Steam sharing beta. Exactly what it says on the tin - by Phatose
jay pettitt on 27/9/2013 at 17:34
If that's better than a stick for the things that mice are good at, and better than a keyboard for things that sticks are good at, and ambidextrous, and something completely different if you've got one of those new fangled VR headsets from the future - then that's pretty interesting I reckon.
Also, some kind of tilt / lean thing would be nice thanks Valve.
SubJeff on 27/9/2013 at 18:06
Very, very interesting. It'd be very cool to be a beta tester for this thing. In all signed up.
Renzatic on 27/9/2013 at 18:20
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Sure there are. OpenGL's tool-chain isn't as evolved or developer-friendly as DirectX's, because the OpenGL committee's been slow to act on feedback, unlike Microsoft. I know that's sort of amazing, but it's the truth. That said, Source 2's probably going to be OpenGL based, because Valve will have to put their money where their mouth is if they want to show how they're leading the anti-Microsoft charge.
From what i understand of it, DX is a good deal more streamlined and user friendly than OGL, everyone, up to and including John Carmack, has claimed as much. But it's not so horrible that it's nigh unusable compared to the other, it just requires a slight bit more work to do the same thing.
And In these days of middleware and engines, it's only a problem that has to be faced by a select few. A few who are already getting paid a crapton of money for their software, and gain to make even more by enabling their software to port to multiple platforms.
On top of that, with more developer support comes more attention. You'll have more people contributing to the OGL Compendium. The more contributors you have, the more streamlined and user friendly it'll become. The more streamlined and user friendly it becomes, the less advantages DX has over it.
The only way MS could combat the rise of OGL is to free DX as a platform exclusive. Otherwise, everyone is going to take the path of least resistance, and let the technically better API linger by the wayside.
Fafhrd on 27/9/2013 at 20:29
I'm very intrigued by this new controller, but the question I'm left with is: how does it handle playing games that are already designed for gamepads? How would I play Arkham Asylum or Sleeping Dogs on it? The gamepad controls for those games are based around a very specific button layout (namely the cluster of four action buttons all right next to each other), which this controller does not follow. I'd guess I'd just have to experiment with key bindings until I found something that more or less worked, but there'd be a lot of muscle memory re-training going on.
The thing with having the touchscreen do an overlay one the main screen when it detects touch input is very cool, though. I expect Sony is going to steal that as a suggested implementation for the DualShock 4's central touchpad (and also that that's Valve's plan, reducing the control disparity between PS4 and PC/Steam SKUs to make SteamOS/Linux versions of PS4 games even easier).
sNeaksieGarrett on 27/9/2013 at 21:04
Really? Why are you not surprised? I definitely am. Never saw this coming.
My first reaction wasn't "yay, a new way of handling games" it was "well, that looks... odd." Also skepticism at using trackpads. I'm going to need to see this thing in action to say whether it was a good move or not. Just seems odd without thumb sticks and that they moved the face buttons around. Then again, it could turn out to be awesome. Color me interested, but not excited about the controller announcement. I also think the controller looks kind of ugly if I'm honest. Oh well, its look isn't what matters, it is the functionality that counts, right?
EvaUnit02 on 27/9/2013 at 21:07
Steam Controller innovative as hell and thus awesome. Look forward to seeing if their claims of RTSes, 4X Strategy, Simulators, etc working well on the gamepad hold any water.
Either way I doubt that it's going to supersede favourites like the 360 gamepad, just fulfil different needs. I.e. Many side scrollers and fighting games require the digital precision of a good d-pad.
Renzatic on 27/9/2013 at 21:11
Jay Pettitt wins all threads forever.
Quote Posted by Fafhrd
I'm very intrigued by this new controller, but the question I'm left with is: how does it handle playing games that are already designed for gamepads? How would I play Arkham Asylum or Sleeping Dogs on it? The gamepad controls for those games are based around a very specific button layout (namely the cluster of four action buttons all right next to each other), which this controller does not follow. I'd guess I'd just have to experiment with key bindings until I found something that more or less worked, but there'd be a lot of muscle memory re-training going on.
I'm thinking for games like it, you'd use a regular 360 style dual analog pad. Valve's controller is mostly centered around being a couch based replacement for kb/m-centric games. I'm thinking you could use it, but it probably won't make for the most optimal experience.
...maybe. I want to play with one before I start making claims that it's particularly good or bad at something. One thing's for sure, it's a neat idea.
SubJeff on 27/9/2013 at 21:15
I was surprised too, and pleasantly so.
I'd have been happier with HL3 but Valve are just... they're off on one. I'm loving the scope of this vision.
I do agree that using this thing for established console games like Batman AC will be odd if you played it with a controller, but I played it on PC with a mouse and keyboard and it'd be very interesting to play it with the controller. I've a PS3 and an XBox controller for my PC for stuff like Mark of the Ninja and Fez (platform games mostly I guess, though I do play Walking Dead with it) so this halfway thing would be very interesting to try.
Fafhrd on 27/9/2013 at 21:19
Quote Posted by Renzatic
I'm thinking for games like it, you'd use a regular 360 style dual analog pad. Valve's controller is mostly centered around being a couch based replacement for kb/m-centric games.
Having to switch controllers depending on what game I'm playing is a pretty big problem. Especially when they're touting this as being designed to play everything that's available on Steam now and in the future.
