I have a Steam controller and it's really Not It. The build quality is quite mediocre and the controls are laid out weird. The clickable touch areas are hard to click right and controls generally just don't feel that great.
The Deck controls are worlds ahead of the Steam Controller. Better buttons, better hand positions, better quality, better all around.
I have one. I wanted to like it, but it just lacked. The feedback on the large directional buttons is limited, the controller isn't terribly comfortable to hold, and the ABXY buttons are at quite an awkward position. The trackpad to play PC games was an interesting idea, but it just didn't work for me because it lacked precision or range.
My biggest issue is that the touchpad lack precision that a normal joystick would provide, and you need quite some force to push the directional buttons underneath the DPAD.
It wasn't a complete design failure. I do miss the button on the end of the triggers, that was a smart choice. I find the Deck paddles a lot harder to press than the ones on the Steam controller.
The deck took everything the Steam controller tried to do and just did it better. The trackpads is still there, including the force feedback, but it's no longer used in place of usual controls.
With these lessons learned, I think Valve will be able to design an awesome controller!
I LOVE the steam controller, and the deck is essentially a steam controller with a computer+screen embedded into it. But the software for customizing the inputs are extremely sophisticated and deeply integrated into Steam. I don't think the deck would have been as good without the steam controller.
Out of curiosity, did you personally actually use the steam controller? From what I've read/heard, it was a bit tough to get used to, but appreciated by many. My impression was also that the steam deck touch pads were just the next step in [the steam controller]'s evolution, rather than something else altogether.
All of that being said, I've unfortunately never had the opportunity to try it myself, so I don't really know.
The Steam Deck is an upgrade to the Steam Controller in my eyes; I own both but just never really liked using the Steam Controller the same way I do the Steam Deck for some reason. I guess the Steam Deck just feels more comfortable?
I didn't know about the patents case, but I think the Steam Controller was considered pretty mediocre universally. It's got quite an unusual design, and it feels like an early (failed) experiment for the Deck control scheme.
The Deck controls are the best input method for games I've ever used. If they take the Deck inputs and stuff them into a handheld controller, I'd expect the end result to get popular quickly. The Deck shines where the Controller failed.
I still have my Deck and Link lying around because they were cheap (practically came free with a game) and because I liked the concept. I really hope Valve manages to get something like the Steam Machine into the mainstream, because they've got all the ingredients to become the perfect in-between for locked down consoles and messy PC gaming setups.
What makes the Steam Deck so much more versatile IMO are the touch pads. I use the touchpads on my Steam Controller to play a few games that are 95% mouse-driven (simulators for a trading card game) and they're a joy.
I like my Steam Deck, but I've found it only works for games that were designed for controller input. Controlling the cursor with the capacitative pad never clicked with me. Unfortunately that rules out most of the games I like to play most.
E.g. I tried Rimworld, which even makes special affordances for the Deck, and it was just painful compared to keyboard and mouse.
I guess I'll try connecting a mouse, but that kind of defeats the purpose.
I have a Steam Deck, Steam Link and the Steam Controller (it does work) among other controllers. The ability to use any controller is awesome (Wireless DualSense is my fav RN). Steam Controller itself wasn't all that great, and I like the . And Steam Controller with a Dock acts as Link (unless I'm missing some other functionality).
Yes, I’ve mostly played games that had a console release and came out of the box with reasonable console controls. That said, the steam deck is really at the next level when it comes to being able to control PC-centric games. The combo of mouse control through the touch pads, touchscreen, and key combo mapping to buttons means that you can have a decent quality of life on a lot of titles meant for PC. And someone has probably already done that hard work for you and just uploaded a community controller profile to steam. It’s really a lot better than trying to play a lot of games with a laptop keyboard and trackpad. Certainly you sacrifice something to portability for a game designed only to be played with a full keyboard and mouse.
Oh, very much so. Because of vision issues, I need to plug my Steam Deck into a monitor to play comfortably, but the USB-C connection isn't reliable enough while actually using the Deck as a controller. I need an external controller for my deck, but one that's as good as the Deck (non-negotiable requirements: gyro, back buttons). I wish I could just order a Steam Controller v2 (with two sticks, just like on the Deck).
I hate to tell you, but once you sort out a decent control scheme it plays really well on the steam deck. There are enough buttons to cover everything, it's mainly case of working out what is most logical to you personally so that you don't have to think about it. Gyros for the mouse, and a mode switch on soft-pull LMB to increase precision help a lot.
I got a Steam Deck with the intention of playing Factorio on it. The controls unfortunately are very frustrating, I'm guessing they made them much better for Switch, I hope they bring the same for Steam Deck.
I love everything about the Steam Deck except 1 thing.
I love that its Linux based, and that you can doc it and turn it into a real PC. The interface is polished and its fast. And it's Steam, so I have all my games!
The one thing - I can't play it for more than an hour without getting hand cramps. The ergonomics just aren't very good for me.
I play games all day for my job, and I know I can play an xbox controller or a ps5 controller for 8 hours straight without problems.
Lucky, because its a Steam Deck, I can plug any controller I want into it.
If it's been a while since you last tried it on the Deck, you might want to try again since recently they've added official controller support.
I had managed to get used to the Steam Input mappings so my experience may not reflect too much on you, but the official mappings are also pretty nice. IIRC they also show control hints underneath the map for context-sensitive actions, which help a lot too.
Having used one a lot, I can say that the ergonomics of the Steam Deck aren't there.
I could lay in my bed and play switch games for hours without issue, but with the deck, I need to introduce some resting device to not lose feeling in my hands.
Also, its awkward for me compared to any other contoller in terms of trigger reach.
Other than that, I still enjoy using it quite a bit.
- button placement is very bad (as a result of the size)
- steam software is just bad, slow and resource intensive (it's basically a web browser powered by chromium)
- not every games are compatible
- not every games have controller support
The Nintendo Switch is imo a better handheld console, it's the perfect size and you know you can play every games released for the switch, so you are not gambling
Valve control the Steam platform, and yet they can't enforce Deck's compatibility, worse, games that worked can end up not working anymore [1]
I don't own a Switch, i'm still waiting for a proper Switch alternative/successor, hopefully Sony will decide to revive the PSP
There's no way I would ever do this. The Steam controller overlay is my killer feature! The Deck controller is brilliant. If they issued a v2 controller that copied the deck I would buy it in a heartbeat.
I want a standalone controller with the full Steam Deck layout so bad. I'm amazed nobody has put out anything like it yet besides maybe the old discontinued Steam controller.
The Deck controls are worlds ahead of the Steam Controller. Better buttons, better hand positions, better quality, better all around.
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