Steam Controller Officially Announced!

[Vigormortis]

says

Says the man that has vehemently defended this as "ergonomic" and "intuitive" -

Like I asked you in the other thread: what kind of superfluous extra thumb do I need to grow to be able to comfortably, and non-awkwardly, press the +, -, Home, 1, and 2 buttons?

Or will you come back with "you have to tilt the controller and hold it in both hands"?

Because...that would be one hell of a double standard. You'd criticize the Steam Controller for requiring someone to "reach" for the touchscreen and X/B buttons, but you're completely okay with someone having to hold a controller in completely different positions to get full use of all it's buttons?

Really Jeffers? Come on...

 

[Sight Unseen]

I really can't say how I feel about it, since I've never seen anything like it.

I will, however, say this: I hope valve will allow other gamepads to be used with the Steam Machine, in case this really is as horrible as its detractors say it is.

They've already said that you can use regular controllers or K+M or whatever you want with their OS/consoles, so that's not an issue.

 

[infohippie]

It is like no one actually read the announcement, Everyone who says the face buttons are in a terrible place, please look at the portal 2 input graphic, it is clear that they are used for secondary controls. The primary inputs are the 4 top/shoulder buttons, the 2 bottom buttons and the track pads. Also it can be remapped entirely so it isn't like in any game your control layout is set in stone.

Shoulder buttons are no where near as responsive or easy to use as face buttons. The bottom buttons are really the most questionable as highly responsive because those buttons will be activated by your pinky and ring finger which are weaker and slower than any other fingers on your hand. And don't forget you will also be using those fingers to actually hold the controller.

The track pad button emulation might be good, but even with a really good feedback system I doubt they will ever achieve the effectiveness, feedback and responsiveness of physical buttons. I will give them the chance to prove me wrong, but they are going to have to prove it before I believe it.

I have read every word in the announcement 3 times now. I still have the same concerns.

Shoulder buttons less responsive than face buttons? Umm a button has 2 states, depressed, not depressed. How do tell are shoulder buttons less responsive than face buttons?

Because of the finger that uses it. The thumb is capable of much more precise and complex movements than an index finger or middle finger. It is much stronger, can make rapid inputs much more reliably and for much longer and is far faster to respond. In addition, separating the inputs across more appendages (4 fingers for 4 shoulder buttons compared to 1 thumb for 4 face buttons) means that the inputs are far more difficult to keep track of and much harder to learn. Try playing Mega Man X on a PS3 controller with the 4 face buttons mapped to the shoulder buttons. I have actually done this. It is really, really hard.

That might be the case for someone who games on consoles a lot, but for someone like me, who games entirely on PCs and hates traditional controllers with a passion, I think this might be a much better layout. My fingers are much more precise and controllable than my thumbs, and I detest thumbsticks so these trackpads will probably be much more effective. Also, as someone who has spent years learning to wield a sword, my ring and pinky fingers are stronger which will allow me to hold this controller nice and comfortably.

Finally, the Steambox is just a customised PC, playing PC games. As with any PC, you will be able to customise your control methods to a far higher degree than consoles would normally allow. If you already have a controller you like, I am quite sure you will be able to use that one for any games that offer controller support - ie, most of them. No need to QQ.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

Rather put off by the design, but I won't knock its functionality without trying it. And who knows, the design could turn out to be the best one ever.

 

[Berny Marcus]

Huh, looks pretty interesting.

 

[BLAHwhatever]

There's Buttons on the back, right? I don't see me steering/looking around with the touch pads AND interacting/shooting/whatever with those front buttons

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Looks awesome for me.

Sure I would have chosen a Stick + Trackball layout, but it's good enough and already worlds better than two analog sticks.
I'll be doing Headshots and Shock Combo all day long with that baby <3

Trackpads 99% as as good as trackballs which are 99% as good as mice. And those trackpads look to be the kind that doesn't get bad in sweaty hands.

Spoiler: FPS with Trackball

This is an early prototype without the touch screen: http://cdn3.store.steampowered.com/public/images/promo/livingroom/rljKewyz3M/prototypes.jpg

Funny, I started the FPS genre with an old school Logitech 3 button trackball, before 3 button mice were popular. Served me well from DOOM all the way thru Quake 3 when it finally busted.... and only because I dropped it while carrying it to a LAN Party. Those were the days...