Valve Announces Its Open Steam GamePad / Controller

[sarmad]

Well, that was a big pile of ..... creativity! Well done Valve, well done.

I have always hated PC gaming, but now I must say, my next console will most likely be a Steam Machine. Sorry Sony, no PS4 for me.

[Nuc!eoN]

Woow finaly an announcment that actually impressed me

[Artemis3]

This brings memories of the best controller i ever used (sans buttons): The Intellivision disc.



While everyone hated it because of the buttons, the directional disc was exceptional. Unlike the usual 4 direction cross used in the nes and others, the intv disc would never make your fingers sore. It was soft to the touch, and it gently pivoted from the middle. The thing had 16 sensors, so games could use 32 directions, back in 79. None of the other consoles ever improved this, until analogs made their way into consoles in the late 90ies.

[sarmad]

For the most part I'll try to reserve judgment until I actually try it, but what I'm really baffled by is the touch screen. What's the purpose of having a screen on the controller if the contents of that screen are overlayed onto the game when you touch it? And what's the point of it being a touch screen? There are already touch inputs on the controler that could be used to navigate whatever is available on the screen, just have a button to switch input between that and the game.

The touchscreen is very important for backward compatibility, i.e. to work with games that aren't designed with this controller in mind. Showing a menu in the game requires the functionality to be integrated into the game itself, which isn't the case with older games that think it's talking to an actual keyboard. On top of that, depending on the game, you might want the player to be able to access the functionality without interrupting the gameplay with an overlay menu.

[Serge]

Does anyone else feel a bit let down by these three announcements? Somehow, given the hype, I was expecting something more interesting.

[kwahoo]

is it just me or did they forget a jump button/binding in that Portal example?

You have to press left touchpad.

[89c51]

Does anyone else feel a bit let down by these three announcements? Somehow, given the hype, I was expecting something more interesting.

I was expecting an official SteamBox. The controller looks cool.

[stqn]

Wireless sucks, I?d rather have a nice simple usb cable than have to buy and charge batteries.

[dee.]

This shit is worse than getting skullfucked by a grizzly bear while an ostrich vomits in your ear.



Clickpads for gaming? This is absolute drivel. Analog sticks are already poor enough for any gameplay that needs accuracy. Now we have clickpads that you're fondling with your thumbs. Yeah right. I guess it's ok if you only play FPS or the like but platformers, fighting games, anything where you need quick accurate movements? No way in hell.

[dee.]

Wireless sucks, I?d rather have a nice simple usb cable than have to buy and charge batteries.

Oh and this too. Wireless sucks. I once had a wireless mouse but it stopped working when the batteries leaked inside it.