I was watching this video the other day and our friend Bob made a comment about the steamdecks trackpads, essentially calling the bad. I want to know what the community thinks.
For me, they are a game changer. They are not the best implemented trackpads I’ve ever seen but on a handheld it made a world of difference setting up any desktop software like emudeck, and any of the associated emulators. Civ games in my opinion are easier to navigate and I would be hard pressed to try to play any type of RTS game without them. Not to mention that after a year of having the Deck, I just learned how to comfortably type with them. I’ve bound them to be a radial dial of tools within games and with the desktop mode.
This morning I heard of the Aya Neo Kun, a 75 watt hour x86 handheld with trackpads. Outside the GDP WIN 4 with it’s physical keyboard this is the only other x86 handheld I think I could consider using. I believe its physical trackpads would help me navigate the nightmare that is windows 11. I will always prefer a mouse and keyboard but on the go, they’ve been a handy tool to getting things done.
Love em, hate em, or just don’t care about em, I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts.
They are amazing. Especially when utilizing desktop mode. I love them
Almost the best thing that has ever happened to a controller. Especially with how the steam deck implemented it.
I’m happy the deck has them. I use them in FPS and some other genres and couldn’t imagine playing those without them, being a former PC only player. Coupled with gyro, it is a great experience.
I don’t have a deck yet, but I do have a steam controller… which has track-paddish elements. I can’t speak to the quality or ergonomics of the pads on the deck, but the steam controller’s pads are game-changing in terms of being able to interact with mouse-driven games with poor controller support. Part of why my eye is on the deck is to have a system with that kind of support.
Recently got a TV put up and I tried playing escape simulator with an Xbox controller. It was the first time I really wished I owned a steam controller. The maps have a lot of different things and ways to interact with them. I find pads make it easier to rotate objects.
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i think they are bad. i bought the steam deck specifically because of the trackpads, and they’re just much too small and awkwardly placed. compare to the steam controller, the greatest controller known to man, they’re just horrible
the steam controller also has slightly concave pads, allowing ones thumb to make contact with consistent pressure. the steam deck has flat pads
and they’re square. why are they square? whose idea was that? my thumbs can move in a circle, the pads should be circular
gripes
i wish the smach z hadn’t been a scam. i was so looking forward to that thing
however sensitivity-wise as he’s talking about: i’ve had no problems. they’ve been perfect. and definitely needed if using the deck in desktop mode, much better than an awkward joystick mouse or using the touchscreen like some weird nintendo ds
I took think circle pads would be an improvement, do you find the pads being raised uncomfortable as well?
maybe? sc pads are raised above the controller face a little, but on the sc the grip shape keeps your thumb joint higher above the face. @[email protected] posted these, which might be an improvement; but i haven’t tried them
it probably would help if they were recessed into the controller slightly; but honestly i think that’s the least of their problems after size, position, and concavity
I just wish they were as good as the steam controller’s.
I use them in games that need precise aiming (hello Valheim) along with the gyro, as well as mouse based games. Also they’re great for binding a bunch of extra buttons that you don’t use that often, and they make the desktop experience much smoother if you don’t have m/kb around.
I understand that having them is a compromise, so the rest of the controls end up more cramped, but at least for me it’s well worth it. I wouldn’t consider a different handheld pc, or a Steam Deck 2 without them now.You use gyro in Valheim? For bows? Gyro controls are my kryptonite, I can get them to work.
Yes, and building. I’ve set it up to activate with out of the back paddles. Can’t live without it.
I’ve used the Steam Controllers for many years and use dual touchpads for movement and camera. Here’s me playing Doom Eternal, Anger Foot, and a video on why I prefer touchpads to joysticks.
But, despite that I’m not a big of a fan of the ones on the Steam Deck. The placement is not that comfortable. There are 3D printed grips though that I would like to try out that would let me hold the Deck so it is more like holding the Steam Controller with the touchpads. Until then a majority of my gameplay is done with the joysticks in contrast to on the desktop where it is with touchpads.
I am really glad the touchpads are present so that it’s not an input Valve has abandoned, but the placement and ergonomics is really disappointing me. I’d be playing lot of FPS games on the Deck if the touchpad experience were more on par with the Steam Controller.
Depends on the game, but I definitely make use of them. Last game I’ve used them almost exclusively was Inscryption.
Inscription? That’s cool, I would have never thought to use them for a card game.
Inscryption has a some puzzle room aspects as well, where you need to click around the screen using a mouse.
they are the ultimate Marco buttons. I think most people just think of them as two mice and that’s why they don’t get why they should use them, even in non k/m type games.
What games have you been playing on your deck? Recently got Grounded on the sale. Hoping to tweak the trackpad to pull up the radial menu faster. Games a lot of fun with friends, but combat it slower when pulling up the radial menu doesn’t go away until you’ve select something.
So I play a lot of games from the 90s that have no concept of a modern controller. Games like Starfleet Academy and MechWarrior 2 and those games are very single keyboard key functions. But with a little bit of trial and error i have all those functions tied to popup onscreen menus and can play handheld no problem. All i need now is a Steam Controller two because when i play docked i feel like i am missing half my controller without the track-pads.
Mech warrior 4 vegenence was my first entry in series early 2000s. This post makes me want to try out Mech Warrior 2 on the deck. Another point for steam controller. Im currently working my way through some SNES titles I missed. Playing Fall Out 1 is on my list as well and I think the track pads would be plenty usefully in that game.
I’m not a fan of them in general, but specifically on the Deck I’ve been using them a lot simply because it’s built for bigger hands and I struggle to consistently reach the joysticks.
Trackpads are the Steamdeck’s killer feature - they elevate it to a useable device in Desktop mode and allow for so many more gametypes than just sticks and gyro.
I like them but I don’t often use them in games. Normally I save them for when I play a game that needs a keyboard and mouse and use the trackpads instead
I’ve found them to be very useful for games that require you to use the mouse a few times, and my God, the radial menu it can create is godlike. I also use it to activate the gyro.
