Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Krevsin]

Valve are knoewn to QA test almost to a fault, so there will most likely be something for everyone and will most likely work well.

[March]

Its going to be a controller, hl3 or other 3 games is going to be announced if at all around the actual release date to public purchases; not during the prototype console stage.
If you read the bottom of the second announcement it says they will say more about control interface soon, meaning most likely the 3rd is going to be a controller.

Although from what I've seen of either leaks or actual information is that hl3 is at the least in development but not nearly done enough for it to be announced; one of the main characters accidentally leaked over twitter he had not done any voice work yet some month ago before being quieted by valve and a picture of a list on a valve computer saying something about hl3 very vaguely.

There will probably be no more then 5 versions of the steam machine. I expect the cheapest to be around $300 or so minimum, with either more powerful and expensive versions as well as ones to do specialized stuff.

[miauw62]

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/

Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme.

* miauw62 drools

[Sensei]

Yep, its a controller. Track pads in place of sticks, and they say it should effectively mimic a mouse and keyboard for non-controller games.

[FritzPL]

They're pretty much making all of this open source. The controller will be fully customizable and you will be able to get "tools available that will enable users to participate in all aspects of the experience, from industrial design to electrical engineering". I wonder how much those tools will cost.

[Catastrophic lolcats]

So the latest reveal was a controller as myself and most people had already predicted. The controller itself is well ... odd. They've replaced the standard two analog control stick design with two circular trackpads. It has a touch screen and triggers in the top and in the back of the controller. Due to the size of the track pads the "generic main four buttons (ABXY)" are moved oddly around the touchscreen. This is what I predict will be the major problem of the controller.

First off I have to say I really like the trackpad design. I've played a couple of strategy (EU4,CK2, CIV) and FPS (Serious Sam, Minecraft) games on my laptop trackpad a few times when I left my mouse at home and found it infinitely better than a controller. I personally can't play FPS on a controller at all but with a trackpad I'm surprisely decent.
However, I have a mouse and keyboard for FPS/strat and I don't ever see a time when I would be without either a mouse or trackpad so I don't see why I would need a controller designed around playing these genres better. What I use a controller for is platforms, fighters and aRPGs where button mashing and precision analog control is the primary need. My concerns with the way the generic main four buttons are pushed into what seems like a fairly awkward spot would harm the genres which controllers perform the best on. 

I can understand that they were trying to develop a controller that would be useful for lots of genres while being slumped in front of the couch but I still think a wireless keyboard and a mouse on a lapdesk is the better alternative. You have the benefit of mouse aiming but also being able to use other computer functions like web browsing with ease. I suppose the touchpad (assumed it emulates a keyboard) will make typing easier so it might not be a massive trade off after all.

The controller is software moddable which is always nice but it doesn't seem to have the modular design Valve originally patented that would allow components (like a single trackpad) to be traded out for another. Perhaps this is coming in the future but it seems odd that they didn't outright say that it will be modular with optional components.

Now what will really make or break the controller is how much it costs. Two trackpads and a touchscreen sounds extremely expensive to me. I don't think people will consider putting serious cash into a controller no matter the tech it has when you can just get a Xbox 360 controller off ebay for $15.

[Krevsin]

Well... those buttons are... oddly placed, to say the least.

I'd have to get my hands on one to properly judge how it will behave though.

[March]

Looks nice, and it is always nice to have a new contender in the controller wars; even if we all secretly wish all the consoles would just make one universal controller.

Also agree that the middle buttons are going to be the crutch of that thing having to stop control of motion or camera to use one, or heaven forbid remove your hand to reach the buttons, and the very minor back screw holes that the Xbox one controllers wont have anymore over 360 controllers.
The picture of it in the hands on that page is not comforting.
Also isn't it half expected to have scroll wheels on a pc game based controller by now.

[CognitiveDissonance]

After some thinking, I believe the below sums up my thoughts quite well

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/

Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme.

* miauw62 drools

[Krevsin]

Okay, so according to the presentation, the buttons will be less an issue than expected because they're mostly assigned to secondary functions, such as the tab key and so on.

Still want to get my hands on one to try it out myself.

[10ebbor10]

Valve understands the gaming community well. In fact they've been planning this a whole while.

It's started with Alien Swarm, than TF2 hats, than the workshop, and now also hardware.

They found a way to let the consumers make their own product, and get paid for it.

[Wiles]

It's interesting to see a controller step away from the dual analog design. I think I'd be hesitant to pick it up before trying it out myself though. I've never ever liked trackpads.

[Graknorke]

It's interesting to see a controller step away from the dual analog design. I think I'd be hesitant to pick it up before trying it out myself though. I've never ever liked trackpads.

I just realised that the controller reminded me of something. I've got what it is.
Ashens tech prediction.
It has come true.

[Facekillz058]

The only thing I don't like about the new controller is the positioning of the ABXY buttons.
But hey, maybe there is something to it that you just can't realize until trying it out.

[Levi]

Steam Box doesn't interest me much, but I'm totally going to buy one of those controllers to try it out.  I'd love to be able to play FPS's while reclining on my couch, but I can't stand aiming with joysticks.  This might be the best of both worlds for me. 

And I'm a bit of a input fanboy.  I even have one of these sitting in my closet.