX, better than in windows. I actually haven't been able to use it in windows at all. I also have GamePad Companion that I can use to remap all the keys. That was only $5 so that's better than having to go out and buy another gamepad when I already have a perfectly somewhat already working one.
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How did you get PS3 SixAxis to work in Mac?
I can set it up easily but not ONE game in Steam works with it. I'd like to play San Andreas. Left4dead or CS, but none can be controlled with it properly.

Does the GamePad Companion solve that problem?
 
9000 said:
Can't you just use an Xbox 360, PS3, GameCube, or... anything else controller? Unless you like the Steam controller, but I'm having doubts about the design. I don't know if trackpads can replace analog sticks, and the right analog control is where the buttons normally are on any modern controller. I don't even see any easy-to-press buttons on there.

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Said I. It's so glitchy! It's a web browser that they twisted into a game launcher with hack programming. I only used it because I was forced to for AoE II HD, and all it does is makes things more complicated. It'll be worth something if/when they let you use your PC like a regular game console when you want it to be one.

The interface also makes me feel like a spoiled brat 9-year-old who got a gaming PC for Thanksgiving. It's kinda like going to FilesTube and feeling like your IQ is dropping.
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The issue is that valve isn't using Apple's APIs. I'm not sure what they're using... I thought at one point that it was Qt, but now I'm not so sure. Either way, it's laggy, crashy, and ugly. I wouldn't use it if it wasn't so damn convenient to have your entire game library in one place like that, with autoupdates etc.
 
The Steam Controller includes a touch screen in the center of the device with a pair of trackpads around the outside using "super-precise" haptic feedback and "dual linear resonant actuators" to deliver a range of force and vibration feedback sensations.

I'm pretty sure Chief O'Brien used these to fix something on either the Enterprise-D or DS9.
 
Looks fantastic. This could be the first controller to match the awesomeness of the mouse and keyboard. Valve are simply the best company in the gaming industry, period.
 
I will really be keeping an eye on this. It looks very promising. I prefer to play most games with a gamepad-syle controller, but it just isn't possible or practical most of the time. This would be the solution. And if it is truly hackable and will have decent support outside of Steam games, then its just about what I've been looking for, as long as the price is not prohibitive. I wonder if they'd sell an LCD-less one to keep the price low.
 
ndriver182 said:
Seems to me like you're judging something that you haven't tried yourself and very few others have had an opportunity to test as well. Perhaps it's best to reserve some judgement until either A) beta testers get their hands on them, B) you get your own hands on one, or C) A and B.
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Ah, so if consumers should buy it, try it, and then maybe return it if they don't like it. Their demos are pointless because ... anyone who says anything bad about the demos can't because they "haven't used it".

9000 said:
That's what I thought. I don't see how this is any better than using an Xbox 360 or GameCube controller on a Mac. What's the big deal about this controller (other than the cult of Valve releasing it)?

People are claiming that this controller is something great, but I'll believe it when I see it. Right now, it does not look good.
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Exactly, that's what I'm saying.

SvenSvenson said:
Michael,

Thanks for the feedback based upon you having actually tested the controller. Much more informative than those lame "Oh, I saw a picture of the thing and I instantly knew everything about it." posts.
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Thanks for your sarcasm based on ... nothing.

ciaran00 said:
And this isn't Twitter. Not liking Valve seems to be your objection to the controller, which explains your opinion.
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I hate Valve? That's new. That must be why most of my games are bought off Steam, because I hate Valve. No, I'm simply trying to say that I'm not of the "Valve does no wrong" crowd that infects the internet these days.
 
Gasu E. said:
That might have been what you meant, but it wasn't what you actually said. The negative response you are getting is because you said the definitive "this just isn't it", rather than the more open-ended "I'll believe it when I see it."
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I'll admit that I worded it extremely poorly.

roadbloc said:
If the 100% PC game compatibility is true and it is easy to use, this controller will be revolutionary. I'd like to see somebody play a Total War game using a 360 controller.
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Oh, I think that it is 100% PC compatible. I think that it will work well for turn based PC games. Then again, there would have to be a lot of thumb moving for bigger maps in... say... Civ 5 or Rome: Total War.
 
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9000 said:
Can't you just use an Xbox 360, PS3, GameCube, or... anything else controller?
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The compatibility is more complicated than you think. My wired Xbox 360 controller works great when I play some Steam games on Windows 7, because all I have to do is plug it in directly to my computer because the controller supports USB. But if I want to use a wireless Xbox 360 controller, I have to buy a separate $20 dongle because the gamepad uses a proprietary connection. PS3 controllers use good old Bluetooth to connect to their gameconsole, and a poster here said they work great in OS X, but they have driver issues with other games in Windows 7.

Outside of that, I think Logitech makes an Xbox 360-styled gamepad for PC games, but that's pretty much it. Gamecube and all other Generation 6 console controllers and all those before them simply won't work on a computer, as far as I've come to understand.

And even with the PS3 and Xbox 360 controllers, not all PC games have gamepad support. Some only have partial gamepad support and by and large the bulk of PC games on Steam can ONLY be played with a mouse and Keyboard.

But the Steam controller is designed to trick a game into thinking it IS a mouse and keyboard; which is the one form of input that every PC game supports. So instead of a little bit of support here and there for select PC games with the current controllers, the Steam controller allows PC gamers to use a gamepad with ANY game in their Steam library.

Unless you like the Steam controller, but I'm having doubts about the design. I don't know if trackpads can replace analog sticks,
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Yes, it's very different, but I'm optimistic. I like to think of the trackpads on the Steam controller the same way I think of pointing sticks, those little nubs in the middle of keyboards used to control the cursor on the screen that used to be all over the place on laptops during the 90s. Of course, you almost never see control sticks on modern laptops, and I think the reason for that is because trackpads became so advanced and responsive and so much better than control sticks that control sticks sort of died out as an input method.

and the right analog control is where the buttons normally are on any modern controller. I don't even see any easy-to-press buttons on there.
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This is what the finished product is supposed to look like. The one shown in the video is a prototype.

Hope that helps! :)
 
Michael Goff said:
Oh, I think that it is 100% PC compatible. I think that it will work well for turn based PC games. Then again, there would have to be a lot of thumb moving for bigger maps in... say... Civ 5 or Rome: Total War.
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Only repeating what Valve are claiming. It is apparently designed to work with every game currently on Steam.
The Steam Controller is designed to work with all the games on Steam: past, present, and future. Even the older titles in the catalog and the ones which were not built with controller support. (We’ve fooled those older games into thinking they’re being played with a keyboard and mouse, but we’ve designed a gamepad that’s nothing like either one of those devices.) We think you’ll agree that we’re onto something with the Steam Controller, and now we want your help with the design process.
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http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/
 
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