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> but the game disables mouse-input if you are using a controller, which means you can't use the Steam Controller to its full capability. Yeah, the Valve team

> but the game disables mouse-input if you are using a controller, which means you can't use the Steam Controller to its full capability. Yeah, the Valve team (and me, I'm the OP) are specifically pushing hard on this -- an emerging best practice is to always allow simultaneous mouse & gamepad input.

jc4p 10y ago
I'm only halfway through the written post right now but it's absolutely amazing so far. Thank you for writing this!
- larsiusprime 10y ago
  I should also make sure to mention that most popular controller models are now supported by the Steam Controller configurator, so if the main thing that appealed to you was the configuration, you can get that with a DS4, an XBox360 pad, an XBox One controller, or basically any XInput device. There's also some experimental DInput support, too. But if what you want is just exactly the Valve Steam Controller model with more heft, I guess we'll have to wait and see.
paulmd 10y ago
This can have some hilarious outcomes though. Specifically, I'm thinking of how Call of Duty Black Ops III gives controllers a whole bunch of aim assist so they don't get dunked on by people using mouse+keyboard. Guess what used to happen if you plugged in a controller and played with the mouse? In an ideal world, the fix would be to not give half your players an aimbot, but you just know the product manager wouldn't go for that. Looks like they ended up adding a patch that tries to figure out whether you're actually using the controller. https://www.reddit.com/r/blackops3/comments/44yfri/pc_aim_assist_removed_for_controllers/ https://www.reddit.com/r/blackops3/comments/44yfri/pc_aim_as...
- sqeaky 10y ago
  Many would disable auto aim and aim assist because it is generally terrible and makes using the mouse harder. Shooting someone in and FPS with a mouse is literally just clicking on something, do you need help clicking on icons?. It is not difficult until the target gets very small or is moving in a specific unfavorable way. Those are both situations where auto-aim tends to help less, like ignoring far targets or aiming at instead of ahead of moving targets. Then there are the times I have been lined up for a perfect headshot only to have the auto aim pull my gun of course and blast center mass giving the enemy precious seconds to respond with their rocket launcher or equally fatal weapon.
- tornadoboy55 10y ago
  > In an ideal world, the fix would be to not give half your players an aimbot, but you just know the product manager wouldn't go for that. Looks like they ended up adding a patch that tries to figure out whether you're actually using the controller. No, this is the ideal world. Mouse users have more manual accuracy, couch gamers can still have fun vs. mouse users. Combating fringe cases (how many people actually plug in a controller and a mouse at the same time..?) makes no sense. This 'divide' worked like a charm on Titanfall.
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    > fringe cases (how many people actually plug in a controller and a mouse at the same time..?) There are good reasons to have both, and no reason to unplug either of them except to work around a buggy game.
    - derefr 10y ago
      Heck, on a laptop, you can't even unplug the "mouse" (touchpad).
  - clarry 10y ago
    > how many people actually plug in a controller and a mouse at the same time? How many people actually unplug things when they, uh, don't need them for a second or two? I leave my monitor plugged. I leave my power cord plugged. I leave my keyboard and mouse plugged. I leave my headphones plugged. I leave my hard drive plugged. I leave my ethernet cable plugged. Why should I not leave my controller plugged?
    - izacus 10y ago
      Your controller will turn on and off to save battery and when batteries run dry and need to replace them. There's nothing more frustrating than running out of batteries in a controller and the game just locks you into mouse input... on a living room PC.
      - 10y ago
- Tarean 10y ago
  There were also some games where the player just runs faster when holding both w and up arrow on the keyboard plus forward on the controller. Not that anyone but speed runners actually would do this to themselves.
ascagnel_ 10y ago
Will there be any support or thought given to helping older games along somehow? I've been spending some time lately making control layouts for old games (and using it as an excuse to replay the original Deus Ex), and while the configurator works really well, it still has some issues around getting users up-to-speed with their selected layouts (letting the profile adjust the "controller HUD" popups would probably go a long way towards this).
- paulmd 10y ago
  There is the Steam Controller Database at http://www.steamcontrollerdb.com http://www.steamcontrollerdb.com
ehsankia 10y ago
I absolutely love when games properly do this. As in, being able to jump back and forth between controller and mouse, with all the visuals changing too. Hopefully it catches on more.
- malnourish 10y ago
  Regarding the visual changes, I actually find this occasionally problematic when using the steam controller because it's so jarring. Running around with a joystick to suddenly see keyboard prompts pop up when I aim is a bad user experience, even if it is relating the truth. I would like to see games detect the steam controller and default to using the controller visuals even when there is mouse (or keyboard) input.
  - majewsky 10y ago
    Steam has an API for that. The game needs to expose the in-game actions directly. Then, when showing a button reminder, they can query Steam for which buttons are actually bound to that action. I'm aware of Portal 2 using that API, but not who else supports it.

jc4p 10y ago

I'm only halfway through the written post right now but it's absolutely amazing so far. Thank you for writing this!

larsiusprime 10y ago
I should also make sure to mention that most popular controller models are now supported by the Steam Controller configurator, so if the main thing that appealed to you was the configuration, you can get that with a DS4, an XBox360 pad, an XBox One controller, or basically any XInput device. There's also some experimental DInput support, too. But if what you want is just exactly the Valve Steam Controller model with more heft, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

paulmd 10y ago

This can have some hilarious outcomes though. Specifically, I'm thinking of how Call of Duty Black Ops III gives controllers a whole bunch of aim assist so they don't get dunked on by people using mouse+keyboard. Guess what used to happen if you plugged in a controller and played with the mouse? In an ideal world, the fix would be to not give half your players an aimbot, but you just know the product manager wouldn't go for that. Looks like they ended up adding a patch that tries to figure out whether you're actually using the controller. https://www.reddit.com/r/blackops3/comments/44yfri/pc_aim_assist_removed_for_controllers/ https://www.reddit.com/r/blackops3/comments/44yfri/pc_aim_as...

sqeaky 10y ago
Many would disable auto aim and aim assist because it is generally terrible and makes using the mouse harder. Shooting someone in and FPS with a mouse is literally just clicking on something, do you need help clicking on icons?. It is not difficult until the target gets very small or is moving in a specific unfavorable way. Those are both situations where auto-aim tends to help less, like ignoring far targets or aiming at instead of ahead of moving targets. Then there are the times I have been lined up for a perfect headshot only to have the auto aim pull my gun of course and blast center mass giving the enemy precious seconds to respond with their rocket launcher or equally fatal weapon.
tornadoboy55 10y ago
> In an ideal world, the fix would be to not give half your players an aimbot, but you just know the product manager wouldn't go for that. Looks like they ended up adding a patch that tries to figure out whether you're actually using the controller. No, this is the ideal world. Mouse users have more manual accuracy, couch gamers can still have fun vs. mouse users. Combating fringe cases (how many people actually plug in a controller and a mouse at the same time..?) makes no sense. This 'divide' worked like a charm on Titanfall.
- Dylan16807 10y ago
  > fringe cases (how many people actually plug in a controller and a mouse at the same time..?) There are good reasons to have both, and no reason to unplug either of them except to work around a buggy game.
  - derefr 10y ago
    Heck, on a laptop, you can't even unplug the "mouse" (touchpad).
- clarry 10y ago
  > how many people actually plug in a controller and a mouse at the same time? How many people actually unplug things when they, uh, don't need them for a second or two? I leave my monitor plugged. I leave my power cord plugged. I leave my keyboard and mouse plugged. I leave my headphones plugged. I leave my hard drive plugged. I leave my ethernet cable plugged. Why should I not leave my controller plugged?
  - izacus 10y ago
    Your controller will turn on and off to save battery and when batteries run dry and need to replace them. There's nothing more frustrating than running out of batteries in a controller and the game just locks you into mouse input... on a living room PC.
    - 10y ago
Tarean 10y ago
There were also some games where the player just runs faster when holding both w and up arrow on the keyboard plus forward on the controller. Not that anyone but speed runners actually would do this to themselves.

ascagnel_ 10y ago

Will there be any support or thought given to helping older games along somehow? I've been spending some time lately making control layouts for old games (and using it as an excuse to replay the original Deus Ex), and while the configurator works really well, it still has some issues around getting users up-to-speed with their selected layouts (letting the profile adjust the "controller HUD" popups would probably go a long way towards this).

paulmd 10y ago
There is the Steam Controller Database at http://www.steamcontrollerdb.com http://www.steamcontrollerdb.com

ehsankia 10y ago

I absolutely love when games properly do this. As in, being able to jump back and forth between controller and mouse, with all the visuals changing too. Hopefully it catches on more.

malnourish 10y ago
Regarding the visual changes, I actually find this occasionally problematic when using the steam controller because it's so jarring. Running around with a joystick to suddenly see keyboard prompts pop up when I aim is a bad user experience, even if it is relating the truth. I would like to see games detect the steam controller and default to using the controller visuals even when there is mouse (or keyboard) input.
- majewsky 10y ago
  Steam has an API for that. The game needs to expose the in-game actions directly. Then, when showing a button reminder, they can query Steam for which buttons are actually bound to that action. I'm aware of Portal 2 using that API, but not who else supports it.