3 ms·
in a sense, he's touching on the essential unspoken issue here. the SteamPad is a solution looking for a problem. This is more about Valve's business positionin
by nemof 13y ago
in a sense, he's touching on the essential unspoken issue here. the SteamPad is a solution looking for a problem. This is more about Valve's business positioning than it is redefining gaming.
Everyone's already pretty happy with their xbox 360 controllers, but Valve isn't happy that their platform isn't in your living room. Therefore, they want to bridge the gap so those titles that wouldn't translate well to the living room are more playable. Spelunky and SMB are amazing games, but very arcadey. They're test cases that can only show that this controller adequately compares to current controllers.
A better test would be hearing how people do with titles you could less readily imagine playing on a ten foot display. I want to know, as a PC gamer and input control snob:
1) does this let me handle FPS games properly (ie twitch controls to compare to mouse level quality).
2) can I play RTS style games and do stuff like macroing and movement with the fluidity of kb/mouse.
3) what advantages do I get over an xbox 360 controller, which is decent enough in most cases.
4) does the loss of thumbsticks mean a loss of tactile response? I love the sensation of movement within Dark Souls as I tap on my thumbsticks.
Nubbins would be helpful it's true, but it would be nice to have detachable sticks for those of us who want them. The valve patents from a few years ago showed something like that. Of course, adding thumbsticks then basically rolls back the design to being just another joypad.
I'm skeptical, possibly because in a sense the SteamPad isn't doing anything new (while yeah the haptic is probably amazing compared to anything else current), it's just trying to translate our current experience of input from the quality we get on desktops, to the couch in our living rooms.
- chc 13y ago> the SteamPad is a solution looking for a problem. One paragraph later you articulate the very problem for which it is a solution: > they want to bridge the gap so those titles that wouldn't translate well to the living room are more playable
- Bahamut 13y ago> Everyone's already pretty happy with their xbox 360 controllers I don't know about pretty happy...I really wish the 360 controllers were more like Nintendo's traditional controllers (like the Wii Classic Controller or the Wii U Pro Controller)
- tracker1 13y agoI think one of my favorite controllers was the old 6 button sega controller. That with the addition of trigger pads is probably imho about the best layout.. though now we want/desire dual analog inputs, which makes it a little more tough to get right. I think that the Sony PS* controllers are probably the best option for today's play, and the 360 controllers are close. Then again, I really don't play much.. I do wish the Ouya controllers were actually more responsive in games/emulators.. the controllers feel okay, but when they miss on screen, it's just painful.
- Bahamut 13y agoI think Nintendo blows both Sony & Microsoft at getting those type of controllers right. Sony's PS controllers have the unfortunate effect of causing blisters with its rigid/abrasive d-pad for some more intense games (Mega Man X6 comes off the top of my head) - heck, I've even got a blister once from the d-pad from playing an RPG! The analog sticks are also in a strange location for the PS controllers when it comes to FPSs. Microsoft's...the d-pad is just atrocious. What Nintendo does right is get the combination of location of control inputs right and their soft, but responsive, d-pad. Game selection is another issue, but controller-wise, I haven't seen anyone beat Nintendo at yet.