Don't want to see articles from a certain category? When logged in, go to your User Settings and adjust your feed in the Content Preferences section where you can block tags!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.
tagline-image
Those of you who have been having trouble with the Steam Controller when in wired mode may appreciated the latest Steam client beta, as it fixes it.

See the full patch notes here.

I had a few people email me about this issue, so it's nice to see a prompt fix.

They still haven't fixed the issue of the Steam Controller not working in wireless mode unless Steam is open (it did originally), so hopefully they will get to that eventually. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Beta, Hardware, Steam
0 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
16 comments
Page: «2/2
  Go to:

MayeulC Oct 21, 2016
Quoting: tmtvlNeat, it only the virtual keyboards could be ported so they could be used with various DE's, that would make my living room PC almost perfect.

There is a quite correct one in sc-controller, activate if from the steam button.

Quoting: ElectricPrism
Quoting: MblackwellThe track pad is far superior to a stick for FPS.

Wut? No seriously I would like to hear your argument? For me I'm a billion times faster and preciser on twin joysticks.

Of course I know this is probably a case of "what works for me" and "what works for you" are totally different.

The argument here is one of relative vs absolute motion. With joysticks, you specify the speed at which you want your "pointer" (can be a camera) to move, while with a mouse/trackpad, you specify where to move (by directly setting a relative motion, so the terms are a bit inadequate). This is unarguably much better, since that's what you really want (set the position to a precise location). At least in theory. You can find movement with a stick more intuitive because of practice or superior hardware. Sticks can also be more precise with defaults settings, since they often allow to fine-tune the final position at low speed. On the other hand, you could decrease the sensitivity of your mouse/trackpad for quick, finer adjustments (a "sniper button", if you prefer). This is also analogue to aiming in FPS games, so those two actions can be often bound together. Some people prefer to use a gyro for those fine adjustments (personal preference again).
Compare rapidly changing directions (180) with a mouse/trackpad and joystick. There is an obvious difference. Some early console games even had a key to speed this up (instant 180), so the problem definitely exists.

On the other hand, when it comes to controlling a setting which can be matched 1:1 to the joystick position (turning it into an absolute control), this is arguably faster, and allows finer grained controls. Think of player movement in FPS, a steering wheel, a plane joystick, or even the position of something on a screen that you can move instantly, such as an aiming direction/spaceship position for a shoot them up.

Thankfully, the trackpads can also emulate this behaviour, something that a trackball or a mouse can't. This makes them a better fit for game controllers. Since they have a clearly defined area, you can use some absolute positioning in this area to emulate the behaviour of a stick or some buttons. You can also use an "endless scroll" with a fixed movement ratio (or, more likely, one which changes with the speed) to specify an absolute movement faster than you would be able to with a stick (since you have to wait for the position, which is translated to speed at a fixed ratio, to be integrated, as in, a real integral, into an in-game position).

I hope those arguments are convincing enough. (and redeable/clear enough, I am answering from my phone, sorry).

I am still waiting on the perfect absolute input solution, with direct brain communication, but that's not for tomorrow :)

(for those interested in this last point, there are a few consumers facing prototypes, the EPOC Emotive is one of them).
Edit: wow, the price for this headset really skyrocketed these past years. It was around $300 around 6 years ago for the full headset, IIRC.


Last edited by MayeulC on 21 October 2016 at 9:00 am UTC
0aTT Oct 21, 2016
LOL. I read "weird". ;)
Liam Dawe Oct 21, 2016
Quoting: 0aTTLOL. I read "weird". ;)
Don't scare me like that, thought I actually spelt it like that for a moment!
N30N Oct 21, 2016
Quoting: MyeulC
Quoting: ElectricPrism
Quoting: MblackwellThe track pad is far superior to a stick for FPS.

Wut? No seriously I would like to hear your argument? For me I'm a billion times faster and preciser on twin joysticks.

Of course I know this is probably a case of "what works for me" and "what works for you" are totally different.

The argument here is one of relative vs absolute motion. With joysticks, you specify the speed at which you want your "pointer" (can be a camera) to move, while with a mouse/trackpad, you specify where to move (by directly setting a relative motion, so the terms are a bit inadequate). This is unarguably much better, since that's what you really want (set the position to a precise location).
Not always, for example try circle-strafing and aiming. Of course with the configurability of the Steam Controller there are workarounds for this: View video on youtube.com


Last edited by N30N on 21 October 2016 at 11:22 am UTC
wintermute Oct 21, 2016
This update totally torched my Steam directory - I think it may have crashed while updating so this issue. Of course this only happened after I'd finished downloading Mad Max.

The cable issue was confusing when I was trying to set up my Steam Link the other week. The instructions on the Link said I had to connect the controller to a computer by USB to update the firmware, which didn't work.
1mHfoksd1Z Oct 21, 2016
Quoting: wintermuteThis update totally torched my Steam directory - I think it may have crashed while updating so this issue. Of course this only happened after I'd finished downloading Mad Max.

The cable issue was confusing when I was trying to set up my Steam Link the other week. The instructions on the Link said I had to connect the controller to a computer by USB to update the firmware, which didn't work.
It happened to me a month ago as well. I have a slow internet connection at this new rent so it took a while to download all the games that I wanted... After it finished, a day later I accidentally started Steam and I clicked the Cancel button while it was updating, to stop it from launching (I didn't know how dangerous that was), so I lost 200 Gb of games... I lost all appetite for gaming for a few days after that.

That was on Arch on my desktop. On Ubuntu which I installed on my laptop two days ago, it happened 3 times already, yes, three! Tho the steamapps directory was left untouched (Thank God!)

_________

As a solution you can create a new Steam Library folder and only install games there (set it as default), and make sure that directory is not located in Steam's home (which is ~/.local/share/Steam). That's what I did after I lost all those games.


Last edited by 1mHfoksd1Z on 21 October 2016 at 9:22 pm UTC
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.