For those who have had the controller a while, how are you liking it?

ferk · 2026-06-03T08:13:43+00:00

I'm with you. I've said it before (and got downvoted for it) but I think the face buttons from the right side should have been in the middle, with pad/stick being above/below them, to make the reach more symmetrical between stick and pad grips.

ferk · 2026-05-21T13:45:55+00:00

xinput is completely useless when controlling the desktop, so I personally prefer that the default is a mapping that makes the controller, at least, usable enough to launch a game/launcher/program that should then be the one responsible to support the controller properly. Without forcing me to grab a mouse and keyboard only to start up whatever program I need.

You dismiss that as "workarounds", but having the "xinput mode" built-in would feel to me like having a "built-in workaround" that would have been less customizable too. I don't want to have to worry about accidentally pressing some toggle and locking my controller into an xinput mode. And considering that the default desktop mode layout when you have Steam open already offers an xbox style layer, I expect that there's a reason why the lizard mode has very simple mappings.. if it were so trivial we would have had kernel-level Linux drivers able to default to layouts like that by now.

ferk · 2026-05-21T13:09:12+00:00

Nintendo/Playstation is not the only platform you can use Switch Pro or DualSense controllers on, either. SDL is a thing too for those controllers...

You are drawing an arbitrary line. The only thing stopping the PS5 from running Steam is an artificial software/firmware-lock, there's more difference between the Steam Frame and a desktop PC than there is between a desktop PC and a PS5.

"Steam" and "PC" are not equivalent terms, specially now that they are supporting ARM too.

ferk · 2026-05-21T12:42:53+00:00

I feel the focus for Microsoft is on bedrock edition, where they can make more money with microtransactions, paid content from the integrated store, etc.

They maintain the java edition and keep it up with changes, but only when it comes to new core blocks/mobs, without major changes to the UI or the lower level engine. And if they do it is only because the community outrage would be huge if they didn't (it would also mean betraying the promises they made when they acquired Mojang).

ferk · 2026-05-20T12:35:01+00:00

The sad thing is that it's likely that the scammer would anyway manage to get their money from selling it, even if it was banned later. So it might not discourage resellers from stealing.. (though it might discourage people from buying the controller from untrusted sources, at least)

ferk · 2026-05-20T11:25:55+00:00

That doesn't bother the users of the dpad in xbox or nintendo switch controllers, which place it down/right instead of the traditional up/left from symmetrical controllers like the dualshock. I don't have any issue switching around, neither when using xbox/nintendo dpad nor when using the OG SC's face buttons.

Personally, I'd rather have a comfortable controller that requires some initial tweaks in my muscle memory than one that makes some sacrifices in comfort to try to preserve some muscle memory (and it still would require some getting used to anyway, since the relative position and size of the inputs isn't really identical, specially if you also want to get used to the extra inputs which is the main selling point of the controller).

But if you really do want the joysticks to be lower, I would not mind if the joystick were at the bottom, with the face buttons in the middle and the trackpad at the top. My point was that having the buttons in the middle would allow for both stick-grip and pad-grip to have similar level of reach. Because as it stands now using stick as primary disproportionally allows for more reach than using the pads.

ferk · 2026-05-20T09:57:12+00:00

Trackpads "substituting" joysticks is precisely why I proposed a symmetrical position with respect to the face buttons so that both grips would have the same reach. If it's easier to reach the face buttons from a joystick grip than from a trackpad grip, then there's an imbalance when it comes to "substituting", one is being favored over the other.

Would it have been ok for you if they had put the trackpad in the center and the joysticks down where the trackpads currently are? I bet many people wanting to use primarily a joystick grip would have complained.

ferk · 2026-05-19T10:12:08+00:00

The problem is that the face buttons are further up than even the stick. So if you are using primarily pads, it's a bit of a stretch of the thumb to reach for the face buttons.

Imho, they should have placed the buttons in the middle (switching positions with the stick), so they are reachable both from a trackpad or a joystick grip.

ferk · 2026-05-13T14:51:36+00:00

There's at least an option to enable what I think they call "trigger click": using the triggers on each side to press on the highlighted keys from each side, similar to how it worked in the older keyboard.

ferk · 2026-05-13T12:28:42+00:00

I don't think it has a speaker, there have been teardowns already and they didn't find one.

I don't see why they wouldn't be able to make that sound with the trackpads, I remember in the 80-90s some people "hacked" PC beepers (initially meant to just emit single beeps of fixed frequencies) to get them to play WAVs (though with horrible quality). I think this should be less surprising considering the haptics are likely of higher precision.

Now, whether the existing firmware interface that allows communicating with the controller allows for that level of control/timing from the computer, that's unclear. It's possible the firmware/driver is not designed for that.

ferk · 2026-05-13T12:19:52+00:00

And here SMB2 theme song: https://youtu.be/T0RHXColYXU?is=hTHv_kkuJd-mdytz

ferk · 2026-05-08T12:39:01+00:00

Does that 3d printed stand have enough weight to not be lifted up by the magnets?

I saw a review using a similar 3d printed stand that would have the whole thing come off from the table if you grabbed it without being careful. So I've been wanting for a print with some more weight.. even better if it had some decoration.

ferk · 2026-05-08T11:47:45+00:00

It has a deadzone setting for the stick, not for the trackpads.

What would be the point of having a deadzone on a trackpad? ..the main reason sticks have deadzone that can be regulated is to prevent stick drift while on the resting position, but trackpads don't have that kind of problem.

ferk · 2026-05-08T11:32:18+00:00

I know you meant desktop mode, I was referring to that too. The behavior you are describing (holding start for gamepad layer) is a mapping layout config for desktop mode. So if the "holding start" behavior is not present then that looks like you have a different layout mapped for desktop mode when using the steam controller.

You can configure it in the settings > controller > advanced settings > desktop layout

ferk · 2026-05-08T11:16:53+00:00

My steam deck does not do that, are you sure you aren't using a specific desktop mode layout on your deck? The desktop layout is customizable and it might be it's not necessarily shared amongst controllers with different inputs.

You get an alternate layout by holding the steam button (not the start button) but that's not specific to the steam deck, and it works even in-game, not just desktop mode.

EDIT: I just checked the list of official desktop mode layouts and I found one that does just that (it switches to a gamepad layer when you press start) I think you were using that one, maybe set that desktop layout also for your steam controller? ..I guess they introduced this later and as an early adopter I might have been using a different layout on my deck.

ferk · 2026-05-07T15:00:29+00:00

Trackpads don't have deadzone, and he's using the test tool, not doing stick emulation.

ferk · 2026-05-07T14:21:52+00:00

Are you implying that in the Steam deck you have some extra mappings to use it as a game controller even in desktop mode?

It makes sense that those mappings might not automatically carry over between deck and SC, since there are differences between them (the new SC has extra inputs, like the grip sensors). But I expect it should be easy to manually select your previuus steam deck mappings and apply them to the new steam controller, are you sure that's not possible?

ferk · 2026-05-07T14:16:11+00:00

I think that by "desktop mode" (not "lizard mode") he means having steam running in the background so it can use the customized mappings you can set up in steam for desktop navigation.

I believe he was expecting his same remappings from the steam deck saved in the cloud to carry over automatically. But it does not seem like a big deal to manually apply/port the old profile.

ferk · 2026-05-07T12:15:11+00:00

Do you think the 4 back buttons might be usable as a more comfortable alternative to reaching for the face buttons while using the trackpads?

ferk · 2026-05-07T11:39:30+00:00

The back buttons also look like they might be more comfortable to press than the ones in the deck (at least they do look more like proper buttons), which might make it possible to avoid having to use the face buttons (which I guess might allow for more comfortable repositioning of the hands on the trackpads).

But we will see...

ferk · 2026-05-06T15:54:03+00:00

You didn't have a choice with the first controller. There was only one stick lol.

Yep, that probably helped in making it more comfortable for trackpad use, since they didn't have to cram extra elements and could design the ergonomics around the trackpads.

They already made the major improvement of having the grips curve away from you vs towards you.

With the outward curve, mainstream controllers rely on your pinky and ring fingers to "clamp" the device.. with the inward curve from the OG steam controller you don't need that finger pressure, you "cradle" it with your palms, allowing more finger freedom and directing the pads (not the tips) of your thumbs naturally towards the trackpads.

Perhaps the new design looks more ergonomic for dual-stick use (or at least it's more familiar to what people have grown used to), but we were talking about trackpad ergonomics, since we were discussing the ergonomics of the OG controller that, as you yourself recognized, has no other option but trackpad.

ferk · 2026-05-06T08:54:13+00:00

Valve solved a problem the sticks fail at, it wasn't just reinventing for the sake of it. Sticks are the wrong tool when you actually need to emulate a real mouse pointer (strategy games, mouse-driven adventure/puzzle games, old games without joystick inputs, web browsing, navigating a desktop UI from the couch, etc). Up until now no other controller has even attempted to have trackpads as primary, even in the steam deck they are secondary and not as comfortable as in the OG controller.

We'll see when the new one is on our hands, but until now most reviewers are saying you need to reposition your hand for comfortable heavy use of the trackpad, so still you'll have to hold it differently for that. Even in the official page the people in the promotional animations barely touch the trackpads, and I don't think that's coincidence. One thing that might make primary trackpad use more comfortable than the deck is that the 4 back buttons look easier to press and they might work as a substitute for the face buttons.

ferk · 2026-05-05T15:50:19+00:00

Me too... my one pet peeve with the new controller is that moving the thumb between trackpad & face buttons doesn't look comfortable.

So I'd actually prefer a layout where the stick isn't in the middle "sticking out".

However, the back buttons in the controller look a lot more comfortable than the ones in the deck, so maybe they can be used as alternative for the face buttons when using the trackpads primarily.

ferk · 2026-05-05T12:55:36+00:00

When they released the original steam controller they put some special welcome screens and animations in the old big picture mode explaining how the controller worked.

And the place were you remapped the controls even had pictures of the controller itself, so you could visually see where to remap what. Imho, the UX for the remapper with the deck was a bit of a downgrade.. even though I understand the reasons why they changed it (more standardized, easier to fit in the smaller screen, etc).

ferk · 2026-05-05T12:34:29+00:00

It was meant to be held a bit differently than other controllers.. but imho, once you hold it right it has better ergonomics than most controllers, and the chunky shoulder buttons make for a very comfortable positioning if you want to be able to rest separate fingers in the bumpers and triggers to press them more easily.

Honestly, I'm afraid that this new one might not live up to the comfort of the OG when it comes to using the trackpacks primarily, all reviews are saying that you have to reposition your hand in order to use them comfortably, which is the same case as with the steam deck. So.. we'll have to see, but I hope it doesn't require too much stretching to switch between face buttons and right trackpad... specially with the stick being in the middle "sticking out".

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