bin.pol.social

finitebanjo, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time

Behold! The perfect controller layout, from the far future:

spoilerhttps://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/fdafc80c-adae-49d0-8df0-dc0bb359e3fe.jpeg

Blackmist,

It’s weird how quickly Sony discovered the perfect layout and how little it’s changed since.

Analogue triggers are the only really great addition since the original Dual Shock.

The gyro aim on the PS5 (well technically all the way back to the PS3, only not as good) are actually really nice too, but I can count the games that use it on one hand. I’ve no idea why devs are so adverse to using them.

The PS4/5 touch pad would be OK if it wasn’t just used as a giant Select button, because for some reason the actual Select button is now “Share” which literally nobody ever asked for.

slaneesh_is_right,

If only it wasn’t made for tiny hands.

Blackmist,

You’re an original Xbox controller kind of guy aren’t you?

From the PS4 onwards they did at least acknowledge that most people don’t have tiny child-sized hands, and that most consoles are bought by adults.

finitebanjo,

But you can reach all the middle buttons without changing grip.

raker,

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/7394223a-57b1-4316-ba06-9a00fa615e78.jpegCan confirm. Mine is about 22 years old. Unfortunately the USB adapter isn’t working anymore.

not_IO, do gaming w Fuck you, Tom

in one night? how?

JavaStack, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time

Is this the AI slop hyphen use I’ve heard so much about?

atomicpoet,

The em dash? I always use it—love it—you’ll have to take it from cold, dead hands.

Affidavit,

Windows: Alt+0151

Linux: Compose - + - + -

HeerlijkeDrop,

Yeah sure, emdashes and curly quotation marks were designed and put into Unicode specially for AI. Take some book or newspaper and look at what characters it uses

waterdog9,

This feels written in an AI generated voice as well though

  • all the semi-dramatic filler “Well, Valve had the last laugh”, “That said, it wasn’t perfect”, “And honestly?”, etc
  • each paragraph has an intro, some content, and a conclusion
  • all the punctuation is grammatically correct

Plus, it uses a very generic argument about why everyone else is wrong for not liking the controller, even though from the comments here it’s pretty clear the main reason is not having a d-pad

sobchak, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time

Other than just feeling a little light/cheap, I liked it. I actually liked that it used standard batteries so I could just use rechargeable AAs. Only reason I don’t use it anymore, is that I mostly game on PS5 now, and mostly only play strategy games on PC. I used to use it while streaming from my PC to my Kodi/Steam Raspberry Pi in my living room.

vithigar, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time

I disagree about the batteries. Give me replaceable AA cells any day over a built-in Li-ion. Rechargeable AAs are readily available and quickly swappable if you keep hot spares. Much better option for long term serviceability.

Rubanski,

Swappable Li-Ion cells like 18650s are even better. I find recharging AAs too slow

rowinxavier,

I think the availability of AA batteries is higher, 18650 is much less standard than AA in most people’s homes. I would rather have options, so saying AA but having a swappable battery tray is how I would go, but I like kludgey stuff anyway.

That said, I just did a battery replacement for a lithium pouch on some TWS headphones and it was a fairly simple process. Making it a port rather than soldered wires would make it much easier and would make battery replacement a quick and routine task. Hopefully more companies will more towards ports for batteries and maybe even a standard port that is the same for a given voltage/amperage combination so swapping out can be done with confidence.

vithigar,

AA but having a swappable battery tray

Microsoft did something like this with xbox controllers. There are additional contact points inside the battery chamber for a li-ion pack, so you could use a pair of AAs or their rechargeable pack that just fits into the same space.

GiuseppeAndTheYeti,

Going to bat for xbox or Microsoft right now is a death sentence on the internet so by internet law I have to downvote you. Sorry, it’s just the way things go…

That said, I agree. Being able to buy a $30 plug and play pack with rechargeable battery packs or being able to buy rechargeable AAs or just normal AA batteries is the best of all the current first party options.

No1,
@No1@aussie.zone avatar

recharging AAs too slow.

If you have spares to swap in, then it doesn’t matter how long it takes to charge.

Which would be 2 hours if you charge at 0.5C.

Also, I think I’ve seen Li-ion in AA form factors nowadays …

Dreaming_Novaling, do games w So is Kingdom Hearts 3 _bad_ or just the normal cringe of Kingdom Hearts?

TLDR: I probably wouldn’t suggest playing 3 unless you’re willing to play/watch the side games. The conclusion will not hit hard at all if you didn’t play the side games.

I literally just played through all the games (besides Re:coded, watched it) and I have conflicting feelings about it. Storyline wise, I didn’t love or hate it, as some parts were really nice and heartwarming to see (I really loved the reunion of the other two trios) and certain worlds are nice to meet your fave characters (Toy Box my beloved). But the main plot feels both satisfying and meh. I watched the fandub of union x and got really excited to see the lore be teased more in 3, but because 3 tries to appease everyone (crowd who played all the games vs crowd who only played 1 & 2), they don’t get to dive as deep as I wanted. I am more willing to ignore some of the bs and laugh rather than cringe, but I do understand why many find the plot corny.

The combat… I’ve basically hated the combat in every KH game, BBS is the only one where scrolling through the skill menu didn’t feel like ass, meanwhile DDD executes flowmotion beautifully (while it feels useless in 3), and yet CoM had my favorite system overall (might be my favorite game honestly). 3 controls are far better than KH 1, but the actual difficulty is non-existent and makes blocking feel almost useless. The attraction attacks are there I guess (my mom liked them lol). KH 1 normal mode had me near tears (Even the fucking Traverse Town Armor), CoM was frustrating but satisfying, 2 was boring besides the impossible super bosses, all of 358/2 was just awful overall, BBS was very normal until final boss, and DDD was slightly frustrating but beating the final boss was satisfying. 3 was a snooze fest besides final bosses that just made me go, “oh, I guess I won. I kinda just mashed x.”

IDK, I’ve had a KH shaped hole in my heart over these past two days, wondering what I want to play now that I got through my 2 month marathon. I both miss the games but also acknowledge that they get very repetitive and tiring over time. My mom only played 1,2 & 3 and has basically said KH and Square are dead to her.

CoM, BBS, and DDD are a must to watch/play. 358/2 is only worth it if you like challenge missions (I skipped them, hated the gameplay), Fragmentary Passage is only on the 2.8 disc and is literally 4-5 hrs, and Re:coded is supposedly good gameplay but the plot is just “what if data simulation Riku and Sora went through KH 1 together?” And Union X is gonna be vital to watch for those preparing for KH 4.

burgerpocalyse, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time

sometimes a product fails because it is bad

HiddenLychee,

I still use mine all the time! Works great for computers hooked up as gaming consoles because it’s a mouse and a bunch of very useful keys all in one.

Krudler,

It failed because it offered too much customization. Really.

Physical construction was shit tier. I should know, I early adopted November 2015 and in total I went through 17 not counting the 3 DOA. My ear actually became attuned to the specific mini-crunch that signaled the impending demise of a shoulder button.

It also had undeniable layout and design issues. The D-Pad they implemented was a joke. Fanboys wouldn’t shut up about it but truth is, it was completely unacceptable to put a track pad in it’s place and it was more or less unusable. Other buttons and inputs were juuuuust a little cramped or off-kilter and it was common to input mash accidentally.

The configuration software was also a nightmare. Ever try setting up a Mouse Region for a twin stick game? Sweet jeebus. They tripled the efficiency of the configuration screens in recent updates and it’s still a nightmare. It’s 30 inputs just to tweak something like a deadzone, then you have to menu out… then test in game… then drill allllll the way back down to tweak a little more.

But back to my assertion at the top. It made SC gamers literally unfairly better. Gryo aiming, effectively programmable macros, mode shifts, radial wheels, action layers, targeted mouse clicks, button toggles, sliders, regions, I can’t even remember it all from back before it got heavily neutered. It got out of control to the point where you could bypass “cheating” standards and macros in big online games, etc. You could simulate inputs.

Design iterations would have fixed the other issues, but it became a deadly-unfair device for competitive gaming and a lot of companies hated how the Steam Controller hardware and software customization… basically allowed people to “cheat” their systems in a sense. It opened a huge fucking can of worms. Something like it will probably never be seen again for these reasons.

dualpad, (edited )

But back to my assertion at the top. It made SC gamers literally unfairly better. Gryo aiming, effectively programmable macros, mode shifts, radial wheels, action layers, targeted mouse clicks, button toggles, sliders, regions, I can’t even remember it all from back before it got heavily neutered. It got out of control to the point where you could bypass “cheating” standards and macros in big online games, etc. You could simulate inputs.

I don’t remember SC being singled out for that. Steam Input actually started providing third party support fast introducing it for the Sony DS4 in 2016 with all the same configurations possible, and expanding support to other controllers over the years. Now it supports 8bitdo too letting the extra buttons have unique keys mapped to it and supporting analog triggers with gyro, which until then Sony was one of the few non-discontinued controllers to have that support in Steam Input. pcgamer.com/steams-dualshock-4-support-is-now-in-… Don’t remember this period of the Steam Controller being a " deadly-unfair device for competitive gaming", since if it was it would have been more popular and caught on like Cronus and Xim as opposed to from its release to discontinuation being a niche device among enthusiasts while many complained because they expected it to be like a regular dual joystick controller. This thread itself and others on other sites seems to support that with people saying they tried it and didn’t care for it, don’t get the touchpads, and some not even knowing of gyro. I even had a conversation in this thread with someone who believes people who say the Steam Controller must be good are being contrarian, since they can’t imagine how people could possibly consider it good over regular controllers.

What I remember is that aim assist got cranked up over the years to the point some mouse users started dropping it for gamepad, which led to complaints about rollers growing. And then more complaints happened about rollers as regular controller users in games like Apex used Steam Input to set up movement exploits in Apex through macros and moving while going through their inventory like mouse and keyboard users. Then rewasd with it offering recoil script. And that took a while to happen with Apex releasing in 2019, which by then SC was discontinued the same year. Rewasd was especially notorious because of not only the recoil script, but being able to map controller inputs to keyboard and mouse for people wanting to XIM on PC.

It failed because it offered too much customization. Really.

I also disagree on that too much customization was why it failed. Steam Deck has the same “too much customization.” Difference is it has dual joysticks. Many people who picked up a Steam Controller just approached it like a dual joystick controller so were disappointed, and they didn’t want a controller that needed setup. I’ve been using Steam Input many years and aside from UI changes people disagreed with, Steam Input has become much more advanced and feature rich as opposed to “neutered” as you say. Introduction of things like chords, being able to set up multiple gyro activator inputs, touchpad gestures like in Sony first party games, and mouse delta to name a few over the years.

I was happy with the Steam Controller because I didn’t pick one up expecting it to offer an experience like my Xbox controller I was using on the PC at the time. I got one because I wanted the touchpad functions the Xbox didn’t have and picked it up intending to map mouse to gyro and the touchpad. But, most people don’t want that. They want a pick up and play controller, no setup, and just be like the dual joystick controllers they used and they didn’t need Valve for a dual joystick controller either with xbox offering plug and play support with no setup with no need for Steam. And if they wanted accuracy they’d just pick up a mouse.

Even gyro is niche among all controllers, which speaks to how much people just want a Xbox experience of plugging in a controller, getting controller icons, and just playing and don’t care for aiming without aim assist. They don’t want to set up anything, and that is what having dual joysticks lets people do.

Apeman42, do games w So is Kingdom Hearts 3 _bad_ or just the normal cringe of Kingdom Hearts?
@Apeman42@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks for the replies, folks. Sounds like it’s mostly pretty garbage, but the large amount of postgame bosses might be kind of fun if I turn off attractions. I do kinda want to try DDD for playing Riku, so I went ahead and got the package as the cheapest option that includes that.

If I still feel like playing 3 when I get there, it sounds like drinking my way through the Disney worlds may not be a bad idea.

kcweller,

The best solution, right there 👍

nebulaone, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time
@nebulaone@lemmy.world avatar

It is the best controller ever made by far and I am willing to die on this hill.

Omega_Jimes, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time

It’s an outstanding controller for games with mouse input, but it’s less than fantastic for traditional controller games, imo.

It’s also very divisive. I love it for couch Civilization, but I have an 8bitDo for expedition 33.

Blackmist,

Yeah, I couldn’t get on with it at all. Most games are designed for a right analogue stick, and not having one just kills it.

kn0wmad1c, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time
@kn0wmad1c@programming.dev avatar

The touchpads always made my thumbs feel weird after a short time. It was a functional marvel, but I couldn’t use it for long.

MummysLittleBloodSlut,
4am, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time

It’s actually quite comfortable to use, despite it feeling like an Xbox Duke with anaphylaxis and as thin and cheap as the Wii U gamepad without the battery in it. I’m sure that they did much better with the Steam Desk and eventual rumored Steam Controller 2 but they definittknownwhat they’re doing.

ivanafterall, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time
@ivanafterall@lemmy.world avatar

I think I have my two around somewhere (as well as my original Steam machine thingy, which was really awesome). I still cherish them and love the idea of them. Nice boxes, too. But I honestly thought the controllers were real turds, especially after so many reviews gurting so much pole slaw over them.

Megaman_EXE, do gaming w What are signs that the game devs aren't gamers themselves?

I’ve been streaming recently, and one thing that stands out to me is when you first boot up a game and it doesn’t have a start menu with settings.

I noticed it before, but now I really notice it. If something is wrong with the settings, sometimes that intro is unplayable or a less than optimal experience. So you have to try and skip, fix the issue, and then restart the game and try again. This seems to be more of a PC issue than a console issue, but even on consoles sometimes you need to adjust things like brightness or add subtitles

RagingRobot, do games w The Steam controller was ahead of its time

I love your passion for this controller. Awesome post.

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