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
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.
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.
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.
I use dual touchpads for games like Doom Eternal, Left 4 Dead 2, Spin Rhythm XD, The Finals, etc.
It would also be cool if the sticks were hall effect or upgradeable to hall effect.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Steam Deck controls but with better ergonomics. Please.
I prefer the ergonomics of original SC over SD but SD has better controls. I want the best of both.
Leak
“Advert” is the word btw
I’m so excited about the Deckard. I really want it to be good enough to replace my Index.
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.
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.
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…
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.
Please be true.
I know right, I can’t handle another round of disappointment
I’ve got two steam controllers on their last legs. I can’t go back to shitty traditional controllers.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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
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?
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.
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.
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.
I’d be sad to lose the left track pad since I use it for movement in games like Dying Light and Finals.
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)
In particular I want the two joysticks the steam deck has! Touchpads + joysticks NOT one or the other. If the steam controller came out with that and back buttons it would set a new standard and decisively reorient how people think about gamepads with respect to complex pc games.
If it just has two touchpads or two joysticks it really isn’t an evolutionary step up, more of a lateral step that improves precision (unless you include gyro… which the next steam controller needs to have).
I know this seems like an esoteric point but in my experience steam deck layouts for complex games all rely on the steam deck having 4 xy input devices.
The next steam controller should prioritize this scheme of the four basic inputs + triggers and buttons to help precipitate the concept in peoples minds that a steam style gamepad has two joysticks and two touchpads.
Longterm establishing this control “standard” as a noun in the collective minds of indie and strategy game fans and developers is by far the most important thing a new steam deck controller could do.
If an indie developer can buy a relatively inexpensive steam controller and physically test out and make some steam deck bindings for their game…they are that much more likey too.
Indie game devs provide the afterburners and linux gaming is assured a strong future!
Suddenly the limitations of sticking to a proprietary (in some ways) slow moving ecosystem of consoles start to look radically more confining in comparison because the difference became tactile and immediately tangible.
