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>However everything other than the hardware is what makes consoles special. They're a special-purpose device which is specifically designed to only be used with

>However everything other than the hardware is what makes consoles special. They're a special-purpose device which is specifically designed to only be used with a game pad on a big screen. That means stupid stuff like a pop-up which needs mouse interaction or the system getting confused about window focus, issues which have always plagued living room gaming PCs, just categorically can not exist. This is exactly the problem Valve has solved. SteamOS presents a just works managed OS that is fully usable with a console controller. You hit the middle button on your game controller and the steam machine just turns on, wakes your TV, and switchs the input. The UX difference between Console and PC is shrinking to near zero.

mort96 4mo ago
Yeah, until you try to launch Trackmania and its launcher needs mouse input to function.
- cassianoleal 4mo ago
  Valve has also solved that by incorporating trackpads to the controller. I bet the PS controllers's trackpads can also be used for that.
  - mort96 4mo ago
    You can't seriously argue that using a keyboard/mouse interface using the controller track pad is as nice an experience as just using a controller-focused interface. And since the Steam Machine doesn't come with a controller, I would bet that a large fraction of users will be using an xbox controller or something.
    - cassianoleal 4mo ago
      > You can't seriously argue that using a keyboard/mouse interface using the controller track pad is as nice an experience as just using a controller-focused interface. I didn't.
      - mort96 4mo ago
        Then what did you argue? What was the point of your comment? How is the problem "solved"?
        cassianoleal 4mo ago
        The parent to my comment said: > launcher needs mouse input to function I said the trackpads solve for that. Nothing else. I didn't claim it was great, I didn't claim it was better than all alternatives, I didn't claim it works as well as a high-DPI mouse on an FPS. Whatever else you may have read on my comment was your own extrapolation.
        mort96 4mo ago
        And I'm saying trackpads don't solve that. They're a workaround, they make the game playable without a mouse, but it's not how you would design a system from the ground up to be a controller-first experience. That's the context of the conversation you jumped into.
        cassianoleal 4mo ago
        Again, I was responding to "launcher needs mouse". NOT to some wider context. Again, the extrapolation is on yourself.
        mort96 4mo ago
        And I'm saying it's not a solution which makes using the launcher as nice as an equivalent console experience. It's a workaround which makes the game technically playable.
- Gigachad 4mo ago
  Of course games that don’t have controller support won’t work with controller. The steam store marks this with a label / rating system. If it’s for a green mark then everything will work with a controller.
  - mort96 4mo ago
    It's a game with great controller support! I play it a lot with a controller. It's just that in the PC gaming space, "controller support" doesn't necessarily mean that you can log in to the launcher and launch the game without a keyboard and mouse. The assumption is that you always have a keyboard and mouse, and some people also happen to have a controller in addition.
    - Gigachad 4mo ago
      I got a steam deck 2 years ago and I haven’t run in to any games like this. They all either skip the launcher or have a controller navigable one. I just had a look at the steam page and valve has listed a long list of usability issues with this game. I guess if it was a console they could just reject it and make the devs fix the issues. But it’s still cleanly presented to the user that there’s issues here and up to them to decide what to do.
      - mort96 4mo ago
        [dead]

mort96 4mo ago

Yeah, until you try to launch Trackmania and its launcher needs mouse input to function.

cassianoleal 4mo ago
Valve has also solved that by incorporating trackpads to the controller. I bet the PS controllers's trackpads can also be used for that.
- mort96 4mo ago
  You can't seriously argue that using a keyboard/mouse interface using the controller track pad is as nice an experience as just using a controller-focused interface. And since the Steam Machine doesn't come with a controller, I would bet that a large fraction of users will be using an xbox controller or something.
  - cassianoleal 4mo ago
    > You can't seriously argue that using a keyboard/mouse interface using the controller track pad is as nice an experience as just using a controller-focused interface. I didn't.
    - mort96 4mo ago
      Then what did you argue? What was the point of your comment? How is the problem "solved"?
      - cassianoleal 4mo ago
        The parent to my comment said: > launcher needs mouse input to function I said the trackpads solve for that. Nothing else. I didn't claim it was great, I didn't claim it was better than all alternatives, I didn't claim it works as well as a high-DPI mouse on an FPS. Whatever else you may have read on my comment was your own extrapolation.
        mort96 4mo ago
        And I'm saying trackpads don't solve that. They're a workaround, they make the game playable without a mouse, but it's not how you would design a system from the ground up to be a controller-first experience. That's the context of the conversation you jumped into.
        cassianoleal 4mo ago
        Again, I was responding to "launcher needs mouse". NOT to some wider context. Again, the extrapolation is on yourself.
        mort96 4mo ago
        And I'm saying it's not a solution which makes using the launcher as nice as an equivalent console experience. It's a workaround which makes the game technically playable.
Gigachad 4mo ago
Of course games that don’t have controller support won’t work with controller. The steam store marks this with a label / rating system. If it’s for a green mark then everything will work with a controller.
- mort96 4mo ago
  It's a game with great controller support! I play it a lot with a controller. It's just that in the PC gaming space, "controller support" doesn't necessarily mean that you can log in to the launcher and launch the game without a keyboard and mouse. The assumption is that you always have a keyboard and mouse, and some people also happen to have a controller in addition.
  - Gigachad 4mo ago
    I got a steam deck 2 years ago and I haven’t run in to any games like this. They all either skip the launcher or have a controller navigable one. I just had a look at the steam page and valve has listed a long list of usability issues with this game. I guess if it was a console they could just reject it and make the devs fix the issues. But it’s still cleanly presented to the user that there’s issues here and up to them to decide what to do.
    - mort96 4mo ago
      [dead]